Closer to Home
core novel 2014 Valdemar
Record
| First published | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.09 (5,747 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| Page count | 361 |
| First-edition ISBN | 978-0-7564-0899-2 |
| First-edition date | 2014-10 |
Synopsis
Closer to Home is the first book of the Herald Spy series, following Mags and his wife Amily as they take on new roles investigating threats to the crown. Now a full Herald working espionage under cover as Magnus, the young cousin of an elderly lord, Mags uses his assumed identity to move through high society and gather information the crown could not get any other way. A sudden accident nearly kills the King's Own Herald, triggering an unexpected Companion Choosing that shifts the balance of power at court. At the same time, two feuding noble families, House Raeylen and House Chendlar, arrive in Haven for the Midwinter season, and their rivalry threatens to erupt into open violence. Mags and his colleagues must work to keep the two houses from tearing the court apart, a task complicated when a romance blossoms between members of the rival families.
Where it sits
- Universe: Valdemar
- Series: The Herald Spy core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Mercedes Lackey
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Herald Spy: position 1 of 3: next Closer to the Heart (2015)
Sources
- Mercedes Lackey official site
- Valdemar Wiki (Fandom)
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
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