Valdemar

#1774.13 in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 41 books Status Ongoing 1987–present Reading commitment High Mercedes Lackey Last reviewed 2026-08-06

Overview

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, set in the world of Velgarth, is one of the largest single-author shared settings in the genre: fourteen sub-series and trilogies plus bridge standalones spanning 1987-2023, telling stories across widely separated eras of the same kingdom's history. The sequence began with the Arrows trilogy, introducing Valdemar's Heralds, an order of telepathically-bonded riders chosen by intelligent horse-like Companions to serve as the kingdom's law-keepers and diplomats, and has since expanded through prequels reaching back centuries before Valdemar's founding and sequels following later Heralds, mages, and spies. Larry Dixon co-authors three sub-series -- the Gryphon trilogy, the Owl Mage trilogy, and Kelvren's Saga -- with the remainder written by Lackey solo. Across more than forty novels, the sequence has built an unusually detailed shared history for Velgarth's neighboring kingdoms, its magic systems, and the Heraldic Circle bond between rider and Companion, making Valdemar one of the longest-running continuously expanded single-world fantasy settings still being published today.

Epic fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (41 works) counts toward ranking

The Heralds of Valdemar (Arrows trilogy) Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Arrows of the Queen	1987	core	4.13 (40,363 ratings)
	Arrow's Flight	1987	core	4.13 (24,750 ratings)
	Arrow's Fall	1988	core	4.19 (24,666 ratings)

Lackey's debut trilogy; internally set centuries after the Founding era.

Vows and Honor Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	The Oathbound	1988	core	4.09 (15,445 ratings)
	Oathbreakers	1989	core	4.20 (16,343 ratings)
	Oathblood; Story collection; the official third volume of the trilogy.	1998	core	4.08 (11,463 ratings)

The Last Herald-Mage Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Magic's Pawn	1989	core	4.20 (28,865 ratings)
	Magic's Promise; ISFDB discrepancy (manual pass, 2026-08-10): ISFDB's own title record lists 1989-01 as the date field, but its only linked publication record is dated 1990-01. This book's recorded first-edition date (1990-01) uses the publication-backed date, not the title record's date, per this project's standing practice of recording a discrepancy explicitly rather than silently picking one figure without saying why.	1990	core	4.22 (22,557 ratings)
	Magic's Price; Sources split 1990/1991; most bibliographic listings give 1990.	1990	core	4.26 (22,975 ratings)

Internally set ~600 years before the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy (Valdemar Wiki timeline).

The Mage Winds Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Winds of Fate	1991	core	4.09 (17,806 ratings)
	Winds of Change	1992	core	4.09 (16,026 ratings)
	Winds of Fury	1993	core	4.11 (14,655 ratings)

The Mage Wars (Gryphon trilogy) Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	The Black Gryphon	1994	core	4.10 (15,663 ratings)
	The White Gryphon	1995	core	3.95 (12,756 ratings)
	The Silver Gryphon	1996	core	3.87 (11,552 ratings)

Co-authored throughout with Larry Dixon.

The Mage Storms Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Storm Warning	1994	core	4.08 (13,667 ratings)
	Storm Rising	1995	core	4.07 (12,950 ratings)
	Storm Breaking	1996	core	4.11 (13,108 ratings)

Darian's Tale (The Owl Mage Trilogy) Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Owlflight	1997	core	4.04 (11,817 ratings)
	Owlsight	1998	core	4.05 (10,765 ratings)
	Owlknight	1999	core	4.04 (10,111 ratings)

Co-authored throughout with Larry Dixon.

Alberich's Tale Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Exile's Honor	2002	core	4.24 (12,920 ratings)
	Exile's Valor	2003	core	4.22 (13,071 ratings)

Collegium Chronicles Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Foundation	2008	core	4.07 (12,702 ratings)
	Intrigues	2010	core	4.04 (9,886 ratings)
	Changes	2011	core	4.03 (8,561 ratings)
	Redoubt	2012	core	4.05 (7,480 ratings)
	Bastion	2013	core	4.09 (6,616 ratings)

The Herald Spy Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Closer to Home	2014	core	4.09 (5,747 ratings)
	Closer to the Heart	2015	core	4.16 (4,583 ratings)
	Closer to the Chest	2016	core	4.18 (4,084 ratings)

Family Spies Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	The Hills Have Spies	2018	core	4.05 (5,197 ratings)
	Eye Spy	2019	core	4.18 (3,180 ratings)
	Spy, Spy Again	2020	core	4.37 (2,733 ratings)

The Founding of Valdemar Mercedes Lackey

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Beyond	2021	core	4.33 (5,096 ratings)
	Into the West	2022	core	4.29 (3,793 ratings)
	Valdemar; Hardcover Dec 26, 2023; paperback Oct 2024.	2023	core	4.40 (2,971 ratings)

Internally the earliest era of Valdemar's history, Founding of the kingdom.

Kelvren's Saga Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon

	Work	Year	Canon	Rating
	Gryphon in Light	2023	core	4.23 (1,562 ratings)

Co-authored throughout with Larry Dixon.

• By the Sword (1991) core · 4.28 (21,703 ratings); Bridges Vows and Honor into the Heralds of Valdemar continuity (Kerowyn's story).
• Brightly Burning (2000) core · 4.11 (10,931 ratings)
• Take a Thief (2001) core · 4.16 (14,247 ratings)

Library / Expanded (19 works) context only

• Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar (1997) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• The Valdemar Companion (2001) expanded; Non-fiction companion/reference volume.
• Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar (2003) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar (2005) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar (2008) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Changing the World (2009) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Finding the Way (2010) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Under the Vale (2011) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• No True Way (2014) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Crucible (2015) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Tempest (2016) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Pathways (2017) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Choices (2018) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Seasons (2019) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Passages (2020) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Boundaries (2021) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Shenanigans (2022) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Anything with Nothing (2023) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.
• Feuds (2024) expanded; DAW Books anthology of Valdemar short fiction, edited by Mercedes Lackey.

Quick answers

• How many books are in Valdemar? Valdemar's Core Canon is 41 books, plus 19 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
• What is the reading order for Valdemar? Publication order, starting with Arrows of the Queen. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
• Is Valdemar finished? Ongoing (1987–present).
• How much reading does Valdemar take? High reading commitment (estimated from 41 Core Canon books · ~15,214 pages).
• How is Valdemar ranked? #177 in this site's official ranking, based on 525,366 reader ratings across 41 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.

Why is it ranked #177?

Ranked #177 in the official ranking.

• Average reader rating of 4.13 across 41 core books.
• Backed by 525k reader ratings.
• Uneven reception: its books range from 3.87 to 4.40.
• 0.01 behind #176, Blackthorn & Grim.
• Below the top-10 average of 4.45.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Highly rated · 41 books · Ongoing · 525k ratings · Ranks #177 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.

Reading order

Publication order (41 Core Canon books)

1. Arrow's Flight (1987)
2. Arrows of the Queen (1987)
3. Arrow's Fall (1988)
4. The Oathbound (1988)
5. Magic's Pawn (1989)
6. Oathbreakers (1989)
7. Magic's Price (1990)
8. Magic's Promise (1990)
9. By the Sword (1991)
10. Winds of Fate (1991)
11. Winds of Change (1992)
12. Winds of Fury (1993)
13. Storm Warning (1994)
14. The Black Gryphon (1994)
15. Storm Rising (1995)
16. The White Gryphon (1995)
17. Storm Breaking (1996)
18. The Silver Gryphon (1996)
19. Owlflight (1997)
20. Oathblood (1998)
21. Owlsight (1998)
22. Owlknight (1999)
23. Brightly Burning (2000)
24. Take a Thief (2001)
25. Exile's Honor (2002)
26. Exile's Valor (2003)
27. Foundation (2008)
28. Intrigues (2010)
29. Changes (2011)
30. Redoubt (2012)
31. Bastion (2013)
32. Closer to Home (2014)
33. Closer to the Heart (2015)
34. Closer to the Chest (2016)
35. The Hills Have Spies (2018)
36. Eye Spy (2019)
37. Spy, Spy Again (2020)
38. Beyond (2021)
39. Into the West (2022)
40. Gryphon in Light (2023)
41. Valdemar (2023)

Awards (verified)

• Lambda Literary Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy), 1990: won: Magic's Price; Tied win.
• Lambda Literary Award (Gay Men's SF/Fantasy), 1990: nominated: Magic's Pawn
• Lambda Literary Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy), 1995: nominated: Storm Warning
• Locus Award (Best First Novel), 1988: finalist: Arrows of the Queen; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 6th.
• Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1993: finalist: Winds of Change; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 6th.
• Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1995: finalist: Storm Warning; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 8th.
• Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1996: finalist: Storm Rising; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 9th.

Related universes

• Same author The Halfblood Chronicles: Both created by Mercedes Lackey. The Halfblood Chronicles was confirmed a separate setting from Valdemar/Velgarth at its own admission, different world (elves/dragons dominate humans), no shared characters or geography.

You might also like

Suggestions computed from what Valdemar and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

• Malazan Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.27
• World of the Five Gods Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.22
• Forgotten Realms Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.20
• Riftwar Cycle Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.16

Official resources

• Mercedes Lackey official site: Official author site; series groupings, Halfblood Chronicles distinction.
• Valdemar Wiki (Fandom): Dedicated Valdemar fan wiki; timeline / chronological order pages.
• https://www.sfadb.com/Mercedes_Lackey

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.13 across 525,366 ratings on 41 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: Valdemar Core Canon accepted 2026-08-05

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

• Mercedes Lackey official site Tier 1
• Valdemar Wiki (Fandom) Tier 2
• https://www.sfadb.com/Mercedes_Lackey
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey

Related universes: see the Related universes section above.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-06

Rule: Core = 14 sub-series/trilogies (Heralds of Valdemar through Kelvren's Saga) plus 3 bridge standalones (By the Sword, Brightly Burning, Take a Thief) = 43 core novels/collections.

← All universes