A Mostly Spoiler Free Review
First and foremost, if anyone can tell me if and when a third The Founding of Valdemar book is coming out, I would be most appreciative. Into the West fully establishes the final settling place of the Valdemarans and the Tayledras, hertasi, etc. Now all that's missing is the Companions and how they came into the mix. I feel like, if/when there's a third Founding of Valdemar book, it would probably focus on that.
Largely, Into the West is a travel book. The characters travel through the wilderness between Crescent Lake and the newly formed Valdemar capital... I assume it's the capital, after all, the Tayledras set the Heartstone to build a palace so... yeah. But anyway, Delia gets a much bigger role in this one. She really grows into her own person, as opposed to the semi-stereotypical noble girl she was during Beyond. Kordas continues on his merry way leading his people.
I probably would have liked some more personal bits with other characters. I think I'd most like to get to know Briada. She seems like the most interesting of the new characters introduced here. I also would have loved to see how Jonaton and Hakkon were together, just, ya know, to feed my inner rabid fangirl. I also really enjoyed a character added toward the end of the book, who I will not name but I thought was really cute. Pretty much the only other new named characters (other than Briadas cousins) were used as object lessons for Kordas' new rules and such.
I really enjoyed the nods to critters past in the wyrsa and makaar. I will say, though, in The Mage Wars, Skandranon pretty much said the makaar had died out so it was a surprise to see them in The Founding of Valdemar. Not that Skan is a particularly reliable narrator or that the makaar were at all described in The Mage Wars but... yeah. I had no idea what they were when they showed up and was surprised when Silvermoon confirmed what they were.
I largely liked how the Tayledras were introduced to the Valdemarans. I think it felt better than it did before... from what I can remember of my reading of the Valdemar series prior to this. I don't know why, exactly, but the Tayledras always felt a little off to me in terms of representation of a more indigenous people than the more European feeling Valdemarans. I don't know. It's late and I might just be rambling about that and misremembering. Anyway. Silvermoon was interesting as a sort of equal to Kordas. These Tayledras also definitely have more hertasi around than the ones Vanyel encounters in "later" books. Delia's friend Jelavan delighted me.
So yeah, Into the West was pretty good. It was well paced and I never felt like there was a slog anywhere. I'm not going to lie, the ending had me semi-skimming because of the sudden action happening, but it also didn't end abruptly, which I appreciate. I really can't wait for another installment in this series... if/when there is one. It's really odd that it keeps being referred to as a "series" but there doesn't seem to be any actual official confirmation of a third book anywhere... like, one site that has this year (2023) as a release date, but nothing else. I assume a trilogy, at least, cuz most of the Valdemar series is made of up trilogies... and I'm rambling so... yeah. Bye!
Favorite Lines
"You're an idiot. And you used to be my apprentice. I reserve the right to continue smacking you when you say something stupid," Sai replied.
"We had a skygazing poet-scout, Wildwolf, who went through an awkward, dramatic stage of life as Moonmoon.” - Silvermoon - Reminded me of the common amusement over the name "Remus Lupin" in the Harry Potter series.
"Apparently, hells are not consistent. That could be why they are hells." - Silvermoon
"Sometimes, explosives are the best way to show you care." - Jelevan
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