Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles
    Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles
    Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles
    Audiobook10 hours

    Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles

    Written by Mercedes Lackey

    Narrated by Nick Podehl

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Mags was an orphan and slave of “bad blood” who toiled a gem mine all his young life. He would have died before adulthood, had he not been Chosen and taken to Haven to be trained in the new Herald Collegium.

    Now, Mags was never hungry and never cold. He slept in a real bed in his own room and, most importantly, he had Dallen, who was like another part of himself. And yet, aside from Lena and Bear, both loners like he was, he couldn’t relate to most of the Herald, Healer, or Bard trainees. He was the only trainee who came from what—to the others—was unimaginable poverty. There was another factor that contributed to Mag’s isolation. Foreign assassins, masquerading at court as envoys were discovered. As they fled from the Guard, one of them seemed to “recognize” Mags. Now, Mags was an object of suspicion.

    He had always been curious about his parents, but after the incident it became urgent for Mags to discover exactly who his parents were. And at Haven, he had access to the extensive Archives. Poring through the Archives, he got only incomplete information: his parents, found dead in a bandit camp, had been two of a number of hostages, some of whom had survived. The survivors had told the Guard that Mags’s parents spoke a language that no one understood or recognized.

    This information did not help, for the ForeSeers had been having visions of the king’s assassination by “one of the foreign blood.” Some had even Seen Mags with blood on his hands. How could Mags defend himself against a crime that hadn’t yet been committed?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 5, 2010
    ISBN9781423308041
    Intrigues: The Collegium Chronicles
    Author

    Mercedes Lackey

    Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music. Also known as Misty Lackey.

    More audiobooks from Mercedes Lackey

    Related to Intrigues

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Intarsia

      Feb 6, 2020

      Intarsia
      6 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      Without the adventof Stockholm Syndrome,how could I havelearned to love myself so much? I’m asking Godand New York, can anyonehelp me? (An all-but-audible “or else.”) The captain’s chair:it’s beginning to smella little too much like me. Again.But the

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Lost Prayer

      Feb 2, 2023

      A Lost Prayer
      10 min read

    • Article

      Warren Peace

      Nov 9, 2022

      Warren Peace
      5 min read

    • Article

      Dog Days

      Jan 23, 2022

      Dog Days
      8 min read

    • Article

      Eight Poems

      Sep 1, 2021

      The rain is splashy.The baby is fat as apat of butter.Mother is sleeping.No one is crying.Because it was timeto live with strangersbaby was born.Hearing the rainjumping in puddleshe feels another eventis due in time.Not knowing what,not guessing what

      2 min read

    • Article

      Drawn to THE MOORS

      Feb 8, 2022

      Drawn to THE MOORS
      11 min read

    • Article

      Fitting In

      Oct 1, 2021

      Fitting In
      6 min read

    • Article

      Strange Season

      Jun 4, 2020

      Strange Season
      14 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Play Dead

      Mar 3, 2020

      There was a man, let’s call him Henry VIII. There was his wife, let’s call her Anne B. Let’s give them a castle and make it nice. Let’s give her many boy babies but make them dead. Let’s give him a fussy way of being. Let’s make her smart and sneaky,

      17 min read

    • Article

      New Leash on Life

      Nov 16, 2020

      New Leash on Life
      5 min read

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      Dude’s Last Hunt

      Jul 17, 2023

      Dude’s Last Hunt
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      Forfeit

      Jan 1, 2021

      Forfeit
      7 min read

    • Article

      I Ran Away From Home At 60!

      Feb 20, 2024

      Three decades ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday in the time-honoured tradition of all young people who think they are an adult but have no real idea about life, duty or personal responsibility – I got smashed. In fairness, I had quite a lot to get s

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ice Blue

      Dec 5, 2023

      Even inside the plane the cold had registered, along with a deadening of all sound. But the glacial silence that awaits him outside is something else entirely. No attempt to imagine it could have prepared him. It occurs to him that he’s done well to

      15 min read

    • Article

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson

      Jun 25, 2018

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson
      13 min read

    • Article

      Odd Jobs

      Jul 19, 2017

      Odd Jobs
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Kindness of Strangers

      Apr 27, 2020

      The Kindness of Strangers
      5 min read

    • Article

      My First Pet

      Feb 2, 2020

      My First Pet
      9 min read

    • Article

      THE Toilet Paper CAPER

      Nov 12, 2021

      THE Toilet Paper CAPER
      3 min read

    • Article

      Marked with SILVER

      Jan 17, 2024

      Marked with SILVER
      12 min read

    • Article

      The Right Time

      Oct 14, 2019

      The Right Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      Of Hares And Witches

      Sep 22, 2021

      Of Hares And Witches
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Intrigues

    4/5

    283 ratings23 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed to book. A great story but the recording skipped about 14 seconds periodically. Missing sections disappointed me.
    • 3/5
      This is the second book in the Collegiums Chronicles. I remember liking the first book Foundation, but not as much as I like some of Lackey’s other Herald stories. This story landed even lower. I like Mags, but this book was a bit of a disappointment. The writing is not as good as Lackey’s older stuff and the story felt lacking as well. It dragged and not much happened except a boy went to school. That kind of story canbe exciting to read if told right but I didn’t feel invested in Mags all that much here. There was one thing that clinched the book into a three star for me. Towards the end, Mag’s friends turn on him. I thought this was very unrealistic. For how close Lackey previously had them be to Mags, I can’t believe they would do a 180 and start blaming him for everything. Written a little differently, with more development and leads up to it, it could have been a heart-wrenching scene, but as it was, it just read like a really bad scene. Anyways I haven’t given up on Lackey or even this series, but I hope Lackey picks it up. Maybe go back and read her earlier stuff. Especially her Magic’s Price series. That is still my favorite series of hers.
    • 5/5
      I've been disappointed for a while with Lackey's books. It seems like, when she decided to team up with her husband, the general quality level of her Valdemar books dropped significantly, and they began to read like YA titles. Very YA titles. And so I drifted away. I'd read the new ones, be a bit ho-hum about them, and wander off to something else.

      I really feel like the first two books of the Foundation trilogy are a return to the writing style of the Arrows and Last Herald-Mage titles. They're not quite as grand -- the first books of a series tend to be the best, in my experience, and Lackey has done some significant exploration of the history and world of Velgarth. That she's able to return to some of the simplicity and grandiosity of the first few books really was a very pleasant surprise.

      I just want to say, on the off chance that she checks the reviews for these books, that Lackey was really my introduction to epic fantasy as a genre, and it's really been something I've enjoyed for my whole life as a consequence. I was 13 when I started with the Last Herald-Mage, and it's been fifteen years of absolutely amazing adventures, and through her, I've had my eyes gently opened to some of the more pressing issues of our times. I would not feel guilty giving these books to a young adult in the early teenage years, depending on maturity levels, but also feel as though they're written for an adult.

      Either way, definitely worth a read. Writing style and story are on the same level as Brightly Burning, though Mags is not as legendary or as outstanding as Lavan Firestorm -- which is not necessarily a bad thing. I hope I don't have to wait two more years to find out where Mags ends up. :)
    • 5/5
      I love this series. I love delving into the world of heralds and their companions. Mercedes Lackey has done it again
    • 5/5
      The main thing that I liked is that I could listen to the book while knitting.
    • 5/5
      awesome story love her books own them all recommend them
    • 3/5
      This trilogy is set two generations after Vanyel’s life as the Collegium is being built to deal with the influx of new Heralds and the expansion of Valdemar’s size. Mags is a former slave, rescued from a terrible life in jewel mining, and has to learn to navigate his new status. It’s a lot about him getting cuddles and dealing with making friends; did not feel very high stakes.
    • 3/5
      The storyline moved much faster than the first one, but the angst got turned up to eleven. I have a high tolerance for angst, particularly in a Mercedes Lackey book, and I will admit to thinking that Mags' reaction to things was not that over-the-top given what happened to him. He is forgiven.

      But dear Lord, I will never ever forgive Lena and Bear. Ever. And I have this horrible feeling that I am supposed to, somehow. Their behavior towards someone they considered a friend was appallingly self-centered and nasty and hypocritical and genuinely reprehensible. I have never like Lena--she was tolerable, but pathetic. At best I felt faintly sorry for her. But Bear, Bear I expected better from. He is not generally that stupid.

      On top of those two, the idea that everyone in the whole Collegium would suddenly forget everything that Mags had done and also the fact that he was *chosen* and proceed to act like a group of middle schoolers just felt...wrong. They brought up Tylendel, which was a completely different thing, and then proceeded to act in a way that was *likely* to alienate Mags and potentially cause problems instead of even considering talking to him or possibly helping him if he needed it or doing anything at all that, you know, might have been useful.

      Then Mags, after his suicidal episode, proceeds to spend a bunch of time thinking about how he needs to apologize and being all understanding about how the King's Own feels the need to "test" him by leaving him alone in the city with a bunch of terrorists on the lose, terrorists who know him by sight and are likely to hold a grudge against him. No, Mags, just no. Maybe you don't realize, given your upbringing, that these people are all way out of line, but I certainly do. Lackey has successfully given me a reason to root for Mags, though, which was possibly the point.

      Dallen is a joy to behold, as always, and a genuine friend.

      Kirball got old fast.

      I'm glad this wasn't my first Valdemar series, because I'm not sure I would have realized how much I liked them. I'll finish the series, though, mostly because I feel like Mags will end up a hero in the end and maybe people will remember it for more than a month.
    • 2/5
      eh.

      What else can I say? While I like these characters, this book left me cold. Nothing like a bad quidditch knockoff to try to pad some pages.

      I look forward to the third book, though. It's actually the reason I reread this.
    • 3/5
      Although slow to begin, this book gradually became interesting and worth reading. Mags' story of rags to riches, so to speak, was rather forgetful in the first book so that it took a while for me to remember what might have happened. (And even then, I barely remembered anything). The first hundred pages weren't as agonizing as the previous book- they just dragged, making me constantly think of picking another book.



      After page 120, the book picked up and it finally got interesting. Although I didn't start to like Mags until everyone seemingly turned against him, the situation he was in and those others near to him were in interested me.



      The book really picked up closer to page 200, when Mags finds himself in real trouble. The first book made him appear to do no wrong, which is a problem Lackey appears to remedy in the sequel by giving him flaws and making others see he isn't perfect either.



      I think the book could have benefited from more details, but that might have been because I'm used to reading an author who labors over every single detail. Events seemed rushed. The book could have done with a better editor, because there were glaring problems that never should have made it to print.



      Overall, though, the book was good and I hope the sequel is better.
    • 2/5
      A tragic, conflicted teenage boy, and a bit too immature as a series for me so far. The story is just too influenced by the emotional and reactionary tendencies of the younger characters. Even Talia's story wasn't this fraught! I'm waiting to see how the next book turns out before I move away from this series entirely, but not one of my favorites so far.
    • 2/5
      It wasn't til the introduction of the made-up sport, which of course the plucky orphan boy is gifted at, that I realized that this set of Valdemar tales are Lackey's entry in the Harry Potter-knockoff genre. I love the Valdemar books like I love Velveeta-and-Ro-tel queso, and for about the same reasons, but these just aren't doing it for me. Maybe I'm just too old.
    • 3/5
      This review has been crossposted from my blog Review from Rose's Book Reviews Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me.

      Mags seems to be finally settling down in the Collegium. He has his great friends, Lena and Bear to look after him, but suddenly they are both in danger of being snatched away.To top that off, Mags is being accused of injuring the king.

      Much of 'Intrigues' is about Mags finding out his history, although it turns out to be something like he really was 'Bad Blood'. Mag's friends are being accused by their families, and it makes for an uncomfortable situation. When Dallen gets into an accident, Mags' world is thrown upside down, and he feels like there will never be light at the end of the tunnel.

      In this novel, Mags is almost certainly suffering from depression. Because that is my own personal area of interest, it draws me to him. I found myself crying occasionally, because the situation just seemed so hopeless. I guess that's a mark of how much I empathized with him. His recovery though was swift and painless - he of course has a Companion, when the rest of us don't have a mythical horse to pull us out of the pit.

      The settings are familiar to those who have read the other books. I agree with other reviewers that it seems very choppy, with some obvious errors in spelling and grammar. In other books, I have even noted where the publisher has changed a character's name to something else, such as an article of speech! It's still an ok novel, but it isn't the best she has even written. It feels a little like as Lackey has gotten older, her attempts of pushing books out onto the market quickly have destroyed the flow she had in the earlier novels.

      Although it could be done, I wouldn't recommend reading 'Intrigues' without having first read 'Foundation'. It really is a trilogy - or I thought it was! Again, I didn't reread this book before reviewing it because I wanted to read the next one! Surprisingly, although this says it is a trilogy, the Mercedes Lackey website lists it as having a fourth book to come out. I find that a little disappointing - I love Mags, but I'd love to have a new character just as much!

      I'd still recommend this book for teens and adults, although the themes are far darker than before. Blood, betrayal, fire and corruption - they're all here, but they are dealt with sensitively and not gratuitously.
    • 4/5
      This is book 2 of the Collegium Chronicles, and continues the story of Mags (short for Magpie). He is further into his Heraldic training, but still feels like an outsider (which fact is drummed into us in both books). The King's Own herald plans to use this to the advantage of Valdemar, and expands Mags's training to blend into the background and observe events. This leads to intrigue and action, and takes us down into the city of Haven.In addition, the trainees at the palace are introduced to the newly invented sport of Kirball, with the idea of preparing them to cope with action in battle (which the royal advisors foresee as a possibility in the near future) and Mags is the perfect candidate for the first teams.There's a lot of action in this book, what with Mags's training as a potential spy for the crown, and the descriptions of Kirball games; and our heroes (both Mags and his Companion Dallen) end up in the infirmary more than once.I liked this book even better than the first. It's as we'll written as Lackey's other Valdemar books, and I'm looking forward to the third in the series.
    • 4/5
      It's a middle book. In the first book Mags had been established as a boy who distrusted almost everyone, particularly people with power and this story continues with this idea. He is the focus of a prediction, covered in blood with the king, and people start to distrust him. The collegium is starting to come together like the collegium in Talia's time. You start to see the transition from Vanyel's time. You also see how the watchers work and how it can affect someone.It's not one of her best but it is a middle story, there's a lot of stuff that will probably be resolved in the next installment of the story and there's probably a long-game that will surprise me. Still it's a pretty typical Mercedes Lackey story and quite a lot of fun as a read. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      Interesting to know how the story continues, but it is a little sentimental near the end. At one moment it was too much and I almost put it down. (I am happy I did not, really). Everything turned out all right, so I will probably also read the last part of this trilogy, [Changes].
    • 4/5
      Again, a lot like Talia - possibly even for some of the same reasons, as that Healer mentioned Mags was gaining Empathy as well as Mindspeech. The collapsing under hostile attention is painfully familiar, though Mags' solution isn't one Talia thought of. One highly amusing thing - the Kirball game is drawn almost directly from Kipling, "The Maltese Cat" (I think that's the name - it's a polo game, in detail, from the horses' point of view(s)). Not entirely - the flag isn't in that story, and no one breaks an arm in Intrigues - but a lot of the tactics are almost word for word. Very funny to encounter this old favorite in a completely different setting. That aside...unfortunately, all the bad guys keep dying and therefore not telling what's going on. Maybe Changes will have it? Great story, fun to read and makes me want to go on to the next.
    • 4/5
      A very good addition to the series. Enjoyed it greatly. Can't wait for the next one. I like the way she writes teen-age characters as confused, but not (usually) whiny. Mags is going to have a massive collection of scars before he even gets his whites....
    • 4/5
      Lackey's latest installment of 'The Collegium Chronicles' continues the tale of Herald trainee Mags as he goes about his schooling, even as he searches for information about his parents. Unfortunately his relatively peaceful existence is interrupted when ForeSeers predict a dire scene involving "a foreigner" - something Mags had recently learned he was. Malicious rumors spread throughout campus, and Mags comes under serious pressure. Can he help uncover the truth behind the seers' vision? For the first half, perhaps two-thirds of the novel, I was pretty unhappy with it, and set to give it two stars max. There are some pretty serious weaknesses here, and irritating writing quirks, such as Mags' dialogue being conducted in a heavy, overdone sort of street speech that's not much fun to read. Lackey overdid this in 'Take a Thief,' her book about Skif, as well. It's just not good. What's worse, apparently he THINKS with this accent as well. I didn't buy it. The book also has some pretty obvious similarities to the 'Harry Potter' series. Mags and his friends get seriously involved in a team sport that certainly draws to mind Quiddich. Furthermore, there's the whole "Abused boy is saved by getting to go to Magic School!" theme. There are other similarities later in the book, as well. Individually these similarities wouldn't be quite so glaring, but together I found them relatively inescapable. That being said...The last quarter of the book or so is engaging and really grabbed me on an emotional level. The climax is riveting, the solution to the original mystery somewhat unexpected and satisfying. Ultimately I was happy to have read the book, despite its disappointments. While I can't give it as high as four stars, the solid conclusion reminded me just why I tend to enjoy Lackey's books. For fans of the series, it's worth sticking through the tepid first half. For newcomers, this isn't a good place to start.
    • 5/5
      Disclaimer: I can't resist a Mercedes Lackey Valdemar novel. Intrigues is the second book in The Collegium Chronicles. The trilogy follows the young Herald Trainee Mags and his companion Dallen. Mags is an orphan, who has difficulty fitting in at The Collegium after having been raised as a slave in a gem mine. His discovery that his parents were foreigners coincides with Farseer visions that the King is in danger from a foreigner. Predictably, suspicion falls on Mags, the relative stranger in their midst. Whispers behind his back speculate that Companions can be wrong or that some Heralds and their Companions may be "Black," evil and hiding amongst the true, "White," Heralds. Of course, Companions do not make mistakes and can't possibly be "Black." Mags proves himself brave and loyal.Yes, the story line is predictable. But it is still great fun to read. I thought Mags went just a bit far on the self-pity and self-doubt. But it did serve to further the story line, setting up the final climax. All in all, I came very close to staying up all night to finish it. Now I can't wait for Book Three. Yes, I confess, Heralds of Valdemar are my secret, escapist reading addiction.
    • 5/5
      I was pulled into this series by the first Collegium Cronicles book, and I wasn't disapointed with this one. Mags, the orphan boy who was saved from child slavery in the mines, continues to become the Heraldic hero that we all know he always will be. In the mean time we share in his trials and adventures with all our heart. "Intrigues" lives up to it's title and keeps you tuning those pages.
    • 4/5
      Continuing the story of Mags, the slave miner who became a Herald Trainee. He faces new challenges, including suspicion when a prophecy seems to point to him as a would-be assassin. This is a middle book, so there is no real resolution here, although the immediate storyline wraps up well enough.Lackey does well on set-up but tends to fall apart on follow-through. So far, however, this subseries is holding ground.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book of a trilogy centered on Mags, one of the first Herald trainees to be schooled though the Collegium. So you should definitely read the first book, Foundation first. I'd go farther than that--I wouldn't recommend this book as an introduction to Lackey or her Valdemar books--instead I'd pick up either the first published book, Arrows of the Queen centered on Talia or the earliest chronologically, Magic's Price, centered on Vanyel.If you're already familiar with the Valdemar books and like them, this book shouldn't disappoint, although it certainly doesn't break the formula. It's one so familiar to me, in fact, that it was easy to dismiss the first book as just more of the same. In that book, Mags, an orphan, is rescued from desperate circumstances when he's chosen by a Companion--a horse-shaped magical creature--to become a Herald. As such he becomes part of an elite force in service to the crown of Valdemar--a realm in the usual high fantasy mold of a pseudo Medieval European realm.Yes, it's a very familiar formula--but it's a fun one. It's been years since the first book in the trilogy and I didn't recall details alluded to in this book from that one--but you I didn't really need to enjoy this book. And though there are loose ends left in this book that will no doubt be resolved in the last book of the trilogy, neither are we left hanging with a cliffhanger--the book feels nicely self-contained.But, like the better of the Valdemar books, reading this was a pleasure--despite sometimes clutziness of style. Lackey, for instance is far too fond of showing Mag's impoverished background with sentences like these:I'd be right there, 'fore even someun's Chosen could or one'a the grooms 'cause the Chosen 'd haveta run down from Collegium an' Dallen'd wake me afore a groom knew there was aught wrong.That doesn't wear well. A little would have gone a long, long way. And we don't get just a little. But I don't read Lackey because of a beautiful style. What I love is the idealistic Valdemar and the heralds with their close mystical bonds with the companions. And one thing different than the usual was that Mags best friends are a Harper, Lena, and a Healer, Bear, so we get to see more of the Collegium than just the heralds. I read Lackey because these books are a great escape, because it's like spending time with old friends and this book fully embodied that pleasure.