It has been nearly 16 years since Mercedes Lackey's first Valdemar novel, Arrows of the Queen (February 1987). In that time, the world in which Valdemar is but a single country has become a rich and varied place full of all manner of wonderful folk, from the heroic Heralds of Valdemar to the legendary Hawkbrothers of the Pelagiris Forest and the gryphons of the deep south. One of the latest entries in the series, Take a Thief, is set five and ten years prior to Arrows of the Queen. Readers familiar with Valdemar will immediately guess the "thief" is none other than Skif, a mischievous rogue who will become both mentor and protector to Talia, the heroine of Arrows of the Queen.