I've been reading Lackey's Valdemar novels for more than a decade, checking out each one as soon as I become aware of it. They are good, but seldom revolutionary, tales of gifted youngsters in a magical world, learning their place in it. I fondly, jokingly, call them "Pony Fiction", after an old Onion article about a 6th Grader beginning work on the "Pony Trilogy"... a series of stories about a girl and her magical horse.
In every book, there is a way the protagonist is different...
Talia was a girl dreamer in a subculture that suppressed women.
Vanyel was a gay teen, then man, in a culture where that was not acceptable.
Mags was an abused orphan who nonetheless maintained his decency of spirit. As a given subseries progresses, we see the protagonist grow in their talents and relationships, becoming more confident and capable. I'm a bit old for that to touch me quite as much as it might have thirty years ago, but I recognize it... these are books that help kids feel good about themselves. That show teenagers that others have problems -- either like their own or somewhat different -- that they overcome, in part by building up a network of friends who accept them for who they are. And that makes them important. Even 30 years ago, Mercedes Lackey was doing representation, making a gay man not just the center of her story, but the legendary mage whose power still echoed in Valdemar eight hundred years later. While Vanyel's sexuality, and how it affected his relationships with his family, was certainly important to his tale, it was not a tale about the Gay Wizard... it was a tale about a wizard who happened to be gay.
Spy, Spy Again is a story about an incredibly close platonic relationship... Tory and Kee are inseparable, and have been throughout the two previous Family Spies novels. Their Gifts complement each other, and they are close friends. But Spy, Spy Again challenges this, as Kee starts to drift away, lured by the promise of life beyond the borders of Valdemar and an infatuation with a Sleepgiver (i.e. assassin) they see in their shared dreams. Being outside of Valdemar opens up Kee's possibilities in the most literal way... his gift of magic, suppressed by ancient spells laid upon Valdemar... blossoms when away from it, and those familiar with the world of Valdemar know that Kee's abilities have the hallmarks of someone very talented in magic indeed.
But Kee is not our point of view character. We see this through Tory's eyes. We see Tory recognizing what is happening within Kee, and understanding that his friend was growing away from him... not out of a lack of care for Tory, but from a need to grow in his own way. Tory, bound by duty and training to Valdemar, won't go with Kee... but Kee, bound by love and now anathema to the ancient magics which protect Valdemar, can't stay with Tory.
In some ways, I think someone less familiar with the Valdemar tales will find more enjoyment in this story than I did... while it was a cozy read, and somewhat a relief to return to Valdemar, it's also somewhat predictable, falling into the pattern that Lackey has walked so often. I think it is accessible to those not familiar with Valdemar, however, though some of the bits of lore (such as why Valdemar doesn't have proper magic) might be a bit obscure if you don't already know them well.
