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The Herald Spy

by Mercedes Lackey

The Herald Spy series by Mercedes Lackey has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Closer to Home (2014).

Books
3 books
First published
2014
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Closer to Home (2014) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of Closer to Home, the first book in The Herald Spy

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Closer to Home

    Novel

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  2. Closer to the Heart

    Novel

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  3. Closer to the Chest

    Novel

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About The Herald Spy

The Herald Spy trilogy continues Mags's story from the Collegium Chronicles into adulthood: now a fully established Herald and Valdemar's chief intelligence-gatherer, Mags balances an increasingly dangerous double life of espionage and court politics with marriage to Amily, the King's Own Herald-in-training, as the couple takes on threats that range from foreign plots to conspiracies within Valdemar's own nobility. Where the Collegium Chronicles followed Mags's traumatic origins and training, this trilogy follows him as a confident, capable operative, shifting the series toward court intrigue and espionage thriller territory while keeping the character-driven relationship focus that defines Lackey's Valdemar writing.

Closer to Home, Closer to the Heart, and Closer to the Chest form a direct sequel arc to the Collegium Chronicles, and were themselves followed by the Family Spies trilogy, which picks up Mags and Amily's story again once they have children of their own.

How to read this series

Read in publication order: Closer to Home (2014), Closer to the Heart (2015), Closer to the Chest (2016). This trilogy is a direct continuation of the Collegium Chronicles (Foundation through Bastion) and should be read only after finishing that series, since it assumes full knowledge of Mags's backstory, his relationship with Amily, and the political situation established there. It leads into the Family Spies trilogy, which continues the same characters' story further.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Herald Spy trilogy?

Three: Closer to Home (2014), Closer to the Heart (2015), and Closer to the Chest (2016).

Do I need to read the Collegium Chronicles first?

Yes. The Herald Spy trilogy is a direct sequel to the five-book Collegium Chronicles and continues Mags's story into adulthood; it assumes you already know his backstory and relationships from those books.

What order should I read the Herald Spy books in?

Publication order: Closer to Home, Closer to the Heart, Closer to the Chest. It's a continuous story.

Does the Herald Spy trilogy continue elsewhere?

Yes — it's followed by the Family Spies trilogy (The Hills Have Spies, Eye Spy, Spy, Spy Again), which picks up Mags and Amily's story once their own children are old enough to be drawn into the family's espionage work.

What's different about the Herald Spy trilogy compared to the Collegium Chronicles?

It's told from a more confident, established Mags rather than a traumatized newcomer, and leans further into espionage and court-intrigue plotting alongside the series' usual relationship-driven storytelling.

Reading order last verified .