Oathblood by Mercedes Lackey

Reviewed by Holly White

Oathblood, the third in the Vows and Honor trilogy, which also includes Oathbound and Oathbreakers, surprised me.  It turned out to be less of a sequel, and more of a series of short stories about Tarma and Kethry.  Not that they are not good short stories, but I was just expecting the next novel-length book in the series. Now that I look back on it, however, I can see that the story was more or less complete at the end of Oathbreakers.  That being said, they were interesting in themselves, and some of them do help to flesh out the story of Tarma and Kethry more.  Some of them were, in fact, short stories taken from the novels I had already read.  Some took place chronologically before, during, and after the novels.  I will give a brief synopsis of each one here, including where the story falls chronologically if I can.

Tarma and Kethry’s story seems to fall into four distinct sections: 
1.    Before they met
2.    After they met and became traveling mercenaries (covered in Oathbound)
3.    When they joined with the mercenary group called Idra’s Sunhawks (covered in Oathbreakers)
4.    When they at last settled down and fulfilled their dream of establishing their training school (hinted at in the ending of Oathbreakers).

“Sword-sworn” takes place before Oathbound.  This one details the near-annihilation of Tarma’s clan, tells how Tarma and Kethry met, and explains what made them decide to become blood-sisters.




All the following stories are set during Oathbound but do not appear as part of the narrative unless noted.

“Turn-about”  is part of the Oathbound narrative.  This is the story of how they cleverly stopped the bandits that had been raiding a merchant caravan, and then devised a fitting punishment for the chief of the bandits.

“The Making of a Legend” takes up the story of  Leslac, the pesky minstrel, who had been publicizing Tarma and Kethry’s exploits and altruism without ever having met them.  Leslac spread the word that they would save damsels in distress, but that they deigned to accept mere money in return, much to the detriment of their purse, and to their annoyance.   This story tells what happened when they actually did cross paths.

“Keys” is also a part of  Oathbound.  This tells the story of how Kethry solves a murder mystery in order to save Tarma’s life.

 “A Woman’s Weapon” is the tale of how our heroes prevented a murder from taking place, and turned the tables on the would-be murderer. 

In “The Talisman,” the women defeat a mage who has let power go to her head.

I like “A Tale of Heroes;” it’s one of those romantic stories where, even though you can see how it’s going to end, you still want to read it, because you can see how all of the pieces are going to fit together in the end with a nice little “click.”  It’s very satisfying to read and find out how that comes about.

“Friendly Fire” shows how Tarma and Kethry react to a “Murphy’s Law” kind of day.

 The next three stories are set after Oathbreakers and none are included in the book

“Wings of Fire” hints at what life is like for the women after their school has been established and tells about a daring rescue our heroes perpetrate with a surprising plot twist.  This story also incorporates Mercedes Lackey’s personal love and admiration for birds of prey.

“Spring Plowing at Forst Reach” is also set during the school years. It tells how they tamed a friend’s horses for spring plowing using a “horse whispering” technique, and how they found steady work for two dear ex-merc friends into the bargain.

“Oathblood” is a longer short story, probably the real sequel to the second book in the series. This story goes into much more detail about life in the training school, and how the women find their place. After being kidnapped by fanatics, two of their young students cleverly use various parts of their training to stay alive.  Tarma and Kethry attempt a rescue with the help of an unexpected ally.

I really enjoyed this book of stories about Tarma and Kethry.  It would also stand well on its own, but again, I always get more out of sequels if I have already come to know and love the characters elsewhere.  If you love Oathbound and Oathbreaker, you will love these as well. The final story "Oathblood," especially, gives a lovely denouement to the climactic ending of Oathbreaker

The next review will be about By the Sword which is a stand-alone novel about Kethry's granddaughter. Look for it the first Friday in November!

Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey

Reviewed by Holly White

Oathbreakers is set in Mercedes Lackey’s world of Valdemar and is the second book in the “Vows and Honor” series, following Oathbound.

Oathbreakers continues the story of Tarma, the warrior woman, Sword-sworn, and Kethry, her blood-sister (like blood-brothers, only female), a White Winds mage.  Their goal now is to retire from being traveling-warrior-and-mage for hire.  Often, they did not even get the “hire” part of it, thanks in large part to Leslac, the minstrel, who had written numerous songs in their praise, which inaccurately portrayed them as being pure altruists, unwilling to accept mere money in return for their aid, only content that justice had been done.  This was proving to be a bit expensive for them.

Tarma and Kethry wanted to start a school where they could teach their skills to the next generation of mages and warriors.  Friends advised them to hire out with a mercenary company: not only would their reputation bring them high fees but it would give them both additional experiences that would be useful in their school.

Tarma and Kethry joined the Sunhawks, the most elite mercenary company around, often hired by the wealthiest nobles, which would also give them connections for the school.  Idra, the Sunhawks’ leader, was also a princess of Rethwellanin, but not in direct line for the throne, in which she was not interested anyway, preferring to fight. Things went well at first, with both Tarma and Kethry establishing themselves as an integral part of the Sunhawks, but then it all started to go south.

Idra had returned to her country after her father’s death to cast her vote as to which brother should be king after him.  One brother was both interested in and qualified for the rule of Rethwellan, and the other was neither.  It seemed a mere formality, but a message from Idra indicated there might be a delay.  After no word from her for months, Tarma and Kethry set out to visit Rethwellan in disguise to see what they could learn.  They found a tyrant on the throne.  Idra and her brother  had disappeared, and the people who were supposed to be their contacts didn’t trust them, and so Tarma and Kethry could not get any information. 

Before it was over with, the two would travel to Valdemar, all the Sunhawks mercenaries would unite in a battle for which they didn’t care if they were paid, Tarma would have to prove herself willing to give up everything she had ever held dear, Kethry would have to call on powers she never had the need to call on before, the minstrel Leslac would be dealt with once and for all, and someone would find love.

I loved this story; it was a bit slow going at the beginning, but by the halfway point, I could not put it down.  I highly recommend this book. You don't have to read Oathbound first, but you will have a richer reading experience if you do because you'll know the characters' backgrounds.

If you love fantasy tales with warriors, battles, mages, disguises, magical beasts that can talk to you in your mind, court intrigues, strategies that involve surprise endings, and the hope of good winning over evil, I think you will love this book as I do.  One more to add to my “Favorites Shelf!”

The Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey

Reviewed by Holly White

The Oathbound is the first book of the “Vows and Honor” trilogy, which is set in the Valdemar world created by Mercedes Lackey. 

In The Oathbound, we meet two women with personalities so different, that you would never expect them to be able to work together, much less to become blood sisters (like blood brothers, but female).  We follow their adventures as they each face one of the greatest adjustments of their lives, and have to begin all over again, almost from scratch, with little but their wits and their skills to aid them.

Tarma is part of the Shin’a’in people, but the last of her Clan.  One of the Swordsworn, Tarma had sworn herself to the service of the Warrior Goddess, in order to exact vengeance upon those who had killed off all her other Clan members.  Skilled with the sword, Tarma’s dark, angular features and lack of figure made her look more like a man than like the woman she was. 

Beautiful and delicate-looking, Kethry is a powerful mage of the White Winds school, but with a past she dared not face.  Kethry’s sword is called Need, and is bound to her.  It draws her relentlessly to help women in need of aid, not letting her rest until the woman is helped or avenged. 

Having fulfilled her vengeful goal, Tarma now craved a new purpose in life.  Returning to the place where her Clan had once camped, she realized she could never find a home without a Clan.  And how could she, sworn to celibacy, build up her Clan anew?  Or was she destined to live and die alone, the last of her once-proud Clan?

Kethry, skilled in swordplay with Need’s aid, sought also to become an adept level mage.  But in order to do that, she must go to the one place she has avoided assiduously to face her most deadly and haunting fears.    Also, when Kethry swore the blood sister oath to Tarma, she did so without compunction, but over the course of the book, she learns what that oath will truly cost her.  Will she be willing to fulfill her oath and pay the price?

Oathbound follows these two women as they face the greatest fears they have ever had, and some new ones they never dreamed they would have to face.  This book is definitely for adults- some of the situations in it (eg., rape, demonic powers, sexual ritual worship, human sacrifice) are inappropriate for children, although I would classify Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen series (that I previously reviewed- see links below) as child-appropriate. 


Another difficulty I found with Oathbound is that even though it’s part of the Valdemar series, it was not actually set in Valdemar. The two women travel near the Valdemar and the country and its Heralds are mentioned briefly, but they never cross into Valdemar itself making the connection to the Valdemarian world is tenuous at best. I am hoping that Tarma’s and Kethry’s journey takes them into Valdemar in later books, and they will interact with some of the characters I have already come to know. 


According to my books-compared-to-food rating system (chick lit books are  Cheetos and classics are steak), I would place Oathbound squarely in the roast beef and potatoes category. For one thing, its plot was darker than I like.  I enjoyed reading Oathbound, and it held my interest, but I didn’t find it to be an “I-can’t-put-it-down” book.  However, if you enjoy dark fantasy with lots of magery and sorcery in it, I highly recommend this book.

Links:
For an overview of Valdemar, click here..
Previous reviews:
 Arrows of the Queen
Arrow's Flight
Arrow's Fall