Tarma witnessed her clan's murder and, swearing vengeance, became a master warrior. Kethry fled her forced "marriage" and became an adept--pledging...
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Oct 10, 2010
Kathleen
rated it: 
While it is rare for a Valdemar novel, the magically bound best friends in this book are both human. Yes, there is a magically talking dog, but he's completely tertiary, and the horses can't talk at all. This trilogy follows the adventures of a mage and a nomadic warrior--both women who've been done wrong by the world--as they right wrongs and fight demons.
This book was actually a little less girl-powerful than I was expecting. Tarma--the nomadic swordswoman--is taught by spirit More...
This book was actually a little less girl-powerful than I was expecting. Tarma--the nomadic swordswoman--is taught by spirit More...
Jan 11, 2010
Chuck
rated it:
Since I've pretty much run out of Marion Zimmer Bradley titles, I thought I'd try Lackey, who collaborated with Bradley on a book.
I have to say that, overall, I liked this book; I really am intrigued by its two main characters, Tarma and Kethry. Lackey's "world" is, as is most fantasy, a medieval type culture. Tarma is one of the Plains people; Kethry is kind of a Paladin, a warrior with magic powers who is honor bound to do good.
My reservations are that the b More...
I have to say that, overall, I liked this book; I really am intrigued by its two main characters, Tarma and Kethry. Lackey's "world" is, as is most fantasy, a medieval type culture. Tarma is one of the Plains people; Kethry is kind of a Paladin, a warrior with magic powers who is honor bound to do good.
My reservations are that the b More...
Apr 11, 2009
Rebecca
rated it: 
I will say this -- my favorite aspects of Vows and Honor duology/trilogy/whatever is that the main relationship is between two women and is platonic*. The Oathbound is about two women, Kethry, who used to be a noble of a poverty-stricken house, but after her brother practically sold her into marriage, she took up the path of the mage, and Tarma, a swordswoman from a Nomadic Horse Clan, who became a servant of her peoples' Goddess in order to get revenge on her clan's murder. The two became par
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Jul 24, 2011
Pikachu
rated it: 
Tarma is an asexual warrior who is the sole survivor of her clan, which was razed by enemy soldiers. She has made a vow to her goddess both to remain celibate and avenge her fallen kinsmen. Kethry was a child bride, sold into this abusive pedophilic relationship by her older brother. She is also a powerful sorceress and time has only acted as a catalyst to further her powers. Oathbound is a loosely-connected set of stories that revolve around their various quests and adventures.
I liked More...
I liked More...
Jun 16, 2010
Bibliotropic
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Nov 20, 2009
Ryl F
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Oct 08, 2010
Sbuchler
rated it:
Genre: High Fantasy
When this came out (back when I was in junior high) this was my favorite book. However, it just doesn’t hold up to re-reading as an adult. It feels like what it is – cobbling together a bunch of short stories. It has a plot, but it’s not as strong as the plots of the stories within it, nor do all the stories in it contribute to that overall plot. The dialogue is weaker then I remember too – the characters doing random comments about themselves or each other that only More...
When this came out (back when I was in junior high) this was my favorite book. However, it just doesn’t hold up to re-reading as an adult. It feels like what it is – cobbling together a bunch of short stories. It has a plot, but it’s not as strong as the plots of the stories within it, nor do all the stories in it contribute to that overall plot. The dialogue is weaker then I remember too – the characters doing random comments about themselves or each other that only More...
Sep 04, 2010
J.C.
rated it:
I was only a few pages in when I first thought that I wasn't going to enjoy the book - there seemed to be a situation placed within the text for the sole purpose of giving the reader a large chunk of information. Typically this kind of info dump turns me right off, but I read on and found myself becoming really engaged with the characters and the story unfolding before me. It's not that there is anything particular unique or revolutionary about the characters or world, but the author does a grea
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Feb 15, 2010
George
rated it:
Oathbound is my first foray into the writing of Mercedes Lackey. If I was to characterize this novel, I would say that it was a competently executed, workman-like piece of fantasy fiction. The story wouldn’t be described as epic in scope and I think Ms. Lackey never intended that it should…the parameters of this story are fairly narrow. The two main characters…Tarma and Kethry…are engaging enough, but not overly memorable. If the depiction of men in this novel is any reflection of the author’s v
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Oct 06, 2010
Harmonybites
rated it: 
I can remember Tarma and Kethry's introduction in a short story in the Sword and Sorceress III anthology, and they stood out to me even then. This particular book is more a collection of those early short stories, rather than an integrated novel like the sequel Oathbreakers, but it's not any less of a good read for that. This starts out as one of those hoary rape and revenge plots, but the characterizations lift this book beyond that. These are two of Lackey's most appealing characters, not just
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Jul 31, 2011
Renee
rated it:
Two unlikely allies work together to help women in trouble, mixing it up with mercenaries - both good and bad - and demons - all bad - along the way. They grow in their own powers and learn how to work with the other - Tarma, the last survivor of her clan & a brilliant swordswoman, and Kethry, a mage who ran away from an abusive husband.
It's not a very deep book but a fun, fast read, with brilliant bits of humor - like Kethry working to call a familiar and when it shows up it bonds w More...
It's not a very deep book but a fun, fast read, with brilliant bits of humor - like Kethry working to call a familiar and when it shows up it bonds w More...
Jul 08, 2011
Caliea
rated it:
I have been wanting to start on this series eversince the first book i read of mercedes lackey by the sword.. and i'm glad i finally got a chance to start it now for the other two of the series i really liked it gave more background toward the other stories but also made ya realized there is more land then the center of valdemar and not only heralds that can be entertaining. i might be biased but i love how in most mercedes lackey books i can get lost and have a clear picture of whats going on i
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Feb 22, 2011
Diane
rated it:
An oldy but a goodie. I've read this before and like the classic sword and sorcery turned on its head - as the protagonists are women, doing their thing in a man's world.
While the idea of the story is quite good, the execution is a little rocky. The chapters read more like short stories that happen to have the same characters in them, rather than a cohesive whole. Which is fine, but I guess I was hoping for a more continuous story flow.
Still an enjoyable read and I know I More...
While the idea of the story is quite good, the execution is a little rocky. The chapters read more like short stories that happen to have the same characters in them, rather than a cohesive whole. Which is fine, but I guess I was hoping for a more continuous story flow.
Still an enjoyable read and I know I More...
Nov 25, 2011
Lothfleur
rated it:
J’avoue ne pas être beaucoup plus convaincue qu’avec Les Flèches de la reine. J’ai trouvé que la narration manquait de cohérence, on dirait que l’auteur s’est amusée à tester différentes techniques narratives : d’abord un récit chronologique, puis un bond en avant pour une nouvelle séquence de l’histoire, un autre avec en parallèle une chanson de barde qui a été écrite à la suite des évènements décrits (je n’ai vraiment compris qu’au ¾ du passage), une nouvelle séquence un peu style policier : o
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Nov 21, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
Pulp fantasy in the grand old Conan tradition - wizards, demons, supernaturally talented swordsmen... er, swordswomen... well, it's not *quite* Conan. There's a little more rape-revenge to the various adventures than I really care for - more on that in a bit - and this is very clearly an early work of Lackey's style-wise. The writing is supremely unsubtle and the characters, while fun and vivid, spend a lot of time in "As you know, Bob" conversations or having inner dialogues to make t
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May 10, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
Overall, this is an OK book. If you like the Valdemar chronicles enough to read all of the books, you'll probably enjoy it. It's not badly written. It's not great. It has a vastly different feeling than the other Valdemar books. I don't like the Shin'a'in as much as I do the Heralds and Tale'edras, and I missed them terribly. The book is also written almost like more of a series of short stories rather than a building story, which made it feel as though the characters lost some development to me
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Apr 09, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
I was on my way to hating this book - choppy transitions, spelling errors, and somehow the characters magically appear in new places. After my friend explained that this is actually a collection of short stories about the characters, and not one narrative, the choppiness made sense. I hope newer editions mention that this is a collection of stories, because if you expect a narrative, you'll be disappointed.
Jan 20, 2010
The tone of this (having only read a handful of chapters) is a little tricky. The reader has to jump right into this in order to begin to understand the characters and the set. Not that I don't like that, but it's a small bit of a jolt from the others of this series that I've read so far. This is a different part of the world (is there a world of Valdemar, since Valdemar is only one of the countries?) but recognizable. I'm settling in for now, but it's not as compelling, so far.
May 05, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
I enjoyed Oathbound/Oathbreakers and By the Sword a heck of a lot when I was younger, and I can still reread and enjoy them.
Lackey does mercenaries (especially female mercenaries) in a fun and seemingly good and logical fashion. I like how magic is just one aspect of everything, doesn't "magically" fix every problem.
Lackey does mercenaries (especially female mercenaries) in a fun and seemingly good and logical fashion. I like how magic is just one aspect of everything, doesn't "magically" fix every problem.
Nov 16, 2009
Geoff
rated it:
Finished this last night. I grabbed the Sword and Sorceress III volume from the library in order to read the beginning of the story, and that was very compelling. This volume developed the characters and story arc. I found it less a single novel than a sequence of encounters, but there is an undergirding narrative that connects the separate chapters flowing and coherent.
Although I liked this book a lot, I didn't see the kind of growth and change in the characters that I have seen in More...
Although I liked this book a lot, I didn't see the kind of growth and change in the characters that I have seen in More...
Jan 30, 2011
Becky
rated it:
I love most of the stories in here, but am really distressed by the fact that the heroines are totally down with setting a villain up to be repeatedly raped as punishment. As punishment for being a rapist, yes, but I find it really, really skeevy.
May 09, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
I suppose it's fitting for a book whose characters came from a short story to feel like a collection of short stories itself. I do love the characters, and the story is never boring, but it does feel like it skips from one adventure to the next without really delving into the characters all that deeply. I hold out hope for deeper insights in the next two, which are next on my to-read list.
The primary thing that prevented me from giving this book four stars was its ending. I don't wa More...
The primary thing that prevented me from giving this book four stars was its ending. I don't wa More...
Aug 03, 2010
Kim
rated it:
While I loved the book, there IS a bit of choppiness as it went from place to place that confused me if I didn't pay enough attention1 But it doesn't take away from the love of the story!
Nov 17, 2009
Hat of Nikitich
rated it:
Nostalgia! The book doesn't hold up from my thirteen-year-old memory, but I still really appreciate the pulp fantasy feel it had. Also, feminism and gay-acceptance. Yes.
Jul 07, 2011
Kristen
rated it:
...not as good as I remembered. Not even close. A two-star read, with a bonus star for being dearly-beloved by my twelve-year old self.
Aug 15, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
Classic female protagonist fantasy story, with one of the most unique magical swords I've ever read about. Great read.
Mar 12, 2011
Shiloh
rated it:
A bit episodic, but I think it was based on short stories. I love Tarma and Kethry and their stories, but the next book is much better.
Jan 28, 2008
Andrea
rated it:
Lackey is one of my favorite authors ever! I started reading her in 8th grade but I will still pull out her books to reread them. Her character building is really her main strength – you want to meet her characters – which is probably why I always reach for her books as a pick-me-up, it’s like talking to old friends. The Outhbound series occurs outside of Valdemar so anyone looking for Heralds should stay away. However, the manner in which Lackey deals with female mercenaries (actually the
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Feb 05, 2009
Are
rated it:
I really enjoy this series as you can see by how many times I've read it.
