Having read and loved McKenna's first book, The Thief's Gambit, last November, I really wanted to get back to the Tales of Einarinn and to find out what happens next. So during my Christmas book spree I made sure to get my hands on The Swordsman’s Oath. I loved returning to the world of Einarinn and Livak, Ryshad, Shiv and the rest.McKenna makes an interesting switch in the active character viewpoints. Where Livak was the main active viewpoint in the first book, in this book we switch to Ryshad. His is the first person viewpoint, with the added third person viewpoints of Temar and Planir. Temar's story was and the way it ties into the plot was very interesting and illuminated a lot about Tormalin history. However, is did take me a bit to realise they were set in the past, which caused a bit of confusion in the beginning, but once I realised the time line shift, I kept looking forward to returning to this part of the narrative. Getting used to being inside Ryshad's head instead of Livak was remarkably easy and probably facilitated by the fact that Ryshad is a very likeable character, with a good sense of humour. I liked that we got to see the emotional consequences of events in the first book, as Ryshad deals with his grief. There was a good mix of the return of familiar characters, such as Shiv and some of the other wizards and additions of new ones, such as Halice, Temar, Laio and the old wizard Viltred. At the same time, as we've already seen in The Thief's Gambit, McKenna isn't afraid to lose characters, some in rather permanent ways, ensuring that the reader has to keep on her toes and can never be sure about a character's continued survival.As with The Thief's Gambit, we get world building not just through the narrative but by letters, reports and similar pieces of texts interspersed throughout the book. These give us a historical perspective on what's going on in the 'contemporary' story. I love this way of adding depth to a world and a society and I really enjoyed them. It also makes me wonder about the background information McKenna must have written out before starting her story and how this changed or evolved as she expanded the series with new sequences—she's currently up to fifteen books spread over four sequences. The part of the book where Ryshad visits the Aldabreshin isles was my favourite part. I loved the society McKenna created for the Aldabreshin and the complete alienation Ryshad feels living there. It's made me look forward to the second trilogy set in the world of Einarinn, The Aldabreshi Compass, where we'll find out far more about this island culture. In addition to the Aldabreshi isles, we also get to (re)discover an entire new continent with our protagonist, the one where centuries before Temar and his companions founded the Kel Ar'Ayen settlement. The parts set in the colony were adventurous and action-filled and I really liked both the scenes set in the past and in the now.One aspect of this book needs to be mentioned specifically: McKenna's female characters. With a lot of attention and debate on the lack of strong female characters and the treatment of female characters in current genre fiction going on, McKenna's females shine forth as beacons of independence and strength. Even in the Aldabreshi isles, where Warlords have several wives, these wives wield power of their own and have goals and ideals independent of their husband. And they're not 'modern' examples, The Thief's Gambit and The Swordsman’s Oath are over a decade old. So that leaves the question, did female characters degrade in the past decade or are there more examples that are simply overlooked?The Swordsman's Oath was a great sequel, no middle book syndrome here, and is a good tale on its own. I really enjoyed it and I'm so glad I discovered Juliet E. McKenna's books. I can't wait to get my hands on the next part of these Tales, as I want to find out how the recolonization will go and how Temar will deal with his new situation. And of course what choices Ryshad will make once he reaches Zyoutessela and how the struggle against the Elietimm will pan out. Ms McKenna's latest, The Darkening Skies, book two in The Hadrumal Crisis is out next week from Solaris, and I have a lot of catching up to do before I can start that. My next McKenna read will be The Gambler's Fortune, just as soon as I can get my hands on the book!
Fantasy Review BarnNot long ago I reviewed Juliet McKenna’s debut novel, ‘The Thief’s Gamble,’ a good fourteen years after its publication. An enjoyable book with a strong lead in Livak, I caused a bit of a discussion about tropes when I suggested that the book hit quite a few of the genre’s big ones. The author herself pointed out that what was once fresh may now be seen as a trope. Perhaps lost in the discussion was the fact that I really raced through ‘The Thief’s Gamble,” enjoying the book throughout. As would be expected, I eagerly dove into the second book of the series.“The Thief’s Gamble” ended with a narrow escape from some yellow haired island baddies by Livak and her band, including the swordsman Ryshad, who takes over the first person point of view in “The Swordsman’s Oath.” Like the first book, there is also third person narrative based around other characters, and various historical letters that help flesh out the world’s history. The story follows Ryshad, working with the wizards of the land, tracking down artifacts that could help explain the Elietimm’s (yellow hair baddies) unknown and devastating magical abilities. Along the way he reunites, and is taken away from, Livak and the complicated relationship they share. There are several interesting things happening in this story. Flashbacks can be hit or miss but I feel McKenna handled them very well. They were introduced gradually and in the early going I didn’t even realized I was looking into the past. Slowly but surely they were tied into Ryshad’s story until they were so intertwined as to be one story. Another unique story line involved a new culture; polygamist but misunderstood, with the wives’ being responsible for all trade and business. And while Livak is no longer the main point of view, she is still an active character in this book, and is still a joy to read about.So did this book live up to my expectations? Yes, as much as I enjoyed the first book of the series I feel this one was superior in many ways. I did miss the voice of Livak and found her more compelling of a main character than Ryshad; but when combined with secondary character of Temar (a voice from the past) he gets more interesting. The setting for this one was much more unique and dare I say, less trope filled. The characters have grown past their trope beginnings; making Livak much more than a thief, Shiv shows he is not just a mage, etc. The overall problem the protagonists and his group face is highly entertaining, racing the Elietimm’s to discover a lost society and its secrets, and fighting them for them when needed. Obviously war is coming, and while it doesn’t come to head, the first battles are fought.While I didn’t enjoy Ryshad as much as Livak as a protagonist, he is still and interesting character. He takes his responsibilities serious, and can’t quite shake that something is influencing his thoughts when he thinks otherwise. McKenna shows strength in real relationships again; while Livak and Ryshad are becoming more typical love interests, Temar and a women named Guinalle have a much more complicated relationship that doesn’t follow the “one true love” plot line. Once again I felt the author went on a long, semi confusing, tangent. Ryshad is taken as a slave to the polygamist culture, and I still can’t quite figure out why or what it added. Unlike the search for a wizard in the first book I found this diversion interesting; the new culture he had to learn was interesting to be sure, but it didn’t seem to add anything special to Ryshad’s character and the circumstances behind his travels confused a bit.But outside of that minor complaint, I felt the book was an improvement throughout. The miscellaneous correspondences to start the chapter added so much to the story, the pace was quick, and the characters continued to be a strong point of the series. Still love it, still plan on reading the rest.4 stars.
What do You think about The Swordsman's Oath (2000)?
A few pages into this part: Okay, the second part starts of better. Mainly because the first thing was a letter from the Archmage Planir, whom I really liked from the first book, even if he wasn't that much in it, and second, this part is from Ryshad's point of view, the swordsman, you met roughly in the middle of The Thief's Gamble.So, it can only get worse. sorry, kidding.well, I hope.After finishing the book: I think I didn't give the first book enough credit. The story is far more interesting going into the second book, than I thought after reading the first one. In the last years I had many problems with female protagonists, many of them I thought unappealing and unlikeable. And most of my problem of this series is with Livak. I'm not really warming up to her. So even liking this part better, because of Ryshad's kind of view and not Livaks, I dread the next part where it's her story again. But I'm not giving up, the story is too good for doing that.
—Freyavenlyo
Second part in a five book series concerning Ryshad the swordsman and various others.This book is told from Ryshads point of view and covers his capture and slavery plus his time in foreign lands.Ryshad is a likeable character. The past begins to come to life as the story grows. We learn more about the the times of the chaos and the strange blonde warriors.I enjoyed this book. It was fairly well written and yet I felt it was more of a filler story leading to somewhere else.Looking forward to book 3.
—Bev
Originally published on my blog here in November 2000.The second of Juliet McKenna's trilogy is rather a repeat of the first, with much the same group of characters making their way across the world she has invented to try to discover more about the attackers who threaten to overwhelm it. The Elietimm, as these attackers are named, use and entirely different and almost unknown form of magic, and that is what makes them formidable enemies, with their single-minded ruthlessness.The main difference in this novel is that we learn a lot more about the events six hundred years in the past which led to the downfall of a huge empire and the general abandonment of etheric magic. Part of the narrative is in fact set in the past, and is the main flaw in an otherwise excellent fantasy novel: it is insufficiently distinguished from the main story, which makes things a little confusing to begin with. (Clearer headings for the sections set in the days of the Empire would be a big help.)The setting and characterisation remain as strong as in The Thief's Gamble, and I eagerly look forward to the conclusion of the trilogy.
—Simon Mcleish
