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| Original Title: | The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor, #1) |
| ISBN: | 0886774144 (ISBN13: 9780886774141) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Valdemar: Vows and Honor #1, Valdemar (Publication order) #4, Valdemar (Chronological) #21 , more |
| Characters: | Tarma, Kethry |
Mercedes Lackey
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 302 pages Rating: 4.09 | 13293 Users | 260 Reviews
Description As Books The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor #1)
Skimmed the last 25% It started out promising but then it crashed, hard and fast, and somehow just kept getting worse. This book is like that awkward kid who tries too hard to fit in with the cool kids: cringe-worthy and embarrassing. I can see what it was trying to do, but to say it's been done better before is putting it mildly. I don't even know where to start with this one, so list! (view spoiler)[ 1) So. Much. Rape. Most of it's off-page, but it's like Lackey thinks this is the only threat women face. Well, that and murder after said rape. 2) And it's bad enough that it's used so often and so cavalierly, but then our heroines don't even have to deal with the trauma because of mystical, magical healing, which just further cheapens it and belittles every rape victim ever. If you're going to use it, be ready to deal with the consequences of it. (The same issue happened with Talia in the last Arrows book too. I'm sensing a trend here, and it's not a good one.) 3) Too repetitive and too scattered. I thought this was setting up Kethry to confront her brother and the dirtbag he sold her to, but that was over and done - largely off-page - by 23%. The brother could show up again, I suppose, but that would be rather anti-climatic at this point. Also, every time they met someone new who needed their help, we had to see them described all over again, from their looks to their weird bond to their abilities and on and on. 4) The idiocy of a sword that only women can use, but not against other women, and that can turn a completely untrained person into a master swordswoman. I know this is fantasy, but you can't just write "cuz magic, yo!" to explain everything. This stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. I mean, what happens if a man picks it up? Does it become so heavy it's impossible to move? Does it just freeze itself in midair somehow? Does it freeze the man? Tarma tries to use it once against a woman and it's described as awkward, which doesn't really explain anything. 5) Lackey can't write action, and there's a lot of action in this one, when it's on page anyway. 6) So you have a rapist. You go to bring him to justice. You use your powers to make him look like a woman and send him off to his band of rapists so he can get some of his own medicine. Um... what? Do I really have to spell this one out? And not surprisingly, it comes back to bite them in the ass, as it should have. (hide spoiler)] These women are awful. The writing here is somehow both banal and gross. Next time I want to see two women with a sacred bond righting wrongs and signing songs, I'll watch Xena. Not sure if I'll read the next one with these two. I planned to read one book from this series every month this year, and I'd planned to go in publication order, which puts Oathbreakers next. But it might be time to start skipping if this is what Lackey's idea of woman empowerment is. There are 36 books in this series, so that leaves plenty to still read one a month. Edit: This review includes a lot more of the issues I had with this book but was too tired last night to include. Warning for spoilers. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I also found out that this was a collection of short stories that they tried to package as a single story, which explains a lot of the pacing issues and repetition.
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| Title | : | The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor #1) |
| Author | : | Mercedes Lackey |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 302 pages |
| Published | : | July 5th 1988 by DAW |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction Fantasy. High Fantasy. Magic. Epic Fantasy. Adventure |
Rating Out Of Books The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor #1)
Ratings: 4.09 From 13293 Users | 260 ReviewsArticle Out Of Books The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor #1)
I really wish I liked this book more than I did. The idea promised by the cover - two oath-sisters, wielding magic and the sword, whose purpose is to protect women - is super badass. But I feel like the word that best fits the actual book is "odd".The structure of the book is odd: multiple times, there'd be a fun leadup to a cool scene/adventure (e.g. there's someone to fight!/they got hired as bodyguards!) but then the actual meat of the thing would be skipped and the next scene would be theOathbound 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 wouldnt be described as epic in scope and I think Ms. Lackey never intended that it shouldthe parameters of this story are fairly narrow. The two main charactersTarma and Kethryare engaging enough, but not overly memorable. If the depiction of men in this novel is any reflection of the authors view
There was an awful lot of rape in this book. All of it non-graphic, thank god, but holy shit, man. Does a character need a tragic back story? Rape! What threat can we hang over our heroines' heads? Rape! How should we punish evil? Rape! I understand wanting to create tension and establish that this world is a dangerous place, but at a certain point it starts to feel lazy. Second problem with the book: too straight. There are nods to queer romance here or there, but good ol' Mercedes takes great
What I was hoping to get in this book: the entertaining exploits of an asexual swordswoman, her badass sorceress adventure-mate, and their animal companions.What I actually got in this book: Rape, so much rape, misogyny, and transphobia. (Being a woman is not a punishment, rape isn't an appropriate punishment for any crime, and having breasts and a vagina doesn't make you a woman. End of story.) I LOVE the partnership between Tarma and Kethry, but there was very little else about this book I
Oh, I like this a lot. It's not perfect but I really like all three main characters (even though Tarma is my favourite) and their adventures.This hit my buttons regarding friendship and found family/family of choice quite often. It made me squee under my breath (because I mostly read it on my commute on the train) and just happy. <3I also like some of the little things - the mention of Valdemar, meeting the Hawkbrother, the fact that Warrl bonded to Tamra and so many things more.I like the
I read 'By the Sword' before this book - which begins when the two protagonists of this series are older women - and liked both characters, especially the swordswoman Tarma, so decided to give this a try. I had originally decided to give it away after finding Lackey's Last Herald Mage series full of angsty wallow and sadomasocism, but was pleasantly surprised to find 'By the Sword' a workmanlike fantasy - with various flaws as I mentioned in my review, but still interesting. So I was expecting
Sooo...I was planning on doing a full review of this series once I'd read the two novels and the book of short stories/novellas. But after reading this first book and then letting it sit...I just don't care to continue. I liked the duo of strong female leads and the world-building was alright...there's potential in the magic system too. But honestly, nothing hooked me enough to make me want to continue on. And there's an awful lot of rape happening to our leads or mentioned in the past and it
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