I had a craving for some Lackey novels this weekend– specifically Tarma and Kethry. So I read Oathbound and Oathbreakers, which I enjoyed, but noticed some problems with them this time around. Afterward I read Oathblood, and kicked myself– the missing kickoff story is in there. (Oathblood is a collection of Tarma and Kethry short stories). If you’re interested in reading the series, here’s how I suggest you tackle it:
Oathblood: Sword-sworn
Oathbound
Oathbreakers
remaining short stories from Oathblood. [Note: Some of these are in Oathblood and Oathbound in very similar form.]
The introduction in Oathblood does a good job of explaining how Tarma and Kethry were a reaction to the portrayal of females in fiction at the time– and how they’re now happily in a field with lots of similar books. Oathbound feels like a series of short stores– in fact, you can read several of the short stories they came from in Oathblood. Oathbreakers is a straighter shot– it’s much more one long chunk of time and continuous events instead of discrete stories. While I like Oathbreakers much more, I’ve always read it after Oathbound. I’m not sure whether Oathbound is required as a lead in, but it’s always worked for me. Oathblood is, except for Sword-Sworn, completely up to you. The last story is much longer and is a good end to Tarma and Kethry’s time. The other stories are OK if you’re looking for more Tarma and Kethry books, but skippable otherwise.
By The Sword is about Kethry’s granddaughter Kero. It has a different feel from the Oath[X] books due to having a new protagonist. It’s also different because it doesn’t feel like short stories strung together– while it has three discrete chunks, it makes good sense as it stands. (I suspect the three sub-books could have been a Kero novella trilogy, if people still sold novellas).
All four books involve mercenaries heavily, a bit of a change from the other novels in the same world. The grit of fighting, emphasis on logistics, and the like are all strong. Kero’s book is very heavy on this; the tensions involved in leading, danger and the like.
The books remind me of The Deed of Paksenarrion, though Paks has more about basic training in a fantasy world, and these books are less heavy on the destiny angle.