Great Book
This is a very good book and complements the whole story line. I was very impressed with the whole series about the mercs. It is a great addition to the whole Valdemar story line and gives a good look into where Kerowyn from the other books gets her moral code. I would recommend this book and The Oathbound to anyone, but the next book Oathblood was a disappointment due to it being a collection of short stories when I was expecting a continuation of this book. Over all you won't go wrong with any of the Valdemar series...

Here's why: in "Oathbreakers," Ms. Lackey put together a very appealing plotline with believable, complex characters, just enough humor to balance the action and violence, and a tiny bit of romance to leaven the mix.

Other reviewers have explained the plot; I don't want to do that again. I will say, however, that to me, the best parts of the book are the Tarma-Kethry friendship, the Warrl-Tarma friendship, the Warrl-Jadrek friendship, and the strong, romantic marriage of Stefansen of Rethwellan and his wife Mertis. (I hope I'm remembering her name right; I can picture the page where she's introduced -- something about a "frank, soft gaze" and brown eyes and a crisp, competent manner. But I'm really bad at remembering character names.)

In fact, although this book definitely is feminist (and well it should be, considering it's featuring a woman warrior and her fighting mage partner), I think the best part about it is how it shows real-life partnerships.

Marriage and family are valued commodities, here; not only do we have the Stefansen-Mertis pairing, there's the eventual Jadrek-Kethry pairing (which resurrects Tale'sedrin, as another reviewer so pithily said), the Sewan-Tresti union (Sewan is Lady Idra's second in command of the Sunhawks; Tresti is a Healing Priest of Shayana, because Shayana's devoteés make no difference between priest and priest_ess_), and Tarma's rapport with the children only adds to the "family values" theme.

Most people have missed this, because, once again, we're talking about a woman warrior, a _neuter_, a sworn votary of her goddess, and a woman fighting mage.

However, just because they are fighters, that doesn't mean they've forgotten what's important. Love matters; friendship matters; honor matters.

Those three things are what drives the very real people who populate "Oathbreakers," and it helps add a great deal of realism and depth.

Btw, some of what is shown here is very, very graphic; not so much the killing, but some of the aftermath of killing, along with a few other things. I definitely wouldn't recommend this book for someone under the age of 12 or so; even then, it'd have to be an awfully mature 12 year old to understand some of what's going on, and not just be repulsed by it.

To conclude: this is my favorite book of all of Mercedes Lackey's output, mainly because it has everything. It has a great plot, wonderful, believable characters (yet flawed and very human -- even if Warrl the neuter kyree would disagree with me), and a satisfying conclusion.

Definitely one of my favorite books.

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