http://nhw.livejournal.com/169290.html[return][return]This is a bit different from its three predecessors in the Einarinn series, with battles on the high seas against strangely magical opponents replaced by a political drama, set in the capital city and watching the machinations of the great houses against each other. One of McKenna's successes is that her world possesses a certain depth; every character has an almost tangible hinterland of family and friends. The Empire she portrays is a breathing, developing and somewhat fragile polity. (She's less convincing on the languages but nobody except Tolkien has ever done well on that score.) The book reminded me a bit of Feist's Rise of a Merchant Prince (one of only two by him that I've read) but is much better - characters less wooden and generally more sympathetic. You wouldn't want to start reading McKenna with The Warrior's Bond but it's certainly enough to get me to buy the fifth and final one in the series.
Although familiar with Juliet E. McKenna’s Tales of Einarinn, I hadn’t read any since High School. I read the first three (The Thief’s Gamble, The Swordsman’s Oath, and The Gambler’s Fortune) but the final two in the series had not been completed. While I was at home in April I found the original three and wanted to reread them to complete the series. I reread them and it lead me to The Warrior’s Bond.Although an intriguing novel, there was nothing so special as to raise it above all the other fantasy novels that are out there. This novel specifically dealt more with politics and courtly intrigue within the nobility of Einarinn, rather than the Artifice of the forgotten/exiled Elietimm or the magic of the mages of Hadrumal.Click here to read the rest of the review on my blog, The Oddness of Moving Things.
