Rating: 
Summary: Kerowyn's Tale
Review: Kerowyn (or Kero for short) has always know that she was not meant to be a "lady." She despises everything about them, rather spending her time learning how to fight and using her own gifts and talents. And when her brother's bride is kidnapped one night her talents are put to the test. She visits her grandmother Kerthy, for help on her rescue, and her whole life is turned upside down. She is now bonded to a mysterious sword, a sword that is ment to help all women in danger and will never harm a woman, a sword that can heal and gives her mysterious battlepower. By the Sword chronicals Kero's life with the sword. From a young headstrong teenager of 15 to a seasoned warrior and mercenary. If you're interested in books of fantasy with strong female charecters this is for you! Keroywn is a likeable main charecter that works hard for breaking sterotypes and becoming independant. I was impressed with this book, it's very well written and fast paced. This is the first book by Mercedes Lackey that I've read but it will certainly not be the last.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best, if not THE best I've ever read!
Review: Misty Lackey is one of my favourite authors, although sometimes she can have books that are really bad, but makes up for that when she writes excellent ones like By the Sword. Kerowyn, the main character is a likeable girl who has a strong personality. THis 492 page book chronicles her life since the death of her parents at 14 to her being involved in romance, war, and strategy when she is older. I think this book is a classic that I would recommend to people who love a good fantasy and a story about a strong minded girl. Although some of it is sad because you might not like some of the decisions Kero makes, this is an excellent book, and I don't think any other Lackey books can top it.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid, easy-to-read, Lackey at her best
Review: One of Lackey's few non-series books, this one nevertheless fits into the Valdemar chronology as a whole. It takes places somewhere after the "Vows and Honor" series and before "Queen's Own", and tells the story of the legendary Captain Kerowyn. Kero is Kethry's granddaughter, although she barely knows her mage grandmother. Her sexist father wants to keep her chained in the kitchen, but Kero wants adventure and excitement. When bandits crash her brother's wedding, killing most of the guests and taking the bride prisoner, Kero rides to the rescue, making her both a hero and a pariah to her brother and father. So she hikes off to Grandmother's, where Tarma takes her on as a student. Later, she joins a mercenary company, then captains said company, and finally ends up being Chosen by a Valdemaran Companion. (If she didn't, we wouldn't really care about her, would we?) Along the way she falls in love, has numerous adventures, setbacks, foreshadowy meetings with important people, etc etc. Good book, especially for Mercedes Lackey. I liked Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion series better, but you can't ask for everything. Nice, basic sword-and-sorceress tale, ties up a few loose ends re: Kethry and Tarma, and sets up the "modern" Valdemar series at the same time. Although it's technically a stand-alone, don't bother if you don't have at least a basic grasp of Lackey's universe already. If you do, you'll probably like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Kerowyn's Tale
Review: Kerowyn (or Kero for short) has always know that she was not meant to be a "lady." She despises everything about them, rather spending her time learning how to fight and using her own gifts and talents. And when her brother's bride is kidnapped one night her talents are put to the test. She visits her grandmother Kerthy, for help on her rescue, and her whole life is turned upside down. She is now bonded to a mysterious sword, a sword that is ment to help all women in danger and will never harm a woman, a sword that can heal and gives her mysterious battlepower. By the Sword chronicals Kero's life with the sword. From a young headstrong teenager of 15 to a seasoned warrior and mercenary. If you're interested in books of fantasy with strong female charecters this is for you! Keroywn is a likeable main charecter that works hard for breaking sterotypes and becoming independant. I was impressed with this book, it's very well written and fast paced. This is the first book by Mercedes Lackey that I've read but it will certainly not be the last.
Rating:
Summary: Kethry's granddaughter strikes back
Review: "By the Sword" is one of Mercedes Lackey's best books. It's an honest, unflinching look at the life of a mercenary woman -- and a parable of how difficult modern women find balancing love, sex, partnership, and job responsibilities, all at once. "By the Sword" tells the story of Kerowyn. She's Kethry's granddaughter (Kethry, as you might recall from the "Oath" books, was the mage partner of Tarma the Shin'a'in), yet grows up mostly ignorant of her heritage. That's because her mother dies young, her father is an idiot, and Kerowyn's been left to rule the roost at the ripe old age of 15. As her brother is being married off, also at a young age, bandits come in and disrupt the festivities. They carry her brother Lordan's new wife off, kill her father, and murder many others on the way out. This inflames Kerowyn, who vows revenge. Going to put on her brother's cast-off armor and grabbing a dagger, she's stopped by a rather mysterious woman on the way to see her grandmother. (Yes, she's so ignorant that she doesn't recognize Tarma, nor her significance in her grandmother's life.) She's warned to go back; this inflames Kerowyn still further. Kerowyn goes to Kethry and tells her what's happened; Kethry passes along her sword Need -- which basically is a sort of magical guardian spirit. If you're a mage, it gives you ultimate fighting prowess. If you're a fighter, it gives you immunity against magic. Kerowyn rides, finds the bandits, kills them, and brings Lordan's bride home. However, after she gets there, she realizes she's not cut out for the life of a noblewoman (they are of the minor nobility); she goes back to her grandmother and asks for more help. At this point, Tarma steps in, and trains Kerowyn to fight. The rest of the book deals with Kerowyn's training, some of her campaigns, her growing strategic and tactical prowess -- and something more. Along the way, as she watches others pair off and feels hopelessly alone (she's gifted with Mindspeech, making it even worse, as none of her mercenary compatriots have this particular talent/affliction), she finds her soulmate, Eldan. Who just so happens to be a Herald of Valdemar. A lesser writer would have dragged Kerowyn into Valdemar at that point; wisely, Lackey keeps Kerowyn out, instead giving her more adventures, then finally getting Kerowyn and Eldan together in the midst of a long, bloody war. As they deal with their love and duty, much happens. (I don't want to give the rest of the plot away.) And Kerowyn finds a way to indeed have it all, after all. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite Lackey books; Ms. Lackey did an outstanding job with this one, as it is accurate, unflinchingly candid, yet still realistic without sacrificing anything in the characterization department. Thing is, with someone else, Kerowyn wouldn't be so engaging. She's a tough, smart woman who happens to like her job -- as a professional mercenary soldier and captain. Most writers would draw her as a caricature; instead, Ms. Lackey showed Kerowyn as learning tactics, and coming to believe that people who fought wars should have ethics -- as it's bad enough as it is. Five stars plus. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, no?
Review: About a noble, Kerowyn, who, since her mother died when Kero was ten (or something), is like a housekeeper/manager for her house, where she lives with her brother and father.
At her brother's wedding feast, bandits attack the house, kill her father, wound her brother, and kidnap the bride. Kerowyn goes to her grandmother, the sorceress Kethry, and asks for help.
Kethry gives her the sword, Need, a magical sword, and Kero goes after the bandits while Kethry goes to care for her grandson. Kero gets the bride, and with the help of Kethry's partner (though Kero didn't know who it was), kills all the bandits.
After that, when Kethry and Kethry's partner Tarma leave, she goes with them. They teach her many things, and then she becomes a mercenary.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner
Review: This book continues where the Vows and Honor books leave off. Kerowyn is Tarma and Kethry's granddaughter and true Heir. This is a truly satisfying book. It ties the previous books in with the modern Valdemar books and begins the new era of books concerning the heir of Valdemar. I really enjoyed the merging of the two storylines. The story was exciting and moved well. Once I started it I didn't want to stop. If you enjoy books by Anne McCaffrey,and Elizabeth Moon you'll love Mercedes Lackey.
Rating:
Summary: One of Mercedes Lackey's Best!!!
Review: Kerowyn is a prisoner in her own life. Since the death of her mother, she has been burdened with all of the housekeeping responsibilities of her rather large home. When the keep is raided and her future sister-in-law kidnapped, Kerowyn decides to try and rescue her... with a little aid from her grandmother, the sorceress Kethry. Kethry and her Oath-sister, Tarma, a Shin'a'in Kalenedral, see that Kero longs to break free of the restraints typically placed on women. They are able to see Kerowyn's true dream: to become a mercenary. With their help and training and the unexpected influences of a Herald of Valdemar, will Kerowyn be able to achieve her dream? "By the Sword" is my twelfth Mercedes Lackey book and is loosely connected to the Vows and Honor series ("The Oathbound," "Oathbreakers," "Oathblood"). I absolutely loved it and couldn't put down as I read the last 200 pages. Kerowyn was a wonderful character that grew in many ways as the book went on. She is one of the most likeable Lackey characters I have encountered yet (right up there with Talia of the Arrows Trilogy and Tarma). There are other quite remarkable characters in this book as well. I really enjoyed Daren's transformation from a prissy teenager to a true gentleman. Eldan was a strong character that deserved more page time. One of the aspects of this book that I enjoyed the most were the reappearances of characters from previous books. Tarma and Kethry figure in quite a bit in the beginning, and I was very pleased to find out what had become of their school and family. I appreciated the links between Rethwellan and Valdemar as well. Lackey also demonstrated a vast knowledge of the workings of weaponry and tactics. I felt like she really knew what she was talking about. Bottom Line: "By the Sword" ties for my second favorite Lackey book with "Magic's Pawn" ("Arrow's Fall" tops the list). It is an intense journey of self-discovery that any reader can enjoy. However, I would highly recommend that the Vows and Honor books and the Arrows Trilogy be read first, and that mostly so that the references can be enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Impressed
Review: This is the first book I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. It does take a while to get into, but once I was in I could not put it down. The characters were well drawn and the plot was well paced and intresting. This is pretty standard fantasy, and yet Lackey made it enjoyable and great fun to read, and I hope to read more of her books in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Kethry's Grand-daughter
Review: Kerowyn is sick of being the housekeeper of her father's manor and tired of her boring life where the absolute catastrophe would be the food getting knocked over. That's why when her home is attacked by hired soldiers, she sets off to save her brother's new bride from lack of something to do. She goes to her Grandmother Kethry's tower, who is that one and only Kethry from the Oath breakers series except older. There Need the sword who seems to have a mind finds her and demands in a way that she be handed down to Kero. After saving her sister in law she goes back to court where she is heroine but an embaressment. So when Tarma, Grandmother Kethry's friend offers to teach her the art fo fighting and survival she jumps at the chance. There she meets Daren a prince come to learn from Tarma as well he not only becomes her friend but helps her take the last step in growing up. After two years she gets sent to become a mercenary soldier and begins her own quest in using Need to help her become another heroine and legend of Valdemare.
Martin
Recommended authors:
Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, Philip Pullman and Deborah Chester.
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