By the Sword

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: 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.