Rating: 
Summary: the swordsman's oath
Review: Actually I am wondering how Thief's Gamble could be so engrossing and this be so dull. In her attempt to show a man's voice she lost track of the humanity and believableness of any plot for something far-fetched and copied off other sci-fi writers. She made slavery seem a trivial thing--she made magik trivial too. So much for sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: The Swordsman's Oath
Review: After orienting myself with the switch in the first person character, I found this book thoroughly engrossing. My attention was captured and retained in the first book, The Theif's Gamble, and I was definitely entertained with the strong character of Livak. However, I found this book even more riveting than the first and look forward to what McKenna will do if there indeed is another book in this series as it seems was set up. These books are entertaining and not too far fetched, given the allowance of magic in her world. McKenna has created an avid and thorough history and proves her forethought into this with the multiple letters and passages she provides at the start of each chapter. I highly recommend both books and, if you have only read the first, urge continuance into the intricacies woven in the next chapter of the series.
Rating:
Summary: The Swordsman's Oath
Review: After orienting myself with the switch in the first person character, I found this book thoroughly engrossing. My attention was captured and retained in the first book, The Theif's Gamble, and I was definitely entertained with the strong character of Livak. However, I found this book even more riveting than the first and look forward to what McKenna will do if there indeed is another book in this series as it seems was set up. These books are entertaining and not too far fetched, given the allowance of magic in her world. McKenna has created an avid and thorough history and proves her forethought into this with the multiple letters and passages she provides at the start of each chapter. I highly recommend both books and, if you have only read the first, urge continuance into the intricacies woven in the next chapter of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, yet not better
Review: All in all, _A Swordsman's Oath_ is a very well written book. If any of you have read _The Thief's Gamble_, you'll most likely enjoy this sequel. One point of caution; This book is essentially the same story told from a different characters point of view, and while it is silghtly different in some repsects, you won't be surprised at all times.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful 2nd book
Review: Having just finished this book about 1/2 an hour ago....I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was disconcerting at first to get used to the main voice being Ryshad instead of Livak, but once I was accustomed to it, I was fine. I enjoyed the glance into the Archepelago culture and Hadrumal. I thought the characters evolved nicely as well...not too quickly and not too wildly. As there is apparently a third book coming out, I hope we find out just WHY the Elietimm are so crazy. I suppose it could be their solitary climate, but I hope there's a better reason in store for us. Nice to see Artifice users on OUR side now :) Still a great world with a great history...meaning that it seems well developed. A truly fantastic author and a wonderful read. I would recommend reading the Thief's Gamble first however.
Rating:
Summary: Swordsman's Oath
Review: I love Juliet's books. Especially the fact that if you know a bit of history, and you really get into the book, you'll realize it's like what happened with The Lost Colony. Her books are based in something like a parrallel dimension. Actually, Mid 17th century Europe. I mean, the clothes, the food, even the currency corresponds with that time period. If you don't believe me then do some of yer own research!~Plague2032
Rating: 
Summary: A Difficult Review
Review: I've had this book for over a year and after several stops and starts, finally finished. The bottom line is "The Swordsman's Oath" is just not as good as the previous novel in the series. I liked the story and the characters, who really seem to live and breathe, but Juliet McKenna really has overwritten the narrative this time around. The 500+ page book would have been greatly improved by the editing of 50-75 pages of unnessary detail. On the positive side, the author really knows how to write for character, especially Ryshad this time around. Every one appearing along the way is fully realized and three dimensional. It seems this book has introduced more than a few characters who may be major players in future volumes. So, not as good does not mean bad, only more...challenging than what has past. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Difficult Review
Review: I've had this book for over a year and after several stops and starts, finally finished. The bottom line is "The Swordsman's Oath" is just not as good as the previous novel in the series. I liked the story and the characters, who really seem to live and breathe, but Juliet McKenna really has overwritten the narrative this time around. The 500+ page book would have been greatly improved by the editing of 50-75 pages of unnessary detail. On the positive side, the author really knows how to write for character, especially Ryshad this time around. Every one appearing along the way is fully realized and three dimensional. It seems this book has introduced more than a few characters who may be major players in future volumes. So, not as good does not mean bad, only more...challenging than what has past. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Improvement on a good first book
Review: Juliet McKenna manages to improve on her first book with another based on the same characters, although with a different main character this time around. When she concentrates on Ryshad's story, everything comes together very well, especially his adventures in the Aldabreshi islands. The Aldabreshi society (which was not described in the first book) seems much more internally complex than that of the countries/regions where the characters live. The story of Temar is a little distracting in the beginning since it's hard to tell what's going on, but once the two storylines link up first in Aldabreshi then in Kel Ar'Ayen, things move along much better. I don't care for the inclusion of old manuscripts that have only marginal bearing on the story, though. They would be better shortened to chapter headings rather than multipage introductions. I'm definitely looking forward to the third book.
Rating:
Summary: Improvement on a good first book
Review: Juliet McKenna manages to improve on her first book with another based on the same characters, although with a different main character this time around. When she concentrates on Ryshad's story, everything comes together very well, especially his adventures in the Aldabreshi islands. The Aldabreshi society (which was not described in the first book) seems much more internally complex than that of the countries/regions where the characters live. The story of Temar is a little distracting in the beginning since it's hard to tell what's going on, but once the two storylines link up first in Aldabreshi then in Kel Ar'Ayen, things move along much better. I don't care for the inclusion of old manuscripts that have only marginal bearing on the story, though. They would be better shortened to chapter headings rather than multipage introductions. I'm definitely looking forward to the third book.
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