Reviews

Oathblood by Mercedes Lackey

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mithilwen's review

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

bibliophilicwitch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Like this first book in this trilogy, Oathblood is a collection of Kethry and Tarma short stories. This collection included a few that were in the first though this time all were precede by an author's note on the background of the story. The title short story was also very good.

bookishinsomniac's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

Oathblood, an anthology of stories about Keth and Tarma before during and after the events of the other Vows and Honor stories, had several hits and misses for me.

Pros:

· I finally got to read the meeting of Keth and Tarma and what finally started their journey together which is what I’ve been missing since the beginning.

· Epilogue- The ending story was also the ending I wanted to Oathbreakers.

Cons:

· Other stories- Besides the first and last stories, I thought this anthology was somewhat pointless. Half the stories were based off of things we had already read in the other books. As much as I like reading Tarma and Keth’s stories there was just no overarching storyline which I don’t enjoy as much.

I’m giving this book 2.5/5 stars. For me this whole book could’ve been taken out and the first story could’ve been a prologue, and the last an epilogue and it would’ve had the same effect.

jesshale's review

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3.0

The last in the trilogy about warrior Tarma and sorceress Kethry, this book is a collection of short stories. It includes the origin story about the two, which would have been better placed in the first book and, confusingly repeats two of the stories which appeared in book one.

It is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Repeated material notwithstanding, the stories are fun. "Oathblood" in particular wraps things up nicely for Tarma and Kethry.

inferiorwit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

libra17's review

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4.0

I started this collection of Tarma and Kethry stories because I plan to start the duology and this volume had the initial short story with their meeting. That being said, I very much liked most of the stories, although some were clearly set after the duology so I didn't have all the context needed to really them. Perhaps I'll revisit this book after reading the duology to see if I like the later set short stories better.

melanie_page's review

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4.0

Oathblood is distinctly and beautifully female, from the severe cramps Kethry suffers one night to the close friendships between girls who exchange prized gifts, to the way Tarma teaches her male students that she is not subservient to them thanks to her gender. While I was lulled into think Oathblood by Mercedes Lackey would be a simple collection of stories that harken back to the days of serial sci-fi and fantasy magazines, I realized through the passages I marked that there was much more going on — just not in your face.

Check out the full review at Grab the Lapels.

aubkabob's review

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3.0

I've never been a big fan of The Short Story, and as this IS a collection of short stories (some excerpts from the previous two books), it was a bit of a fight to get through it. (I like longer things, where you have more of a chance to develop a relationship with the characters. Granted, having read two books with Tarma and Kethry before, that "bond" was there, but as I read before going to sleep, many times I would go to read the next night and forget what the hell I was reading, as the story changed every night.)

vivifriend's review

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5.0

Some I stories I had already read. It was interesting seeing the change in Warrl. The last story is the best and worth 5 stars alone.

awamiba's review against another edition

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