Product Description

THE WARRIOR'S BOND is the fourth tale in Juliet McKenna's dazzling saga of Einarinn. Shadow and intrigue lies over the land and Ryshad, Einarinn's greatest warrior, must steer a careful course if he is to protect his friend and ally, Messire D'Olbriot. But even the most cautious of strategems can fail and, in an explosive climax, Ryshad must fight to save not only his friend but the very future of Einarinn itself. For more information on this or any other Orbit title, visit the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116599 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Review
'A wonderful debut' J.V. Jones 'A well written and impressive debut' TIME OUT 'A fine novel ... an extremely promising debut' BLACK TEARS 'Brimful of magic and adventure' STARBURST

TIME OUT
'A well written and impressive debut'

BLACK TEARS
'A fine novel ... an extremely promising debut'

Customer Reviews

Vivid world, interesting people
The occasion is the Mid summer festival, the place is the capital city of Tormalin. All the aristocracy are gathered for a week of social manoeuvring and political infighting. Temar needs to make friends and gain more allies to give a solid foundation for the trade between the mainland and the Island colony for which is he the senior surviving noble. In this he has the support of the noble house of D'Olbriot and in particular their swordsman, Ryshad.
Ryshad has risen to the rank of Chosen man while acting as an enquiry agent for the D'Olbriot, which makes him an ideal guide and protector for Temar, especially in the shadier places where the aristocracy daren't go. Ryshad has problems of his own which add another layer of complication.
The events in this book largely follow on from Swordsman's Oath and run in parallel with the later events in Gambler's Fortune.
In the Einarinn series Juliet McKenna has created a vivid, detailed, believable world and this book introduces the reader to more places, customs and people. Her minor characters are as well written as the major and no mere canon fodder. The sense of people having lives interrupted by the current crisis gives a good depth. Each book in the Einarinn series is written as a story in itself as well as being part of a larger story arc. I think Warrior's Bond could be read as a stand-alone, but some of the subtleties in the plot would be missed. For me this book passed the all important test - I wanted to know what happened next and I want to buy the sequel, which will be the concluding part of the story.

Another step in the creation of a believable world
There are a lot of fantasy novels competing for everyone's attention, but what I like most about this set is the way the characters are written. So much of fantasy deals with black and white - these books create a world where the motivations behind individuals and states are far less obvious, motivated by very human instincts of survival, greed, pride and power. Even love is examined without sentimentality.

The protagonists are grown-ups - not full of the angst of the teenager. The youth of D'Alsennin is obvious beside the experience of Ryshad Tathel , now a chosen man. We follow Ryshad into a world where his instincts, upon which he depended in previous books, are now hampered by rules. Not only is his rank as chosen man questioned and defended, but his loyalty to the house of Olbriot is also challenged. Where Ryshad was once willing to be an owned man, a pawn in his master's plans, we now see him motivated more by his own ideals and aspirations. Noble qualities like loyalty and honour are put under the spotlight.

This book deals with status, authority and power, and the choices the individual can make. The politics are believable, and in this book, the social hierarchy is displayed in close detail, down to the court finery required for formal wear.

Fashion is an important motif in this book - the beliefs of the old settlers now in Kel Ar'Ayen are seen by many in the Tormalin Empire to be outmoded - their faith is antiquated. In modern Tormalin, disputes are waged through the law courts, argument winning cases rather than a search for truth, as was the ancient way. Religion is superstition, rather than a source of power. Much is made of the importance of the superficial in Tormalin: of the clothes worn, the jewellery that may be worn by nobles and merchants to distinguish ranks. When masks (and mazes) are removed, the underlying reality reveals people motivated by greed and position, fear and ambition.

The plot is complex, and reflects the closer examination of the personalities and politics on show. Whereas in the earlier stories the motivation was more plain to see, the characters seemingly more straightforward, this latest book brings us really close to the action, so we can watch the heart of the Empire and its machinations. The denouement is a classic twist, which will tease any reader who thought the author of the first three books was dealing in simple issues.

As another reviewer has already said - the best test is whether the reader wants more. After this book, I most certainly do.

Intelligent, imaginative and totally engrossing.
Warrior's Bond is McKenna's best book to date. You could jump into the series at this point and really enjoy this compelling book which is (almost) a complete story in its own right; there is a comprehensive but short resume of Ryshad's involvement in the saga so far given in the Sieur's frontpiece. However, to read this book in isolation, whilst highly enjoyable, would not be doing justice to the rest of this imaginative series. I have to confess I was hooked by McKenna's first novel 'The Thief's Gamble' and as she matures as a writer her books just keep getting better & better.

This novel is no work of ordinary, run of the mill, fantasy fiction. The world McKenna has created is highly believable and has evolved beyond the usual medieval-type world encountered in so many other books. This world is dominated by its strict hierarchical system, power politics, mistrust of magic and petty squabbles. When faced with the sinister threat of the Elietimm and a different sort of magic this is not a world which unites behind a heroic, too-perfect hero. Instead, distrust, dodgy alliances and humanly flawed characters unite to present a fighting front against the enemy. As with all of Juliet McKenna's books, Warrior's Bond does not lie wholly in the realms of fantasy fiction. There are strong elements of thriller, whodunnit and courtroom drama; mixed in with exciting (and realistic) swordplay, action and this is all nicely leavened with humour.

If you have never tried fantasy fiction before then Warrior's Bond (or any of McKenna's Tales of Einarinn) is a good place to start. If you do read fantasy fiction, what are you waiting for? You don't get many novels, let alone fantasy fiction that are much more convincing, engrossing and exciting as this one.