Oath of Swords

War God #1

by David Weber

Bahzell Bahnakson of the Horse Stealer Hradani is no knight in shining armor. He's a harden, a race known for their uncontrollable rages, bloodthirsty tendencies, and inability to maintain civilized conduct. None of the other Five Races of man like the harden. Besides his ethnic burden, Bahzell has problems of his own to deal with: a violated hostage bond, a vengeful prince, a price on his head. He doesn't want to mess with anybody else's problems, let alone a god's. Let alone the War God's.

So how does he end up a thousand leagues from home, necked in political intrigue, assassins, demons, psionicists, evil sorcery, white sorcery, dark goods, good gods, bad poets, greedy landlords, and most of Bortalik Bay?

Well, it's all the War God's fault...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Ebooks, Audiobook, High Fantasy, Science Fiction

481 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1995

About the author

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.

Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.

One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.

Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent read, excellent brain candy. I mean if you want to look you can find some actual content to this story to go along with the brain candy. There's a take on racism, a look at religious practice, lots of other small inserted points. But if that worries you don't let it. I f you just want some escapism this is an excellent, even a fun story.

We open up here meeting out hero, a reluctant hero at that and then there's the powers who want to make him a reluctant paladin.

Really embarrassing for a member of the Horse Stealer tribe.

Still he has this problem. He can't keep from getting involved when others (especially others who are weaker) are being threatened.

Awful problem.

There's lots of action here, a good number of laughs and good serviceable writing. I can recommend this book. Enjoy.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oath of Swords (War God)

Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oath of Swords (War God Book 1) (Kindle Edition)

Not the best David Weber book I've ever read, but very good indeed compared to most authors' best. Weber and David Drake are two of the better SF and fantasy practitioners in print. Though Weber sometimes tends to be wordy and redundant.

Fantasy not sci-fi. Here is a quote from the description: "He doesn't want to mess with anybody else's problems, let alone a god's. Let alone the War God's! So how does he end up a thousand leagues from home, neck-deep in political intrigue, assassins, demons, psionicists, evil sorcery, white sorcery, dark gods, good gods, bad poets, greedy landlords, and most of Bortalik Bay? Well, it's all the War God's fault."

[Michelle]

I'm adding my physical copy to Goodreads. I read this so long ago that I don't feel as if I could give a proper rating.

[Economondos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts out strong with an action scene and just keeps going. Found it difficult to put down at times. I like Weber's other series, and this book shows he can write fantasy as well as SF. Great main character, if stubborn had an illustration it would be Bahzell. Good secondary characters as well. Nice premise and a plot that requires minimal suspension of disbelief. 4.3/5

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book in a great series, with wonderful characters. Bahzell Bahnakson is a hradani, a race that have terrible tempers, and generally are ostracized by the other races. Not exactly what one would consider a good candidate for a hero... 7/18/17 re-read, still superb. 2019 re-read: Free at Baen: https://www.baen.com/oath-of-swords.html

[Snarktastic Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I unabashedly love this book *and* our hero, Bahzell Bahnakson. I suppose it has standard fantasy tropes – good gods/bad gods good guys/bad guys – but they are tropes for a reason. They work.

It is fascinating to go back and read the description after having finished the book – Bahzell doesn’t want to mess with the problems of others as he has enough of his own . . . Yet, the book begins as he gets himself into deep doodoo because he jumped in to help a young lady who was being ravaged by the royalty of the land. He manages to escape – with her – but a friend tags along (because what is a fantasy story without a rag tag group?) to help him.

I love Bahzell. He jumps in and helps people. And, then thinks about the repercussions. He helps this young lady at the beginning. While escaping with her, he runs into another young lady being beset by a group of hoodlums and winds up escorting her group to their home in far away lands. After he sends them on their way and leads their chasers astray, he runs into yet another group being bullied by elves . . . and . . . you guessed it – steps in to help them. All along his journey, he is being chased by the enemies of the War God whose champions happen to be associated with the first group from whom he saved the girl. Whew. So, I love him because he has a heart of gold - even though he would never admit it in a million years. He thinks he is monster.

I love Bahzell’s relationship with his friend, and bard wannabe, Brandark. As they trot around the globe, saving damsel after damsel and fighting for their lives, their banter never stops. Nor does the fact that they actually care for each other and would defend (and do) the other to the death.

But, what I *really* love about Bahzell is his relationship with the War God. Bahzell argues, cajoles, ignores, and everything else he can think of to avoid being the War God’s Champion. The War God doesn’t give up; Tomanak very patiently gpursues he who knows is right for him. But that doesn’t really encourage Bahzell. Bahzell doesn’t trust Tomanak – really any of the gods. It isn’t until his very dear friend lay dying and Tomanak gently tells Bahzell this his champion can do more than kill that Bahzell quite get it.

I am a Christian. Pretty conservative, fundamental Christian. I have friends who would question my Christianity by the very fact that I *read* this book (or any fantasy, for that matter.) I, however, strongly believe that God can talk to you through anything and any circumstances. I love the fact that Bahzell argues and takes nothing sitting down – I do not know how many times I have found myself arguing with God. This isn’t news to Him – He created me – He knows what I am like. He made me this way. Sometimes, my life would be so much easier if He would manifest in front of me and TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Yes, I realize He has many ways to speak to me. But, none of them are come right out and tell me what you think ways – they are all open to some sort of interpretation. This book helped make my relationship with God stronger. It made me question and appreciate and verify and . . . just be thankful. I can give a book no higher praise.

Also – this book carried me through months at the gym. I had read it before. Years ago. I knew I liked it. I needed a book that I could ONLY read at the gym. Which means I couldn’t have that burning desire to know how it ended – because then I wouldn’t wait. Since I *knew* how this ended, I was safe to wait til the next trip at the gym to read it. Oh, in between I read other books that did have the burning desire, but that was safe because I always knew I had this one upon which to fall back. Few books have the potential to keep me reading – and *wanting* to read – over that period of time.

So. This book comes with not 1, but 2 very glowing recommendations. 1) It strengthened my walk with God (YMMV) and 2) It kept me interested at the gym. How could I rate it less than 5 stars?

[Sharon Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent beginning to a swords and sorcery series I somehow missed reading before, by one of my favorite authors. Not necessarily a bad thing, as I'm making the assumption with four books written, it is a completed series now and they were written 4, 6 and 7 years apart respectively. I suspect that much of a gap between books in a series would have irritated me a lot.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A welcome fantasy change from Weber's science fiction, this fun novel has a likable antihero, a Horse Stealer Hradani known for uncontrollable rages, who ends up trying to thwart an evil plot by being chosen by the War God.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a total sucker for traditional fantasy! I loved it, just as was expected. Also, love the protagonist's race - I can see those ears as they express every emotion... Love it:)

[James Tomasino · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, but got really close. The writing is poor: an endless string of adjective nouns that feels like the writer thought a thesaurus was enough to count as craft. Characters are all flat, given to monologue, and annoying. Even the gods. Especially the gods. Way too much rape and gore without and substantive content in between. Motivations are straight out of He-Man. I nearly strained something from all the eye rolling.

This is a dated fantasy novel and it's style and prose no longer work for me at all.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world of Orfressa is a fascinating place. Our main character is Bahzell Bahnakson, a hridani, which is the most despised races of men. He is not who you would think a god would choose as their champion--he would tell you this himself.

That is one reason why this story is so compelling. Bahzell fights against what the god wants, and it really sets everything up for great character growth, and his companion is a good foil to him. The adventure is interesting and unpredictable, but not in an "okkaaaaay that came out of nowhere" kind of way. It is definitely a book I would read again at some point, and I will be finding the sequel as soon as I have the chance.

It rings back (no pun intended) to the Lord of the Rings a bit, but not in a way that feels like the author is "stealing," but rather in the way that many creatures/races of myth make an appearance, and have something in common with what we know about them from other high fantasy--and yet, there are differences too, which makes it all the more interesting.

[Liviu · Rating 2 out of 5]

As War Maid's Choice earc was published I reread the first 3 Bazhell books first and this one wore the worst reading today as a clumsy attempt to do fantasy that does not know what it wants to be - laugh out humor or take it serious stuff; very silly naming to boot and this is one of DW's weakest novels ever

[DavidO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it about 150 pages in. It's pretty standard cliche' fantasy fiction that rambles on with long descriptions, but the author has no great skill at either the descriptions, dialog, or characters. I can't recommend it particularly. I can't say it's the worst thing ever either, just standard fantasy tropes stacked on more tropes with very little spice.

[Jennavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

As heroic fantasy's go, Oath of Swords just might be my favorite. I love it in a way that's a little sad, to be honest. It's fun, it's got lots of action, and it takes on moral questions in a way that adds to the story. It probably has flaws but I'm way to far gone to see them.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful story! I loved Bahzell and Brandark!

[Andrew Freeman-Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

TLDR: A straight forward story following two friends who, despite their best efforts, keep finding sharp steel as the best answer to their many, many problems. It may not have the depth of some fantasy novels, but what it does have is a constant run of entertaining adventure. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Personal Score: 4.0 stars
Professional Score: 3.75 stars

More reviews available at: https://www.fsfreviews.com/

Review:
This book is an odd one to review. I started making my usual list and found myself coming out with more negatives than positives, but the fact is that I enjoyed this book a great deal. It just had that spark that kindled something inside, a whimsical edge to everything that often left me with a slight Pratchett vibe. So I guess that I better get to dissecting the book to figure out exactly how it ticks.
At its heart, this is a buddy book, with our lead Bahzell and his best friend Brandark having to go on the run after Bahzell beats the ever-loving shit out of a prince he catches raping a young woman. These two then fall into one misadventure after another as they try to slip the assassins sent after them and the watchful eyes of the gods who have them pegged for some divine plan. This isn’t a book of epic battles and deep, multifaceted plots, but then it isn’t trying to be. Weber spends his time and effort building these main characters, and he does a hell of a job of it. First and foremost, Bahzell is just completely relatable. He’s the very best kind of hero. He doesn’t want to fight anyone. He’s just incapable of standing by while evil is done, and once he commits, he does so to the fullest. No hesitation. He’s stubborn as an ox and built like one too, but unlike a bovine, he has a complete distain for bullshit. No flouncing around the point, no subtlety, no fuss. He’s very much ‘well, if you’re dead set on making me kill you, then I’d best be about killing you’. What also stands out is Bahzell’s language. Brandark is somewhat more educated than his thundering friend, but it’s Bahzell’s Horsestealer twang that is really something wonderful. Maybe I like it so much because I know a fair few farmers around my way that genuinely speak like Bahzell, but I find his everyday turns of phrase brilliant.
As for the universe that Weber has created, authors always lose a few marks from me when the regurgitate the classic fantasy races. I know it makes things easier and some authors are able to put genuinely novel spins on them sometimes (see the Grey Bastards series), but I always think they’re missing a trick when they spit out the usual elves, dwarves, and halflings when they could have invented something entirely new. Here, though, we get a bit of both. Yes, those other races are all there, but Bahzell and Brandark are something entirely new: Hradani, a tall, well-built, fox-eared people with a nasty habit of succumbing to ‘the rage’ when riled. But they aren’t just mad berserkers. There’s true wit and intellect to our heroes, and while yes, some of their fellow Hradani are a little more bestial in their actions, this isn’t the overall impression we get, and I for one think the foundations are there for a truly original and engaging fantasy race.
Now to the story itself. I don’t so much have an issue with the story per se, only that it doesn’t have a vast amount of substance to it. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it allows us to concentrate on getting to know the characters, but I just feel like it could have been a little more than it was. The actual written language as well isn’t particularly captivating. True, Bahzell’s speech is great, but the prose themselves are fairly humdrum, lacking any particular flare. The characters do this, then they do that, then they do some other thing. It’s more like biting chunks from the novel as opposed to taking a nice, long drink. The flow just isn’t there. A lot of tell and not so much show. Now I know Weber has it in him to write some truly astounding prose, though this book was originally published in 1995, so the man’s writing style has no doubt improved with his newer titles that I love so much. Still, I was hoping for a little more wit in the writing.
In short, Oath of Sword was a fun listen, and really isn’t that all that matters? I’m definitely going to download the sequel. Maybe not immediately, as I’ve got a couple new releases that I’m dying to tear into, but I’ll absolutely get around to it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing what shenanigans our pair of heroes stumble into in their next outing.
As for narration, I’m undecided on where I stand with Nick Sullivan. Firstly, his general narration voice sounds a bit like a stadium announcer. I’m half expecting him to tell me that someone’s car is being towed in between reporting the scores. That said, his Bahzell voice is absolutely perfect. And I mean, perfect. The other sundry characters are pretty good as well, especially those of a more divine nature (for which his voice suits superbly), but it’s Bahzell who’s at the centre of the story, and by Tomanak, Sullivan does it with style.

[Paps · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid High fantasy story, with an likable set of characters, wonderfull pacing and interesting plot. The action scenes are well done, not to complicated to follow but neither dumb enough so even a no-figther could spot any flaws (leave that to the experts). The story is a simple affair and still rich enough to entretain and get the reader invested. The characters are simple stereotype with their own unique twist making it an enjoyable read.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Weber is famous for his Honor Harrington science fiction/space opera series, and not every author can do fantasy and sci fi successfully.

David Weber, however, most certainly can.

If you are expecting something like Honor Harrington, but with more swords (OK, not that many more swords) but fewer spaceships, forget it. Oath of Swords is something else entirely. This is a funny, observant romp of a traditional swords-and-sorcery fantasy novel.

In Weber's fantasy world, there are five 'races of man' - humans, dwarves, elves, halflings and hradani. The hradani are a kind of orc-equivalent - large and violent - and Our Hero, Bahzell, is one of them. This immediately marks the book off from other fantasy novels as the hero is not straight vanilla human, and he's from a race that's traditionally the Bad Guys in fantasy. In fact, since Bahzell's world is several hundred years after a fairly apocalyptic mage war in which the hradani fought on the wrong side, hradani are seen as the Bad Guys by everyone who isn't a hradani in this book too. The lingering prejudice against hradani is a running theme in the book.

Bahzell, being the son of the ruler of one of the hradani city-states, is a sort of envoy crossed with hostage at the court of another hradani prince. He interferes in some local nastiness which results in him having to flee (with the female victim) for his life. His local friend, Brandark, goes with him 'to keep him out of trouble'.

The rest of the book is the chronicle of Bahzell and Brandark's amusingly ill-fated journey across the continent, dealing with evildoers, rescuing maidens in distress, and confronting unwanted gods. Unwanted by Bahzell, anyway.

Although this is quite definitely 'light fantasy', it has enough depth to be interesting and Weber has written characters that you like (or like to hate) so you want to read on in order to find out what happens to them, and what scrape Bahzell (and Brandark) is going to get into next. It's good clean fun, and I've read it more times than I like to admit.

[Kelly Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books I find i haven't alot to say about once their said and done. I read them they ere either above or below my original opinion, and that's that.
Once every, 10 books or so, which is about once every 1-2 months, so it's far less rare than I expected, but I find myself actually wanting to say something about the book.
This book, and therefore the series in general I believe- since starting the second in the series and finding it to be of similar writing style.
Anyways, to the point... The thing that makes me want to comment on the book is this. The main character face racism at every turn. There is no sudden or enexplicable reason that causes the next group of people to e=axxt them, and allows the characters to move on to other difficulties. No. The truth carries in this book as it does in reality. The characters are forced to still live up to a higher calling, regardless of their daily grind.
The author looks at racism from all angles. He shows how easily explained away prejudices can be by those who have them. And how sometimes there are ways to break them down

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, I didn't know Weber wrote D&D Novels! ;)

OK, not Quite D&D, but it may as well be. A traditional castles and swords tale, populated with all the usual suspects: humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings; an ancient and inscrutable wizard, a small population of "magi," and whole pantheon of gods both dark and light. The only unique bit are the "hradani," a race of near giants (our hero is 7 1/2 ft tall) with big fox-like ears, super-strength and endurance, and a tendency to go into a homicidal berserker "Rage" at the drop of a hat. The latter is a curse left to them by the wizards who pressed them into service in a great war 12 centuries past that rearranged the entire map.

In all ways it is classic Weber. On the up side: quite decent and likable characters, an acceptable plot, a well-thought-out world, occasionally humorous dialog, and an even more occasional bit of thought provoking philosophy. On the down side: terribly wordy, with characters much given to soul searching and navel gazing.
Basically Weber is comfort food. Filling and hot, reliable and tasty, but hardly gourmet. Of course, most of the time I'm quite happy with comfort food! :)

[Ian Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I got it free off of amazon, so I was not expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. The book was well written, had a good main character and secondary characters, and a bad guy you could hate. The story was easy to follow from the beginning. I will be buying the second book and I look forward to reading it.

[Tory Thai · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dated and doesn't hold up well to modern standards. The writing definetly didn't have any story of unique timeless feel to make this work.

Everything about this was very cliche with characters underdeveloped and difficult to care about.

Its tedious and a failed to find a hook to keep going. I DNF at 40%.

[Férial · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A very enjoyable read and a very likeable main character but I won't be reading the following books of this series. Too much religious knick-knack religion for my taste (Gods' interference start late in this book though which is why it didn't bother me too much).

[Keziah Jensen-Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book. Enough politics and philosophy to prevent it being complete fluff and enough realistic situations to teach me a few things, but plenty of action and quips to keep things interesting. Definitely reading the next one.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the War God series by David Weber. David Weber writes a wide range of genres but his best known work is the Honor Harrington Military Science Fiction series. Having read all of Weber's Honor Harrington books as well as most of his other Space Opera/Military Science Fiction books, I wasn't surprised by how good his fantasy turned out. David Weber's skill at military science fiction melds very well into this fantasy novel. I love David Weber in general, and this book was particularly good too. After reading this book I plan on reading this entire series.
This story was a slow start but the more I read the more interesting it became. In this one Bahzell Bahnakson is an impressive giant sized man with fighting skills and nobility that would impress anyone. But the problem is, he is a hradani, a race of men cursed with a rage that has given them a horrible label of being vicious and terrifying. His life is not pleasant but at least it's stable. But everything changes forever when he saves a poor girl from being murdered by the Prince of Navahk. Suddenly he has to flee the castle where has been a hostage for peace between his Father's kingdom and that of the ruthless King of Navahk. People are after him with the power of dark gods on their sides. Nobody trusts him because he's a hradani, and for some strange reason whenever he does something good his life seems to get even more complicated . Meeting hradani, mages, wizards, dark gods, light gods and assassins on the way Bahzell, along with his hradani friend Brandark, starts his journey to the gods only know where and discovers his destiny.
This book is a good read and a great start to this series.

[A. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the War God Series (the book series, not the game franchise), and it follows a pair of highly unlikely heroes of a non-human race as they make their way through the fantasy realm. They are just trying to avoid trouble, but it seems that everywhere they go, our main character (Bahzel) and his best friend (Brandark) are forced to make moral choices of whether to help people they do not know and get themselves in trouble or pass on by. All the while, they are two of one of the most hated races in this universe and very much out of their element. To top it all off, one of the gods from the pantheon wants to make Bahzel his Paladin, but Bahzel wastes no time or trust in gods after the gods abandoned his people a thousand years ago. Then again, is it really such a good idea to say no to a god?

What I liked about this book: The world is unlike any other I have ever read, though it is a fairly typical fantasy setting with all sorts of various fantasy races and creatures. The magic system is really cool and detailed. The fighting, tension, and humor are all well-balanced, beautifully written, and quick without feeling rushed.

What I did not like about this book: Before reading it, I did not realize it was a part of a much bigger shared world, and it can be confusing at times. There is a bit of a repetitious feel with the whole "save someone, run for our lives" trend, but it manages not to get too old. The main character's stubbornness (while a plot point) can be a little grating at times.

On a scale of 1-10, I give this book an 8. I will likely re-read and try to find the rest of the series.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a race of barbarians decide to multi-class

The description of the book is pretty descriptive for what you will find within its pages summery wise. Lately I have noticed some of the books that have popped up as suggestions to try have turned out to have rather descriptive intimate scenes within and although there is a scene where the obvious villain of the story is not only forcing himself on a young lass but doing so in a sadistic manner being an older book it is not as detailed as those books. That said what this book lacks in descriptive moments of sexual content it makes up for in descriptive scenes of violence as the obvious hero of the story not only shatters the solid door between the scene of abuse but all but murders said villain for his heinous acts. What follows is a story of an unlikely hero and his ever present wanna-be bard of a friend, who shares the rage that courses through their blood though that friend prefers to use his charms rather then his sword if need be, going on the run unable to return to homelands lest war rise up amongst his people but no longer safe where he was after almost killing the first prince of that land. Along the way they meet allies, gods, assassins, and find al sorts of trouble as Bahzell Bahnakson finds himself neck deep in a destiny he doesn't want anything to do with but can't help follow anyway.

By the way if you get the kindle edition like this one why not splurge a little bit and check out the audio add on to experience the fantastic reading of the narrator as he brings the various characters of the story to life. I especially enjoyed Bahzell's dialogues. :)

[I. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so this book, for me, was a little bit of a letdown. It was a slowish start and then it hit a stride that was going somewhere nice. It’s subjective, I know... but hen it slumped again. So the cool part was maybe a 4-Star for me, but the rest was 3-Star.

To be more specific:
I don’t mind a slow build at all. It was a little predictable but still solid.
When he started taking about the conflict between wizards and magi, the history of the blah-bidi-blah a millennia ago... that was cool. It felt like Finally I was seeing the long story arc about what was going on in the world. But then there was really no reference to it after that.
And the story continued on with the expected hijinks and some conversations with the gods, which was kind of cool, but nothing more than hints at the past.

That’s why I say it is a subjective topic. I may not like the same things that everyone else likes... *shrug*

As far as the writing goes, I like the style. There was a lot of good descriptive content, the characters are real believable and their cultures come through.

As always, the real test is whether not I will read the second and third book. At this time all I can say is... I’ll think about it.

[Rick Gellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book so long ago and so many books ago that I don't remember the details. What I do remember is that I enjoyed reading it, as I enjoyed all the books in this series. The only real "fault" I find with this series, and the "fault" is in me, not the books, is that they are not Honor Harrington or 1632 books. Those are the series David Weber has written, or written in, that I most enjoy. Reading other reviews has refreshed my memory, and I agree, this book is just good enjoyable escapist fun. Yes, you can find some commentary on important social themes, in and among the action and other elements of the story. They're garnish. You're not reading this book for them. The storyline is a basic one for this kind of fantasy story. But, Weber has managed to tell it from a more unique viewpoint. He's protagonist is a hero, not an anti-hero, but a hero with baggage. It's not personal baggage. It's racist baggage. So he has to fight the bad guys, overcome the obstacles, and deal with the attitudes of even the people whose side he's one. The real world analogies are obvious and many. But take a break and enjoy yourself with a good read.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished after a break of many months and many books. I'm glad I finished and I thought the story was worthwhile. There are several writing style things that really drove me nuts. The biggest is that the hradani's ears do a lot. It's not unusual to read more than 3 instances on a single page of ears twiching, flattening, pricking, drooping, etc. It's tedious and yet really irritating.
This was a really "busy" book that I would have liked better if it was simpler. There were do-gooders, family dynamics, rescuing of fair maidens (4 times?), racial battles, mercenaries, wizards and mages, blood sacrifices, demon worship, prophetic healins, gods appearing and talking to "man", general warfare, tracking, defense of villiages... Characters and storylines come and go like crazy. While the beginnings of the book are definitely related to the end, I felt like the real storyline didn't start until more than half way through.