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The Tales of Einarinn #4
The Warrior's Bond
Einarinn's greatest warrior, the swordsman Ryshad, has sworn to protect his lord, Messire D'Olbriot, even if it means watching his love, the beautiful thief Livak, embark on a dangerous quest to find the lost aetheric magic on her own. But shadow and intrigue lie over the land, and a journey to recover magical artifacts leads the swordsman back to the lost colony of Kellarin, whose settlers have only recently been awoken from centuries of enchanted sleep. Amidst the intricate halls and deadly intrigues of this royal court, even the most cautious of strategems can fail, and Ryshad must fight to save the future of Einarinn itself.
516 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
13 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
About the author
Juliet E. McKenna
102 books235 followersJuliet E McKenna is a British fantasy author living in the Cotswolds, UK. Loving history, myth and other worlds since she first learned to read, she has written fifteen epic fantasy novels so far. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, began The Tales of Einarinn in 1999, followed by The Aldabreshin Compass sequence, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy. The Green Man’s Heir was her first modern fantasy inspired by British folklore in 2018. The Green Man’s Quarry in 2023 was the sixth title in this ongoing series and won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. The seventh book, in 2024, is The Green Man’s War.
Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter fiction includes forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for the James White Award, the Aeon Award, the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2015 she received the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.
Who’s to say what will come next?
Learn more about all of this at julietemckenna.com and on Twitter @JulietEMcKenna
Her 2023 novel The Cleaving is a female-centred retelling of the story of King Arthur, while her shorter fiction includes forays into dark fantasy, steampunk and science fiction. She promotes SF&Fantasy by reviewing, by blogging on book trade issues, attending conventions and teaching creative writing. She has served as a judge for the James White Award, the Aeon Award, the Arthur C Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Awards. In 2015 she received the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. As J M Alvey, she has written historical murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.
Who’s to say what will come next?
Learn more about all of this at julietemckenna.com and on Twitter @JulietEMcKenna
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 5, 2017
This one's actually one of my favourites. The complex interpersonal dynamics make what could have been a drag of a story about dancing attendance on nobles into a truly interesting read.
July 6, 2022
4,25 stars - English Ebook
Ryshad has to decide whether or not to swear renewed service to the House of D’Olbriot, or to hand back his oath. Will his sense of duty allow him to abandon Temar D’Alsennin, as the younger man tries to salvage something from the ruins of the Kellarin colony?
For Ryshad, who’s lived by a code of honour all his adult life, the answers are obvious, even if the decision to let Livak go off on her search for aetheric lore is a difficult one. At first it looks as if his two obligations will complement each other, when Messire D’Olbriot commands Ryshad to guide Temar through the five intense days of the Solstice Festival.
But the swordsman soon faces conflicting demands on his loyalties as different priorities emerge. At the same time, manoeuvring and rivalries among the Tormalin nobility are complicating Temar ’s quest for the artefacts he need to revive his sleeping people. Each man has to summon all his own resources as well as calling upon the other if they are to emerge with a whole skin, let alone any degree of success.
McKenna's fourth tale of Einarinn covers the same timeframe as The Gambler's Fortune, focusing on Ryshad Tathel's activities in Tormalin while lover Livak is off in the west. While retaining all the color and texture of earlier books, The Warrior's Bond offers some departures from the norm as well. For one thing, it does very little traveling, with most of its action set in the capital city of Toremal.
Ryshad's first-person narration isn't yet on a par with Livak's, but comes across well enough. He's been elevated from sworn man to chosen man by Messire D'Olbriot; one more step up to proven man will give him the wherewithal for the life he wants with Livak.
His viewpoint alternates with two others in third-person. One belongs to wizard Casuel Devoir, still trying to advance his own fortunes and still as delightfully odious as ever. The other is from colonist Temar D'Alsennin, on his first mainland visit and having trouble adjusting to a changed world after his centuries-long sleep.
Temar and a fellow colonist plan to meet assorted nobles and present a case for assisting the colony. A third of the colony's members remain locked in limbo, with the ancient artifacts holding their consciousness yet to be recovered from among the noble Houses.
Equally important, the colony's long-term survival depends on establishing mainland trade and other alliances. Though the Elietimm threat still looms, Ryshad and Casuel are temporarily reassigned by their respective masters to watch over Temar as he tries to navigate modern Empire life.
As usual in this story, things start to go wrong almost immediately. Temar's ship nearly founders right outside the harbor. His sample trade goods are plundered from their dockside warehouse. He's attacked by an unidentified assailant. Ryshad is set up for a warrior's challenge. Several noble Houses file suits to wrest all control of the colony away from D'Olbriot and from Temar himself.
Are these incidents related? If so, who's behind them, and why? Ryshad struggles to get to the bottom of things, while at the same time serving the interests of both D'Olbriot and Temar, all of which only seems to get him deeper into trouble and further away from achieving his own goal.
Previous books have focused on the lives of common folk, or on wizards, foreigners, time-displaced colonists, or other unusual groups; here it turns in loss of the lives of the rich and noble.
I got a good look at Tormalin nobility through the widely differing perspectives of Ryshad, Temar, and Casuel. Magic takes a backseat to political and social machinations. As one character tells Temar, it's a different kind of danger, but it's just as real for your colony." It's just as real for us readers, too, and well-told, as always.
Ryshad has to decide whether or not to swear renewed service to the House of D’Olbriot, or to hand back his oath. Will his sense of duty allow him to abandon Temar D’Alsennin, as the younger man tries to salvage something from the ruins of the Kellarin colony?
For Ryshad, who’s lived by a code of honour all his adult life, the answers are obvious, even if the decision to let Livak go off on her search for aetheric lore is a difficult one. At first it looks as if his two obligations will complement each other, when Messire D’Olbriot commands Ryshad to guide Temar through the five intense days of the Solstice Festival.
But the swordsman soon faces conflicting demands on his loyalties as different priorities emerge. At the same time, manoeuvring and rivalries among the Tormalin nobility are complicating Temar ’s quest for the artefacts he need to revive his sleeping people. Each man has to summon all his own resources as well as calling upon the other if they are to emerge with a whole skin, let alone any degree of success.
McKenna's fourth tale of Einarinn covers the same timeframe as The Gambler's Fortune, focusing on Ryshad Tathel's activities in Tormalin while lover Livak is off in the west. While retaining all the color and texture of earlier books, The Warrior's Bond offers some departures from the norm as well. For one thing, it does very little traveling, with most of its action set in the capital city of Toremal.
Ryshad's first-person narration isn't yet on a par with Livak's, but comes across well enough. He's been elevated from sworn man to chosen man by Messire D'Olbriot; one more step up to proven man will give him the wherewithal for the life he wants with Livak.
His viewpoint alternates with two others in third-person. One belongs to wizard Casuel Devoir, still trying to advance his own fortunes and still as delightfully odious as ever. The other is from colonist Temar D'Alsennin, on his first mainland visit and having trouble adjusting to a changed world after his centuries-long sleep.
Temar and a fellow colonist plan to meet assorted nobles and present a case for assisting the colony. A third of the colony's members remain locked in limbo, with the ancient artifacts holding their consciousness yet to be recovered from among the noble Houses.
Equally important, the colony's long-term survival depends on establishing mainland trade and other alliances. Though the Elietimm threat still looms, Ryshad and Casuel are temporarily reassigned by their respective masters to watch over Temar as he tries to navigate modern Empire life.
As usual in this story, things start to go wrong almost immediately. Temar's ship nearly founders right outside the harbor. His sample trade goods are plundered from their dockside warehouse. He's attacked by an unidentified assailant. Ryshad is set up for a warrior's challenge. Several noble Houses file suits to wrest all control of the colony away from D'Olbriot and from Temar himself.
Are these incidents related? If so, who's behind them, and why? Ryshad struggles to get to the bottom of things, while at the same time serving the interests of both D'Olbriot and Temar, all of which only seems to get him deeper into trouble and further away from achieving his own goal.
Previous books have focused on the lives of common folk, or on wizards, foreigners, time-displaced colonists, or other unusual groups; here it turns in loss of the lives of the rich and noble.
I got a good look at Tormalin nobility through the widely differing perspectives of Ryshad, Temar, and Casuel. Magic takes a backseat to political and social machinations. As one character tells Temar, it's a different kind of danger, but it's just as real for your colony." It's just as real for us readers, too, and well-told, as always.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2020
This was a breathtakingly intense novel with lots of tension in the plot. I kept expecting the villains of the other novels, the Elietimm, to turn up, which added more tension to me! However, the author has a bad habit (in my opinion anyway) of having the plot galloping along with the reader holding their breath, then suddenly slowing to a walk to describe the surroundings of the characters in danger. Very irritating, and after awhile I tended to skip those passages. Otherwise, a very good novel.
May 2, 2024
That was fun. The suspension of disbelief required for how nobility responds to plain speakin' that don't take no guff from civlizashun is a touch eye-rolling, but with satisfying conclusions. I was a little surprised - after the first 3, I expected more of the Elietimm story to progress here to set up the last book, but while the overall story definitely progressed, it didn't have that end-of-Act-II ominous ending I've come to expect from penultimate volumes. Hopefully that means the remaining book will similarly not be easily predicted.
March 18, 2019
The digital transfer suffers from the same issues as the other books in this series - OCR mostly works but it could really have done with at least a read-through to pick up the words and sentences that make absolutely no sense. Which is still a shame, because this is a richly created world, lovely politics of competing noble families for influence and intrigue and Ryshad trying to find his place.
June 3, 2019
My least favourite of the series so far, mostly because I'm not overly keen on the character of Temar. I found all the details of the various families and court intrigues a bit tedious for the most part. I found the book picked up in the last quarter and found myself enjoying it in the end as the pacing picked up.
November 3, 2022
Ah this time we are among the nobility of Tormalian.
I loved seeing Ryshad, Temar, Casuel, Allin and getting to know some new faces like Avila.
I really enjoyed it, but it felt in my opinion a bit too short.
Thankfully there is another book, then the author has gone on into the rest of the world with more stories.
I loved seeing Ryshad, Temar, Casuel, Allin and getting to know some new faces like Avila.
I really enjoyed it, but it felt in my opinion a bit too short.
Thankfully there is another book, then the author has gone on into the rest of the world with more stories.
March 6, 2021
i was a bit concerned about how this book would work, considering its events happen simultaneously to the previous book. but there's just enough reference to stitch the two together, while driving a completely separate storyline. with a solid convergence at the end.
January 2, 2026
Three and a half stars. Some satisfying twists and turns.
Read
October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/169290.html[return][return]This is a bit different from its three predecessors in the Einarinn series, with battles on the high seas against strangely magical opponents replaced by a political drama, set in the capital city and watching the machinations of the great houses against each other. One of McKenna's successes is that her world possesses a certain depth; every character has an almost tangible hinterland of family and friends. The Empire she portrays is a breathing, developing and somewhat fragile polity. (She's less convincing on the languages but nobody except Tolkien has ever done well on that score.) The book reminded me a bit of Feist's Rise of a Merchant Prince (one of only two by him that I've read) but is much better - characters less wooden and generally more sympathetic. You wouldn't want to start reading McKenna with The Warrior's Bond but it's certainly enough to get me to buy the fifth and final one in the series.
October 26, 2013
Unlike much epic fantasy (the three previous volumes in this series included), this part of Juliet McKenna's vast story is compressed into five days. From memory only Robert Jordan's navel-gazing period of The Wheel of Time manages the same feat, but The Warrior's Bond is handled with a much finer touch. There's a confusing amount of detail and names crammed into this book, and by the end of the second chapter the reader will feel almost as lost as Temar himself, but bear with it - despite the intricacies McKenna steers well clear of Jordan's event horizon and keeps up the pace clear through to the end.
The ensemble of characters are fun to watch as they develop over the course of these novels, and even if Temar is a tad whiny and unsympathetic at times you can see him beginning to grow out of it.
As ever, a deftly managed change of direction keeps this series entirely fresh, and now I'm off to find out how it all ends...
The ensemble of characters are fun to watch as they develop over the course of these novels, and even if Temar is a tad whiny and unsympathetic at times you can see him beginning to grow out of it.
As ever, a deftly managed change of direction keeps this series entirely fresh, and now I'm off to find out how it all ends...
Read
February 3, 2013Although familiar with Juliet E. McKenna’s Tales of Einarinn, I hadn’t read any since High School. I read the first three (The Thief’s Gamble, The Swordsman’s Oath, and The Gambler’s Fortune) but the final two in the series had not been completed. While I was at home in April I found the original three and wanted to reread them to complete the series. I reread them and it lead me to The Warrior’s Bond.
Although an intriguing novel, there was nothing so special as to raise it above all the other fantasy novels that are out there. This novel specifically dealt more with politics and courtly intrigue within the nobility of Einarinn, rather than the Artifice of the forgotten/exiled Elietimm or the magic of the mages of Hadrumal.
Click here to read the rest of the review on my blog, The Oddness of Moving Things.
Although an intriguing novel, there was nothing so special as to raise it above all the other fantasy novels that are out there. This novel specifically dealt more with politics and courtly intrigue within the nobility of Einarinn, rather than the Artifice of the forgotten/exiled Elietimm or the magic of the mages of Hadrumal.
Click here to read the rest of the review on my blog, The Oddness of Moving Things.
November 1, 2007
It's hard to believe that most of the events in the 500 pages of this book take place over a handful of days, but it is never dull, even with the introduction of city politics and legal tussles into a previously adventure-driven series.
In fact, the parochial city politics are a good complement to the global politics of the previous books, showing us another side of the coin - or dice, perhaps, given this series' many facets. And there's still plenty of action too.
Unreservedly recommended.
In fact, the parochial city politics are a good complement to the global politics of the previous books, showing us another side of the coin - or dice, perhaps, given this series' many facets. And there's still plenty of action too.
Unreservedly recommended.
January 25, 2010
a series i just want to finish, book four is about ryshad's experiences in the court - you can see there is a lack of adventure, still, it's nice that livak and ryshad are back together.
April 22, 2011
I started with this, which is not the first book in the series. That said, I got through half before I got bogged down. Nice writing, a bit hard to follow without reading the previous story.
Read
September 6, 2013The Tales of Einarinn #4
January 12, 2014
Much enjoyed lively fantasy adventure tale. This book is narrated by Ryshad, and further explores his relationship with his Sieur and D'Ansellin.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews