The Warrior's Bond

First let me say, I *like* McKenna's books. Her writing is solid, her characters are engaging and complex and so is her world. Rather than the typical medieval milieu, she has set her stories in a world that resembles 17th c. Europe-- nice change. The only flaw is that while some of the good guys aren't terribly likeable, most of her bad guys tend to be Evil with a capital E. That's okay-- makes it more fun to see them fall. I'm looking to be entertained here.With the fourth book in the series, we are back with Ryshad, the male half of her protagonist couple. I realized toward the end of the book that this one doesn't deal with the main villains, the Elietim, from her earlier books at all. The plot revolves totally around the machinations of an Imperial court. I think this may be why some people found it disappointing. I actually enjoyed it, however. The writing remained solid and the characters are likeable and sympthetic. And palace intrigue can be a lot of fun.I gave this four stars because the enjoyment factor remains high. I wouldn't judge the whole series from this one particular book, however, since it did feel like a small departure. The protagonists are back together at the end of the book and heading overseas so I anticipate our old pals, the Elietim, will be back as well.

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 a McKenna 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 McKenna turns her writer's talents loose on the lives of the rich and noble. Readers get 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, "[i]t's a different kind of danger, but it's just as real for your colony." It's just as real for readers, too, and well-told, as always. McKenna's control over plotting errors remains phenomenal given the complexity of her stories; control over printing errors-like inappropriate question marks-is less than perfect, but who's

I have now read all 4 of the books in this series. The world McKenna has created is intriguing and believable. The 2 main characters within this book, Temar and Ryshad, are handled plausibly. The pacing of the book is very good. As in each book, each chapter starts with a note or passage written during a different time that provides a deeper glimpse into the society of the created world. A very enjoyable read.

The Warrior's Bond is the fourth novel in the Tales of Einarinn series, following The Gambler's Fortune. In the previous volume, Livak has left a songbook with Pered to translate and traveled with Usara to Selerima in Western Ensaimin to learn more about the Mountain Men folk songs and tales. Joining with Sorgrad and Sorgren, they then traveled on the Great West Road through the Great Forest to the mountains. There they have fought an Elietimm enchanter and Mountain Men and have returned with Aritane, a renegade Sheltya, to assist the wizards of Hadrumal in the study of enchantment.In this novel, Ryshad has become a Chosen man of the House of D'Olbriot and assigned to the Esquire D'Alsennin, who has come over from Kel Ar'ayen -- i.e., Kellarin -- for the Summer Solstice Festival in Toremal. There Temar D'Alsennin meets the nobility of the Empire and gets robbed, snubbed, stabbed, mobbed and otherwise entertained. Moreover, House D'Olbriot is embroiled in law suits and invaded by thieves. Someone is stirring up trouble for both D'Olbriot and D'Alsennin.Ryshad is also having a interesting time, with ritual challenges that turn deadly, beautiful con ladies, and failures to keep his patron informed. Casuel is his usual C3PO self, always vain and ambitious, barely in control of his magic, never in control of his tongue, and occasionally useful. Allin is still deferential to Casuel, but growing more independent with encouragement from Temar. Then there are the Emperor and palaces and mazes and balls and puppet theaters and rope walkers and seers and feasts and assassins and a host of other sights and events. It is festival time!Recommended for McKenna fans and anyone who enjoys adventures and personal relationships within a fantasy setting.