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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, but something of a placeholder., April 27, 2004
This review is from: Windrider's Oath (Hardcover)
I'll come right out and say it--I was disappointed by Wind Rider's Oath. I had been looking forward to it ever since I heard there would be a new Norfressa book (I have just about worn the cover off of Oath of Swords) and jumped at the chance to read the e-book (at the publisher's website) before the pulp version appeared in stores. IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF SPOILERS STOP READING NOW. Granted, the main "surprise" was telegraphed several books in advance. Much has always been made of the fact that Bahzell is so tall he can't ride a normal horse. And that the Sothoii have sentient horses that are very large. And now Bahzell is traveling to the Sothoii, where they have big horses. And he's traveling on foot because he's too big for a normal horse. Hmm, do you think maybe he's going to end up with one of these horses? What a shock! Not really a problem, though. It gave me something to anticipate, and the scene where he finally meets his courser is one of the less execrable of the book. Which brings me to the rest of the story. The whole thing seemed choppy and hurried. There was a great deal of blah-blah-blah exposition introducing new characters and building them up, then... nothing. Leeana just drops out of the book 3/4 of the way through, with her story unfinished. The evil priest whatshisname likewise steps out of a room and never re-enters the story. Was this a longer book that got chopped down? Is there supposed to be a sequel to tie up the numerous loose ends? Also, the story seemed to change gears somewhere in the middle. At first it was full of political intrigue, infighting, and secret plotting. By the time the 3/4 mark rolled around, though, it turned into a hack-and-slash adventure. All the bad guys get systematically slaughtered, one after another after another. A couple of good guys who didn't have a single line of dialogue appear just in time to die in glorious contrived sacrifice. None of the political storylines are resolved, even though it was clearly explained that violence would worsen the situation and give the political bad guys the advantage. After nodding wisely every time this was explained, the heroes then blithely slaughtered everyone without regard to consequences. And everyone applauds. Why? What irritated more than anything else, though, was the ending. Kaeritha had just fought her way through a temple of evil priests, and was staggering with exhaustion and pain. Then once Bahzell appeared and made a stupid joke, suddenly she felt she must chase him around pelting him with small rocks while a bunch of people she'd never met stood around laughing heartily. It's the sort of ending that might be mildly funny if done tongue-in-cheek. Played seriously, it's just stupid. Not funny, not ironic, just stupid. When did this turn into an episode of Scooby-Doo? You know what's even more stupid? I'll be buying this book when it comes out in my local bookstore, so I can get the free Baen CD that comes with it. Because I am a sucker for the thought that I might get some of Weber's backlist titles free. And it was just good enough that it didn't completely disillusion me. I will buy it in hopes that the next book, whenever it appears, is better.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bitterly Disappointed, August 24, 2004
This review is from: Windrider's Oath (Hardcover)
In WRO Weber took the fresh and original invention of the two prequels and left them out in the sun for a month. What was his editor thinking?
The first in the series, Oath of Swords, was great (5 stars) because of its character development, clashes between original (and differentiated) cultures, believable action, and witty repartee throughout. My paperback copy of Oath of Swords is absolutely tattered.
The second in the series, TWGO, wasn't quite as good (3 1/2 stars) as Oath, but had some re-readable scenes. I enjoyed: the taming of the geek (Vaijon), meeting Bahzell's family and culture, and the battles. I also liked the hint of great things in store for Brandark who was beginning to be less witty, in fact little more than a sounding board for Bahzell. My problems with the second book center around too much exposition. The order was described in painful, multi-worded detail, as was dwarvenhome. Even more annoyingly, the introduction of Kerry was immature stylistically as well as boring, and a huge detraction from the book's merits. Mature character development is a slow exposure of a person, each revelation related to plot tensions; actions depending upon and revealing the character's past history, present motives, and future dreams. Inexplicably, Kerry vomits forth her entire life history to Bahzell and a large crowd of other strangers at the moment of meeting him. Worse, it's the trite "I was raped and hated all men until saved by love" pablum. Being set, Kerry's character did not learn or change throughout this or the third book.
Although I complain about TWGO, my copy is, if not tattered, at least unkempt because whenever I reread Oath, I skim my favorite parts of TWGO for dessert. The 3rd in the series is different.
Wind Rider's Oath:
Be warned that the book does not stand alone. You have to have read the prequels to give a damn about a single character.
Other reviewers have mentioned the staleness of the sisterhood of chicks-in-chainmail plot. I would only add that the original version (the wholly and brutally male chauvinistic world that allows an unbelievable level of freedom to a very few chicks in bikini chainmail if they will only insist on it with swords!) was created decades ago and described almost identically by Marion Zimmer Bradley who called them Renunciates. Weber has added little to the concept while subtracting a believable cultural or personal backstory. I'm still wondering why Leana would do such a stupid thing, or why anyone would take her seriously. Or why half of the book followed her boring and unbelievable story which suddenly switched off without a conclusion. If it was merely to give Kerry notice of something she already knew, it was clumsy; if it was to lead to a further book about Leana, please spare me.
Like other reviewers, I was unsurprised by the outcome of Bazell's first meeting with an unattached courser. Talk about foreshadowing!
It is not, however, details that make the book fail. It is the lack of originality in the action, the characters, or the cultures they move through. The evil characters are without believable motivation; we are merely told they are evil and that explains them. The sinister plots of the bad guys are simplistic and clumsy, and always fail. The conversations are stilted throughout and exist solely to impart information. Worst of all flaws, there is no humor! (Don't remind me of the pitiful slapstick ending. That is not humor!)
I have been waiting for this sequel for years, but I am only grateful that I saw Wind Rider's Oath in the library before I bothered to buy it because it's not worth rereading.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Has writing become routine to David Weber?, September 3, 2004
This review is from: Windrider's Oath (Hardcover)
On the strength of many of his latest books, the answer to the above question would have to be "Yes!".
The plot has been summarised elsewhere, so I won't rehash it.
If you have not read the earlier 2 novels in this series then don't start here. The (small) pleasures of reading Wind Rider's Oath are mainly for those of us who are already big fans of Oath of Swords and The War God's Own. Even there, don't expect much about Brandark or any character development for Bahzell (the story's principal character).
Multiple sub-plots are in desperate need of editing out(has David Weber become too successful for his publisher to dare?), especially the poorly thought out sub-plot of the runaway Leena. Why would the intelligent Leena think running away to join a group of people despised by her father's peers will help her father's political situation? Does she also think pigs fly?
The book didn't develop the personalities of the principal characters to help us care about them or succeed in generating any previous tension as to the likely outcome of the battles. As a result, the battle scenes, where Mr Weber often excells, were totally unexciting to read. Also, while I enjoy some of Eric Flint's books, I fear his variety of humor (ie. childish slapstick or childish insults, identical in tone each time irrespective of the characters involved) may be contaminating David Weber's writing, who co-writes some books with Mr Flint. The ending is just corny.
If I wasn't such a huge fan of most of Mr Weber's earlier works, I may have been less disappointed with some of his latest efforts.
So long as we keep buying this and other recent mediocre Weber books (eg. March to the Stars, Shiva Option, War of Honor), an otherwise excellent author will probably keep churning them out. I suggest you go to the library if you want to read it.
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