Oath of Swords is about as close as you can get to pure, unadulterated adventure fantasy. All of the conventional elements are present, warts and all, were it not for the absence of a single cliche, this novel would be not so much an example as an archetype. The fact that the book has all the originality of a Silhouette romance does not detract from the fact that it is a fun, and even exciting read in the venerable Conan tradition.



Style:

Story:

Characters:

Creativity: There is none to be found. There is no originality in the world-building, in the plot, in the names or in the characters. The hradani race and their "Rage" is the sole innovation, but this is quite minor, and, in the end, largely superflous. While the author's naming conventions are nowhere near as silly as those from graduates of the Isaac Asimov school of linguistic ignorance, they are prosaic in the extreme. There is "The Empire of the Spear" and "The Empire of the Axe", not to mention Purple Lords, and whole tribes of people named for what they do: Horse Stealers, Bloody Swords... one almost fears that upon turning the page one will be confronted with the dread Bottom Wipers. Maybe I'm being too harsh here, no, come to think of it, I'm not.

Text Sample: