I am a big fan of fantasy novels especially if they are long and have several books in the series. I really enjoy a series of books that I can immerse myself in and this series allows me to do that. The story has many fascinating twists and turns and I find the characters to be very engaging. I first discovered these books years ago in a used book shop in Edinburgh and I have re-read them several times since. ( )

This book has an even more wandering POV than the first one in the series, although I didn't notice it as much. This very much feels like a continuation of the first book - picking up plotlines, and moving them along one step, but not resolving much of anything. This book focuses more on Kieri, who I'm less interested in than Dorrin or Arcolin.

And the love story at the end was not entirely satisfying, being on the one hand ridiculously foreshadowed and on the other hand 100% told rather than shown. I don't buy the chemistry - I don't have anything against the pairing, but Moon just didn't make them a believable couple for me. I think she's better at writing friendship and soldierly camaraderie than love. Too bad - I like a well-done love story.

I'll hope for more of Dorrin in the next two books. ( )

A great follow up to Oath of Fealty in the Paladin's Legacy series by Elizabeth Moon. I heard her speak at DragonCon 2015 and found this series in the bookseller's stall so I figured I'd give it a go, and boy am I glad I did.

Once started in Oath, the lives of the characters that Paks changes continue as they fall into their new roles: Count, Duke, and King. How do a Count and a Duke, who have spent their lives in a mercenary company, deal with court clothes and court etiquette? What does a half-elven King do when he realizes he must marry, but can't face the thought of marrying a much younger woman who doesn't want to marry him, either? How does the new human King do with his newest allegiances, kingdom, and threats from other sources? Moon brings additional twists to these stories, and just as I thought it would fall into the well-known genres of sword and sorcery, thievery, elves and dwarves, she twists the events to make them oh-so-unique and gripping.

I have Book #3 ready to go, and I understand that she has also written Book #4 in this series?? Wow. You go, girl. ( )

Somewhere, in the boxes upstairs, I have the books of the Deed of Paksennarion, which directly precedes the story related in 'Oath of Fealty' and 'Kings of the North'. (I'm going to talk about 'Oath' and 'Kings' together, since they're not particularly separate entities.)
Moon's introduction specifies that she considers these to be independent of the previous trilogy, and that a reader can start here.
However, I did wish I'd read the earlier books first. They apparently contain many of the same characters, and I really felt I'd have gotten into the story and felt connected with the characters a lot faster if I'd already known their background.
That said, these are very well-done books. They take place in a familiar European-based fantasy world, but the scenarios and characters are realistic, believable and well-drawn. Moon is well-known as a writer of military fiction from a woman's perspective, and that's what we get here. It's not all women, but my favorite character was probably Dorrin - a somewhat-older, capable veteran who happens to be a woman.
The hierarchical social system accepted in this world isn't one I'd particularly want to live in, but the story isn't about ideal worlds; it's about people trying to do their best in the world they've got.
My one issue with it was probably the absolutes of good and evil - one of the major plot points is that an entire family is Pure Evil and must be eradicated. Probably to balance this, there was a sub-plot about one culture thinking that another is evil due to cultural misunderstandings, but I would have liked to at least have seen the perspective of someone within the family of Evil Sorcerers.
It's also not a particularly tightly plotted or suspenseful story - it's more about enjoying the twists and turns of the complex politics and personal maneuvering of the characters. Like real life, more things keep happening... and I liked following them. ( )

After getting past the initial confusion as to what title was what and what character was who, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. This second installment provides a good mix of fantasy, politics, and even a bit of a love story. I enjoyed the lack of gender distinction in titles, as well. It's refreshing, really, for those under certain superiors to view said superiors merely as their superiors, not female or male. I believe that gave the story and the world an overall balance and increase in credibility. A lot of military fantasy novels don't handle gender the way she does, so I can greatly appreciate and admire that. The viewpoints switching as often as they did also allows the reader to really get into the head of different characters, which makes their interaction with one another and with other characters a lot easier to understand and to follow. There is also significant character development because of this, despite the fact that nothing extremely climatic occurs in the second book. I can't wait to see what comes next. ( )