Oath of Fealty

Paladin's Legacy, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In the original trilogy starring Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, headstrong daughter of a farmer on the north edge of the kingdom, Paks follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.

Thanks to Paks's courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title - and enemies - in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies - and those he has not yet discovered.

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli's survival - and that of Tsaia - depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.

Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their world. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister - and far more ancient - than they can imagine.

©2010 Elizabeth Moon (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Excellent continuation of a great series

This is the follow up series to the Sheep Farmers Daughter trilogy. This series stands up on it's own without listening to the Sheep Farmers Daughter trilogy, but I highly recommend listening to it first. This series is about the lives of people who were minor characters in the Sheep Farmers Daughter series rather than the life of Paksenarrion. I really enjoyed this series as much as I did in the Sheep Farmers Daughter series. I highly recommend it.

A great continue of Paks Realm

I couldn't say enough about Elizabeth Moon and the way she captures my imagination. I can't stop listening.

Good book

What made the experience of listening to Oath of Fealty the most enjoyable?

I loved listening to the variety of voices used throughout the book.

What does Jennifer Van Dyck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I liked the way she was able to keep a mild tone while giving emphasis to the dialogue, whereas other people often give too much emphasis throughout the reading which is rather annoying.

Great story not the best Narrating

It's not bad Narration it's just that she sometimes sounds too robotic. Most especially on the, "she said. or He said." stuff. it's weird. But all in all, it was a good listen. Having read the books already makes it even more enjoyable. It's like a hearing a tale from a different perspective.

Many stories to keep track of

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Somewhat like the first Paksenarrion book, it's hard to tell just where this one is going. We have two or three characters' stories to follow. Eventually the focus does seem to fall more on one of them, but I'm not sure even Moon knew which it would be, at first.

What does Jennifer Van Dyck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She's not my favorite narrator, but she has improved over the course of these novels and I'm accustomed to her style.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It would make a great movie--the cuts between locations and characters would work quite well.

Any additional comments?

In the end, I enjoyed listening to this book and plan to continue with the series.

More Moon Magic

Paks plays a cameo in this first book of a trilogy sequel to The Deed Of Paksenarrion, but there is nothing lost in the new focus. The reader is treated to more of the same in the DOP - moral courage, personal challenge, physical trauma and other fare of good fantasy. The book reads well and smoothly. Moon spends sufficient time with each of her three main characters before moving on to the next. I found Moon's character development more detailed and nuanced than I found in the DOP. Of course, DOP was written in the late 80's and OOF was written just recently. I would recommend this book to any Moon fan and to people who like a good, fast read. I found the reading quite workmanlike and enjoyable. Van Dyke is a good choice for narrator, decently talented with several voices. I was disappointed to come to the end...not because it ended badly but because it ended at all. Have to wait another year or so for the next. What's the series title, anyway?

transports you to a world of excitement and heroes

I greatly enjoyed the story and wish that the book had been a couple chapters longer. the ending came far too soon and I hope that there are books to come that resolve some of the issues that were still in effect at the end of the book.

a little scattered, but well written.

A few too many threads at once, but the story was still the same great work

Great!

A wonderful step back into the world of Paksenarrion and with deeper looks into so many characters. I loved them all just as much as I loved Paks. 10/10 for me.

Strong Female Leadership

My favorite book. I have read it several times, I will read it several more.