Hello Fellow Journeyers,
We have the second installment of the Assassins of Landria series in Sellsword's Oath. After having thoroughly enjoyed Assassin's Honor, I had high hopes for what Martin would bring to the second installment that left the big threat looming.
What's the story about: Sellsword's Oath picks up directly after Assassin's Honor in that the Witch Lord is still on the loose and must be stopped by Landria's two best assassins, Ridge and Rett. Minor quests ensue but the overall plot of stopping the main villain is at the front.
The first thing of note on this short story is that no time has gone by since Assassin's Honor and all that happens before this book is told in expositional dialogue and recapping. Which leads to the pacing becoming a little off in this story that didn't happen in the first. While I'm not one to shy away from expositional storytelling, almost the entire first third of the book is exposition of connecting the first and second books together in a rather clunky way. This book read fast; ultimately, too fast for the story to really get going in the satisfying way it needed to. I wish there had actually been an introduction and backlog of what Ridge and Rett had been doing since the last story. But Martin instead just states what the last book was about instead of organically telling new story that could've been really good for this sequel. While this was annoying, the author has stated that she wants these books to be standalone so I get the reason for it.
Something else that struck me early on is that Rett and Ridge's individual voices didn't seem to line up with the previous book like I expected. Ridge is still more arrogant than Rett, but also more reserved. Rett is still quieter, but becoming more brazen about his thoughts and actions. This threw me off a little since we hadn't learned of or experienced any character development that would lead these characters to act like their counterparts. This caused me on several occasions to confuse who was speaking or thinking, because their voices had changed in a way I didn't expect. It honestly felt like it was just a mistake on the author's part and while Martin does like the buddy dynamic that makes them act similarly, the characters themselves are somewhat forgotten and I found this to be disappointing.
On a more positive note, I noticed something while reading these stories that I couldn't quite name during the first book, but have identified in the second book. Martin does a fantastic job balancing the action scenes with slower, comfy atmospheric scenes that really get you sucked into the story at times when it's needed most. I think many people would call these scenes boring because this is when recapping and exposition for the next quest comes about, but for some weird reason I just like them. This is probably in part why I enjoy these simple stories so much (despite my above gripes) because they just don't try to be overly complicated. They're fun, atmospheric, adventure filled, and the characters are just enjoyable to be around.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.