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Vows and Honor

by Mercedes Lackey

The Vows and Honor series by Mercedes Lackey has 4 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Oathbound (1988).

Books
4 books
First published
1988
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: The Oathbound (1988) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of The Oathbound, the first book in Vows and Honor

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Oathbound

    Novel

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  2. Oathbreakers

    Novel

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  3. By the Sword

    Novel

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  4. Oathblood

    Novel

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The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.

  1. The Oathbound

    Novel

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  2. Oathbreakers

    Novel

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  3. Oathblood

    Novel

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  4. By the Sword

    Novel

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About the Vows and Honor series

Vows and Honor tells the story of Tarma shena Tale'sedrin and Kethry, an unlikely pair of mercenary sword-and-sorcery partners — a Sword Sworn warrior avenging her destroyed clan and a runaway noblewoman-turned-mage — who together become two of the most formidable heroes in the wider Valdemar universe, decades before Talia or Vanyel are ever born. The Oathbound and Oathbreakers collect and continue Tarma and Kethry's adventures as sellswords-for-hire; Oathblood, published nearly a decade later, closes out their story and bridges directly into By the Sword, a companion novel following Kerowyn, Kethry's granddaughter, who inherits her grandmother's magic sword and is forced to abandon her sheltered life to become a mercenary captain herself — eventually crossing paths with Valdemar and its Heralds.

Written earlier and set generations before most of the rest of the Valdemar saga, these four books function as a self-contained sword-and-sorcery arc with a lighter, more classic fantasy-adventure feel than the Herald-focused trilogies, while still building directly toward the wider Valdemar timeline through Kerowyn's story.

How to read this series

Read The Oathbound (1988), Oathbreakers (1989), and Oathblood (1998) in that order for Tarma and Kethry's complete arc, then follow with By the Sword (1991) — despite its earlier publication date, it's best read after the Tarma and Kethry trilogy since it follows Kethry's granddaughter and pays off family history established in those books. New readers can start here without having read any other Valdemar books, though By the Sword in particular connects forward into the wider Heralds-of-Valdemar timeline and works well as a bridge into the rest of the series afterward.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in Vows and Honor?

Four, as tracked here: The Oathbound (1988), Oathbreakers (1989), Oathblood (1998), and the closely-connected companion novel By the Sword (1991).

Is By the Sword really part of Vows and Honor?

It's a companion novel rather than an officially numbered fourth entry — it follows Kerowyn, granddaughter of Kethry from the Tarma-and-Kethry trilogy, and is consistently shelved and recommended alongside Vows and Honor by readers and retailers, which is why it's included here.

What order should I read Vows and Honor in?

The Oathbound, then Oathbreakers, then Oathblood for Tarma and Kethry's own story; follow with By the Sword, which is set a generation later and works best once you know the family history it builds on.

Do I need to read other Valdemar books first?

No. Vows and Honor is set well before the Heralds of Valdemar era and works as a standalone entry point, though By the Sword eventually connects into the wider Valdemar/Heralds timeline near its end.

Is Vows and Honor connected to the Last Herald-Mage or the Arrows trilogy?

Only loosely, through the shared Valdemar setting and history — Tarma, Kethry, and Kerowyn's story predates Talia's and Vanyel's, and By the Sword is the book that most directly bridges into the Heralds era.

Reading order last verified .