The Oathbreaker's Shadow

November 24, 2014
It takes a bit of work to make headway into debut author McCulloch’s imaginative space. She eschews the typical medieval European world of fantasy for a nomadic yurt village on the steppes. The cast of characters is large, the customs and beliefs distant, and worldbuilding detail comes thick and fast. For readers who stick with it, what unfolds is a thoughtful coming-of-age story focused on questions of what constitutes betrayal. Raim, at 15, has been the devoted friend of Khareh, the crown prince of Dashan, for five years. The boys are on the brink of adult choices: Raim wants to become an elite Yun warrior, while Khareh is sliding into a battle of wills with the khan he has been chosen to succeed. As the boys swear a sacred vow to be forever protector and protected, these futures crumble. Marked as an oathbreaker and outcast, Raim goes on the run for his life into the merciless desert. Many questions are raised and none resolved, yet it’s an intriguing start to McCulloch’s planned series. Ages 12–up. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Agency Group.

December 1, 2014
The first of a two-book adventure series sends a gifted warrior-in-training out into the desert to die. In a fantasy world with the flavor of the Central Asian steppes, Raim is a 15-year-old nomad determined to join the elite forces of the Khanate. Since he was a child, he's been best friends with the Khan's heir, and if he passes his tests he'll be young Khareh's most trusted fighter. He need only make an Absolute Vow, an oath sworn on a knot. If the maker of a knotted promise is forsworn, the knot burns a hideous scar on the oathbreaker's body, and a grotesque shadow appears, haunting the breaker of the promise and causing his countrymen to drive him into the wilderness. With a loaded gun like that hanging on the wall, readers know it will soon be fired. Yet when Raim does set a promise knot afire, it's through no choice of his own but from some terrible misadventure. If he can only survive the shame of banishment, the desert's poisonous bugs and the city of the oathbreakers, Raim can learn his terrible family secrets-except those best left for the sequel. Worldbuilding grows through exposition that plods as slowly as Raim's trudge through the sands. Readers who stick it out to the action-packed climax will be curious about what's coming next. (Fantasy. 13-15)

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January 1, 2015
Grades 6-9 In a society where your word is everything, oathbreakers are reviled and banished to the desert, only able to form community with other oathbreakers. Raim is a young man on the brink of becoming a fighter for the Yun, the elite warriors of Darhan. He makes a promise to serve as the protector for his friend and future khan, Khareh, which causes a string on Raim's wrist, which has been there since he was a baby, to burst into flames, signifying that Raim is now an oathbreaker. Raim has no memory of the oath he is now branded for breaking, and he's now determined to clear his name. This is a densely packed book with multiple characters and plotlines and a complicated new vocabulary to master. The main storythe mystery behind the unknown promise that binds Raim and ultimately causes his banishmentis sometimes lost in the myriad other events happening in the novel. Older middle-school readers looking to get lost in another world will enjoy this adventure-packed read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world in which a promise is so binding that if it is broken, that promise leaves an irreversible stain on the oathbreaker, who is then cast out from the community and family for life. In Darhan, it is better to be dead than to be an oathbreaker. Raim has spent all of his life training to become an elite Yun warrior and guardian of his clan's future king, and coincidentally, best friend Kareh. On the night of his acceptance into the Yun Guard, Raim unknowingly breaks a mysterious oath he has been carrying since before he can remember. Raim is forced to flee before he is killed. He escapes into the desert in hopes of making it to the city of Lazar, where all the oathbreakers are forced to live. He barely survives his first day in the open before a fierce tribe of desert people, known as Alashan, find him and vow to take him to Lazar. The protagonist becomes embroiled in a conflict that, if not stopped, will endanger Darhan and all the people in it. The Oathbreaker's Shadow is easy to dive into and will keep readers engaged. Raim's character arc is full of palpable highs and lows as he uncovers the mystery behind his fate. The conclusion will leave teens wanting more, and is the perfect setup for a sequel. An excellent choice for those looking for a compelling and detailed fantasy novel.-Annalise Ammer, City of Rochester Public Libraries, NY

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