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The Legend of Eli Monpress #0.5
Spirit's Oath
Four years before the events of The Spirit Thief, Miranda Lyonette was a young apprentice Spiritualist on the cusp of a promising career. But on the eve of her return from bonding a wind spirit, a night that should have been a celebration, she finds instead that her father has come to take her home. Now, Miranda must choose between her duty to her family and her future at the Spirit Court. But while she's trying to make her parents see reason and avoid an arranged marriage to a man she can't stand, she stumbled across the one one spirit who needs her more than any other, a caged ghosthound who doesn't want her help. To save him, Miranda will have to earn the dog's trust, but what she gets in return is a friendship deeper than anything she expected.
Word Count ~ 19,000
Word Count ~ 19,000
59 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2012
About the author
Rachel Aaron
32 books2,890 followersHello, my name is Rachel Aaron, and I write the Heartstriker books, a new Urban Fantasy series about misfit dragons, starting with Nice Dragons Finish Last. I also wrote The Legend of Eli Monpress fantasy series for Orbit Books about a wizard thief and the poor bastards who have to try and stop him. PLUS I'm also the author of the new, rolicking fun Science Fiction romance Fortune's Pawn under the name Rachel Bach.
I was born in Atlanta, but I currently live a lovely, nerdy, bookish life in Denver, CO with my lightspeed son, perpetually understanding husband, and far too many plants. Besides my own books, the internet knows me best for writing very fast. The best way to get to know me is probably to read my blog or follow me on Twitter.
I was born in Atlanta, but I currently live a lovely, nerdy, bookish life in Denver, CO with my lightspeed son, perpetually understanding husband, and far too many plants. Besides my own books, the internet knows me best for writing very fast. The best way to get to know me is probably to read my blog or follow me on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 19, 2024
3.5
“Come with me, help me make a better world where things like what happened to you and me can’t happen anymore”.
Primer contacto con la saga y la verdad es que estoy encantada. Es la segunda saga que empiezo de esta autora (aunque tengo que terminar ambas ahora) y me tiene enamorada, sobre todo por el mundo que ha creado.
“You felt you had nothing left. I say it doesn’t have to be that way”.
Esta no deja de ser un pequeño relato antes de los eventos principales donde se nos presenta a uno de los protagonistas y sus aliados por así decirlo. Sin embargo, ya he leído hasta el segundo libro de la saga y puedo decir que estos libros merecen la pena. Una pena que no estén traducidos.
“I’m not the sort of woman you push around.”
“Come with me, help me make a better world where things like what happened to you and me can’t happen anymore”.
Primer contacto con la saga y la verdad es que estoy encantada. Es la segunda saga que empiezo de esta autora (aunque tengo que terminar ambas ahora) y me tiene enamorada, sobre todo por el mundo que ha creado.
“You felt you had nothing left. I say it doesn’t have to be that way”.
Esta no deja de ser un pequeño relato antes de los eventos principales donde se nos presenta a uno de los protagonistas y sus aliados por así decirlo. Sin embargo, ya he leído hasta el segundo libro de la saga y puedo decir que estos libros merecen la pena. Una pena que no estén traducidos.
“I’m not the sort of woman you push around.”
August 26, 2012
I had been so looking forward to this, and unlike Spirit War, this was a huge disappointment. It felt incredibly rushed, and everyone one felt like over the top caricatures. The whole thing felt completely over the top, and if it hadn't been about my favourite character then I don't think I would have finished it.
October 19, 2016
The origin story of one Miranda Lyonette, Spiritualist. (Who does not take it well when her family tries to pull her away from her Spiritualist duties so that they can marry her off; oh, no, she doesn't.)
August 26, 2016
while still in her apprenticeship and barely twenty, Miranda Lyonette, after a month of squatting in the sun could finally claim a wind spirit, given that they are finicky things. his name was Eril, resting in the pearl of her pendant. Since thirteen, which is the age requirement for being a novice at the Spirit Court, it had been her home. Unlike her spirit deaf family, she could hear spirits which every object, animate or not, had. But all humans were spirit blind.
Miranda had red hair. The spirit court people wore red robes. She had two other spirits for her own to show in two large gems, other than Eril. Durn (stone spirit-emarald gem) and Alliana (moss - agate)There were less than five people in the whole court who could claim a wind spirit to own. That's why she was surrounded by the applauding crowd. Banage had an assistant, Krigel. This was all happening in Zarin. So the Rector Spiritualis Etmon Banage had called Miranda to his office in the highest tower in Zarin but unexpectedly her father was in that room. Her father, who apparently could always sneer at anyone. Lord Simon Lyonette. Being a pledged spiritualist, she was not required to bow to any nobility in Zarin, for the spirit court was a neutral body, and its members had only pledges to their spirits. And she didn't see any other reason to honor her father either. So when he announced, that she would be coming home and made a great show of how she must have made a scandal of herself, roaming about without even a chaperone, she turned for help to her Master. But sadly, the law was on her father's side, unless she was married. But Banage only allowed her to be taken back the next morning. Her father left with a string of threats if she were late the morning. Meanwhile Banage advised her to be herself and he would back her up if anything goes wrong, for how unusual the situation was. After seven years... She supplied that she could run away and save everyone the trouble, to which “Never run away from your parents,” he said, his voice soft now, but the lowered volume didn’t lower the intensity of the words. “ Ever. No matter how angry you may be with them. No father, no matter how terrible, deserves the pain of not knowing if his child is alive and safe.” she immediately felt sorry.
But the rector calls on his assistant and finally she gets her much deserved celebration that night.
Early next morning, she was standing in front of the four-storey building- her new house- for the first time.
Almasetta Lyonette apparently intended to project perfection around herself. Ironically, without even smiling at her daughter, the first thing she yells at her about was the injustice she did to her hair and face. The second, was how cursed she was to have such a daughter.
Anyway, they had to attend a grand house party that evening, invited by Martin Hapter one of the richest men in the council. No nobility, but no one whose offer should be ignored either. She was bearing all that because she knew she would be returning to the court after playing this. After being stitched into her rich evening dress and facing a lifetime's worth of scoffs and scowls from her mother, father and younger sister, in the carriage, when she finally reached the party did she know what the offer was. She was met by Martin himself, to whom, her being a sworn spiritualist came as a surprise, which he carefully hid behind an air of indifference. She meets Tima, her older sister, married to the Whitefalls, a great accomplishment for a minor nobility like Lyonettes. She was given a tour of the house by the tradesman, Hapter himself. They went to see his 'real collection'. A one storey side building with no windows. It had cages with strong locks and smell of exotic predators. She didn't approve of caging anything but her host was busy envisioning the fortune from those animals. But he had saved the best for the last. The "best" was in a room that was taller than the rest of the building. The stone was much thicker. Evidently, it was something very unusually large. Here is a must read description:
"Miranda had never seen anything like it. At first glance, it looked like a dog, but no dog was ever that huge. The creature was enormous, fifteen feet at least from the tip of its broad, black nose to the point of its tail. Its eyes were orange as pumpkins and nearly as large, and they followed her with murderous intent, but most amazing of all was the creature’s coat. Its fur was as long as her index finger, and for the most part, it was a cloudy silver, but streaking across its pelt in curling patterns was a lighter, pure silver that moved as Miranda watched, the color drifting across the animal’s fur like dappled moonlight. The moving patterns sped up as she got closer, the silver marks flashing so quickly they reminded Miranda of a snowstorm, an impression that was only heightened by the beast’s swift, graceful movements as it stalked back and forth along the bars of its cage, its head down, ready to strike. When its orange eyes met Miranda’s, the creature lifted its lip, showing a wall of foot long yellow teeth."
It was a ghosthound. Enormous creatures, lightning fast, that ruled the snowy continent. Miranda could see the outright hatred in its eyes for Martin, and an intelligence shining behind them. She even warned him that it shouldn't be caged, but he laughed it off. They went for dinner. And there the host announces his alliance with the council of thrones and to her utter shock and disgust, his engagement to Miranda.
Torn between her duty towards her family and as a spiritualist, she had yet to come to terms with this idea. She was the key for both the locks, the tradesman to have a better position and the Lyonettes to have riches and their debts to Mr. Hapter cleared. They were selling her away like a horse, in marriage to a man she couldn't stand one bit, just for a big house? And they didn't bother to even ask her! Obviously her mother couldn't be reasoned with. She was boiling with rage. She dragged him out from the dining and told him flat out this was not happening.
She was not for sale. Hapter no longer was the affable host but a shrewd businessman when he explained all the allowances and leniencies she would be having in this "transaction". But she fell for none.
At predawn She slipped by to the small building where the ghosthound was. Unlocked the door latch thanks to Durn. She tried talking the beast into letting her help him, for she was sworn to protect spirits who were abused. But for all her efforts it just watched her. As she was leaving, the ghosthound made an offer. He would let her live if she broke the cage, because his actual fight was with that human. Miranda promised she won't let him kill anyone because he will end up dead and that man wasn't worth his death. But the hound wouldn't negotiate. So she left, promising to find him a way out.
She couldn't make anyone listen to her, that she won't be marrying Hapter tomorrow. Tima and Alma tried to talk some sense into her. Tried and failed. She would've actually walked back to Zarin, but she wasn't the only one trapped here. So she decided to talk to the hound again that night.
When she didn't attend the engagement ball, it made Hapter extremely furious for becoming a laughingstock before half the noble families of Zarin downstairs. When her room was deserted and locked from the outside, in her riding dress, she climbed to the window, dropped Alliana's moss ring in the garden just below, and calculated the drop. The ring blossomed into a great spring bed and Eril slowed her fall she was dropped gently on the moss. Eril flew her toward the zoo and Her spirits went back to their places, and fell asleep.
She made the ghosthound an offer of sending him to his homeland, but he said he was an outcast and will be killed by his pack. And killing Hapter was his last act. She was just talking him out of this, when Hapter came roaring inside, was saved by Miranda from the hound's jaws, and made the guards show her to her new room without windows and fireplace. Since she wasn't acting on the Court's behalf, she couldn't use her spirits against him.
So she was totally relaxed when the maids came to dress her for the ceremony after breakfast, because she was deep inside her soul, opening her spirit, building all the rage into power. Thankfully, the spirit deaf maids didn't question about the shifting energy in the air as they left. When she was alone with Alma, who was doing her hair, the building's foundation began creaking, complaining because what was about to happen, made Alma scream every obscenity on Miranda. A great stone fist punched through the wall behind, as Durn asked his mistress if she was ready. The hand yanked her out of the house and they fled to the zoo, with one last job of breaking the hound's cage, before their power was exhausted. Miranda offered the ghosthound power for service, strength for obedience and her own soul as the pack he lost. A spiritualist's oath. Since he had a body, and couldn't be bound to Miranda like her rings, it was a bond of mutual protection and trust more than just magic. A promise between them. Their loss would kill Hapter. That alone made the ghosthound flash a feral grin as he accepted her as his Spiritualist. So Miranda on her seat between his shoulders, clutching his silver fur, and Gin, for that was the hound's name, escaped, but not before crashing the wedding. Surely, given his size, anyone would give a wide berth for the hound in a heartbeat. And they flew back to home.
A month later, when Banage and Miranda were about to set out for an Enslaver's dead body and to free the spirits, as she was getting used to watching Gin snacking on a pig, she receives a certificate, stating that she had been disowned by the Lyonettes. She read it as if it were a weather report. But she realised she could meet Tima still. She was a Whitefall after all.
And that's just the novella The Spirit's Oath (Book 0.5). Eli doesn't even come in the picture before The Spirit Thief (Book 1)
Miranda had red hair. The spirit court people wore red robes. She had two other spirits for her own to show in two large gems, other than Eril. Durn (stone spirit-emarald gem) and Alliana (moss - agate)There were less than five people in the whole court who could claim a wind spirit to own. That's why she was surrounded by the applauding crowd. Banage had an assistant, Krigel. This was all happening in Zarin. So the Rector Spiritualis Etmon Banage had called Miranda to his office in the highest tower in Zarin but unexpectedly her father was in that room. Her father, who apparently could always sneer at anyone. Lord Simon Lyonette. Being a pledged spiritualist, she was not required to bow to any nobility in Zarin, for the spirit court was a neutral body, and its members had only pledges to their spirits. And she didn't see any other reason to honor her father either. So when he announced, that she would be coming home and made a great show of how she must have made a scandal of herself, roaming about without even a chaperone, she turned for help to her Master. But sadly, the law was on her father's side, unless she was married. But Banage only allowed her to be taken back the next morning. Her father left with a string of threats if she were late the morning. Meanwhile Banage advised her to be herself and he would back her up if anything goes wrong, for how unusual the situation was. After seven years... She supplied that she could run away and save everyone the trouble, to which “Never run away from your parents,” he said, his voice soft now, but the lowered volume didn’t lower the intensity of the words. “ Ever. No matter how angry you may be with them. No father, no matter how terrible, deserves the pain of not knowing if his child is alive and safe.” she immediately felt sorry.
But the rector calls on his assistant and finally she gets her much deserved celebration that night.
Early next morning, she was standing in front of the four-storey building- her new house- for the first time.
Almasetta Lyonette apparently intended to project perfection around herself. Ironically, without even smiling at her daughter, the first thing she yells at her about was the injustice she did to her hair and face. The second, was how cursed she was to have such a daughter.
Anyway, they had to attend a grand house party that evening, invited by Martin Hapter one of the richest men in the council. No nobility, but no one whose offer should be ignored either. She was bearing all that because she knew she would be returning to the court after playing this. After being stitched into her rich evening dress and facing a lifetime's worth of scoffs and scowls from her mother, father and younger sister, in the carriage, when she finally reached the party did she know what the offer was. She was met by Martin himself, to whom, her being a sworn spiritualist came as a surprise, which he carefully hid behind an air of indifference. She meets Tima, her older sister, married to the Whitefalls, a great accomplishment for a minor nobility like Lyonettes. She was given a tour of the house by the tradesman, Hapter himself. They went to see his 'real collection'. A one storey side building with no windows. It had cages with strong locks and smell of exotic predators. She didn't approve of caging anything but her host was busy envisioning the fortune from those animals. But he had saved the best for the last. The "best" was in a room that was taller than the rest of the building. The stone was much thicker. Evidently, it was something very unusually large. Here is a must read description:
"Miranda had never seen anything like it. At first glance, it looked like a dog, but no dog was ever that huge. The creature was enormous, fifteen feet at least from the tip of its broad, black nose to the point of its tail. Its eyes were orange as pumpkins and nearly as large, and they followed her with murderous intent, but most amazing of all was the creature’s coat. Its fur was as long as her index finger, and for the most part, it was a cloudy silver, but streaking across its pelt in curling patterns was a lighter, pure silver that moved as Miranda watched, the color drifting across the animal’s fur like dappled moonlight. The moving patterns sped up as she got closer, the silver marks flashing so quickly they reminded Miranda of a snowstorm, an impression that was only heightened by the beast’s swift, graceful movements as it stalked back and forth along the bars of its cage, its head down, ready to strike. When its orange eyes met Miranda’s, the creature lifted its lip, showing a wall of foot long yellow teeth."
It was a ghosthound. Enormous creatures, lightning fast, that ruled the snowy continent. Miranda could see the outright hatred in its eyes for Martin, and an intelligence shining behind them. She even warned him that it shouldn't be caged, but he laughed it off. They went for dinner. And there the host announces his alliance with the council of thrones and to her utter shock and disgust, his engagement to Miranda.
Torn between her duty towards her family and as a spiritualist, she had yet to come to terms with this idea. She was the key for both the locks, the tradesman to have a better position and the Lyonettes to have riches and their debts to Mr. Hapter cleared. They were selling her away like a horse, in marriage to a man she couldn't stand one bit, just for a big house? And they didn't bother to even ask her! Obviously her mother couldn't be reasoned with. She was boiling with rage. She dragged him out from the dining and told him flat out this was not happening.
She was not for sale. Hapter no longer was the affable host but a shrewd businessman when he explained all the allowances and leniencies she would be having in this "transaction". But she fell for none.
At predawn She slipped by to the small building where the ghosthound was. Unlocked the door latch thanks to Durn. She tried talking the beast into letting her help him, for she was sworn to protect spirits who were abused. But for all her efforts it just watched her. As she was leaving, the ghosthound made an offer. He would let her live if she broke the cage, because his actual fight was with that human. Miranda promised she won't let him kill anyone because he will end up dead and that man wasn't worth his death. But the hound wouldn't negotiate. So she left, promising to find him a way out.
She couldn't make anyone listen to her, that she won't be marrying Hapter tomorrow. Tima and Alma tried to talk some sense into her. Tried and failed. She would've actually walked back to Zarin, but she wasn't the only one trapped here. So she decided to talk to the hound again that night.
When she didn't attend the engagement ball, it made Hapter extremely furious for becoming a laughingstock before half the noble families of Zarin downstairs. When her room was deserted and locked from the outside, in her riding dress, she climbed to the window, dropped Alliana's moss ring in the garden just below, and calculated the drop. The ring blossomed into a great spring bed and Eril slowed her fall she was dropped gently on the moss. Eril flew her toward the zoo and Her spirits went back to their places, and fell asleep.
She made the ghosthound an offer of sending him to his homeland, but he said he was an outcast and will be killed by his pack. And killing Hapter was his last act. She was just talking him out of this, when Hapter came roaring inside, was saved by Miranda from the hound's jaws, and made the guards show her to her new room without windows and fireplace. Since she wasn't acting on the Court's behalf, she couldn't use her spirits against him.
So she was totally relaxed when the maids came to dress her for the ceremony after breakfast, because she was deep inside her soul, opening her spirit, building all the rage into power. Thankfully, the spirit deaf maids didn't question about the shifting energy in the air as they left. When she was alone with Alma, who was doing her hair, the building's foundation began creaking, complaining because what was about to happen, made Alma scream every obscenity on Miranda. A great stone fist punched through the wall behind, as Durn asked his mistress if she was ready. The hand yanked her out of the house and they fled to the zoo, with one last job of breaking the hound's cage, before their power was exhausted. Miranda offered the ghosthound power for service, strength for obedience and her own soul as the pack he lost. A spiritualist's oath. Since he had a body, and couldn't be bound to Miranda like her rings, it was a bond of mutual protection and trust more than just magic. A promise between them. Their loss would kill Hapter. That alone made the ghosthound flash a feral grin as he accepted her as his Spiritualist. So Miranda on her seat between his shoulders, clutching his silver fur, and Gin, for that was the hound's name, escaped, but not before crashing the wedding. Surely, given his size, anyone would give a wide berth for the hound in a heartbeat. And they flew back to home.
A month later, when Banage and Miranda were about to set out for an Enslaver's dead body and to free the spirits, as she was getting used to watching Gin snacking on a pig, she receives a certificate, stating that she had been disowned by the Lyonettes. She read it as if it were a weather report. But she realised she could meet Tima still. She was a Whitefall after all.
And that's just the novella The Spirit's Oath (Book 0.5). Eli doesn't even come in the picture before The Spirit Thief (Book 1)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2020
Not as well written as the Eli novels (you can tell it was not revised, and a lot of the characters are more like caricatures), but it was still fun to read about how Miranda and Gin met. Read it if you love the Eli novels and want a little distraction, but don't if you don't already love Eli Monpress.
June 28, 2023
The Eli Monpress series is one of my favorite series of all time! Somehow, even though I've read the series multiple times, I JUST learned this existed! You better bet I downloaded the ebook IMMEDIATELY.
Was it my favorite? No. Will I feel the need to reread it with the rest of the series in the future? Probably not. But, I'm glad I read it!
Was it my favorite? No. Will I feel the need to reread it with the rest of the series in the future? Probably not. But, I'm glad I read it!
August 10, 2017
For fans of Rachel Aaron's The Legend of Eli Monpress series: an entertaining, short novella about how Miranda got her ghosthound.
December 31, 2017
I missed this series.
June 3, 2018
Too short a read. Love Miranda’s spirit
June 25, 2018
Background of Spiritualist Miranda Lyonette. It was great to see the fiery personality I KNEW was there when it didn’t show well in “The Spirit Thief.”
September 20, 2019
I love the dynamic of the different characters. The lore/mythology is pretty cool too.The magic system is also nice.
October 15, 2019
Interesting to find out how Miranda met Gin :) I love that dog. The story was fine, it was fun to watch Miranda fight her family :D
May 17, 2020
This was a cute little novella and I enjoyed it.
June 10, 2020
This was fun. Good characters, and an interesting plot. It doesn't sound like she's the focus of the rest of the series and I'm kind of sorry. I liked Miranda.
August 21, 2020
authorcorner
I like all the Eli Monoress books although I an not a hardcore fantasy reader. She is a good writer. The characters are endearing and it’s not too dark.
I like all the Eli Monoress books although I an not a hardcore fantasy reader. She is a good writer. The characters are endearing and it’s not too dark.
October 6, 2023
Miranda backstory! I very much enjoyed learning about her and her backstory with Gin.
September 11, 2024
I love how it ended with "That's about it." Peak comedy. I am a little confused as to how everything happened without major consequence or backlash but whatever.
October 25, 2019
Miranda’s oath to Gin pulled every heartstring I have.
***
Eli’s exploits apparently fall so far to the edges of typical society, I found myself thrown when I learned that Zarin is apparently trapped in one of those fantasy civilizations that treat women like dirt and marries girls off without their consent. That wasn’t really the vibe I had gotten from the main story with its plethora of strong capable women. While Miranda does get to shine in this story as she spits in the face of the patriarchy and she explosively escapes from the chains of society…I do prefer my fantasy worlds without systemic misogyny. After all, even though Miranda escapes her fate through sheer force of will, the implication is that Tima and all the other girls like her, who don’t have Miranda’s advantages, will be left to suffer under the social norms (in addition to the completely unrelated but absolutely enormous secret shit show Benehime is orchestrating in the background of the series proper).
***
Eli’s exploits apparently fall so far to the edges of typical society, I found myself thrown when I learned that Zarin is apparently trapped in one of those fantasy civilizations that treat women like dirt and marries girls off without their consent. That wasn’t really the vibe I had gotten from the main story with its plethora of strong capable women. While Miranda does get to shine in this story as she spits in the face of the patriarchy and she explosively escapes from the chains of society…I do prefer my fantasy worlds without systemic misogyny. After all, even though Miranda escapes her fate through sheer force of will, the implication is that Tima and all the other girls like her, who don’t have Miranda’s advantages, will be left to suffer under the social norms (in addition to the completely unrelated but absolutely enormous secret shit show Benehime is orchestrating in the background of the series proper).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2017
Short and just an intro. It didn't grab me...
I noticed this was written after the first book, so maybe I will start it and see how it goes. I am often not a fan of the short stories of a series.
I noticed this was written after the first book, so maybe I will start it and see how it goes. I am often not a fan of the short stories of a series.
March 8, 2017
While I appreciated the story (some background on Miranda and Gin) this was nowhere near as good as the novels.
Read
October 15, 2012“Spirit’s Oath” is a prequel novella to Rachel Aaaron’s Eli Monpress series and takes place four years before events in the first novel. Eli himself does not figure in it at all, except for one oblique reference (that I’ve noticed) that you’ll miss if you have not read at least as far as The Spirit Rebellion. Instead, it is all about Miranda Lyonette and how she first meets her ghosthound Gin, during an attempt of her family to salvage their finances by marrying her off to a nouveau-riche. As everyone who has read the series will easily be able to imagine, those plans do not sit well with Miranda at all who would much rather follow her vocation as a Spiritualist, and as a result quite a bit of hijinks ensue.
The novella is very much in the spirit of The Spirit Thief, the first novel in The Legend of Eli Monpress, i.e. it is lighthearted fun and not yet tinged with the darkness that creeps into later novels in the series, and for all its shortness it has the full measure of the wonderful charm that seems to inform all of Rachel Aaron’s writing. The pages just fly by under a constant soundtrack of chuckles, chortles and delighted squees on part of the reader, and my only niggles are that the novella wasn’t a novel and that Spirit’s End is not out yet.
The novella also showcases how moralistic a writer Rachel Aaron is – and I do not mean that she is preachy (which she is very much not) but that there is a very strong ethical stance in all of her writing – there always is an emphatical insistence on respect towards others, no matter how alien they are, how strange their customs or how foreign their way of life. And this is what in the end unites Miranda and Eli, too, no matter how far apart they are in other things – they would never use their power (and both possess a considerable amount of it) to forcefully impose their will on those weaker than themselves. In fact, the whole magic system of the series is based around this concept, opposing those mage users that persuade and reason with Spirits to those that would force and enslave them. That aspect might not be obvious among all the immense fun reading The Legend of Eli Monpress is, but it is always there and plays a large role.
“Spirit’s Oath”, then, is a very nice addition to The Legend of Eli Monpress that fully lives up to the rest of the series; and while not necessary for following the main story line, I can’t really imagine anyone who likes the series not wanting to read it (unless they hate Miranda and / or Gin, but surely such people do not exist?). It also stands very well on its own and would make an excellent introduction for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the series’s waters without wanting to immerse themselves into a whole novel (or even three of them, with the omnibus). In short, there is absolutely no reason not to get this delightful novella.
The novella is very much in the spirit of The Spirit Thief, the first novel in The Legend of Eli Monpress, i.e. it is lighthearted fun and not yet tinged with the darkness that creeps into later novels in the series, and for all its shortness it has the full measure of the wonderful charm that seems to inform all of Rachel Aaron’s writing. The pages just fly by under a constant soundtrack of chuckles, chortles and delighted squees on part of the reader, and my only niggles are that the novella wasn’t a novel and that Spirit’s End is not out yet.
The novella also showcases how moralistic a writer Rachel Aaron is – and I do not mean that she is preachy (which she is very much not) but that there is a very strong ethical stance in all of her writing – there always is an emphatical insistence on respect towards others, no matter how alien they are, how strange their customs or how foreign their way of life. And this is what in the end unites Miranda and Eli, too, no matter how far apart they are in other things – they would never use their power (and both possess a considerable amount of it) to forcefully impose their will on those weaker than themselves. In fact, the whole magic system of the series is based around this concept, opposing those mage users that persuade and reason with Spirits to those that would force and enslave them. That aspect might not be obvious among all the immense fun reading The Legend of Eli Monpress is, but it is always there and plays a large role.
“Spirit’s Oath”, then, is a very nice addition to The Legend of Eli Monpress that fully lives up to the rest of the series; and while not necessary for following the main story line, I can’t really imagine anyone who likes the series not wanting to read it (unless they hate Miranda and / or Gin, but surely such people do not exist?). It also stands very well on its own and would make an excellent introduction for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the series’s waters without wanting to immerse themselves into a whole novel (or even three of them, with the omnibus). In short, there is absolutely no reason not to get this delightful novella.
January 24, 2020
4 STARS
CW: mild violence, controlling family
From the moment I was introduced to Miranda Lyonette and Gin the ghosthound, I absolutely had to know how they came to be friends, and their histories as separate characters. Thankfully, that’s exactly what Spirit’s Oath is about, and trust me, I’m very satisfied.
It’s not a particularly long novella, thank goodness, and it took me maybe half an hour at most to read (can’t go wrong with a quick read, after all). It also centers around what’s pretty much a single event that spirals out of hand: Miranda being pulled back under her family’s stifling control.
I couldn’t STAND her family, even the sister who was framed as more pleasant, because they see Miranda’s unhappiness among them, and they don’t care. Or, in the sister’s case, they do very, very little to ease the discomfort. You can tell that Miranda’s family doesn’t care about her the way they care about the family name, and by the end of the book, I was nearly as furious as Miranda was with their actions. It’s impossible to like their self-serving, controlling ways, and it solidly puts the reader in Miranda’s corner.
On the flip side, this did make basically every character except Miranda and Gin feel very flat and heavy-handed in their awfulness, but this isn’t a 400-odd page book. It’s about 50 some pages of novella that’s revealing that fun bit of backstory between two beloved characters, backstory we didn’t get to fully see in the series proper. I can forgive some heavy-handedness in this case, because I’m here for the history.
And Gin. Gin is the best fantasy dog ever, and I would honestly read hundreds of pages about him. We get to see how he and Miranda met, what drew them together and sealed their bond, and how they’re very, very alike in their origins. There’s a reason they get along so well, when so few humans have ever gotten that close to such a massive, dangerous animal. They’re both independent, proud, and willing to go to extreme lengths to make their own choices. Really, they’re just another example of the way the Eli Monpress series explores agency and the lack thereof, power and powerlessness.
I think I just wish there had been a little more. It certainly works as a short story, and it didn’t add in too many extraneous scenes that made it unwieldy, but I couldn’t help but feel Gin and Miranda together weren’t focused on often enough, and that’s what I showed up for. Despite that, though, it was a fun, short read about two delightful characters, and I very much even more than ever want to see this series turned into animation somehow. It’s really a pressing (Monpressing? ohoho…) need at this point.
CW: mild violence, controlling family
From the moment I was introduced to Miranda Lyonette and Gin the ghosthound, I absolutely had to know how they came to be friends, and their histories as separate characters. Thankfully, that’s exactly what Spirit’s Oath is about, and trust me, I’m very satisfied.
It’s not a particularly long novella, thank goodness, and it took me maybe half an hour at most to read (can’t go wrong with a quick read, after all). It also centers around what’s pretty much a single event that spirals out of hand: Miranda being pulled back under her family’s stifling control.
I couldn’t STAND her family, even the sister who was framed as more pleasant, because they see Miranda’s unhappiness among them, and they don’t care. Or, in the sister’s case, they do very, very little to ease the discomfort. You can tell that Miranda’s family doesn’t care about her the way they care about the family name, and by the end of the book, I was nearly as furious as Miranda was with their actions. It’s impossible to like their self-serving, controlling ways, and it solidly puts the reader in Miranda’s corner.
On the flip side, this did make basically every character except Miranda and Gin feel very flat and heavy-handed in their awfulness, but this isn’t a 400-odd page book. It’s about 50 some pages of novella that’s revealing that fun bit of backstory between two beloved characters, backstory we didn’t get to fully see in the series proper. I can forgive some heavy-handedness in this case, because I’m here for the history.
And Gin. Gin is the best fantasy dog ever, and I would honestly read hundreds of pages about him. We get to see how he and Miranda met, what drew them together and sealed their bond, and how they’re very, very alike in their origins. There’s a reason they get along so well, when so few humans have ever gotten that close to such a massive, dangerous animal. They’re both independent, proud, and willing to go to extreme lengths to make their own choices. Really, they’re just another example of the way the Eli Monpress series explores agency and the lack thereof, power and powerlessness.
I think I just wish there had been a little more. It certainly works as a short story, and it didn’t add in too many extraneous scenes that made it unwieldy, but I couldn’t help but feel Gin and Miranda together weren’t focused on often enough, and that’s what I showed up for. Despite that, though, it was a fun, short read about two delightful characters, and I very much even more than ever want to see this series turned into animation somehow. It’s really a pressing (Monpressing? ohoho…) need at this point.
March 6, 2012
Review originally at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Spirit’s Oath is a novella which acts as a prequel to the main series; It focuses on Miranda Lyonette and is set four years before the events of the first book. It's being released today as a "thank you" from the author & publisher to the fans of the series. The book features Miranda as a twenty year old who has just taken her spiritualist vows and also gotten hold of a wind spirit. Things however aren’t looking good for her when her family drags her back to her home and reveal what plans they have for her.
Her parents and younger sister don’t share her enthusiasm for her spiritualist duties and want to marry her off to a man, who wishes to enter the higher social circles and his marriage to Miranda will pave that way. What he doesn’t count is Miranda’s attitude and the presence of a certain ghosthound whom readers will recognize from the latter books. The tale is about nineteen thousand words but feels much longer than that due to the sheer excitement, which is packed into the story. Miranda’s stubbornness and her innate sense of justice is brought to the fore very strongly and this was an aspect which I enjoyed reading. Also the look into the societal structure and Miranda's family was a good surprise.
The book is a bit predictable due to the nature of all prequels, this is something that is very hard to avoid. This book is no stranger to such a theme however the author tries her best to make the eventual ride a pleasant one as much as possible. It is a book which thoroughly integrates Miranda’s past with her story in the future saga. I very much enjoyed this trip as it showcased the formation of the bond between her & Gin. Reading this story will not spoil the Spirit books but will add an extra veneer to the proceedings. I can’t wait to see where she ends up in the next book as in the end of the third book, her life takes a rather strange turn and she gets a new partner as well. Kudos to the author for giving the reader a short but vital look into the past of one of the main characters of the saga.
October 29, 2012
Aka "How Miranda Became Awesome, Met Gin and Tossed Her Family Over". This is set about four years before the first book, The Spirit Thief, in the Eli Monpress fantasy novel series. Miranda is, for lack of a better word, Eli's frenemy and sometimes ally. In "Spirit's Oath" we see how she officially became part of the Spirit Court, proved how super duper awesome she is and met Gin. Plus tossed over her priggish, annoying family.
For those who haven't read the Eli books you won't be lost. Other then the slight reference to him (a reference you'll only get if you've read the books), this is fully Miranda's tale to tell. Aaron is sparse on the details of the world at large, preferring to focus on the Spirit Court and detailing how Miranda obtained the unique position she has in the Court int he Eli books.
This isn't perfect. I adore Miranda, but without Eli's bombastic personality to clash against, it would have been hard for this novella to go on much longer then it was. Miranda is almost too loyal here to the Court, placing it above all else. The Miranda who questions things is present, but her entire focus is on her family and the fiance they want her to marry.
Still this was enjoyable a good taste of what's to come (as well as FORESHADOWING), well worth it for a fan or a newbie to the series.
For those who haven't read the Eli books you won't be lost. Other then the slight reference to him (a reference you'll only get if you've read the books), this is fully Miranda's tale to tell. Aaron is sparse on the details of the world at large, preferring to focus on the Spirit Court and detailing how Miranda obtained the unique position she has in the Court int he Eli books.
This isn't perfect. I adore Miranda, but without Eli's bombastic personality to clash against, it would have been hard for this novella to go on much longer then it was. Miranda is almost too loyal here to the Court, placing it above all else. The Miranda who questions things is present, but her entire focus is on her family and the fiance they want her to marry.
Still this was enjoyable a good taste of what's to come (as well as FORESHADOWING), well worth it for a fan or a newbie to the series.
January 17, 2016
Short and sweet. Normally I'm not one for novelettes, but I'd loved Aaron's earlier works in the Eli Monpress series, and when I spotted this one on sale for $0.99 it was an easy decision.
Here we have a chance to learn a little more about Miranda's backstory, and how she first met Gin - the blurb pretty much gives the whole plot away, so there's nothing to spoil here. And yeah, it's not very complex or subtle: most of Miranda's family are just one-note setpieces, and her arranged husband is not much better, needing only a moustache to twirl. But I wasn't really reading for the plot anyway - this one is just pure mental fluff and a chance to meet two old friends again, and in that sense it delivered just about what I'd expected.
Here we have a chance to learn a little more about Miranda's backstory, and how she first met Gin - the blurb pretty much gives the whole plot away, so there's nothing to spoil here. And yeah, it's not very complex or subtle: most of Miranda's family are just one-note setpieces, and her arranged husband is not much better, needing only a moustache to twirl. But I wasn't really reading for the plot anyway - this one is just pure mental fluff and a chance to meet two old friends again, and in that sense it delivered just about what I'd expected.
January 3, 2015
Ever wonder what the story is with Miranda? Or where she could possibly find and befriend Gin, the giant ghosthound???
Well here's your answer!
This prequal fills in the last back story left untold by the end of the Eli Monress series. It's a fantastic but unfortunately short read told in Rachel Aaron's unique voice.
Recommended reading for anyone sorry they made it to the end of Eli's tale and wondering what they'll do without the promise of another heist.
This series will be put on my reread list for sure!
Well here's your answer!
This prequal fills in the last back story left untold by the end of the Eli Monress series. It's a fantastic but unfortunately short read told in Rachel Aaron's unique voice.
Recommended reading for anyone sorry they made it to the end of Eli's tale and wondering what they'll do without the promise of another heist.
This series will be put on my reread list for sure!
October 22, 2021
Continuing my Monpress journey by reading this short story which was fun to get a bit of back story of Miranda, turns out she has always been just as stubborn as she is in the main books.
December 21, 2015
It's been a while since I read this series, actually, and I forgot to mark it here. I really enjoy the tone and voice and storytelling throughout, and I blew through the whole set in a couple of weeks. I have to say, though, that I was disappointed at the resolution and had many questions regarding how the ending was going to restructure the way that world worked -- too many questions to be satisfied with it. I'd be overjoyed if there were something else added to explain the lingering threads, but it seems unlikely that we'll see any more of this world.
February 24, 2012
Picked this up to read before the Omnibus arrives. Very glad I did, too. Strong characterization seems to be second nature to this writer. Even the characters that I didn't like felt as real as the ones that I was obviously supposed to root for. I may even end up upgrading this to a 5 star rating, depending on how much I like the Eli Monpress Omnibus. For now, I've definitely found an author to follow.
April 28, 2016
It's been a while since I read the Eli Monpress series and it was a lot of fun to revisit that world! I was uncertain if I would enjoy a story just following Miranda but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It gave a good insight into the kind of woman she is and the family life that shaped her into who we meet in the series. I also really enjoyed getting to know how she worked with Gin. This was a well written and intriguing story that can be read at any point within the series!
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