It was interested read. But I DNF at 35 %. I might have to go back and read it again. So far I liked it. But I just lost interested in the book.

I didn't realize this was a re-release. The first half of the book was interesting, but then it kinda loses the plot and is all over the place.

A Matter of Oaths remains a true masterpiece for the time that it was crafted - I mean, a sci-fi novel written by a woman that explores LGBTQ+ themes and includes people of colour, most writers today still aren't doing that - but unfortunately, it still remains far too high sci-fi for my poor, non-mathematically-wired brain to ever truly get my head around. I just wish I could appreciate it the way that it so clearly deserves.

DNF at 26%

I wasn’t interested in the characters, and as the plot hadn’t fully formed I was bored of waiting.

In this reprint of a 1988 novel, Commander Rallya of the patrol ship Bhattya takes on a new officer; an oath breaker named Rafe. Not only is Rallya gambling by taking on an oath breaker, Rafe has also undergone a memory wipe as punishment. All Rafe wants is to do his job and perhaps earn the grudging respect of his new crewmembers but the deep secrets hidden in Rafe's memories begin to flutter to the surface, secrets which may plunge the kingdoms into war.

This is an awesome space opera with odd politics that can get bogged down in its own details at times - both in the technical aspects and in the political. However, when the action is front and center; this book is a sharp, intelligent science fiction offering that is a nearly perfect book. It is truly a hidden gem that explores LGBT and people of color in science fiction and even has a retirement age captain! I'm sorry I didn't come across this sooner. 4.8 out of 5.

3.5 stars - The first half is terrific, but the second half is a verbose, confusing mess, and abandons the Hero Rallya. Wright has talent, and I'm not sure what went wrong in 1987 for her. She had great promise, and is an enigma today, sadly. I wish she had tried again on a second and third book.

Note: Wow. Introduction by Becky Chambers!

As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.

Helen S. Wright has been an enigma for years now, but is writing again, I'm very happy to hear.

An Interview with Helen S. Wright, December 2017. Very illuminating.

What Happens When an Old Woman Steals Your Story? November 2017
Ms. Wright's notes on how this story came to be.


40% finished... Excellent, we now have a hero, on the Hero's Journey! Unfortunately, just as the book gets really good, it falls flat, hero abandoned.

Rallya smiled contentedly. No mistakes this time, she promised herself. Handle it slowly and carefully, like the explosive it was, and detonate it where it would have the most impact: under the [place]. There would not be many with anything to hide who would survive the shock waves that would travel through the [place]. Especially not those who had accepted the offers that Rallya had turned down thirty-five years ago. The ones who had achieved power since then because Rallya had spoken out too soon, before she had the whole picture. The ones who would soon learn that thirty-five years was not too long to wait to win a war. Unfortunately, the promise here is left unfulfilled.

...like most spectator sports, love was chiefly enjoyable for the incompetence of its participants. - Perhaps a clue as to what went wrong in Wright's life, something sad that took the joy from this book?

The last 1/3 of the book was a mess. Confusing, new characters momentarily, a focus on indecision and recriminations for past mistakes, and the delightful Rallya reduced to a whiny old woman.

Very sad.

Throughout reading this, there were basically two major thoughts in my mind: one, why didn’t I read this sooner? And two: fans of Ann Leckie and Becky Chambers are probably the ideal audience (and maybe fans of Yoon Ha Lee, as well). And hurrah! It’s been republished recently, so it’s out there and ready to be picked up by just those people. I can’t quite put my finger on all of the things that reminded me of those authors, but nonetheless, remind me it did (without them being in any way derivative — that’s not what I’m saying).

Worldbuilding? Got it in spades. A unique way of interfacing between ship and crew, two warring empires, a mystery plot that turns out to reflect on the politics quite significantly, overt and perfectly matter of fact queerness… I loved the characters, even though they have their flaws (and I think I’d have liked to see more of Vidar, who kept fading in and out). I loved the way things came together, one question raising other questions while answering things you wouldn’t expect it to answer. And I read it really fast, too: I’d look up and I’d be 50 pages down the line with no real sense of time having passed.

And the ending. So much potential, without the need for more but just… telling you that more is there: the world goes on after you’ve left, as it began before you arrived. I’d love more time with Rafe and Joshim and Rallya; I’ll probably eventually reread this to get that. But the ending in itself is satisfactory and doesn’t, to my mind, leave anything hanging in a bad way.

I’m trying to think if I have criticisms, and really, I don’t. What the hey: I’m going for five stars here.

I love sci-fy but for some reason I did not like this one very much, original story but I felt it was lacking in so many things...

There are two covers for this book, and to represent it I have chosen the cover I like most. The silhouette and colourfulness of this caught my eye instantly when I was searching around on Netgalley. The blurb was super interesting and as I haven’t read much space opera I thought I would give it ago.


The book is set in a future where there are two empires locked in war. What was confusing to me at first is that all their ships are piloted by the same people, who are members of the Guild. I really liked the concept that all the Guild members are loyal to each other, if you’re captured then you have to serve them. If you refuse you’re branded an Oathbreaker, which basically means you’ll get your mind wiped and serve them anyway.

We start of learning about the crew of the Bhattya, which is short one officer. When they are unable to fill the spot they take on the only person they can find, who just so happens to be an Oathbreaker. His name is Rafe, and he is really good at navigation. Th problem is he doesn’t remember how he learned it, or who he used to be, then we find out there are people trying to kill him.

I really loved the plot of this book, it was exciting and always kept you wanting to turn the pages. Plus the diverse cast of characters were great. The romances were really well done, the world building was incredible and honestly, such a refreshing read.

Overall, definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who wants to dabble in space opera.

An interesting book, this. First published in 1988, it’s gained a sort of cult status amongst fans as a book that champions the best of science fiction: LGBT relationships, excitement, a fair dollop of invention and innovation, and a gripping lot. And space.
It doesn’t pull its punches, though, dropping you straight into the story without any explanation, leaving you to struggle and pick up the pieces as you go along- especially when it comes to getting to grips with the concepts and slang at hand. The story is set in the Twin Empires, ruled by two immortal beings, and populated by hundreds of planets- and the Guild, who control space travel everywhere. In one of these Empires, Rallya, captain of the patrol ship Bhattya, hires Rafe, a mind-wiped Oath breaker as their new First Officer. But Rafe’s past will quickly come back to haunt them all, as the ship and crew become entangled in a web of deception, empires and murder.
So, apart from the initial confusion in the story, I loved the inventiveness on display- from the complex telepathic ‘webs’, through which the crews control their ships, to the complex politics that characterise the relationships between the Empire and the Guilds. The book never lets up for a moment, and it probably merits a re-reading, because I was definitely lost in the complex tangle of plot points and unfamiliar lingo more than once.
The characters are intriguing, too: Rallya is likeable, stubborn and with a character arc over the course of the novel that you can really understand. And while Rafe remains a mystery for most of the book, he’s skillfully described and we get a clear sense of his character within the first few lines or so. The relationship that Rafe strikes up with Joshim, his webmaster, is also lovely: it’s always great to see LGBT representation at the forefront of a novel, and whilst theirs is the only romance in the novel, it’s also really sweet. Wright’s universe is one where gender doesn’t matter, which makes for a refreshing change.
The only place the novel falls down, I’d say, is with the plot. Though it’s interesting, it very quickly gets complicated, and by the end I was struggling to understand what was going on, whose motivations were driving which kidnapping, and what Rafe had to do with the two Empires. Last minute characters are introduced and revelations are made, that sometimes feel thrown in for the sake of it, and doesn’t exactly leave you engaged with the action, or the characters.
Overall, though, this was an enjoyable space romp that was served up a refreshing dollop of Star Wars-esque inventiveness. I’d recommend reading it twice, though.

I don't think space operas are my thing, as I really didn't enjoy this novel. I don't think there was anything wrong with the novel itself; it's just another instance where the book and I didn't match. I thought the characters were interesting and very unique: there's a gay person of colour and an older woman who are the main characters of the story. I loved Commander Ralya's sharp tongue and wit! However, I didn't really like the writing style and I wish there had been more world-building so that I could better understand the context of the story. Since I wasn't able to connect with the story, I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I could have. I'm going to give this novel a 2/5 stars as a rating, but would strongly urge others to check out more reviews before deciding whether they should read this book or not.

I received an e-ARC of A Matter Of Oaths from NetGalley in return for review consideration. The reissue will be published on 23rd November 2017.

A Matter Of Oaths was originally published in 1988; this is a republished edition which includes a cover more reflective of the content of and characters in the book (Wright herself has written about the original covers and how little they represented the actual story at her own website, arkessian). I was attracted to the cover, and then by the note beneath the author’s name – ‘Introduction by Becky Chambers’. Chambers is the author of two of the books I’ve most enjoyed this year – The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet and A Closed And Common Orbit – so I was more than willing to pick up something about which she wrote so positively.

The story starts with the Patrolship Bhattya in dock, its crew waiting to receive their orders. We’re introduced to the main characters – Ship’s Commander Rallya, Webmaster Joshim, and a potential new recruit, Rafe – and the concept of the Web. The Web is the system by which ships are flown, and is controlled by the Guild. All Webbers have sworn an Oath to the Guild, the breaking of which is considered one of the most serious crimes. The Guild also, at least in theory, keeps in check the rival Old Imperial and New Imperial empires, ruled by two immortal Emperors.

Rafe is an Oath-Breaker, and his punishment for that was having his mind wiped, so his memories only stretch back the past ten years. Nevertheless, it soon becomes clear that his skills and knowledge are far beyond what might be expected of a typical Webber, and that whatever the reason for his memory wiping is clearly more complex than initially believed. The novel tells the story of Rafe trying to find out who he really is, whilst Ryall, tired of the ongoing disputes between the two Emperors, has her own plans in mind.

I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed this book. The characters were engaging and appealing, the storyline was full of twists and turns but was never confusing or over-complicated. I was particularly impressed with the ending, which left me open-mouthed and sad to discover that Wright has had no other novels published.

We are given tantalising glimpses of the wider universe. There’s a war going on with the Outsiders, a group about whom almost nothing is known and who are being investigated by the Historians. I would have liked to learn more about them as a group, their roles within the larger universe, and the possible explanations for who the Outsiders were. However, within the context of the story, it made sense to me that there was limited information about them, and that theirs was not the story being told. Some of the characters, Rafe included, are described as being ‘near human’, but there is, again, limited detail given about the rest of their genetics. Again, although I would have liked to learn more about it, I appreciated the way it grounded the book within its own universe.

For a novel originally published in the eighties, I was surprised and impressed by the queer representation. I appreciated that in the universe of the book, gender didn’t seem to be a factor in relationships – the characters in the relationship weren’t at all conflicted about it, and the people around them were similarly nonchalant.

There were also aspects of this book which reminded me of Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire series (Ninefox Gambit and Raven Strategem), where there is a system being used which is partly explained to the readers, but not in full. In the case of Machineries, these are the mathematical principles on which their empire and system of warfare is based. In the case of A Matter Of Oaths, this is the Web. In both cases, I found that I had enough information to understand what was going on, and it was refreshing to avoid any of the ‘infodumps’ so common to SF.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any fans of clever space opera, diverse characters, and an enthralling world-building.

A story that drops you right in to the action. The world building is believable and the characters are diverse. Considering that this was first published in 1988, there are characters of colour. gay and women in positions of unquestioned authority. None of this seems forced, the gay relationship isn't contrived, the leading female character, Rally, isn't over-bearing as so many strong female characters are often written in the past, and she is very competent and highly thought of by other characters in the book.
How this has slipped through the net, I will never understand. This deserves to be more widely known, and it is such a shame that the author didn't publish anything else that I know of or have been able to find. If she did, I would find it, read it and no doubt recommend it!

A Matter of Oaths gets a glorious new edition nearly 30 years after its original publication. I first read it a few years ago, and enjoyed it as a charming space opera stew of immortal warring Empires; cyberpunk instead of science; an amnesiac protagonist; a strong dose of 'I'm getting too old for this shit' from Rallya; and a dash of romance (happily not between Rafe and Rallya).

I leapt at the chance to revisit it, and found I'd forgotten practically everything (there've been a lot of books in the interim, okay?) so came it almost entirely fresh. And I loved it.

This is space opera that cheerfully waves a hand at the background and gets right on with focusing on its characters and their relationships. Helen S Wright clearly knows what's going on in her universe, but she rarely pauses to inflict much context: it's enough to know that human space is split between two warring Emperors whose unending conflict is limited by their reliance on the independent Guild of Webbers - the only ones who can fly spaceships.

Webbers are as idiosyncratic and arrogant as that sort of influence suggests; and Commander Rallya - refusing to accept she's coming to the end of her career - is no exception, as irascible as she is competent. In fact, I eventually realised she reminds me of nobody so much as The Expanse's Chrisjen Avasarala (albeit with less swearing); she shamelessly mocks and prods her underlings to get what she needs from them and ruthlessly manipulates those around her to get what she needs. She adores being a ship's Commander and has no interest in retiring into Guild politics or bureaucracy - but when she's persuaded to accept Rafe in spite of his troubled history, it's equally clear that she won't stomach an injustice.

Because what if he didn't break his Oath?

...one thing that A Matter of Oaths doesn't necessarily do is spell out its internal logic. It lays out just enough context to get you through, but if you're not thinking on your feet, some of the implications can be a bit hazy until everybody gets outraged (or maybe I was more tired than I realised). If Rafe didn't break his Oath, somebody else did - and this in turn suggests corruption in the heart of the Guild itself. Rafe's identity is at the heart of a conspiracy that could upset the delicate balance of power that keeps the peace.

On the plus side, this means there are very few info dumps - everything emerges through the plot, which happily bounds along with few distractions. Perhaps ironically, the one thing I'd have cheerfully done without were the intermittent comms snippets (context or not) - while they raised tensions by confirming that there was a threat to Rafe from early on, knowing who was involved removed ambiguities that I think would have raised the stakes later on. However, it's a minor quibble at most.

I found it engaging from start to finish, because I'm a sucker for a competent crew who know how hard they can lean on one another. I loved the casual relationships and assumed intimacy here (although another minor quibble: I'd have liked to have spent longer on Rafe and Joshim's emerging relationship - the leap from first kiss to committed romance was a little jarring). I also liked the offhand way in which it was clear that few characters were white or straight. This is a future without prejudices (even Rafe's 'near-human' ancestry - not that it's clear what this entails - isn't treated as unusual).

If Rallya is an uncompromising joy (how often do we get to see difficult older women in fiction? Not often enough), Rafe and Joshim are cinnamon rolls - dedicated to their craft in the web, mindful of their duties, delighting in educating their juniors and committed to each other. And SPOILER ALERT AWOOGA ETC when we finally get to meet the Emperors in the final act, they are fascinating. Helen S Wright picks up on an aspect of immortality that has always bothered me: just how much you would fear death when you have so much to lose.

While A Matter of Oaths is self-contained in its primary plot, it leaves itself wide open for a sequel. It's been a long time since it was first published, but I shall continue to nurture the hope that this rerelease is an indication that Helen S Wright may not yet be finished with the fascinating universe (and characters) she created...

A beautifully crafted world and a complex intruiging story. Greatly enjoyed the whole ride through this. Nice work with the power plays and loved reading about the webbers.

I am unable to provide a review at this time. Unfortunately, I DNFed this book in the first 15%. It just didn't hold my attention. I apologize for the inconvenience.