Itemize Books Conducive To The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3)
| Original Title: | Book of Swords (Books 1 to 3) |
| ISBN: | 1568650094 (ISBN13: 9781568650098) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Books of Swords #1-3 |
Fred Saberhagen
Hardcover | Pages: 626 pages Rating: 4.05 | 3359 Users | 76 Reviews
Describe Out Of Books The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3)
| Title | : | The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3) |
| Author | : | Fred Saberhagen |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 626 pages |
| Published | : | 1985 by Doubleday |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction Fantasy |
Relation Concering Books The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3)
A good friend had recommended this collection to me a year or so ago, but had also added at the time that he had mislaid his copy of it and wished he could read it again. Recently while searching for an ugly shirt to wear to a Hawaiian themed party I was fortunate enough to find a copy of this volume on sale for a dollar at a local thrift store. When I informed my friend of my good fortune I had to promise to lend it to him to re-read as soon as I was done with it. And now having completed the task of reading these stories I am glad to say that I can now understand his eagerness to return to this world.To truly begin this review I should point out that while the volume I read is title "The Complete book of Swords" it only actually compromises 3 books out of the dozen or so volumes which Saverhagen's website Berzerker.com lists as belonging to the Swords cycle: http://www.berserker.com/FredsSwords....
So I take this to mean that I do have more to look forward to in this series down the road and that I should keep my eye out whenever I happen to be in a book browsing mood.
This collection is split into three separate tales revolving, primarily, around a boy named Mark and his friend's Ben and Barbara and how their lives intertwine with the destines of 12 Magic Swords. The eponymous swords of the title are shown in the first chapter being forged by a god named Vulcan at the behest of a pantheon of other gods and goddesses who are drawn from the mythologies of varied cultures and nations. It shouldn't be too much of a spoiler to point out that although this story is in a fantasy setting it can be also categorized as science fiction as it is set approximately fifty thousand years in the future of our own world and there are hints that the magical property of the Swords is actually at least partially technological in origin and that the gods themselves may be a manifestation of the collective unconscious of humanity and therefore not truly immortals at all.
Part of the fun of the stories comes from the Song of Swords given in the forward to the book. A series of 12 poems that describes the properties of the swords and acts as an introduction and a warning for those who would wish to wield the power granted by the blades. Each time a new Sword was mentioned, I found myself flipping back to the front of the book to re-read the poem and try to figure out exactly how each weapon would be used and what effects it would have on the progression of the story.
The first book is a bit of a chase, wherein Mark is on the run with the sword named Townsaver after accidentally killing the cousin of a local ruler.
The second book opens up the scope of the book further and a now twenty year old mark and his friend Ben become embroiled in a heist attempt against the Blue Temple, a religious order that worships wealth. This story will be a lot of fun for any Dungeons and Dragons aficionados who enjoy a good dungeon crawl.
The third book picks up 4 or 5 years down the line as the great game of the gods who set these swords loose into the world begins to really heat up, and the armies of at least 4 different forces are marching to war to control the swords and the fate of the world.
If you can find a copy of this or any of the other books in the series I recommend giving them a read.
Rating Out Of Books The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3)
Ratings: 4.05 From 3359 Users | 76 ReviewsCriticism Out Of Books The Complete Book of Swords (Books of Swords #1-3)
**Some spoilers** I had forgotten how well I liked these books. Even, the more minor characters are likable. The story never really lags, and the ideas are fresh. Not many of the conventional tropes of fantasy are present. He never really makes any of the characters, "the chosen one". The princess doesn't lead her people to glorious battle, and conquers the entire continent. The evil is not really a supreme evil, and even knows his own limitations. The swords themselves are very interesting asWhat's fun about post-apocalyptic stories is you can make any leap from "modern" man to the future: hyper-advanced, straggling remainders, reversion to less technology. They all have a measure of fun to them as long as they don't get too "preachy" about man's self-destructive nature.Fred Saberhagen's venture into fantasy/sword & sorcery is a grouping of tales with a large measure of fun. You won't find earth-shattering revelations or deep philosophical ponderings here; you just get a lot of
The overall concept of the Book of Swords is pretty amazing - twelve swords forged by the god Vulcan have legendary powers and their impact on humanity.However, for the most part I found myself struggling through all three parts of this omnibus.Saberhagen has a tendency to describe what is going on rather than have the character act out the scenes. This makes me less immersed in the story.Mark, who I felt should be the primary protagonist, frequently felt like a secondary character. Nestor, who
Hey, I finally managed to finish a book! In between chewing on vast chunks of Infinite Jest, I read the three books that comprise The First Swords. Yeah, it's three shorter books published in one volume. I love that.The books tell a fairly basic fantasy story in which twelve magical swords, forged by the god Vulcan, are found and used by various and sundry human beings to various fantasy-novel things like storm castles, slay dragons, and the like. It's a fun premise, if not strikingly original.
Kind of boring but there were some interesting ideas in there.
This one is from so far back, I read it years ago. Saberhagen is pretty versatile. I'd just read the Berserker stories and moved into these fantasies. Pretty good.These take place in the fictional universe set up in Empire of the East taking place thousands of years after that book. If you enjoy the universe this one carries on it's tale. While I like Empire better, these are still pretty good.
I just finished reading this trio of books, and sadly it was like eating a bag of popcorn. Quite alot to eat in one sitting, but even when finished your left feeling hungry.I had high hopes going in and for part of the first book they seemed not to be dashed. But after that and on with the other two books I was disappointed.To much spent on the surroundings and not enough on the interaction between the characters. I enjoyed the books to a point but felt cheated at the end. So much that should
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.