Customer Reviews

Ardneh's Sword

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ardneh's Sword (2006) is a sequel to the Empire of the East series, following Ardneh's World. It is also a bridge to the Swords series, taking place about one thousand years after the mutual annihilation of Ardneh and Orcus.

In this novel, Chance Rolfson is a direct lineal descendent of Rolf, agent of Ardneh in the great war against the Emperor of the East. Chance has been forced by his family into an expedition searching for Ardneh's Sword. They are certain that an opportunity to get out into the fresh air of the countryside will cure him of his dreamy ways. He serves as assistant to the Scholar Jervase, often taking care of the talking owl Mitra.

One night, just before dawn, Chance is awakened by a thump on the canvas cover of the wagon. Then a slit is cut in the cover with a sharp claw and an object on a necklace chain falls into this hand. He sees a distorted human face through the tear. Scrambling outside, he finds Mitra on the ground with a wounded wing, but no other bodies. A net is lying nearby. The object on a chain has disappeared, but his hand tingles.

Scholar Jervase and Captain Horkos, commander of the military escort, question Chance about the commotion, but seem to class these events with his prior sleepwalking episodes. Enchantress Ayaba checks him for signs of magical influence, but finds nothing unusual. She also checks out the net that had presumably entangled Mitra, yet still finds nothing. Later Lady Ayaba's little helpers vanish and she knows not why or where they are gone.

Then Chance goes wandering one evening after the midday meal and finds a very young female creature by the river. She is wearing an unusual garb much like long underwear that she claims is keeping her warm, including her bare feet. She says her name is Zalmo and tries to interest him in wearing another such garment of his size. Then she asks him some strange questions. She disappears as he is leaving.

Later Chance meets her older brother, Moxis, further downstream and notices that he is wearing a larger version of the strange garment. Moxis also tries to convince him to wear one of them. Apparently these suits were found, not made, and are old technology. He also tells Chance that the infirmary of the Servants of Ardneh is further downstream. As he is leaving, Chance hears a noise and Moxis informs him that the expedition is being attacked by bandits. Moxis vanishes underwater as Chance leaves.

By now, the object on a chain has manifested itself around his neck. When he returns to camp and observes the bandits attacking, he is surprised by two bandits directly behind him. But they do not see him, even when one of them trips over his leg. However, they can hear him and flee anxiously while searching for the source of the sounds, yet never seeing him despite being in plain sight.

Both of the strange children have very bright red hair and green eyes. Now their grandmother, an older woman with bright red hair, although graying, appears to him. By now Chance is almost convinced that the children are demons. But Grandmother names herself as Zalmoxis, admits that all three are manifestations of the same entity, and claims to be a tech-djinn. She knows about the object around his neck and states that it is Ardneh's Key, which will allow him entry to Ardneh's Workshop.

Zalmoxis may not be a demon, but at least one powerful demon exists in this area. Avenarius is a very powerful demon, although not as strong as Orcus had been. The local bandit chieftain, Nathan Gokard, worships Avenarius and invokes his aid. Of course, Avenarius cannot be summoned by the likes of Gokard, but the bandit chief keeps trying; his usual approach involves child sacrifice.

Then Mitra discovers that more bandits are converging on the area. Unfortunately, these bandits may not be actual bandits; one scout notices that some of them are wearing the colors of the mad king of Yasodhara. Whether bandits or irregulars, they are massing a small army and the expedition is obviously their target.

In this story, Chance is intimidated by a demon, befuddled by a tech-djinn and beguiled by a young female Servant of Ardneh who is also a budding mage. The expedition is besieged in a cavern complex by Gokard, infiltrated by reptilian flyers and rescued by a mythical being. All told, this story keeps Chance busy, worried and confounded.

This story presumes some knowledge of the Empire of the East trilogy. Although most significant information is hinted in the narrative, full understanding of the plot requires more exposure to past events than is conveyed herein. Moreover, this story does not really terminate with all loose threads woven into the plot, but rather provides information that explains the genesis of the Swords series. This is the missing link in the larger series.

For those who have not read the Empire of the East stories, I highly recommend them as some of the best fantasy ever written. Although the plot is rather derivative, some of the concepts therein are highly original. Moreover, this series is a good example of a SF story transforming to a Fantasy through a modification of physical laws, with high tech and magic commingled.

Highly recommended for Empire of the East fans, but anyone else should read that series prior to this volume.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A thousand years has passed since the rise of the transcendent Ardneh, who along with intrepid warriors like Rolf, saved mankind from extinction from the minion of archdemon Orcus. Orcus and Ardneh died in their critical battle that employed the new magics and the old technology. Over the centuries Ardneh's tale of courage became more myth with few humans believing he ever existed or for that matter his evil adversary.

In the present Rolf's descendent Chance Rolfson suffers from stunning nightmares. Hoping to escape his dreams, Chance joins an expedition seeking proof that the legendary Ardneh existed. They seek the great vault that most people insist is fable. In the unknown forests that they trek, bandits and demons attack the band. As they seek shelter from the assaults, Chance concludes that his nightmares are visions that will enable him to find the greatest weapon left behind by the fabled heroes of yore, ARDNEH'S SWORD.

This is a fine sequel that fans of Fred Saberhagen especially those who read the EMPIRE OF THE EAST (the tale of Rolf and Ardneh) will enjoy. The story line is filled with non-stop action as Chance joins a quest as a participant, but soon realizes that to his regret he is the man. Chance makes this an interesting epic fantasy as his doubts ring true.

Harriet Klausner

If you enjoyed Empire Of The East and/or the Swords series I expect you will enjoy this at least as much, especially the way he puts the pieces together and brings unity to the Swords and Empire worlds. One thing, though, if you're expecting to learn more about the Emperor, don't.

In this sequel to masterpiece Empire of the East, Fred Saberhagen makes the deliberate choice not to overwhelm the reader with a titanic story. Set 1,000 years following the events of Empire, the nominal protagonist is Chance Rolfson, Rolf's lineal descendent. The action involves a quiet archeological expedition to locate Ardneh's Sword, a powerful artifact of unknown nature.

Rolfson is literally along for the ride, his parents having hoped that he might find some ambition and practicality along the way. This leades to the principal flaw in the book, Saberhagen's portrayal of Rolfson as a something of a passenger. This is true even when Rolf confronts peril and begins to develop a love interest, and a less subdued approach is called for. Another weakness, the relatively pedestrian nature of the demon-worshipping bandit threat, is nicely offset by the eerily effective demon Avenarius.

The strength of this story is the very accurate sense it conveys that the journey is leading somewhere unpredictably special. Hopefully this book and the broad canvas of possibilities it has opened up will found the beginning of a new series.

But still a good read. Great tie-in to the Sword series. Anyone who liked Empire East or the Sword books is gonna want this one.

I am a big fan of Empire of the East and the Sword series. I have read them many times and came across Ardnehs Sword by accident in the book store.

Ardnehs Sword was mediocre. I enjoy reading Saberhagens style and overall enjoyed the book. But what was the point? There was so much more that could have been done with this book that transitioned between Empire and the Sword series...I just don't see what value was added with Ardnehs Sword.

If you are a fan of the series, buy it, enjoy it. But don't set your expectations too high.

Spoiler - honestly it could be summed up in a sentence or two. Rolfs descendent finds leftover technology that creates the Gods out of random humans. That pretty much sums it up.

Warning: Spoilers follow.

This novel is set in the same universe as Empire of the East and the "sword" novels..

This is important to know, because in the Sword novels Saberhagen makes it fairly clear that humanity is evolving/maturing and no longer needs the gods---they die because as a whole humanity does not believe in them anymore. I especially love the scene in which the gods are dying and one of them cries out, "...then who created them?"

I wondered one day why Saberhagen had placed the swords novels in the same universe as Empire, so I re-read Empire of the East, scanning for clues. I found a few near the end of the book. Ardneh, concerned that humands think of him as a god, reminds people not to believe in "gods" [Not the exact words; I'm going from distant memory].

This book was disappointing to me because in this book Saberhagen throws that all away. This novel takes place before the sword novels.
The Gods are a result of technology. You can probably guess whose technology. They are not a result of humanity's need for and belief in supposed gods.

It didn't work for me. Did Saberhagen even review/re-read his previous novels before doing this piece?

It was disappointing because it is simply not that well-writtena book.
It is simply written. I read it in one night.
I didn't like the prose (has Saberhagen gotten worse, or have I matured?). Too many plot holes: e.g. No one knows where the hospital is, but when they get there, Chance knows the woman who runs the place? Chance knows her daughter too, but we never learn just what their argument (from years before) was about. There's this gready novice who just disappears. And there's a demon who acts like no other demon has ever acted in any of the books (and how/why was he able to enter the workshop?).

If like me, you love the Empire/Gods universe, you may be tempted/want to add this book to your collection. Even on its own, however, it is simply not a good book.

I bought it with great expectations. They were not met at all.

I own all of the The Complete Book of Swords, The lost swords: The first triad, The Lost Swords: The Second Triad - The Complete Book of Lost Swords: Farslayer's Story, Coinspinner's Story, Mindsword's Story, The Lost Swords: Endgame series books and the Empire of the East (Bks. 1-3: The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, and Ardneh's World) books and enjoy them (some better than others), so I was happy to hear about Mr. Saberhagen writing a book linking his "Empire of the East" with his "Swords" series. After having read this book, I do have to say that I'm glad that this book was written, but it seems that it might could have been better done in another trilogy somewhat like the "Empire of the East" trilogy. The ending of this book also, as other reviewers have written, was not the best either, and it probably could have been done better. All-in-all, I would recommend that if you have already read "The Empire of the East" and enjoyed it, then go right ahead and read this book. If you have read the "Swords" books, then read "The Empire of the East" first, before reading this book. If you've already read "The Empire of the East", and you didn't care for it, then I wouldn't recommend this book to you.

Before I read Ardneh's Sword, I read Empire of the East again, about 20 years after I first read Empire. I enjoyed the reread of Empire more than my first read of Ardneh's Sword, but Ardneh's Sword is still a good book even though it does not live up to Empire, which is Saberhagen's best.

The pace of the book's action is good, and Saberhagen is as skilled as ever when it comes to creating good characters that are real to the reader.

I would recommend anyone who has not read either Empire of the East or Ardneh's Sword to read Empire first, then move on to the Sword second.

If you are an avid fan of the Empire of the East and the Book of Swords legacy, you will be greatly disappointed in this book. I had just finished rereading the Empire/Swords books when I got this one. I was excited to get this since it had been so many years since The Last Book of Swords (Shieldbreaker) was published. I was hoping this book would give insight into what had occurred between the Empire and Swords periods and maybe it would shed some light on who the Emperor actually is.

After reading it, I was disappointed...so I read it again, thinking I had missed something...I hadn't. The book was just completely out of character from the other series and in reality could have been written by someone else not that familiar with the previous books. The book itself isn't bad, but if you have read the other books, don't expect it to fit in well with those.

I am a little hesitant to get Saberhagens Book of Gods series because I don't want to taint the Empire series, as I hear they may take place in the same universe. If they are anything like Ardnehs Sword, I am sure they will be disappointing as well.