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Of Berserkers, Swords and Vampires: A Saberhagen Retrospective

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Of Berserkers, Swords & Vampires (2009) is a retrospective collection of speculative fiction. This volume contains eleven short stories, an excerpt from a novel, and an introduction from another collection.

FIRST STORIES

. The Long Way Home (Galaxy, 1961) is about a group of people who walked home.

. Volume PAA-PYX (Galaxy, 1961) explains of the use and treatment of a mental condition.

SCIENCE FICTION - General

. To Mark the Year on Azlaroc (Science Fiction Discoveries, 1976) tells of a man who lost his lover to a space anomaly.

. Martha (Amazing, 1976) shows the dangers of giving a layperson access to an advanced computer.

. Planeteer (Galaxy, 1961) relates the trials of a scout craft dealing with a first contact situation.

SWORDS

. Blind Man's Blade (An Armory of Blades, 1995) postulates another way that the Game of Swords could have been played.

BERSERKERS

. BERSERKER, the Introduction (1967) is a general exposition on the Berserkers. It was first published with the original collection of Berserker stories.

. Stone Place (If, 1965) displays the unity forged by the High Commander within the human forces fighting the berserker fleet.

. The Bad Machines (The Williamson Effect, 1996) confronts the humans with TWO forms of malevolent mechanisms.

GODS - Myth

. White Bull (Fantastic, 1976) provides an alternative view of the Minotaur, proving that education must be interactive.

VAMPIRE STORIES

. THE DRACULA TAPE--An Excerpt (1975) depicts the meeting of Dracula and Jonathan Harker from the viewpoint of the Count.

. Box Number Fifty (Dracula in London, 2001) recounts the involvement of an older child and her brother with Dracula.

. A Drop of Something Special in the Blood (Emerald Magic, 2004) discloses the encounters between a famous man and a vampire.

These stories are mostly lesser known works in the author's major series; why reprint stories that have already been printed many times. Although familiar with most of the author's novels, I have read only a few of his short stories. So I recognize only two of these pieces.

My first experience with this author's works was a Berserker story in Worlds of If. I continued to read these tales and then bought the collection when it was published. Later, I read the Empire of the East and the Swords novels that derived from it. I read Coils and The Black Throne. But I only read a couple of the Gods novel and have not yet read the Dracula novels that are collecting dust in my archives.

I currently own fifty-eight works by this author, including this one. I have read most of them, with the exception of the Dracula novels. It would be an understatement to say that I have enjoyed reading these works, but I have long since gone on to other authors. So this work reminded me of an old favorite.

I have one objection to the selections in this collection. I believe that the best of his works were the Empire of the East tales, yet they are not represented in this retrospective. Despite the heroic nature of the tales, the Empire of the East stories even included moments of humor.

Maybe the author did too good of a job in concluding that series. The later Swords novels were set in the same universe, but never had quite the same magical feel. That series was imaginative and exciting, a true pleasure to read and reread.

Highly recommended for Saberhagen fans and for anyone else who has not yet enjoyed his works.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I picked up this book because I used to enjoy the late Fred Saberhagen's wild military science fiction stories about the Berserkers, an ancient self-replicating machine army that had centuries ago wiped out their creators and are now wanting to destroy all life. Only Man stands in their way.

Of Berserkers, Swords & Vampires has a forward by his wife. I'm not fond of forwards but this one showed an especial respect for her late husband's work and her involvement with it.

Most of the book is a collection of past reprints from his pulp days and also involves not only Berserker robots but also sword & sorcery fantasies and Fred's version of vampires and Dracula.

I won't bore you with listing the story titles and table of contents. I will say that some of his stories were a slow read and many get off to a slow start. With some persistence and a good Merriam Websters, the reader can plow through and I think enjoy some of his tales.

Was the original King Minos and the Minotaur actually dealing with an alien from outer space, who only wanted to teach his technology? The White Bull is such a story. Another tale using Greek mythology has certain magic swords that are used against the gods, when Mars inadvertently gives extreme power to a minor mortal wizard.

And a space adventure where Boris Brazil and crew involve themselves in the lives of aliens on this water planet and try to prevent a civil war so as to set up a base. Quite interesting.

And then I find that these tidbits are based on entire story-arcs such as Book of Swords, many Dracula novels and Berserker tales.

So if you want to check out Fred's work then this anthology definitely gives you a taste of what to read. My interest has always been his military science fiction stories, but now I may just check out his Boris Brazil and Book of Swords books!

Recommended.

Other Books By Fred:

Berserker: Man Against Machine in a Race for Survival [BOX SET]
The Book of Swords Set
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Seance for a Vampire

Fred Saberhagen's OF BERSERKERS, SWORDS & VAMPIRES provides a Saberhagen retrospective perfect for any fan of his overall works, whether it be his Berserker series of chaos and destruction, his 'Swords and Lost Swords' fantasy adventures, or his Dracula series. This retrospective presents short stories from all three series in a fine survey spanning some four decades of his varied productions.