First Book Of Swords [Paperback]

Fred Saberhagen (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor: Tom Doherty Associates; 1st Thus. edition (1983)
• ASIN: B001IO0CF0
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp and to the point ..., June 10, 2000

By 

Paul J. Moade (Jacksonville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Book of Swords (Paperback)

Seriously, this is a well-written and absorbing book. It's one of those volumes you might buy because the cover looks interesting or the synopsis on the jacket is intriguing -- but once you begin reading, you realise what a gem it is.

The story, in brief, centers around 12 swords forged by the olympian god Vulcan to give to mankind for the amusement of the gods. He enlists the aid of a local townsperson (Jord) during their creation and in return gives one of the weapons to him. Jord is killed but his son, Mark, carries on thru a series of adventures revolving around one sword or another.

The fascinating part of the book is the swords themselves. Each has a special power, and a special weakness. Each is totally different than any other. This first book touches on only a couple of the artifacts in any detail. Subsequent books tell the stories of the remaining swords.

For a good read with a decent amount of adventure and a plot that twists and turns, this book is hard to beat.

~P~

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple, January 23, 2010

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Book of Swords (Paperback)

On the surface, this appears to be just another fantasy novel - young boy given a magical sword, sets out to seek his fate, blah blah bibbity blah. However, we see depths here, hints of a mysterious past in the world (technology was banished 2000 years ago for a length of time of 49,949 years - what a strange number - does it mean something), tales of other magical swords - which are apparently true, as evil-doers start coming out of the woodwork left and right seeking the boy to steal his magical sword in order to gain its power for their own.

While I would like to see deeper character development, or more details on the mysterious past (although, now I see while browsing through other available texts that the past is described in other books - what a pity, I'll have to buy more books, oh, woe is me ... *grins*), at the same time it would likely ruin Saberhagen's forward momentum to slow it down and do so.

I think I've discovered a new author to add to my list of "favorites" and a new list of books (what a HUGE list it is, too!) to add to my "want to get these" list. I would recommend to those who haven't yet discovered this classic gem of a book to run out and see if you can find a copy. I purchased mine in the omnibus The Complete Book of Swords, which might be easier to find nowadays.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blades, November 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: First Book of Swords: The Defender (Paperback)

A Review by Tim

Mark had a pretty average life for the time. Hunting game for the family and doing household chores for his mom. He probably didn't expect that one day he would have to leave his house to start life anew. But what is the secret behind his father's sword called Townsaver. And what game are the gods talking about. Now the life around Mark is changing, perhaps faster than he would ever would want or expect.

This book is a prime example of a fantasy novel. This book was a joy to read and easy to follow. When the story follows Mark excitement is sure to trail. But Fred Saberhagen kept changing point of view every chapter. The many mysteries are unraveled throughout the story, but once one is, a new one springs from it. This feature makes you never want to put the book down. Fred Saberhagen is great at portraying a medieval setting. But it is odd that when the book refers to the old world it seems like it's referring to modern time.

I would recommend this book to anybody but anyone into fantasy will love this book. This is a great read I can't wait to finish.