Paladins [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Joel Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

In the seventeenth century, in an alternate universe where Mordred defeated King Arthur - now known as "Arthur the Tyrant" - and founded the Pendragon dynasty, much of Europe, Asia, and the New World are part of an Empire ruled from England. The Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, originally founded as Mordred's personal bodyguard, has become a legion of special agents for the Crown: special emissaries in time of peace, and invincible warriors in more violent times. They carry special weapons: swords, each of which contains the soul of someone of great power. White swords are inhabited by the souls of saints - and red swords by those who were anything but saints. Even in the hands of a Knight of the Order, even wielded in the cause of righteousness, a red sword is terribly dangerous to its owner and all around him. In evil hands, a red sword is the most dangerous and powerful weapon known to mankind. Now, three Knights of the Order have just tracked down a previously unknown red sword which was found on a Grecian shore, and which shows all signs of having been recently forged. Worse, the mind encased in the sword remembers that it was only one of many which were cached in the hold of a mysterious sailing ship, origin unknown.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Distinguished fantasy writer Rosenberg launches a new series, set in an alternate seventeenth century in which magic works and gunpowder was never discovered. The titular paladins are Bear, Gray, and Cully, knights (Cully is also a priest) of the Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, founded by Mordred in the wars against King Arthur that led to Mordred becoming king of England, which his heirs still rule. In the course of investigating an outbreak of living swords (into which human souls have been placed at the moment of their bodies' deaths), the paladins recruit Greek fisherboy Niko to be the latest knight of the order. They also take readers on a tour of a remarkably imaginative fantasy alternate world, one including a well-drawn Patrick O'Brien-style navy, minus gunpowder but doughty at fighting, for all that. The almost too numerous characters are well drawn, and Rosenberg's usual expertise on weapons, serious concern for the ethics of violence, and brisk pacing are in evidence. Classic Rosenberg, which is to say outstanding. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Joel Rosenberg tells a great story and each time you see his name on the cover of a new book, it's time to sit down and be royally entertained." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Baen (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743488512
• ASIN: B000VYEKOC
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,808,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written but gritty fantasy, August 22, 2005

By 

David Harper (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paladins (Hardcover)

Joel Rosenberg is a master of low fantasy, a genre where magic doesn't solve all your problems, battle is deadly and our heroes only human, after all. This kind of gritty writing style is very realistic, but not as escapist as many prefer in their fantasy. Be warned!

Paladins is a departure from Rosenberg's popular series, "Guardians of the Flame". It is set in a 17th century world where magic is real and history changed when Mordred the Great defeated King Arthur the Tyrant, thus changing English history considerably. All this is just a teaser, however, that bears little impact on the story a thousand years later and is really just backdrop for the main characters, knights of the order that served Mordred. Armed with sentient magical blades, they turned England into the world power it was in the 17th century, competing with the Dar al-Islam and the Holy Roman Empire. With the great wizards dying out in the last great war of magic, the art of making new swords was lost - or was it? A new sword turns up in the hands of a small fisherman, a sword that can only be a few years old, at most.

As always, Rosenberg's characters are fully fleshed out characters with human desires, weaknesses and doubts. They come alive on the pages in his masterful prose. However, it is hard for any hero to stand up under such a microscope, and it is hard to truly sympathize with the characters.

My main complaint with the book is that many issues are left unresolved at the end; the young knight errant Niko still lives in fear that his pagan beliefs will be uncovered by the other knights, and his childhood love interest remains behind in his homeland with barely a mention, despite his burning desire not to see her marry his rich local rival. The Dar al-Islam may have the upper hand for a while, and it is obvious that the knights as an order are floundering, with the American colonies beginning to seek independence. All these tangled threads pave the way for an obvious sequel, but readers interested in a standalone book may find the ending unsatisfying.

As always with Rosenberg, readers who want a little more realism in their fantasy will love his work, while those who just want to have fun will end up disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Joel Rosenberg's Best, August 26, 2007

By 

howard - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paladins (The Paladin) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm about 2/3rd of the way through Paladins and this review does not give away any plot material.

I've read all the "Guardian of the Flame" series, and while I always enjoyed them, I thought that the writing style and complexity were for a younger audience while the content was for a more mature audience (such as what really happens to a person's body when they die ... versus the sanitized description most novelists give).

With "Paladins", Joel Rosenberg has married a writing style and complexity for adults with content for a more mature audience. "Paladins" takes a major step closer the "Tom Clancy" style of complexity within a novel.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shows promise but too much 'wandering' and 'talking', December 20, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Paladins (Hardcover)

After he had overthrown his uncle, Arthur the Tyrant, Mordred the Great's armies had united Britain and gradually conquered the western world. Centuries later, the Kingdom (England?) has expanded through western Europe. Only the diminished Empire of Byzantium, and the powerful Caliphanate remain unconquered. But evil is not always associated with a state. And the Kingdom's powerful Knights of the Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon exist to defend Mordred's Pendragon kingdom from all enemies--including supernatural enemies.

Order Knights Gray and Bear recruit disgraced ex-Knight Cully to help them deal with a dangerous discovery--a new magical sword has been discovered. These magical swords are the core of the Knight's power; in the wrong hands, they could do horrible damage. Together with fisherman Niko, Cully and the others thrash around the Mediterranean, trying to provoke whoever is responsible for creating these new swords into a response.

Meanwhile, Kingdom Admiral DuPay plots for the war he knows will eventually pit the Kingdom against the Caliphanate. When the Caliphanate's representatives tell him that they are equally concerned about the outbreak of evil magic, he doesn't know whether to believe them--but he isn't afraid to take whatever chances he needs to if it will help the Kingdom.

Author Joel Rosenberg creates an intriguing alternate history world--one where magic works, where an Anglican version of protestantism developed independently of Henry VIII (who never lived because there was never a Norman conquest), and where gunpowder has never replaced traditional weapons of war. His morally conflicted Gray is a powerful and compelling character, while Niko gives the reader someone young and heroic, yet imperfect, to identify with.

After a strong opening, though, much of the book seemed spent by our heros (and DuPay) wandering around thinking, talking with each other, and not really doing much. In addition, possibly because PALADINS is the first book in a series, a number of loose ends remained--certainly the shadow creatures seemed to be stuck in rather than integral to the plot.

Rosenberg is adept at manipulating reader emotions. When he lets himself go, as he does at the beginning and end of this story, he creates superior fantasy. But too much of this book was sailing around, going nowhere. I'll look forward to seeing where he takes this series, but for me, PALADINS fell short of its potential.