The Sword of the Lady: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) [Hardcover]

S. M. Stirling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2009 | Series: Change Series (Book 3)

The New York Times bestselling author continues his "epic of survival and rebirth" (Library Journal), chronicling a modern world without technology.

Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed far across the land that was once the United States of America, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as The Change. His final destination is Nantucket, an island overrun with forest, inhabited by a mere two hundred people who claim to have been transported there from out of time.

Only one odd stone house remains standing. Within it, Rudi finds a beautifully made sword waiting for him-and once he takes it up, nothing will ever be the same...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

S. M. Stirling is the author of many science fiction and fantasy novels. He is a former lawyer and an amateur historian.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Roc Hardcover; First Edition edition (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462904
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462909
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft -- I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Treading Water... again, October 26, 2009

By 

A. Barger (Palm Springs, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sword of the Lady: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) (Kindle Edition)

Stirling writes his usual multiplicity of cultures, warfare, religions and so forth so it was interesting and even fun in that regard. The really frustrating part of this was the book blurb leading you to expect you're going to get a LOT further in this story than you will. There is a slight spoiler alert here, although I won't tell you what happened other than this: You don't get to Nantucket until about the last 5 pages of the book and then nothing is really resolved. I get annoyed when I get the feeling the author is intentionally dragging out a series to sell more books. I wondered a bit after "Scourge of God" and this one left me even more frustrated. I've abandoned series mid-stream in the past because of this and I'm approaching that point again. Get on with it, already.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Steadily declining from a wonderful start, February 23, 2010

By 

Future Perfection - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Sword of the Lady: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) (Hardcover)

"Dies the Fire" was a brilliant new direction after Stirling finished the Island series, but the story arc hit some real absurdities in "Sword of the Lady". A lot of book space gets allocated to trivial side stories that do nothing to enhance the reader's mental imagery or understanding of the world. But that is the style of many writers today who have confused quantity with quality; Stirling shares the trait with other writers such as David Weber.

I was even on-board with the gradual introduction of fantasy elements into what started as a straight science-fiction book. But the ending of the book was wholly implausible, and seemed like a desperate attempt to mash together a supernatural and super-scientific solution to both the Change series and the Island series. Stirling would have been a lot better off if he'd never attempted such an explanation, because it's so full of holes that it renders the series meaningless. Now I'm in no hurry to finish the series at this point, I'll wait until the paperbacks are down to the $1 level.

I wonder if Stirling is feeling his own mortality and projecting into his writing? Many sci-fi and fantasy authors succumb to this trait, creating their own religious or technological "afterlifes" and dwelling endlessly upon them. Sometimes they still manage to create entertaining or challenging stories within that context, but often it just ends in the equivalent of sappy wishful thinking that is far from engaging or enlightening.

Sorry, it could have been so much better ...

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Series of Disappointments, December 16, 2009

By 

Randall T. Karle "manic collector" (Palatka, Fl) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sword of the Lady: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) (Hardcover)

Mr Sterling is a better writer than this. Unfortunately, he has decided to spend most of his time preaching about the truth and beauty of the Wiccan religon, and very little time on the story itself. By skipping over the pulpit pounding, which he has been doing for the last 3 books in this long series, this novel is reduced to a novellette at best.
By the time the reader has finished the first 3 works of the Change Series, we have enough understanding of the Wiccans to get by. If he had spent the same amount of time preaching the wonders of Christianity, Islam, or Hindu Polytheism, this series would have been a dismal failure. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series (with the Wiccan references), liked the 2nd book (while become irritated by them), and enjoyed the 3rd book (despite them.) But enough is enough. Please, sir! Get back to what you do so well.