The Sword Maker [Paperback]

Robert Barr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

Robert Barr was an British novelist, born at Glasgow, Scotland. He was headmaster of the Central School, Windsor, Ontario, and in 1876 became a member of the staff of the Detroit Free Press, in which he appeared as "Luke Sharp." In 1881 he moved to London, to establish the weekly English edition of the Free Press. In 1892 founded The Idler magazine, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator, retiring from the coeditorship in 1895.

The Sword Maker is a historical romance, set in the Rhenish Palatinates. The Emperor is old, fat, lax and indolent, caring only for his flagon of wine, and his nobles have waxed in power, levying taxes so heavy commerce has come to a standstill in Frankfort. An attempt by merchants to run the blockade on the river and reach Cologne has been destroyed, with the Robber Barons sinking the ships and taking the goods. An appeal to the seven Electors to depose the Emperor and install his son in his stead has proven futile, as the Electors benefit from things as they are, and the Prince has been imprisoned by an Archbishop to forestall further efforts. The guild of ironworkers makes fine swords, and suffers like the rest from the standstill in commerce. Revolution is brewing . . .

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Aegypan (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603124527
• ISBN-13: 978-1603124522
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Story, March 1, 2010

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T. Vega - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sword Maker (Kindle Edition)

I must say I'm surprised this book has not received reviews yet. That in itself caused me to read it. I enjoy historical novels, and although you can expect a more formal form of English and writing it usually enhances the story line.

In this case, I'm giving this a 4 star rating and not 5. The English is so over-the-top formal and written in such an old fashioned style that I actually had to re-read some portions over again to get what the author was saying. Also, the over abundance of big and long lost words caused me to stop repeatedly to look up words. Thank God that Kindle has a built in dictionary that made this task easy. I think if I were reading this in paper format I would have given up.

The story in itself is quite enjoyable and the characters are pretty well developed. The ending seemed a little abrupt, but not overly so. All in all I give this a thumbs up for a historical novel. It is not a romance novel, so if you are looking for romance look elsewhere. This story follows a young prince who is comfortably imprisioned by 3 archbishops who wish to use him as a pawn when his drunken father, the emperor, dies. The prince manipulates his freedom using a double to stand in for him in prison and makes a life for himself in the world as a swordmaker and fencing teacher. He pulls a band of men together to help right the wrongs of the starving people (due to the mismanagement of the greedy nobels and archbishops.) The story follows his quest with its trials and tribulations and successes. The rest I'll leave for you to read.