The Sword of the Spirits [Hardcover]

John Christopher (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton (1990)
• ASIN: B000M62WJO
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dystopia, November 14, 2003

By 

M. Wise - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sword of the Spirits (Hardcover)

The Sword of the Spirits trilogy is definitely one of the most downer dystopia series ever written, especially for a young adult audience. The main character Luke has got to get an award for one of the most flawed protagonists of all time. The blood and death flows almost nonstop after the initial part of the book. A technological society was nearly brought to ruin and now only marginally survives, a superstitious husk of the humanity that once was.

Many people criticize the series for the infuriatingly pig-headed ending of it all. I think that's really one of the major points of the book. To think that so many people were killed, so many relationships were destroyed, and so many hopes shattered just so Luke could come to power -- and then he completely squanders it with his paranoia, his pride and his stubbornness in a final book that has got to be one of the most depressing tomes of all time. To think that everything that has been suffered is for naught is infuriating. We like to think (and many novelists do, as well) that suffering and strife will always bring some sort of redemption or good end, but this often simply is not the case. It's like Hamlet but with absolutely none of the nobility, purpose and honor. That's clear the author's point -- see the huge Hamlet reference in the final book.

This is the sort of series you want to shred after you finish reading it because it's just so anger-inducing. Not a classic, but it gets 5 stars for the impressions it's left on me.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no happy endings here, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sword of the Spirits (Sword of the Spirits Trilogy) (Paperback)

This series is perhaps one of the darkest young adult sci-fi stories available. That is probably why it stands out so vividly in my memories from adolescence. At last having achieved Winchester's throne, Luke proceeds to unravel everything he has gained with his frustrating single-mindedness and stubborn pride. The ending so shocked me in its sadness and resignation that I can clearly recall rereading the final chapter over and over. This series, along with certain Robert Cormier novels, taught me that all stories do not end well, and in fact might be more resonant and thought-provoking if they don't. This one stays with you for quite a while.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, December 6, 2004

By 

Jeffrey Williams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sword of the Spirits (Sword of the Spirits Trilogy) (Paperback)

The first time I read The Sword of the Spirits trilogy, I was maybe twelve. But it left a strong impression on me and I reread the series every couple of years.

Luke is a flawed character. He is unable to express his feelings to those he cares about, so he comes across as aloof and uncaring. For him, though, actions speak louder than words and loyalty and honor matter more than anything else. His devotion to Hans is a key example, even when that devotion can cost him personally and politically (i.e. when he elevates Hans to captain). At the same time, anyone who betrays his loyalty drives him to seek revenge, no matter the consequences. There are both Macbeth and Hamlet qualities about him.

I appreciate the stark language of the series, and how each one builds substantially off the one before it. Whoever was the editor did an excellent job, as these books contain little fat. Overall, I think this trilogy is a masterpiece and I would like to see it reprinted in the US. It stands head and shoulders above the Tripod trilogy.