Customer Reviews

Swordspoint

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

_Swordspoint_, Ellen Kushner's "melodrama of manners" from 1987, features vividly drawn characters in a non-standard fantasy setting. Graceful swordplay replaces magic, dense Regency-era social customs replace feudal hierarchy, and political intrigue replaces the usual battle between good and evil. With the refreshing lack of apocalyptically dire stakes, Kushner's complex characters take center stage.

The fantasy setting is a nameless pre-technological city, with districts of elegant estates and gritty slums. Yet Kushner's approach makes this setting unique. She never halts the story or disrupts the atmosphere to explain the workings of the society. Government titles and institutions are noted only when appropriate to the characters' motivations. This isolation from the infrastructure of the society leaves the characters' perceived world -- the areas of the society that they inhabit -- as the dominant face of the setting.

Kushner wrings intense conflict from her constrained setting by cutting to the heart of her characters' motivations. Her portrayal of a Regency-style social scene feels perfect, in both the delicate high society and the gritty low. After a quick first chapter, the novel crawls through slow social scenes with secondary characters whose importance hasn't yet been shown. As such, their lengthy gossip doesn't have any context or meaning at this early stage. Once Richard begins receiving offers for duels, the plot picks up speed. The intrigue gradually ensnares all the previously introduced characters and rushes toward the conclusion. The ending features a clever twist, and all the characters' lives are irrevocably changed.

_Swordspoint_ is a delightfully compact novel, especially by modern fantasy standards. The plot resolution in a single volume is a refreshing change from the recent trend of fantasy duologies, many of which are actually a large manuscript split into two books for publication, and consequently have no resolution at the end of the first book.

Kushner's prose has a few awkward tics that distract from her subtle dialog and lush descriptions. Her dialog tags often carry unnecessary adverbs. She also uses 'Richard' and 'St Vier' interchangeably to refer to the main character, sometimes in the same sentence. However, in dialog she more appropriately picks whichever one of these names represents his relationship to the person speaking -- Alec always calls him Richard, the jailer always calls him St Vier. In addition, the point of view often floats from character to character in the same scene, leaving the reader at a distance, struggling to follow the complex social agenda of each character.

_Swordspoint_ stands as a classic of character-driven fantasy, particularly compared to the bland rehashes of epic fantasy that were also being written in the late 80s. Kushner's novel reads like a forerunner of the recent social intrigue fantasy from authors like Jacqueline Carey, and she deserves credit for this landmark work that pioneered that subgenre.

It's like Georgette Heyer meets Armistead Maupin meets "The Lion In Winter". I loved it.

Kushner takes every predictable Regency/Gothic/Modern Romance cliche and turns it on it's head. The stalwart hero is a master swordsman, a devoted lover...and a complete sociopath. The highborn love of his life is a green-eyed, sultry-voiced beauty...with severe emotional problems and a lot more testosterone than one generally expects in highborn beauties.

The beauty gets kidnapped and manhandled. The hero gets even and then gets lucky. The beauty takes a powder. The hero gets arrested. The beauty has a brief, but memorable, career in politics. The hero gets off and then bows out graciously. The beauty lures him back with fish and chips and...whatever.

I highly recommend this one, and I can't tell you how pleased I am that there's a sequel in the works.

I first heard about Swordspoint through Amazon.com. I'm quite a regular at Amazon, not just buying things but just looking up stuff and finding more stuff to read. One of my favorite features is My Recommendations, which given how many things I've rated or reviewed, are actually pretty accurate.

So one day when Amazon realized I had a penchant for reading fantasy books with queer characters (gee, how would it guess?!), out popped a message on a page saying "Hey, you might like to read Swordspoint!" (Or something similar, think it was worded differently.) So I checked out the description, read the reviews and thought, "Huh, that does sound interesting!" and you know, ordered it. (Boy, Amazon makes it too easy!)

Swordspoint turned out not to be exactly what I had expected. Having just come off of reading Lynn Flewelling's delightful, outstanding Nightrunner series, I was I guess expecting something a little racier or filled with heart-pounding action or some magic or something really scary. Instead I found the book to be just what it says on the back cover, a "melodrama of manners."

There's a well-drawn relationship between a professional swordsman and a mysterious noble scholar who's abandoned his privilege for a death wish, and that was fun, but then there was another half to the story with nobles plotting and scheming, politics and politenesses and callings cards -- which to me was not so fun. I loved the bits with dashing Richard St Vier and drunken bitter Alec, but every time I'd really start to get into them, the chapter would end and I'd have to slog through a scene of some noblelady or nobleman's blathering or covering up some secret or plotting to knock off a rival. To me, patient and literate as I am, those bits just were boring and dry.

It reminded me of some lost 18th or 19th century novel, only twist being that the two main heroes are gay lovers and everybody's okay with that. It's true that in the Nightrunner series, there's a similar situation (a regular spies, swords and sorcery book, only with gay lovers), but for me Swordspoint didn't have the overall story I enjoy so I wasn't nearly as satisfied. I will say, however, that if you like a book with a lot of intrigue and intricate plot and old-fashioned literary language, Swordspoint is probably a book you'd enjoy.

If there was one thing that made my disappointment a little less with this book, it came at the end, where in the edition I have, Kushner has included three additional stories set in the Swordspoint world. I actually enjoyed these stories more than the actual novel! I think it was the fact that in the stories, all the frilly "melodrama of manners" stuff was cut out and only the good bits were there. The stories also had a higher proportion of sexual spice to them. And in "The Death of the Duke," Kushner creates a magical tale depicting the final weeks of Alec, as an old man returned to the nameless city, setting of Swordspoint, and dying amid his memories of Richard St Vier -- what a wonderful tribute!

Reading this book is like reading some of those of those historical novels full of intrigue,romance and strange twisted plots studded by coups de scene, set in a jaded milieu of effete nobles who are as ready to offend and take offense as the parasite signorotti of Manzoni's "The Betrothed", but unlike them can't even fight their duels by themselves, and have to hire swordsmen lke St. Vier, who is also a sort of champion of the oppressed. The description of this imaginary world, similar but very different from our own is masterfully detailed, the dialogues witty and brilliant,the characthers very intriguing. I recommend this book to any reader who likes fantastic (or alternate) history and romance. A warning for the homophobes: yes, in the society described in this book homosexuality is not considered a scandal, but is accepted as a fact of life( as it should be).Nonetheless, this is one of the best novels to read.

I sincerely couldn't recommend this book enough times, if only just for the sheer pleasure of the language that Kushner uses. Having read Lynn Flewelling's Seregil books (Luck in the Shadows, etc) just before, I was doubly impressed by the huge difference in the level of the prose. (This is not saying I don't like Lynn Flewelling's books-- I loved them.) I'm a glutton for gorgeously composed text and this book had such a fantastic texture to it, like an elaborate embroidery or an intricate filigreed jewelery piece.

Not to mention the characters! I adored Alec and Richard... especially Richard... *sighs*... there's not enough words for how many parts of this book I loved. I'd originally read a friend's borrowed copy and was so reluctant to give it back, and am now searching for a copy of my own. I wish the book wasn't out of print, but if you can find it at your local library, it's definitely worth more than a look!

Is it so much to ask that a book have deep, lush writing, strong characters, an interesting plot and real life scenes? While Swordspoint delivers on some of those points, it falls quite flat on others.

Of course, the plot is excellently crafted and fascinating, as other reviewers have mentioned. Kushner's semi-fantasy, semi-historical novel seems so very like our own, if history had taken different turns, and different values were held in higher esteem. Her world-building and plot-twisting cannot be faulted, however, her relationship-expounding certainly can.

Each of the characters that we read the most about (Richard, Alec and Michael) are strong fellows with a true depth of character, even when that character is mysterious and shrouded (as in the case of Alec). Each feels ultimately real, with passions, hatreds, needs, desires, strengths and flaws. It's only when the characters interact with one another that my interest started to wane. Initially, I found Richard and Alec's relationship hauntingly fascinating, but something was lacking. I never truly felt their closeness, even when Richard takes great pains and goes to great lengths for Alec's honor and safety. Some measure of connection was glossed over, and truly.

Now, I gave this book four stars as it is, The problem was that each time I felt I was about to see some depth to the characters' relationships -- whether between Michael and the Duchess, or Richard and Alec, or anyone involved (and many of them are!) -- the author took a step back and veiled her readers' eyes from the emotional as well as the physical details. Tender, delicate wording did not serve to spare my sensibilities. It only served to turn my reader's eyes away from the most intimate moments of the characters' relationship: emotional as well as physical.

However, the book itself is a wonderful read, and interesting enough for me to want The Fall of the Kings to see if Kushner can top Swordspoint, and possibly show me a little more intimacy. In all senses of the word.

"Swordpoint: A Melodrama of Manners" may have been published as fantasy, but this is a book for everyone who delights in fine prose, delicious dialogue, dazzlingly complex characters, and riveting story-telling. It's one of the best books I've ever read, and it's no surprise Kushner has a devoted following in the fantasy genre and among mainstream readers alike. If you love Dorothy Dunnett, then you owe it to yourself to pick up "Swordpoint"--as well as the sexy new novella set among swordmen in that same city called "The Fall of Kings" by Kushner and Delia Sherman (in the book "Bending the Landscape," edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel.) I envy anyone reading this delightfully wicked novel for the first time.

This is a wonderful book. It's got beautiful prose, lovely imagery, comedy, drama, intrigue, action -- everything you could want in a historical fantasy novel.

The plot can be somewhat difficult to follow as it moves from the drawing-room intrigues of the rich to the bohemian taverns of the students, drinkers, swordsmen, and gamblers of Riverside, but it barely matters. There's more than enough to ogle along the way, even if you're never quite in a position to grasp the whole picture of who-betrayed-whom and for-what-reason.

Also, Swordspoint features one of the most well-done relationships I have ever read, gay or otherwise. Mostly, I think, it's because Alec Tremontaine is an absolute gem of a character. He's both beautiful and despicable, noble and dissolute, and he's so finely drawn that he just steals whatever scene he's in, even if he's lounging around in the background of it. In order to really get into this book, you have to fall in love with self-destructive, sarcastic, bitter, brilliant Alec the way Richard St. Vier does, you have to understand what it's like to love someone who's unpredictable and talented and simultaneously deeply flawed, and why such love, capricious and difficult as it is, might be worth risking everything for.

There are many, many authors who strive to create such flawed and beautiful characters, and in my opinion often fail miserably. It's hard to pull off such a thing convincingly, and Kushner does it admirably here. And it's not only the character of Alec that's convincing; it's also the way Alec and Richard play off one another, contrast with one another, Richard's constant optimism a constant foil to Alec's bitter sarcasm and mercurial temperament. The relationship is utterly believable, intensely passionate, and ultimately a joy to read.

She also captures the mad, bad, reckless atmosphere of the Riverside bohemian life -- the gambling, the drinking, the danger, the poverty -- beautifully. The life Alec and Richard live is awful and yet -- the freedom of it is exhilarating, the way they do whatever they want, whenever they want to -- and scrape by the rest of the time. It puts one powerfully in mind of the streets of Paris a la La Boheme or Les Miserables.

Both the world and the characters in it are beautifully done, and worth reading, especially if you like Dumas novels or Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series. I would not recommend this for those who prefer less intrigue in their novels, or who prefer novels of epic proportions (Robert Jordan-ish). Those novels are like gigantic floor-to-ceiling canvases; Kushner's novel is not so much a grand-scale painting as an intricate miniature, perfect in every detail.

This is one of the best books I have ever read, in any genre. The characters are unusual and unforgettable, the plot interesting and intricate, and the writing elegant and beautiful. Kushner makes her two main characters appealing and sympathetic, without compromising their fundamental ruthlessness and violence. She portrays deep, unconditional love without sentimentality or mawkishness. This is in many ways a dark, disturbing book, and it did raise unsettling questions in my mind about the nature of reality, the morality of violence, and people's ability to change, among other topics to ponder. Yet it is a joy to read; the sex and violence are not explicit; and I throoughly enjoy thinking about the book, rereading bits as I try to make sense of the novel's themes. This is a book I will read over and over, and never forget. Writers, this is how it should be done!

The first thing that first brings you into this book: the pristine and fine language. Kushner's prose is not just lovely--it's sharp as the edge of a knife and graceful too. The characters in the book cut each other with words almost as much as with swords, and blood is spilled both ways. Irony is a mainstay. If I were to visualize her writing, I'd picture it as a snowflake made of glass but just as chilly as ice.

The story is made up of what stories are usually made of: political intrigue, honor, human needs, love and lust. But what really distinguishes the plot is her characters: reviewers have already made mention of the two anti-heroes, the disgraced student and his swordsman lover, and they are divine. Alec, the student, is slumming and recklessly depressed, with a decided taste for shedding blood and drama. He is mostly by turns moodily sarcastic and cutting, capricious and slightly disturbed--he gets the best lines in the book. Richard is lethal and mild, if that makes sense. He loves danger, and this, of course, is why Alec is so appealing. Both are plunged into a game of the aristocratic court, a game both deadly and layered, at the whim of nobles who care much more about winning than the value of human life. Especially human life that gets in the way of what they want.

I love Kushner's way with her characters; she knows human behavior and can portray it subtly. Her writing rarely goes "into" the characters at all; her POV is steadfastly third-person. Yet in the small details of dialogue and description, she lucidly lays character depth. Alec is an arrogant swot, often malicious, very much the "boyfriend from hell," but Kushner wants her readers to like him, and I do. Oh boy, do I. Kushner shows her characters, rather than telling about them. We aren't fed with descriptions of Alec's charms--but shown them. He works his charm not only on his surrounding characters but us, the readers, as well. Another character, Diane, has subtle powers of manipulation and persuasion, and that too is convincingly shown through actions and behavior. I hate it in books when the author makes a character "smart" or "genius" and yet s/he behaves like a gibbering idiot. This knack of characterization makes "Swordspoint" a joy to get through: we get to know the characters slowly and without undue intimacy, like real-life acquaintances, giving the unfolding plot some sense of immediacy and drama.

Kushner keeps herself at a strict distance from her characters, and her skill lures us in closer in fascination. Her knack with character and her chilly and gorgeous prose make this a very nice book.