Customer Reviews

The Swordsman

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I had a wish list, one thing that would definitely be on it is this: "Mel Keegan decides to write a sequel to The Swordsman." Because if there was ever a book that was crying out (screaming pitifully) for a sequel, this is it. (A few times I've asked DreamCraft if there are plans, and I get the same answer: "A definite maybe." I've thought about organizing a petition. Maybe, if 500 red-eyed readers showed up on MK's driveway, waving placards ...?)

It's not that The Swordsman ends unfinished or that The End is not satisfying. It ends *beautifully,* and it's so satisfying, you heave a little sigh ... you just want more. a LOT more. There's so much that lies ahead of these beautiful guys, and as a reader I *need* those stories! The book was published by DreamCraft in 2002, with one of the best covers that's ever appeared on an MK book. The artwork was repainted for the version that's now printed in the US, but nothing else was changed: you don't change what's perfect already.

The story is a fantasy and a romance -- in fact it's two romances in one. On the cover you see Seb and Jack (Jack being the swordsman of the title), but there's a second couple, Janos and Luc ... the gypsy shaman and the captain of the guard. And unlike a number of other gay romances and fantasies, this one has some spice! At least enough to steam up your reading glasses -- though you could give The Swordsman as a gift to a coming-out 16 or 17, without anxiety. In other words, when you get to the love scenes, they're real ones. Gay ones. [evil grin]

Jack Leigh arrives in the Riverlands of Rhondia as a soldier of fortune. He duels for money, which he needs to rescue his imprisoned father. The pickings are rich in Rhondia ... but street fighting is illegal, so Jack has to be careful. Meanwhile, almost a prisoner in the citadel, Michael Sebastien d'Astaghir is in mortal danger. Somebody's trying to kill him, and they come so close to succeeding that his friend, Luc Redmayne, reckons Seb needs a bodyguard. So, when Luc is privileged to see Jack fight -- and is amazed by the swordsman's skill -- he recruits Jack as the bodyguard. It's Jack's job to see that no harm comes to Seb ... which means Jack must get very close to Seb. Are you drooling yet?!

Don't drool too soon, because MK makes you wait for it. Seb starts out as a gorgeous, haunted, troubled, hurting ... [...]. You'd like to kick his shins. Till you realize what's going on. How he has been, and is being, abused. It takes Jack to get through his armor, and then it all happens at once.

The love story runs side by side with a tale of dark magic, horrifying revenge, and mythical creatures that turn out to be real. It's very hard to say anything about the plot without blowing it (typical of a Mel Keegan novel; almost all MK's stories are deeply interwoven). I can tell you, this one is intricate, fully developed in the Keegan style ... nothing left begging, everything rich as technicolor.

The landscape of The Swordsman is all dark forests, stone castles, deep caverns and always the great river, and the canals. This fantasy world is filled out with a history, even a kind of genealogy. The one thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a map. (I like fantasy maps. Call me weird.) The action of The Swordsman is Gothic and intense: it's like being inside a place, and you know something is out to get you, but ... what is it? And I really, seriously can't even hint at what it is without telling you the plot, and -- would I do that to you?!

Does the book have a downside? Only the fact there isn't a sequel! Like I said, let's get up a petition. If you love this one, you'll also get a blast out of The Lords Of Harbendane.

I liked the soryline of the book. A swordsman (Jack) comes to a troubled city and, along with a Captain of the Guard (Redmayne) and a Gypsy (Janos), attempts to rescue a troubled prince (Sebastian), from certain death, danger and court intrigue. There are wizards, good and bad, frightened peasants, castles, monsters, and battles. That's it in a nutshell. The problem I ran into was that the characters didn't seem quite flushed out enough to me. There were two separate (or not so seperate) romances going on. But I spent a good portion of the time wondering who really wanted whom in the long run. That just bugs me. I don't really think the autor intended for the reader to be questioning that, hence the "characters not flushed out enough" comment. I liked it enough to read a second book though and would hope to see a little more definition in the relationships. FYI, I liked the Prince and the Captain of the Guard much better than the Swordsman and the Gypsy. Once again, I'm not sure the autor really intended it to be that way. Could just be me I suppose... ;)