Third Book of Swords [Mass Market Paperback]

Fred Saberhagen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stonecutter's Story | Publication Date: September 15, 1988

Coinspinner, Farslayer, Mindsword, and nine more...The gods gave the Swords of Power to humankind for a game--but the swords can kill gods as well as mortals. And as the gods begin to die, the mortals find that life is not what it seemed...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fred Saberhagen has always been on of the best writers in the business,"--Stephen R. Donaldson, author of White Gold Wielder

"Hoist with their own petard by setting humans up as pawns in their game of swords, the gods now face their own destruction in the violent thrilling conclusion to Sanberhagen's Swords trilogy."--Booklist

"Fred Saberhagen has proved he is one of the best."--Lester Del Rey

About the Author

In addition to the popular Dracula Series, Fred Saberhagen is the author of the popular Berserker (tm) Series and the bestselling Lost Swords and Book of Lost Swords. Fred Saberhagen lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (September 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812553454
• ISBN-13: 978-0812553451
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ties up the Swords trilogy nicely, January 25, 2010

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Third Book of Swords (Mass Market Paperback)

The final novel in the Swords trilogy takes place about four years after The Second Book of Swords. Ben and Barbara have disguised themselves as the wealthy Lord and Lady Courtenay living in Tashigang under the auspices of the Silver Queen. Mark has continued his quest for ways to help the embattled Kind Sir Andrew, who has been staying in the Great Swamp and using guerrilla tactics to continue fighting the Dark King. The gods have become cranky at the uppity humans and are trying to gather all the swords back in and stop the game.

There is so much going on in this book that I hate to even try to break it down - I'd inevitably end up spoiling some of it for you, dear reader, and that always irritates someone! :-) So, I'll just say that although the end does smack a bit of deus ex machina, it is nonetheless satisfactory and ties everything up nicely. I definitely plan to seek out the Lost Swords books and the Empire of the East books as well, as I am given to understand that they build on this world very nicely. Definitely anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel with epic qualities will enjoy this trilogy greatly. Give it a chance, take the time to seek it out - you won't regret it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a mixture of magic and mythology [spoilers noted], December 18, 2004

By 

Oscar "DaRK KNighT" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Third Book of Swords (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Third Book of Swords" is the third and final novel in "The Book of Swords" trilogy approximately four years following the prior book. It has an interesting storyline involving an assortment of deities supplemented with a variety of creative magical weaponry.

The book splits time mostly between Denis and Mark. I find Mark a charming personality who could have been managed with greater attention while Denis is a new character, left as a complete enigma. The remaining group of characters who got the series thus far is downgraded to secondary characters. A subtle revelation regarding the Emperor adds an interesting twist.

[minor spoiler]

Earlier in the series, Shieldbreaker successfully defended a wielder against an attacking warbeast, slicing off its paws. In this novel, Vulcan is attacking with Shieldbreaker a group of humans who grapple him unarmed to the ground. The interesting fact is the Sword passes through the unarmed people in an immaterial state but harms the god. In the spirit of the fight, I would consider the human hands a choking weapon. The swarming of unarmed humans to subdue the Sword wielding god compared to the warbeast is a large flaw in the story.

[end minor spoiler]

Assorted spelling errors, in greater number than the earlier novels, slows down the reading. While the book starts quite descriptive, by the end the storytelling is hurried. I do not care for the mixture of Greek and Roman names for the gods and goddesses, I would prefer to stick with one mythological theme. A detailed map of the significant terrains would have been useful.

Given the power of the Swords in an appealing world, I would recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, December 1, 2003

By 

Nathan Trautman "ntrautman" (Norfolk, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The third book of swords (Paperback)

If you like the Lord of the Ring books you will love these books. This one happens to be one of my favorites. As our main hero Mark works his way around the country he finds all sorts of answers to questions readers had since the first book. The battle for the swords rage between humanity and the gods; both trying to concour it all. Its a must read for fantasy adventure fans.