The Sunset Warrior (Paperback)

by Eric Van Lustbader (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ronin called no man master.
He was the finest swordsman of the Freehold, as sharp and deadly as his blade. Yet as the ancient city faltered, Ronin alone refused to pledge himself to any of the powerful Saardin who ruled the crumbling underground world of levels.
But now dark magic was loose in the world. As the ravings of the Magic Man foretold doom, Ronin and his lover, the sensual K'reen, were swept into a maelstrom of treachery, violence, and sudden death.
Their only hope lay in the lost scroll of the Ancients. And the desperate search led Ronin down into the very bowels of the earth, and up again, to the barrier of Freehold, where the endless ice began . . . .
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher
THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND: THE SUNSET WARRIOR

'Vivid sword and sorcery adventure' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (November 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425044521
• ISBN-13: 978-0425044520
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,295,717 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, April 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sunset Warrior (The Sunset Warrior Cycle, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lustbader takes his readers on a disturbing ride through the hellish nightmare of a dieing civilization where lies, deception, and violence are the only true virtues. One man must decide to follow a path forced upon him or look for the truth of a past and a future that might not exist. Lustbader is great at developing a dark forbidding world were nothing is as it seems. The characters are complex and mysterious with overtones of a society were duty is place above all else. This book is exciting, violet, sensual, and disturbing. Together with the Sunset Warrior Cycle it is one of the best books I have read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Post-Apocalyptic Samurai Romp, September 6, 2003

By	Pavla V. (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sunset Warrior (Paperback)

Eric Van Lustbader turns samurai fiction on its ear in this SF-tinged sword and sorcery tale. We follow the adventures of Ronin, a gifted, self-conflicted warrior, trapped in a decaying underground community that has been cut off from the rest of the world. With advanced technology increasingly falling into disrepair, conflicts in the Freehold are settled by swordplay, which makes dueling experts like Ronin valuable to the powers that be. The Sunset Warrior is an entertaining mix of political intrigue, love, loss, betrayal and vividly described battle scenes. It's a bit uneven in places, and Ronin is not as sympathetic a character as some readers might like, but these minor complaints aside, this is a fun, fast, exciting read, highly recommended to fans of escapist fiction.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Fantasy, July 22, 2005

By	Scott Masterton (Blaine, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sunset Warrior (Paperback)

Eric Van Lustbader writes a great fantasy novel!

The premise of "the Sunset Warrior" (and the trilogy in general) is based on the idea that some great ecological disaster has taken place. People have been driven underground, but so long ago that those that are left have lost the history and reason why they have left the face of the planet. The technology that has supported the peoples of the "freehold" is beginning to shut down and the people have split into a feudal, caste system similar to 16th century Japan. There are none left that completely understand how their technology works (not far from where we are today).

Enter Ronin, a highly skilled warrior and free thinker and he begins to ask questions.

This novel is so very human: it questions the mores and attitudes that most of us just accept as reality. It is about the sacrifice that each of us must make in order to "fit in" and in contrast, the sacrifices that we make to be genuinely ourselves. "Sunset Warrior" is a wonderful metaphor for questioning the "machine" that we all live in today.

An orginal fantasy that is definitely worth reading.