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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To Ride the Elephant, March 26, 2003
The Broken Lands is the first novel in the Empire of the East series, which follows the adventures of Rolf, a sixteen year old peasant boy born in the lands of the Satrap Ekuman. In this novel, Rolf is plowing the fields when the soldiers come to his farm. His first awareness that something is wrong is the sight of a winged reptile swooping down to the farm yard. Running home as fast as possible, Rolf finds the flimsy house kicked apart and bodies that look something like his parents sprawled amid all the other ruined things in the yard. Though he searches everywhere, he cannot find his sister Lisa, so he goes looking for her. After a while, he finds himself sitting beside the road, quivering with exhaustion. A man is standing near him. At first, he thinks that the man is a soldier and wonders if he might get out his knife and kill him, but he looks more closely and sees that the man is not a soldier. The man asks if anything is wrong, but it is too hard to understand the question. He just gives up and slips into unconsciousness. Rolf awakes as the man pours water into his mouth. When the man again asks him if anything is wrong, Rolf manages to force out words to tell his story. When Rolf is done, the man introduces himself as the peddler Mewick. The peddler return to the farm with Rolf and helps bury his parents. After the burial, Rolf accompanies Mewick south, carrying the pack when Mewick tires. However, the peddler takes the knife from Rolf and then throws it away, saying that it is against Castle law. As they are walking, three mounted Castle soldiers overtake them and insist on searching Mewick's pack. While one of the soldiers is searching the pack, he comes upon a love charm and casually asks why they never catch a young girl out there. The other soldiers ignore him, but Rolf goes berserk, reaching for a rock and throwing it at the trooper. Although he misses, Mewick doesn't, and they kill all three soldiers. However, their actions are seen and they immediately have to run from other soldiers. They flee into the swamp and the Castle soldiers soon give up the pursuit. Rolf and Mewick wade through the bogs for hours. Around midnight, a very large bird swoops down on them and converses with Mewick. Soon they find a camp on a strip of dry land and are able to sit down and eat warm food. When Rolf awakens, he recalls that his parents are dead and Lisa is missing. Next, he confirms that he still has the short sword taken from the dead trooper. Then, arising, he goes to meet the others in the camp, the woman Manka and her husband Loford. After he has washed, he finds the large bird, Strijeef, perched deep within a tree and asleep. He learns that the birds fly at night, acting as scouts and killing the winged reptiles used by the Castle soldiers. Rolf has found the Western Resistance and soon becomes a full member when the reptiles find their camp and attack Strijeef. The Resistance group flees further into the swamp to avoid the soldiers who follow the reptiles. While they flee, Loford raises a water elemental to overwhelm the Castle soldiers and cover their escape. Still, the reptiles follow them and attack once more. Mewick shoots arrows at them and Rolf swings his sword, but doesn't hit anything. Disgusted at his performance, Rolf asks Mewick to teach him how to use the sword and, after one wild swing almost skewers him, Mewick agrees out of sheer self-defense. Soon they come to a larger camp in the swamp and Rolf is introduced to Thomas, a local leader. He also learns of Ardneh, who rides the Elephant and is armed with thunderbolts. Then, as Strijeef is preparing to go out on his nightly patrol, another bird, Feathertip, returns with word of the Elephant. The Resistance group decides to investigate the find and Rolf goes with them. The Castle soldiers, however, have not given up their search for Rolf and his new friends. Moreover, they know something of the Elephant and Ardneh, so they are also searching for these relics of the old times. This series is one of the most enthralling tales of magical adventure that I have ever encountered. All of the Swords and the Gods books are based on this series, but, while quite enjoyable in themselves, the sequels have never really achieved the same level of fascination. Recommended for Saberhagen fans and anyone who enjoys well crafted tales of sword, sorcery, and high adventure.
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