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Bezig met laden... The First Book of Swords (origineel 1983; editie 1995)door Fred Saberhagen
Informatie over het werkThe First Book of Swords door Fred Saberhagen (1983)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. F/SF A little over a decade ago, Vulcan voluntelled some men to help him create a handful of magic swords. The process killed all of them but one, and that guy lost his arm. Vulcan gave him one of the swords as payment for his labor, though, and for years it hung on the wall of his hut. When some bad guys come to town looking for it and start a ruckus that ends in one of the man's sons dead, the other son grabs the sword and heads for the hills. Or mountains, rather. So starts Mark's adventures with his father's sword, which turns out to be wanted by a lot of powerful people for a lot of different reasons. It started out very promising (I love the twist on the Greek gods), and I like Mark's character pretty well, but by the middle it started dragging for me some and it never really picked back up its original speed. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I'll be going on with the series. This book is the introduction to the world of the Swords and the bored gods. On the one hand, very '70s- impressionistic, quickly written, drawing heavily on archetype characters. But Saberhagen, the man behind Berserker, makes these things his own. In the beginning the gods are bored- and they are all the gods of classic antiquity. So Vulcan is commissioned to "make the Swords for the Game", and realizes he can use the essence of humanity in their forging. Jorge, a blacksmith in a remote village, is the only survivor of a group of men called to aid Vulcan in the forging- his right arm taken, and a flawless, simple blade given in payment. "His" son Mark later unwillingly comes into possession of the blade- but neither it nor Mark are entirely what they seem. Meanwhile, nobles throughout the world begin to move to procure these strange magic Swords that have appeared, each with their own characteristics. Saberhagen aimed high with this one, didn't entirely support the quality of his concepts with his technical execution, but a worthwhile read nonetheless. There are 12 Swords of Power, each a weapon with but 11 other peers, each with a special gift it bestows on its bearer. There is a rhyme in the back of the back that contains the essence of Sword-lore- questions that remain are "what are demons?" "Who is the mysterious Emperor?" "Where did these gods come from?" "What is the point of the Swords?" Each Sword's ability comes with a vulnerability; and each sword has a more subtle second gift. Coinspinner, the Sword of Chance or Sword of Luck, makes its bearer supernaturally lucky- but it will randomly teleport itself away from/arrange to be lost by its own, representing the fickleness of chance. Its secondary gift is guidance- it can tell you, used as a dousing rod, in which direction your path lay that gave you the greatest chance of success. So their magic is not so simple; and no Sword fully dominates the others once that is understood. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Onderdeel van de reeks(en)Ardneh's World (5) Book of Swords (1) Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)Drakar & Demoner (35) Is opgenomen in
In all twelve years of Mark's life, the sword that hangs on the wall in his home has never been used. It is only when a small group of strangers enters his village one day demanding to see the sword that Mark truly begins to understand it is no ordinary blade. When a fight breaks out, the sword takes on a life of its own, mercilessly cutting down all in its path. Mark is the only one to walk away from the bloodbath. When his mother sees one of the strangers-the Duke's cousin-lying with Mark's arrow buried in his throat, she commands her son to flee. Left with no choice, he takes up the sword and runs. Little does he know, he is running straight into a far greater war.This is a world of dragon-hunters, knights, and enchantresses. Of power-hungry rulers and gods that walk among humans. And a group of magical swords that has the power to determine the fate of them all. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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