Rating: 
Summary: Bleak future
Review: As adolescent fantasy and post-holocaust stories go, it's pretty good. Be warned, however: the tone of this book (or collection of three books, each with its own protagonist) is almost relentlessly grim and tragic, as befits a setting that arises from a civilization-ending Blast. You can't have what you want - it will always be out of reach, taken from you, or turn out to be not what you wanted after all. Characters are often forced or manipulated into things they don't want to do by their personal honor. One character, who represents innocence and simple enjoyment of the pleasures of the barbarian life, comes to a bad end because of the designs of others; like Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, most of the remaining joy in the story dies with him.
Anthony's usual sexism is present, though arguably appropriate in a barbarian society; most of the women are chattel, to be won or lost in the dueling circle, and don't even have names of their own (instead taking a derivative of the name of the man who's won them, as do the children he fathers).
If you're into watching a succession of men struggle against their fate, in pursuit of goals that turn to ashes in their grasp, read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: timeless "keeper"
Review: Battle Circle incorporates the stories of SOS the rope, Var the stick, and Neq the sword: this is Piers Anthony work orginally published in the early 1970s. The stories of SOS, Var, and Neq are based in a barbaric world (possibly america), where honour rules supreme, and disagreements are sorted by challenge and battle in the "circle". Each story is vastly entertaining and follows the trials and tribulations of each man fulfilling his destiny and dream/s. An avid Piers Anthony fan, I believe that this novel is one of his best works and so was surprised that only used books are available for this novel! Piers Anthony's Battle Circle is original, thought provoking, and evokes emotional interest/empathy with each character (which is something worth mentioning: a truly good author is hard to come by these days!). In three words, I believe you will find this book: a timeless "keeper".
Rating:
Summary: timeless "keeper"
Review: Battle Circle incorporates the stories of SOS the rope, Var the stick, and Neq the sword: this is Piers Anthony work orginally published in the early 1970s. The stories of SOS, Var, and Neq are based in a barbaric world (possibly america), where honour rules supreme, and disagreements are sorted by challenge and battle in the "circle". Each story is vastly entertaining and follows the trials and tribulations of each man fulfilling his destiny and dream/s. An avid Piers Anthony fan, I believe that this novel is one of his best works and so was surprised that only used books are available for this novel! Piers Anthony's Battle Circle is original, thought provoking, and evokes emotional interest/empathy with each character (which is something worth mentioning: a truly good author is hard to come by these days!). In three words, I believe you will find this book: a timeless "keeper".
Rating:
Summary: An epic classical fantasy novel
Review: Battle Circle is a trilogy of Books - Sos the Rope, Var the stick and Neq the sword, available as a set in one volume. The story follows the life of a wandering warrior in a land of nomadic fighting tribes, and charts his adventures, and the changing fortunes of his empire. The book is perhapst he best work, and yet one of the least well known by this great author. The plot is watertight, and gripping, and the characters draw you into this wonderful work of storytelling. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: An epic classical fantasy novel
Review: Battle Circle is a trilogy of Books - Sos the Rope, Var the stick and Neq the sword, available as a set in one volume. The story follows the life of a wandering warrior in a land of nomadic fighting tribes, and charts his adventures, and the changing fortunes of his empire. The book is perhapst he best work, and yet one of the least well known by this great author. The plot is watertight, and gripping, and the characters draw you into this wonderful work of storytelling. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: A skillful blend
Review: Battle Circle, by Piers Anthony, is an excellent story that I would recommend to anyone who follows the fantasy or S/F genre. When I began reading the story I read it as a Fantasy book. However, Anthony does an excellent job at swinging the readers vision of the world described from a fantasy to a S/F world. An excellent blend of the two genres. The three part layout also works well as each can be read as an individual story. I would recommend this and love reading it over again.
Rating:
Summary: Post-apocalypse survival for every type of reader
Review: I first read this collection of novels about ten years ago and immediately went out to buy the book for myself. Since then, I have read it several times and have been continuously pulled in by its alluring nature and by its own truth about a very imaginable post-apocalyptic age. Unfortunately I have lost the book through its many travels and now I have to have Amazon get me a copy!!! One of the most interesting books I have ever read... Bravo Mr. Anthony!
Rating:
Summary: Battle Circle
Review: I found this an amazing treatise on the value of a society based on honor. Two men, one circle. All decisions were final. Any dispute settled, any argument quelled. And then the novellas grow from there. Very often, one reads a book, but never actually feels anything for the characters involved. Sos changes all of that. Quite simply, the most amazing piece of literature I've read by Piers Anthony or any other author.
Rating:
Summary: Battle Circle
Review: I found this an amazing treatise on the value of a society based on honor. Two men, one circle. All decisions were final. Any dispute settled, any argument quelled. And then the novellas grow from there. Very often, one reads a book, but never actually feels anything for the characters involved. Sos changes all of that. Quite simply, the most amazing piece of literature I've read by Piers Anthony or any other author.
Rating:
Summary: the Battle Circle -- Serendipity
Review: I picked up Battle Circle purely on a name-recognition basis, and was rewarded for my faith. The three volumes of Battle Circle are some of the least lighthearted of Piers Anthony's work. Sos the Rope, Var the Stick, and Neq the Sword are parts of a very tragic and captivating story. Par for the course for Anthony, the characters deal not only with their own situations, but with the ethical considerations associated with their actions and others'. For this reason his heroes always command respect and those of the Battle Circle, while violent and largely illiterate, are no exception.
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