The First Swords : The Book of Swords, Volumes I, II, III

Rating:
Summary: Now for something completely different...
Review: I am surprised at the some of the comments in the reviews below, because contrary to what they said, I found this series NOT to be standard fantasy fare. First of all, these books are linked to his earlier works such as Empire of the East, which are more Sci-Fi in nature. These books take place many millenia after the events of Empire of the East, many of the big main characters in that book have now become worshipped as gods. The series starts out with a bunch of new gods who have decided to play a game with men as chesspieces. To facilitate this game they have the god Vulcan forge 12 Swords of varying powers and then scatter them around the earth. They then sit back and watch how events unfold, presumably betting on various outcomes. But the real drama in the books is played out on earth, as various Swords come into possession of different people and are used for greatly varying purposes. I found the powers of the Swords themselves to be well-thought out and in many cases unprecedented in fantasy literature. One Sword makes it possessor appear as a loved/feared one, one gives the possessor invulnerability in battle against spells or weapons, one cuts through stone as easily as butter, one heals any wound, one controls minds, etc etc etc. The characters are less well-thought out than the Swords, but the tightly written plots are enough to keep the Reader interested. In the background of all this lurks one of the most interesting characters, the Emperor, who is some kind of magician of unsurpassed skill, but who rarely involves himself in human events. But this is no gray-bearded oldster in a conical hat, the Emporer wanders around the world, showing up briefly in the oddest places, hanging out mostly with the common people. Thus he has become something like a folk hero, who many believe does not exist. Who is he, exactly? And what kind of power does he really have? Where did he come from? And what does he want? For those answers you have to read all the books, not only the original trilogy, but the 8 books that follow. I highly suggest you do so.

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Summary: Captivating...
Review: I first heard of these books by chance from an old friend, when I began reading the series I had just recently finished "The Sword of Truth" series(Terry Goodkind) and "The Wheel of Time" series(Robert Jordan) although Saberhagen's conversational aspects were a little under par compared with the rest, his sheer creativity and plot concept took a gigantic leap ahead of any other series I have read thus far. Definetely a pillar a fun in the great halls of Fantasy. A must read, indeed.

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Summary: great series
Review: i have read almost every book in this series...i loved everyone of them....slowly but surely i will go about buying these books so i can read them again in the future

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Summary: Good fantasy fun
Review: I have recently re-read this series and really enjoyed it. Although this series ties in with the Empire of the East you need not read it to enjoy the Swords books.
This series is primarily good fantasy fun with a lot of action and some original ideas that kept me interested throughout the three books. Dont expect a lot of character development or full resolution of all the plot lines. What you can expect is a lot of fun and a few suprises as well as some very imaginative story devices.
I view this series as a bit more novelized than the Conan series or Fafrd and the Grey Mouser books. Im somewhat reminded of the Elric saga but with more action and fun and less of the gloom and despair. Fans of Brust's Taltos series might like the Swords series also although the Swords series is more genre derived and defined.
I gave the Swords trilogy four stars instead of five simply because I do not believe the series will have the staying power like that of Tolkien, Donaldson, Brooks etc....

Rating:
Summary: It Depends?
Review: I just got finished reading this book. To tell the truth some of the reading was slow, however there were times when I couldnt put the book down. The characters are likeable and the story line is good. It kind of depends on your reading preference. If you like good vs evil in a fantasy surounding you should love this book!

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Summary: Not as good as his vampire books
Review: I picked this book up in a used book store after reading one of his books from the Vampire series. Although it was interesting and entertaining, I didn't find it nearly as interesting as his Vampire series.

I found the book a bit lacking in the descriptions of what was going on. I wasn't sure by the end of the book if we had 2 or 3 swords in play since they all seemed to have so many different names. Also some of the plot didn't seem quite connected.

I must temper this criticism by saying that I'm not a real fantasy series lover. I prefer my books (usually) to end at the last page and not to be continued in the next book. The thought of having to read 11 more books to get the full story really turns me off.

If you like fantasy books that are part of a series, you'll probably enjoy this. If you're not, it's worth a try, but no guarantees.

My star ratings:

One star - couldn't finish the book

Two stars - read the book, but did a lot of skipping or scanning. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection or search out other books by the author

Three stars - enjoyable read. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection. Would judge other books by the author individually.

Four stars - Liked the book. Would keep the book or would look for others by the same author.

Five stars - One of my all time favorites. Will get a copy in hardback to keep and will actively search out others by the same author.


Rating:
Summary: I loved it!!!!
Review: I'll never tire of reading it, an overall great storytelling by Fred Saberhagen!

Rating:
Summary: this book bored me to tears
Review: most boring bit of garbage to come along in year

Rating:
Summary: Get a copy of this graceful, magical and memorable epic.
Review: Saberhagen writes at his best with this fun tale of 12 magical swords forged by the gods for mankind. Though there's not much originality with the idea of swords with special powers, that is an unimportant fact, as the events keep the pages turning. The storytelling is so graceful that the historical saga of the gods interweaves well with the plot. Bottom line: You get 3 books in 1 that you'll enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book GREAT Series
Review: This book is another in the complete set of stories, about 12 swords each with a different special ability, I loved all his books so far, and hope it will stay the same for the rest of the series. You feel connected with the charectors of Mark Ben and Barbra. Once you get to the battles its hard to put it down it is some beuatifully written. I loved these books soo much I created an RPG Game from it, which all my friends play!!