Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Like others I've read this book too many times to remember and when I need an escape from this world, or an adventure, I turn to it still. For those of us who favor chivalry, honor and duty it is a must-read. It's about an ordinary man who is spirited away to another time and place and in the process discovers what kind of man he has it in him to be.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Like others I've read this book too many times to remember and when I need an escape from this world, or an adventure, I turn to it still. For those of us who favor chivalry, honor and duty it is a must-read. It's about an ordinary man who is spirited away to another time and place and in the process discovers what kind of man he has it in him to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Foundations?
Review: Reading this books now, almost fifty years after it was written is probably a very different experience that it was when it was when it was new. In retrospect it's obvious to anyone who's played more than one game of Dungeons & Dragons that E. Gary Gygax ripped this book off almost as much as he did The Lord of the Rings. It's also very interesting to see how into medieval history Anderson was, even 13 years before the start of the SCA and his adoption of the name Bela of Eastmarch.
Rating:
Summary: Foundations?
Review: Reading this books now, almost fifty years after it was written is probably a very different experience that it was when it was when it was new. In retrospect it's obvious to anyone who's played more than one game of Dungeons & Dragons that E. Gary Gygax ripped this book off almost as much as he did The Lord of the Rings. It's also very interesting to see how into medieval history Anderson was, even 13 years before the start of the SCA and his adoption of the name Bela of Eastmarch.
Rating:
Summary: 40 years and counting
Review: The outline of this book is familiar, even ancient. Candide, the stranger in a strange land. So why have I been dragging my poor, bedraggled copy around for 40 years? (Note to Amazon - I'll be buying another copy soon - mine is not long for this world.) What is the appeal of this fairly lightweight fantasy tale to a 50+ engineer-turned-computer-programmer? By now, I've long since lost count of the times I've read it. 30? 50? 100? more? I don't know, and I don't care. I simply know that on a per hour basis, this is the best entertainment money I've ever spent. And that doesn't even count the times my wife and children have read the darn thing.Our hero is Holger, a well-meaning, if not entirely bright, engineer transported to a land of myth closely resembling Europe of the Middle Ages, where he is somehow (no surrpise) a central figure in ways he cannot see. Dozens of books like it, right? Wrong. Poul Anderson then spins a yarn I keep coming back to year after year. The story is rather predictable, but the charm of the characters is mezmerizing. Holger, our intrepid hero, the charming swan-may who loves him, Hugi, the loyal but gruff dwarf --- oh, I give up. Trust me on this one. Whatever Amazon is asking for this thing, pay it. Now.
Rating:
Summary: 40 years and counting
Review: The outline of this book is familiar, even ancient. Candide, the stranger in a strange land. So why have I been dragging my poor, bedraggled copy around for 40 years? (Note to Amazon - I'll be buying another copy soon - mine is not long for this world.) What is the appeal of this fairly lightweight fantasy tale to a 50+ engineer-turned-computer-programmer? By now, I've long since lost count of the times I've read it. 30? 50? 100? more? I don't know, and I don't care. I simply know that on a per hour basis, this is the best entertainment money I've ever spent. And that doesn't even count the times my wife and children have read the darn thing. Our hero is Holger, a well-meaning, if not entirely bright, engineer transported to a land of myth closely resembling Europe of the Middle Ages, where he is somehow (no surrpise) a central figure in ways he cannot see. Dozens of books like it, right? Wrong. Poul Anderson then spins a yarn I keep coming back to year after year. The story is rather predictable, but the charm of the characters is mezmerizing. Holger, our intrepid hero, the charming swan-may who loves him, Hugi, the loyal but gruff dwarf --- oh, I give up. Trust me on this one. Whatever Amazon is asking for this thing, pay it. Now.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy that's believable
Review: The thing I've always liked about Anderson's forays into fantasy, is that he manages to maintain that hard edge of reality throughout the work. Anderson's characters don't stumble around fairy land tripping over magic junk that they're going to happen to need in the next chapter like in some of the feebler fantasy on the market. Anderson gives his hero all the discomforts associated with running around in armor, the confusion of a modern character stuck in a parallel universe that he is having trouble making sense of and yet, manages to make a detailed, sociologically believable parallel universe without resorting to some of the cheaper tricks you too often see in sword and sorcery stuff. When something happens, it makes sense, even if it's fantastical at the same time. Anderson knows his sociology, history and his physics quite well. He's one of the brightest practitioners of the science fiction/fantasy art form and way under-appreciated. This is one of my favorites!Tom Kin
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy Adventure
Review: This book is amazingly similar in some ways to "Glory Road" by RAH, although it predates it. It also has a JRR Tolkein flavor mixed with the general struggle of good and evil.
This is a completely enjoyable book that pits a modern day soldier against a fantasy world from his ancestral past.
Unlike many fantasy books, it has a very credible plot, fascinating characters, and a very attractive writing style. This has always been my favorite book by Anderson,
and still reads very well today.
Rating:
Summary: Almost true
Review: This book was so extraordinary that I had to keep reminding myself that it was not a true story. Players of Dungeons&Dragons will be amazed how many ideas for that classic role-playing system came from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Book I constantly remember
Review: This is truly a great book. If you want a great adventure that is clean, moves at a good pace, holds your interest, and is truly imaginative, this is it. While the Plot outline is not unique, the book is just greatly entertaining. Much like I reread some of Roger Zelazny's books, this one is worthy of reading again. I was first recommended this book by a teacher friend when I was 14 years old (31 years ago), and I still haven't really found its match yet!!
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