Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: "The Swordbearer" was the first book I ever read written by Glen Cook and I enjoyed it so much I afterwards read all his works I could get my hands on (though not so easy to do in Japan until recently). It is very easy to identify with the main character of the book Garion, and the world swirls so much with powerful magical artifacts, buried sorcery, intriguing characters , roving battles,duels its hard to imagine that all of it fit in one book.The tone of the book is also good; not the cotton candy world of some inferior SF, but you feel a gritty substance to it, the light and the dark--I don't know how to express this well.Anyway I definitely recommend this for those who want a good substantial fantasy read.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: "The Swordbearer" was the first book I ever read written by Glen Cook and I enjoyed it so much I afterwards read all his works I could get my hands on (though not so easy to do in Japan until recently). It is very easy to identify with the main character of the book Garion, and the world swirls so much with powerful magical artifacts, buried sorcery, intriguing characters , roving battles,duels its hard to imagine that all of it fit in one book.The tone of the book is also good; not the cotton candy world of some inferior SF, but you feel a gritty substance to it, the light and the dark--I don't know how to express this well.Anyway I definitely recommend this for those who want a good substantial fantasy read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Man and a Sword
Review: At the start of this book, one can get the impression that this is going to be a typical 'great-hearted boy warrior finds powerful magic sword and exacts glorious revenge/justice upon those who fiendishly slew his family' sort of story. It is not. Before too long, the plotline begins to skew wildly around. In typical Glen Cook fashion, the story is gritty with believable characters that are not all good or bad. The pace and the writing is crisp and to the point. Finally, the story itself is fascinating and sometimes disturbing, but it always draws the reader along only to leave him hanging a bit at the end. Cook is an excellent author, and one of the most underrated fantasy writers out there. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes the rougher side of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Swordbearer
Review: A magical soul-eating sword chooses a young cripple as its bearer. Proof positive that even for the really good writers of the world, there's a learning curve. Underwritten, "telly", cliched, disjointed to the point of incoherence. I'm convinced this would not be publishable today. When it first came out in 1982, perhaps its straightforward prose and grey morality seemed new -- but now readers can find Cook's style expressed on a much higher plane in his Black Company books.
Rating:
Summary: Swordbearer
Review: A magical soul-eating sword chooses a young cripple as its bearer. Proof positive that even for the really good writers of the world, there's a learning curve. Underwritten, "telly", cliched, disjointed to the point of incoherence. I'm convinced this would not be publishable today. When it first came out in 1982, perhaps its straightforward prose and grey morality seemed new -- but now readers can find Cook's style expressed on a much higher plane in his Black Company books.
Rating:
Summary: One of my first experiences with fantasy
Review: As the sword had been lost for ages, so had the title and author of this book been lost to me. After exhausting every Tolkien and CS Lewis book I could find, I was lucky to have purchased a new release of THE SWORDBEARER almost 20 years ago. I'm looking forward to reading this work again through adult eyes, as I can still remember the excitement it created as a thirteen year old. I'll make sure to keep this copy in a safe place, so my sons may have the same experience in a few years. I can't wait to catch up on Cook's other books.
Rating:
Summary: Swordbearer
Review: Cook's Black Company series is without question the strongest of his writing, but Swordbearer is a good quick read if you are tired of reading through all the old familiar stuff in your collection. The plot is indeed recycled, but the characters are very much fresh. How many fantasy novels can you think of that feature a crippled hero?
Rating: 
Summary: I've had better from this Cook
Review: Cook's Black Company series is without question the strongest of his writing, but Swordbearer is a good quick read if you are tired of reading through all the old familiar stuff in your collection. The plot is indeed recycled, but the characters are very much fresh. How many fantasy novels can you think of that feature a crippled hero?
Rating:
Summary: One of my first experiences with fantasy
Review: Having purchased and enjoyed the entirety of Glen Cook's "Black Company" novels, I decided to look at some of his earlier works. "The Swordbearer" was the first of these, and proved to be a revelation into the evolution of a writer. The story itself is stock - a boy finds a relic of times past and, upon doing so, becomes a player/pawn in an ever-continuing ancient game between supernatural powers. The human elements of the story are underdeveloped so that, when combined with a fairly quickly moving plot, leaves the reader trying to figure out what's going on more than absorbing whatever intended emotional impact there might be. Overall, I would recommend the book to any Glen Cook fan and especially any fan of the "Black Company" series. Contained within "The Swordbearer" are many of the story elements and themes that Cook would later incorporate and improve upon in his "Black Company" novels. Among them are the concepts of soul-stealing, omniscient ability contained by a charcter via a special power or machine, and Cook's two biggest trademarks - a world of grey characters with little black or white, and an uncanny ability to create compelling and lavishly detailed battle sequences. "The Swordbearer" plot is driven by a number of pivotal battle sequences and it is during these moments that the book is at its strongest. At its best, "The Swordbearer" is worth reading for any Cook fan who wants to see many "Black Company" staples take shape, and a good book for anyone looking for a light read. Although "The Swordbearer" is uneven throughout, its parts make up for the whole and make it a reasonable purchase for the curious or voracious fantasy reader.
Rating:
Summary: "Swordbearer" a chrysalis for many Black Company themes
Review: Having purchased and enjoyed the entirety of Glen Cook's "Black Company" novels, I decided to look at some of his earlier works. "The Swordbearer" was the first of these, and proved to be a revelation into the evolution of a writer. The story itself is stock - a boy finds a relic of times past and, upon doing so, becomes a player/pawn in an ever-continuing ancient game between supernatural powers. The human elements of the story are underdeveloped so that, when combined with a fairly quickly moving plot, leaves the reader trying to figure out what's going on more than absorbing whatever intended emotional impact there might be. Overall, I would recommend the book to any Glen Cook fan and especially any fan of the "Black Company" series. Contained within "The Swordbearer" are many of the story elements and themes that Cook would later incorporate and improve upon in his "Black Company" novels. Among them are the concepts of soul-stealing, omniscient ability contained by a charcter via a special power or machine, and Cook's two biggest trademarks - a world of grey characters with little black or white, and an uncanny ability to create compelling and lavishly detailed battle sequences. "The Swordbearer" plot is driven by a number of pivotal battle sequences and it is during these moments that the book is at its strongest. At its best, "The Swordbearer" is worth reading for any Cook fan who wants to see many "Black Company" staples take shape, and a good book for anyone looking for a light read. Although "The Swordbearer" is uneven throughout, its parts make up for the whole and make it a reasonable purchase for the curious or voracious fantasy reader.
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