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Rating: 
Summary: a mixture of magic and mythology [no spoilers]
Review: "The First Book of Swords" is the opening novel in "The Book of Swords" trilogy. It has an interesting storyline involving an assortment of deities supplemented with a variety of creative magical weaponry.
The book mostly follows Mark, a likeable young man whose father was one of the assistants in forging twelve supernatural swords. He meets up and adventures with a couple other individuals, Barbara, Ben, and Nestor. The solid background in the developing story establishes a thorough world for future fantasy adventures.
I do not care for the mixture of Greek and Roman names for the gods and goddesses, I would prefer to stick with one mythological theme. However introducing other godlike beings such as Ardneh, Orcus, and Draffut within the same world bears credit in showing a world in transition. The creation of weapons by a god that can supposedly destroy a god makes the story fascinating. A detailed map of the significant terrains would have been useful.
I would recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.
Thank you.
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Summary: Blades
Review: A Review by TimMark had a pretty average life for the time. Hunting game for the family and doing household chores for his mom. He probably didn't expect that one day he would have to leave his house to start life anew. But what is the secret behind his father's sword called Townsaver. And what game are the gods talking about. Now the life around Mark is changing, perhaps faster than he would ever would want or expect. This book is a prime example of a fantasy novel. This book was a joy to read and easy to follow. When the story follows Mark excitement is sure to trail. But Fred Saberhagen kept changing point of view every chapter. The many mysteries are unraveled throughout the story, but once one is, a new one springs from it. This feature makes you never want to put the book down. Fred Saberhagen is great at portraying a medieval setting. But it is odd that when the book refers to the old world it seems like it's referring to modern time. I would recommend this book to anybody but anyone into fantasy will love this book. This is a great read I can't wait to finish.
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Summary: Sharp and to the point ...
Review: Seriously, this is a well-written and absorbing book. It's one of those volumes you might buy because the cover looks interesting or the synopsis on the jacket is intriguing -- but once you begin reading, you realise what a gem it is. The story, in brief, centers around 12 swords forged by the olympian god Vulcan to give to mankind for the amusement of the gods. He enlists the aid of a local townsperson (Jord) during their creation and in return gives one of the weapons to him. Jord is killed but his son, Mark, carries on thru a series of adventures revolving around one sword or another. The fascinating part of the book is the swords themselves. Each has a special power, and a special weakness. Each is totally different than any other. This first book touches on only a couple of the artifacts in any detail. Subsequent books tell the stories of the remaining swords. For a good read with a decent amount of adventure and a plot that twists and turns, this book is hard to beat. ~P~
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Summary: Fred Saberhagen created one of my favorite series of books.
Review: The Book of Swords series was one of the first series I read and is still one of my favorites, even after ten years and countless other literary adventures. Once you start this series, you'll find yourself living through the characters, first hoping they survive, then hoping they prosper. The Gods' role in the making of the swords, giving them to humanity, then, like a greedy child, wanting them back for themselves, imposes human qualities on them and makes their exsistance in that world much more believable while creating the background for the series. I found this to be one of the best tales of MAN VS. GODS I've ever read. Thanks Fred.
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Summary: Blades
Review: The book unfolds well with just the right amount of suspense, and several plot twists, though a couple of them are fairly predictable. The story is interesting, and near the end of the book hints at very interesting things to come. The characters all have their charm, though some of them aren't as well-developed as others. (For example, I found that Sir Andrew was fairly well done but in the end there could have been more of a focus on who he is.) The only gripe I have is that the book seems to be fairly short for the content that's in it. But all in all I loved it. It's a good book for any fantasy fan.
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Summary: Superb and Classic
Review: The First Book of Swords is a wonderful beginning to a truly awesome series. Even if you do not intend to ever read all of the books, this first book is a winner. Saberhagen created this as an entry to one of the very few series of books that I would be tempted to give "5-stars" to the entire series. I really liked the way the Gods are handled throughout the book; and who could ever forget Drafut..... If you enjoy fantasy or sci-fi, read this book. It will be worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Superb and Classic
Review: The First Book of Swords is a wonderful beginning to a truly awesome series. Even if you do not intend to ever read all of the books, this first book is a winner. Saberhagen created this as an entry to one of the very few series of books that I would be tempted to give "5-stars" to the entire series. I really liked the way the Gods are handled throughout the book; and who could ever forget Drafut..... If you enjoy fantasy or sci-fi, read this book. It will be worth it.
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