Reviews

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

highkingfelagund's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

If you’re looking for the good parts version of a Norse saga. This is it. Thrilling, adventurous, and full of magic though not much below the surface. Don’t expect the characters to be at all relatable, that’s not a goal of this book. 

kord's review

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

awalte15's review

2.0

Might’ve been 3 stars but the comparison to lord of the rings is insulting

jmkemp's review

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Technically it's really well written, in the style of the ancient sagas, but that made it really hard to read. There's a lot of descriptive words, and more uses of the word spindrift than I've seen in any book I've ever read, including the one about winter skills for mountaineering. 

psoglav's review

3.0

UKUPNA OCENA ★★★ 3
- Radnja ★★★
- Okruženje ★★★★
- Pripovedanje ★★★
- Likovi ★★★

UTISAK - simpatična novela u stilu skandinavskih i keltskih mitova i legendi. Ukleti mač, zle sudbine glavnih junaka, bogovi, vilenjaci i trolovi... Anderson pokazuje da mu je prava ljubav epska fantastika i/ili fantazija, a da mu je SF tek na drugom mestu.

clayyea's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mbs1236's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tragic and Melancholic. Truly a well-deserved classic of the fantasy genre. A book that stands as a worthy challenger to The Return of the King as the best book of 1954.

yoobik's review against another edition

4.0

Tolkien who?

lakserk's review

5.0

An epic in the style of mythological cycles, both language- and story-wise.

geekwayne's review

5.0

'The Broken Sword' by Poul Anderson is a classic from the golden age of SF. I had always heard it was good, and I finally got a chance to read it. I wasn't disappointed.

When a human baby, Skafloc, is stolen by an elf and replaced with a changeling, it sets in motion the worst war the elves have seen. Skafloc grows up a joyous and happy child. He has an affinity for elf magic and he is a pretty mighty warrior. He falls in love, and everything seems to be going perfect. Then darkness falls, and it threatens everything in Skafloc's world. He seeks out a terrible weapon that may completely unmake him while helping him get the revenge he craves. Can Skafloc be saved from the cursed weapon? Can his people be saved? Will he ever laugh again?

It's a good tale with fabulous prose and epic battles full of all the bloodshed we want in epic fantasy. Skafloc's demeanor change sets the tone as the book grows darker. The characters were ok to me, but I kept reading for the writing. I recently read a book from this era for a book club, and I wish they had picked this book instead. This was a really great read, and I'm so happy that Open Road Media has seen fit to publish this as an ebook.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.