Reviews

L'Épée brisée by Poul Anderson

tarostar's review against another edition

5.0

I have read this book for a second time now and it is even better than I remember. I will have to read it again in a few years.

Here is a brief outline I wrote in 2011.

A book about a world of men such as Vikings and Englishmen living alongside a mysterious and veiled world of elves, trolls, dwarves, witches, gods and other strange creatures. Men are not harassed by the arguably more advanced fey races as they fear the power of the White Christ and new God. Even Thor, Odin and other gods can not stand against this new religion and the greek gods and creatures of myths have already largely faded from the world. In this world the elven duke Imric creates a changeling Valgard to exchange him for a human baby, Skafloc, to be raised as an Elf as the elves cannot touch metal. However, a witch who desires vengeance sets in motion an evil destiny that will result in a great war between the elves and trolls and the beginning of the end.

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 against another edition

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 against another edition

2.0

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

jmkemp's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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 against another edition

5.0

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