Reviews

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

awalte15's review against another edition

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2.0

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

jmkemp's review against another edition

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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

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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

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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

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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

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4.0

Tolkien who?

lakserk's review against another edition

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5.0

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

geekwayne's review against another edition

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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.

mikepalumbo's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

premium_huhn's review against another edition

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3.0

Als Baby wird Skafloc, der Sohn eines heidnischen Fürsten und einer christlichen Frau, von Elfen entführt. An seiner statt wird der Wechselbalg Valgard zurückgelassen. Ihrer beider Schicksal ist eng verbunden und sie finden sich auf unterschiedliche Weise zwischen den Fronten verschiedener Wesenheiten, Götter und Kriegsparteien wieder in einem gewaltigen Kampf nicht nur um die Vorherrschaft im Elfenreich.
Ich bin hin- und hergerissen, ob ich das Buch nun mochte oder nicht. Dieser ganze Hintergrund mit den nordischen Göttern liegt mir gar nicht und entsprechend nervte mich auch dieser an nordische Sagas und Skalden angelehnte Erzählstil. Einige Szenen sind richtig langweilig und am Ende wirkt die Handlung ziemlich gerafft. Ich möchte auch bitte nie wieder so ein nerviges Elfengedicht nach dem Motto: "Oh, ich stehe auf einem Schiff und es stürmt und regnet" lesen müssen, danke.
Auf der anderen Seiten gab es einige richtig starke Szenen: Der Messertanz der Elfen, begleitet von Skaflocs Gesang, in den zugleich politische Intrigen eingearbeitet werden ... großartig und sowas von spannend! Der Teil von Freyas Erzählung, in dem sie ihren Prinzipien treu bleibt und eine schwere Entscheidung zugunsten ihres werdenden Kindes trifft. Allgemein die Anderartigkeit der Elfen, die am Ende den Menschen doch nicht so fremd sind, wie sie selbst es gern hätten.
Alles in allem jetzt nichts, was ich unbedingt nochmal lesen müsste, aber es hatte seine Momente. Hab mir sagen lassen, dass andere Romane des Autors lesenswerter sind. Vielleicht probiere ich es irgendwann nochmal mit Anderson. :)