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kanissa's review
3.0
I was a bit disappointed by this book. You're just dumped into the middle of the story - not something I tend to enjoy - although by the end the backstory has been mostly filled-in. The setting is a bit pseudo-medieval/post-apocalyptic, and revolves around lost technology (which is kind of like a form of magic, as the characters think).
It wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt like it had the potential to be so much more. The writing was quite succinct - each section of the chapters was extremely short. It isn't unusual to have three sections in 2 pages! While a concise style is sometimes great, in this case it just felt too simple, or unfinished.
By the end, I had a very strong desire to go play Fallout 2.
It wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt like it had the potential to be so much more. The writing was quite succinct - each section of the chapters was extremely short. It isn't unusual to have three sections in 2 pages! While a concise style is sometimes great, in this case it just felt too simple, or unfinished.
By the end, I had a very strong desire to go play Fallout 2.
sisyphus_dreams's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, in a fractional rating system I'd have given this a 3.8. But it's just so nice to see that Fred Saberhagen can still write as well as ever at the age of 76. Ardneh's Sword is a bridge between Saberhagen's Empire of the East and the Swords series, which were always indicated as being connected; Empire being the pre-history of Swords, of course.
Ardneh's Sword doesn't entirely explain the transition, but it is vintage Saberhagen and does shed some more interesting light on the Empire/Swords universe. It also brings back a minor character from Empire of the East, to my great surprise and enjoyment.
Don't expect to find out who or what the Emperor is. I don't know if we'll ever find out. But the book is definitely a must read for any fan of either series, or of Saberhagen.
Ardneh's Sword doesn't entirely explain the transition, but it is vintage Saberhagen and does shed some more interesting light on the Empire/Swords universe. It also brings back a minor character from Empire of the East, to my great surprise and enjoyment.
Don't expect to find out who or what the Emperor is. I don't know if we'll ever find out. But the book is definitely a must read for any fan of either series, or of Saberhagen.
sexton_blake's review against another edition
2.0
This novel bridges the author’s Empire of the East trilogy and his Book of Swords series. I recently finished the trilogy, only to then discover that it was quite extensively rewritten after my editions were published. I wonder, then, how much of the mythology that ARDNEH’S SWORD carries from the earlier novels into the later was missing from my version of Empire. Reading this tale, I wasn’t aware of any particular absences, but I suspect the revised Empire novels might segue much more tightly into ARDNEH. Whether that’s the case or not, this novel was reasonably enjoyable in its own right. It’s a bit slow paced, and it feels like whole chapters pass without much happening, but the characters exist in a world that’s fascinating, which was sufficient to hold my attention. Unfortunately, though, the climactic chapters are handled very badly. The pacing is dreadful and the quality of the writing seriously deteriorates. I get the feeling that Saberhagen wrote this to join his two series together but did so hastily and without any great enthusiasm.
belgianwaffle's review
3.0
I guess it's fine. I couldn't recommend it to anyone who wasn't already bonkers for Empire of the East & the Books of Swords. It is a link between the two, but not one that really adds anything to the story (or raises more questions than it addresses) and really doesn't add new characters with any depth to them. I'd rather read about Rolf himself than his rich, spoiled great^40-grandson who has no real feelings or ambition beyond not wanting anyone to punch him in the face. But eh, it's a quick read.
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