Reviews

Wielding a Red Sword by Piers Anthony

Only show reviews with written explanations

ladynik's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

violetturtledove's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

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

1.0

Oh dear. I've given this series a lot of leeway on some things because of the genre and when it was written, and apart from the bits that made me cringe they've been pretty readable with some interesting ideas. But this one... The misogyny really stands out and in an attempt to be more diverse (I think?) we also end up with a bunch of unflattering ethnic stereotypes and tropes. The Western world has flying cars and teleporters, but in the East it's like Arabian Nights.

There's not any especially interesting mechanics in the way the role of War works, the standard challenge from Satan didn't hold my attention, and by the time the main character falls in love for the third time it barely seemed relevant. As far as I can see this one doesn't add anything to the overarching plot, so I'm fairly confident in saying this is one to skip.

Content Warnings

peramene's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

Wielding A Red Sword suffers from being wedged between Skein and Mother, both of which are better and more directly attached to overall story of the series AND from featuring a variety of lady characters that all repeatedly steal the show from the star. It's also just a little awkward at #4, and might have worked better at #3.

Still, it's fun and adds a lot of richness to the world. But mostly I'm thrilled to finally be ready for Mother.

mirtlifthewise's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition

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4.0

A look into one of the more violent Incarnations: War, Mars, Aries. However you wish to describe him, this is his story. How Mym, an unlikely candidate for War, first escaped from his kingdom, joined a traveling circus because he fell in love with one of the performers only to be rushed back home when his kingdom was in need of an heir. Back home, he falls in love again, and is about to marry this lovely princess when his father calls off the marriage to arrange something more profitable for the kingdom. This doesn't please Mym too much, and when he is then given the Red Sword, he is able to use his unique office to hinder war rather than encourage it (much to the dismay of his sidekick incarnations--Pestilence, Famine, Conquest and Slaughter)--and of course to battle the Incarnation of Evil himself, Satan.

This is a truly fun story that is well worth the read. I think that my future readings will have to go on hold as there are four more books in this series...and I want to read them all!

beetree's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked the irony in this one; the book spends more time on love than anything else, and learning how to function in his office is almost incidental. And when it's not love, it's a continuous seduction attempt by a concubine. Fun, fun! It's also cool that Mars is a Hindu, and is thrown into this "Heaven or Hell" mentality when he's more into the Reincarnation idea.