Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
6th out of 24 books
—
1 voter
The Sword of the Lady (Emberverse #6)
The New York Times bestselling author continues his "epic of survival and rebirth" (Library Journal), chronicling a modern world without technology.
Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed far across the land that was once the United States of America, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as The Change. His final destination is Nantucket, an...more
Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed far across the land that was once the United States of America, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as The Change. His final destination is Nantucket, an...more
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published
August 25th 2009
by Roc Hardcover
(first published 2009)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,844)
S.M. Stirling just keeps popping em out, once a year. This is the sixth volume in the Change series (nine if you count the island in the sea of time series). [return]For me, the series is starting to drag, but not to the point where I will stop reading them. Over the last three books or so, the plot has gone from alternate history centered to a low magic and fantasy focus. Not that I can't appreciate that, but the strength of this series is in Stirling's ability to blend the "mad max" America el...more
Jan 04, 2013
Donald
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
BIG fans of the setting
Shelves:
fantasy,
post-apocalyptic
This is the third book in the second set of the novels of the Change. It is also not the last book in this set, which I thought it was.
As the book drew on further and further, I became increasingly irritated with it. Perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention to pacing and page count, but at the point it became clear we were not going to be getting an ending anytime soon, I really did have to fight not to put this book down.
It does, thankfully, pick up near the end, which kept me going through the...more
As the book drew on further and further, I became increasingly irritated with it. Perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention to pacing and page count, but at the point it became clear we were not going to be getting an ending anytime soon, I really did have to fight not to put this book down.
It does, thankfully, pick up near the end, which kept me going through the...more
Another addition to the Novels of the Change series that is every bit as fabulous as the earlier volumes. The Change series combines urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and true sci-fi all while delving into deep questions about the human condition and spirituality but not getting so bogged down that it can't have a lot of fun and action-packed scenes along the way.
Sword of The Lady delves further into the nature of deity and spirituality while supplying plenty of action, romance, and fres...more
Sword of The Lady delves further into the nature of deity and spirituality while supplying plenty of action, romance, and fres...more
I don't know whether this was objectively a better-written story than Scourge of God, or whether I was just more in the mood for it, but I found myself enjoying this instalment far more than I did Book 6... and I'm itching to get on with the next one and see how Stirling resolves what he's set up in the last chapter or so of this book.
There were so many things I enjoyed about this instalment - the character development, the descriptions, the sense of *rightness* about the way some of the events...more
There were so many things I enjoyed about this instalment - the character development, the descriptions, the sense of *rightness* about the way some of the events...more
The continuing sage of Rudi MacKenzie as he makes his way to the Isle of Nantucket to claim the Sword of the Lady. It's a good story in this series by S.M. Stirling, but he is perilously close to falling into that category of author who can write book after book that just continues the plot, never really getting anywhere with it.
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems...more
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems...more
Love this series! In this installment, Rudy and the gang fight their way across the Eastern half of the continent for their preordained appointment at Nantucket. As in the last two books, the "CUT" (Church Universal and Triumphant, an organization my husband tells me actually exists - although it is not, to his knowledge, in direct league with the devil) is hot on the group's heels the whole way, with their posessed "seekers" getting creepier and creepier.
David (who read this just before me) al...more
David (who read this just before me) al...more
Oct 17, 2009
Chad
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
neofeudal warlord wannabes.
Shelves:
teotwawki
This is one of my favorite series of all time. Armegeddon followed by live-action Dungeons and Dragons! Woot!
This book gets somewhat more metaphysical than previously, with magic and diety intervention becomming more and more common (and powerful). It's like Stirling got bored describing how people would cope with the sudden loss of technology and really just wanted to write a fantasy novel. But it's a well-written action-packed character-driven fantasy novel, so I'm ok with that :P
Unfortunatly,...more
This book gets somewhat more metaphysical than previously, with magic and diety intervention becomming more and more common (and powerful). It's like Stirling got bored describing how people would cope with the sudden loss of technology and really just wanted to write a fantasy novel. But it's a well-written action-packed character-driven fantasy novel, so I'm ok with that :P
Unfortunatly,...more
The first book in this series is a favorite of mine. While I enjoyed books 2-5, the series was sort of sliding from its alternative history meets end of the world as we know it beginnings slowly toward fantasy ... good but sort of muddled in style for me (though it is consistent with the Change and shift it brings to the world, it didn't read as well for me). Book 6 lands us squarely into canonical questing fantasy and, in its way, was as satisfying for me as the 1st book. One element that I par...more
*** "The sword of the lady" (E6) by S.M. Stirling, has drawn Rudi and his friends for two years, from the west "Sunrise lands" 4 with the promise of a weapon to overcome the evil possessed "Scourge of God" 5. The Change caused tools of technology to fail. Civilizations reverted to tribal cultures and their old deities. In traditional guises, gods appear and guide human pawns in a Heavenly war. Odin promised Rudi a short life; his beloved refuses to travel pregnant; she in turn is promised she wi...more
I enjoy S. M. Stirling's post-apocalyptic fiction. It reminds me a bit of George R. R. Martin: you never know who's going to get killed off. I like that brutality and unpredictability.
I've been noticing for a couple of books now that the author's style seems to be changing. He telegraphs any major character death, sometimes for books before it actually happens. The unexpected element is gone, and that makes the books safer, but somehow less enjoyable. The books are turning into a more tradition...more
I've been noticing for a couple of books now that the author's style seems to be changing. He telegraphs any major character death, sometimes for books before it actually happens. The unexpected element is gone, and that makes the books safer, but somehow less enjoyable. The books are turning into a more tradition...more
As Stirling's Emberverse series progresses it becomes difficult to keep calling it Science Fiction - it becomes more of a Boy's Own adventure story or even a parody of "Lord of the Rings". To be fair, Stirling admits his debt to Conan Doyle's Sir Nigel and the White Company stories on a number of occasions - credit where it's due! - and, it IS a good, exciting adventure story. I have my worries about the mysticism and mumbo-jumbo element (I hope he's got a good SF explanation coming up) and I re...more
This is the sixth installment of the Emberverse series and a continuation of Rudi and his gang's trek across the country to find "The Sword of the Lady". It opens with Rudi and Edain finishing a task to help free their captive friends, continues through to Ingolf's homecoming, and ends with Rudi reaching the The Sword. The action is non-stop, the journey each character endures is poignant and touching, the fight against the Church Universal and Triumphant is thrilling and the climax when Rudi to...more
Stirling has a knack for writing books like this, and his stories seem to really stick with you over time. It had been some time since I read the books leading up to this one so I was a bit nervous about tackling this book, but I quickly found that the characters were as familiar to me after just a few pages as any of my old time favorites like Pug and Tomas from Feist's realm. The book drew me right in and did a good job of keeping me engaged and invested in the characters. Once the story got r...more
I've enjoyed S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, and this book, the latest in the series, continued the rollicking good ride the series has been. The first three books concentrated on what happened after anything more complex than steam stopped working in Northern Oregon. The second three books, of which this book is the third, go twenty years beyond this point and follow children of the characters from the first trilogy as they engage in a desperate race across the continent, fighting against cr...more
This is the end of the second Change trilogy, but don't think it's the end of the Change stories. Probably the most annoying aspect of this is that the end is wide open for another series (the which I will be very upset if he doesn't write).
Here we continue the quest for the Lady's Sword, picking up even more ethnicities partners as we go east. The characters are fun, although a little less powerful than some of his earlier books. Also, and this is no fault of Stirling's, the copyediting is ter...more
Here we continue the quest for the Lady's Sword, picking up even more ethnicities partners as we go east. The characters are fun, although a little less powerful than some of his earlier books. Also, and this is no fault of Stirling's, the copyediting is ter...more
Ok, so this isn't a -good- book, but I enjoyed it because I like the setting and it's the 6th in the series. The first book was post-apocalyptic survival fiction, which was fun. After that it turned to more fantasy / socio-political intrigue in the next two books, and the second Emberverse series (Sunset Lands) is pure fantasy -- heck, there's a quest, and the last book is called "The High King of Montival." Fun, but nothing particularly redeeming, and very light. Biggest problem is the overly d...more
I'm really enjoying this series, and I like this chapter in the saga more than I did the preceding one. The only thing I keep wondering, though, is how, only 24 years after The Change (the event which ended civilization as we know it), the various societies across what was formerly the United States can be so well defined; I suppose that's mostly explained by so many of the people left having little to no memory of pre-Change life. But that's a nit compared to the marvelous job he does of making...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
In this Change novel, the main characters reach Nantucket and discover information about what gods/forces are guiding them and why the change happened.
Frankly, its a bit of a let-down, but I'm not sure with a many-book build-up what could have been a good explanation, so I have to say overall Stirling did a good job with it.
It appears the next few books will be the characters' travel back across the U.S., whupping ass the whole way. Kudos to Stirling for not following the Arthurian legends too...more
Frankly, its a bit of a let-down, but I'm not sure with a many-book build-up what could have been a good explanation, so I have to say overall Stirling did a good job with it.
It appears the next few books will be the characters' travel back across the U.S., whupping ass the whole way. Kudos to Stirling for not following the Arthurian legends too...more
This won't be a long review, so those of you who are tired of this series can relax. It's not that there isn't a lot going on here, obviously there is, I just have to admit I'm really, really bad about reviewing epic fantasy books. Actually, scrap that. It's not the reviewing part I suck at, it's the summing up part that kills me every time.
I'm always a loss to know what to include and what doesn't seem very important. Of course that is a silly predicament to be in, anyone who is a fan of the ge...more
I'm always a loss to know what to include and what doesn't seem very important. Of course that is a silly predicament to be in, anyone who is a fan of the ge...more
I finally finished reading this today. I must say that Stirling now has me for at least one more book in this series and more than likely has me for the two that I know exist. Although I was hoping that the scenario of the last three books would be resolved here, I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens beyond this.
Anyway, this book continues to follow the epic of Rudi McKenzie as he treks through post-apocalyptic America in search of a mythical sword and new allies to aid him and...more
Anyway, this book continues to follow the epic of Rudi McKenzie as he treks through post-apocalyptic America in search of a mythical sword and new allies to aid him and...more
This is the sixth book in the 'Emberverse' series. What is there to say? Once I have read three or four books in a series, some mechanism kicks in, propelling me towards a (hopefully satisfactory) closing. Rudi has finally succeeded in reaching the island of Nantucket and has obtained the sword of the lady. What will help him in the coming battle between the forces of good and evil of course. Characters have become puppets of the gods. Sometimes I get fed up with 'the Powers that be' : the reaso...more
12/2011 I was able to read this the second time through with more leisure. The first time was a heedless rush to find out what happened next. This time was more fun, though I did notice Stirling's tendency to mistrust that his reader gets it more. Stop hitting us over the head already. But a lovely conclusion to the second trilogy, and a nice stepping-off point for the third. The which I hope will finish the series for good and for all.
12/2010 Entirely satisfying conclusion to the second Emberve...more
12/2010 Entirely satisfying conclusion to the second Emberve...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is turning into "Lost." It's like the author wrote the story for the first three books in the series (which were great), but then was asked to take all the loose ends and turn them into more books. The strange has turned into the supernatural. At this rate, I expect the next book to have "Others," statues with extra toes, and time travel. Man, if this series ends like "Lost" did I'm going to lose it. I invested way to many hours to get stuck with that crappy conclusion again.
The book was go...more
The book was go...more
You know, this series has gone a bit far afield from the post-apocalyptic start, but it's still good. I still love reading about Rudi and his fellowship, all the cultures they encounter, and their adventures. This book didn't wind up the series, as I had thought, but I am hotly anticipating the next book, which I hope/fear will wrap up the series.
(Although he might have set up for another one. Which is fine, if he can conclude this one satisfactorily.)
(Although he might have set up for another one. Which is fine, if he can conclude this one satisfactorily.)
This book was exactly like the last one. I feel like the author found something that worked with the first change trilogy, and then, added on, yet, never really progressed. It is predictable, and often times, boring. All of the battle scenes are the same. I kind of felt like, I'd make it two chapters, and there hadn't been a battle, so, a battle there would be, nameless people get hurt, and the good guys always win. I'll probly read the next book, just because I've invested some time in this ser...more
I'm still enjoying the series but there are some flaws that are becoming annoying. The most notable one is the fact the the characters are either entirely noble and good or evil. There is no middle ground. The only character that could have been considered to be both has been largely forgotten in the last book and is killed off at the end of this one.
eeehhh, still worth reading and you know I'm totally going to read the rest of them.
eeehhh, still worth reading and you know I'm totally going to read the rest of them.
Very interesting. I had not read the previous books, so it was confusing at first. As I got my head around it, i liked it well enough. The characters were well formed and the story epic and vast, but....familiar. Someone brought Tolkein forward into a battered future, lending the story some akward moments tripping over itself. However, taking into account that this is true of just about any fantasty-style story, it was entertaining enough and intelligent enough, just a bit too circular.
Sep 17, 2009
Tia Jones
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sci-fi / Fantasy readers
Shelves:
good-books
I enjoy being in the world S.M. Stirling created with his Change series. Part of it may be the fact that these books are a double whammy for me (I'm in the SCA & I'm Pagan) and part of it is that it's just such a vivid place to be.
I was a little surprised when the book didn't really end because I had thought that this would be the final installment of the series... Oh well, so much the better for me. I get another book to look forward to.
I was a little surprised when the book didn't really end because I had thought that this would be the final installment of the series... Oh well, so much the better for me. I get another book to look forward to.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.
More about S.M. Stirling...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Stress" is mostly the result of not being allowed to kill some asshole you really want to slice and dice.”
—
2 people liked it
“The others saw him as he stumbled down the stairs, bleeding from nose and ears and eyes an mouth. The sheathed form of the Sword lay across his palms. He met their eyes, and choked out:
"Remember. Remember, all of you."
Mathilda's voice was infinitely gentle. "Remember what?"
"That I was a man, before I was King. Remember for me, when I forget.
His hand closed on the black double-lobed hilt, and the moonfire in the opal glowed. He drew the Sword, thrust it high.
And screamed as pain beyond all bearing ripped through him like white fire, turning his body to a thing of ash smoke.
He screamed, and knew.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
"Remember. Remember, all of you."
Mathilda's voice was infinitely gentle. "Remember what?"
"That I was a man, before I was King. Remember for me, when I forget.
His hand closed on the black double-lobed hilt, and the moonfire in the opal glowed. He drew the Sword, thrust it high.
And screamed as pain beyond all bearing ripped through him like white fire, turning his body to a thing of ash smoke.
He screamed, and knew.”
