Review: The Last Book of Swords: Sheildbreaker's Story by Fred Saberhagen

The Last Book of Swords: Shieldbreaker's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Well, this one was surprising.

As the last installment of the Book of Swords series, The Last Book of Swords: Sheildbreaker's Story definitely wraps up most, if not all, of the series' questions. Some of the questions include: Who is the Emperor? Who (or what) is Ardneh? What happened to Vilkata? Does Yambu find peace? These and many more.

The story follows Vilkata who was banished along with his demonic cohorts in The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword's Story in his quest to seek revenge on the royal family of Tasavalta. Still in possession of the Mindsword, he returns to the palace upon confirming that Mark and Kristin are absent and converts most of the populace into worshipful followers. But, Stephen, the royal couple's youngest son narrowly escapes that fate with the help of Sheildbreaker (which nullifies the effects of the other swords) and Sightblinder (which helps him take advantage of the mindless followers or escape their notice).

Meanwhile, Baron Amintor, a long time foe of Prince Mark and his family, arrives in Sarykam following the direction of Coinspinner, the Sword of Luck, for his own reasons. Prince Mark and Kristin, in a nearby village, hold Woundhealer, and one of the Baron's allies holds Farslayer. The occupied armory holds Stonecutter and Townsaver, and even Soulcutter, the Mindsword's opposite, is located and nearly put into play. With so many swords concentrated in one place, chaos is the only possible result.

Quite a fantastic wrap to a an epic story spanning generations. Wonderful!





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