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The Harp And The Blade
The blue-painted wizard appeared and spoke to Finnian. "You let a man die today because you couldn't be bothered!" "It wasn't my business." "You think nothing in life is your business!" the wizard howled. "But I'll make it so things will be!" Finnian waited alert, ready to kill if the wizard voiced a curse, but he only looked hard and "From now on, as long as you stay in my land, you will aid any man or woman in need of help." That didn't sound so bad... until Finnian discovered the whole realm needed help!
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
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113 people want to read
About the author
John Myers Myers
23 books27 followersMyers was born and grew up on Long Island, New York. He attended the University of New Mexico briefly, but was expelled for being one of the writers in a rebel newspaper, The Pariah. After extensive travel through Europe and the United States, Myers worked for the New York World and San Antonio Evening News. He was also an advertising copywriter. Myers served a short term in the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1943, he married Charlotte Shanahan, with whom he had two daughters. He settled in Tempe, Arizona in 1948. John Myers Myers died October 30, 1988.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 28, 2024
John Myers Myers’ best known work is his cult classic fantasy novel Silverlock. Because of this, the reissues of his first novel, The Harp and the Blade have been marketed as fantasy as well. This is an incorrect labeling. It is straight up historical fiction adventure set in wild and lawless tenth century France. The protagonist is a wandering Irish bard, a younger son of an Irish chieftain with no inheritance, no roots, no alliances, and no loyalties except to poetry. While plying his trade in France, he runs afoul of a ruthless local strong man who styles himself a Duke, and later rescues and allies himself with a young lord who is said Duke's only real competition. Through a series of adventures that include Viking raids, fanatical warrior monks, incognito rescues from castles, and nefarious bandits, as well as a few pitched battles, our hero matures and learns the value of cause and comrades.
The Harp and the Blade is an impressive first novel. The writing is sharp, and the story fast paced and engrossing. Anyone familiar with Myer's more famous work, Silverlock will not be surprised to learn that the most charming elements of The Harp and the Blade are the catchy and creative songs that Myers created as original compositions for his bard hero to sing. It appears that Myer's talent emerged fully matured in this, the first of his many books. This book is a must read for any John Myers Myers fans, and will not disappoint anyone who enjoys good historical adventures.
The Harp and the Blade is an impressive first novel. The writing is sharp, and the story fast paced and engrossing. Anyone familiar with Myer's more famous work, Silverlock will not be surprised to learn that the most charming elements of The Harp and the Blade are the catchy and creative songs that Myers created as original compositions for his bard hero to sing. It appears that Myer's talent emerged fully matured in this, the first of his many books. This book is a must read for any John Myers Myers fans, and will not disappoint anyone who enjoys good historical adventures.
October 27, 2020
The Harp and the Blade was originally published serially in 1941, but my edition of the book is the 1985 Ace edition of the 1982 release of the novelized collection of the serial’s chapters. Before 3 months ago, I had never heard of the novel or of John Myers Myers. An artist friend of mine whom I’ve been coming to know through some online conversations listed it as one of his favorite books, and one that he occasionally reread. I thought there might be no better way to get to know a person than be reading one of their favorite books.
I’m not big on reading pulp adventures, and this cover is about as pulpy as it gets. It looks like a young David Spade and a jacked-up Judd Nelson modeled for the half-dressed figures on the cover. Like, I was not comfortable carrying the book with me to jobs because I didn’t want to have to answer questions. But I’m happy to report the literary content is much more rewarding than the cover art.
The story is told in the first person by the bard Finnian, who is wandering through a lawless part of France in an unspecified year. Finnian is clever and self-assured, wanting only to make his way through the land. Early in the novel, he trespasses on a druid’s sacred ground and gets cursed for his troubles. The druidic man bemoans Finnian’s selfishness and condemns him to helping everyone in need whom he encounters. From there, Finnian, through his cursed wanderings, introduces us to the four main forces struggling for power in the region. He makes friends and enemies, encounters a love-interest, and manages to talk or fight his way out of every corner he gets shoved into. By the end of the novel, the unsettled power dynamics have been sorted out with a sense of justice and rightness.
The idea of the curse is an interesting inciting incident, especially since it is unnecessary. It’s never clear if sorcery is at work at all, since Finnian needs no curse to give aid to those in need. The effect is that Finnian is a more careless and morally ambivalent person than he acts, wishing that he could give in to his selfish side to make things easy for himself. It gives us the trope we are long used to seeing now, though I have no idea if it was a trope in 1940, of the tough guy who begrudgingly does right, whose cynicism we can enjoy and in whose triumphs we can rejoice. I expected the druid to return at the end of the novel to gloat over the efficacy of his curse, but he never makes a second appearance.
Finnian seems like the kind of guy I’d be perfectly happy staying far away from, but he does make for an interesting hero, in that he is as good at bargaining with people as fighting, as quick with his wit as with his sword. I enjoyed the novel well enough, but I was especially impressed by the big rescue chapter, in which he has to help a captured friend escape from an enemy hold. Nothing feels off by being too clever, but every turn is impressive and well done.
There is a great sense of pacing throughout the novel, from the level of each chapter to the overarching story with adventure and meditation or friendship balancing back and forth. And the language, which I expected to feel dated as 80-year-old stories tend to do, felt surprisingly modern. I can only imagine it was on the cutting edge of hipness when it was released.
It’s a playful and dramatic romp of a read. I think the book could stand up to an analysis about the time and place of its creation. We have a war-torn country with unstable power centers and a character who would desperately like to stay neutral and out of the fighting but joins forces with reasonable power over power-hungry ambition that cares not for its subjects. It takes all the race and cultural issues out to have the argument exist between a bunch of white dudes, but the structure seems relevant. Beyond these matters of plotting and action, there was not a lot in the language itself to prompt me toward analysis or introspection. Taking you inward is not what Myers is about in this book.
I’m not big on reading pulp adventures, and this cover is about as pulpy as it gets. It looks like a young David Spade and a jacked-up Judd Nelson modeled for the half-dressed figures on the cover. Like, I was not comfortable carrying the book with me to jobs because I didn’t want to have to answer questions. But I’m happy to report the literary content is much more rewarding than the cover art.
The story is told in the first person by the bard Finnian, who is wandering through a lawless part of France in an unspecified year. Finnian is clever and self-assured, wanting only to make his way through the land. Early in the novel, he trespasses on a druid’s sacred ground and gets cursed for his troubles. The druidic man bemoans Finnian’s selfishness and condemns him to helping everyone in need whom he encounters. From there, Finnian, through his cursed wanderings, introduces us to the four main forces struggling for power in the region. He makes friends and enemies, encounters a love-interest, and manages to talk or fight his way out of every corner he gets shoved into. By the end of the novel, the unsettled power dynamics have been sorted out with a sense of justice and rightness.
The idea of the curse is an interesting inciting incident, especially since it is unnecessary. It’s never clear if sorcery is at work at all, since Finnian needs no curse to give aid to those in need. The effect is that Finnian is a more careless and morally ambivalent person than he acts, wishing that he could give in to his selfish side to make things easy for himself. It gives us the trope we are long used to seeing now, though I have no idea if it was a trope in 1940, of the tough guy who begrudgingly does right, whose cynicism we can enjoy and in whose triumphs we can rejoice. I expected the druid to return at the end of the novel to gloat over the efficacy of his curse, but he never makes a second appearance.
Finnian seems like the kind of guy I’d be perfectly happy staying far away from, but he does make for an interesting hero, in that he is as good at bargaining with people as fighting, as quick with his wit as with his sword. I enjoyed the novel well enough, but I was especially impressed by the big rescue chapter, in which he has to help a captured friend escape from an enemy hold. Nothing feels off by being too clever, but every turn is impressive and well done.
There is a great sense of pacing throughout the novel, from the level of each chapter to the overarching story with adventure and meditation or friendship balancing back and forth. And the language, which I expected to feel dated as 80-year-old stories tend to do, felt surprisingly modern. I can only imagine it was on the cutting edge of hipness when it was released.
It’s a playful and dramatic romp of a read. I think the book could stand up to an analysis about the time and place of its creation. We have a war-torn country with unstable power centers and a character who would desperately like to stay neutral and out of the fighting but joins forces with reasonable power over power-hungry ambition that cares not for its subjects. It takes all the race and cultural issues out to have the argument exist between a bunch of white dudes, but the structure seems relevant. Beyond these matters of plotting and action, there was not a lot in the language itself to prompt me toward analysis or introspection. Taking you inward is not what Myers is about in this book.
June 29, 2022
This book was written by a man who owned a thesaurus. So many lesser-used words, thrown in for color whether or not they actually fit. There were sentences that I read two or three times and still couldn't parse, despite knowing what each word meant individually. Here's an example where his intended meaning was clear, but the literal meaning doesn't match: discussing the orders of the day, "an embargo on [A], a ukase against [B], and an admonition to [C]". I admit, "ukase" was a new word for me, so I looked it up. My dictionary said it was "an edict of the Russian government", or, as a special usage, "an arbitrary command". Well, the order was being given by a citizen of medieval-ish France, so the main meaning doesn't fit. And it wasn't arbitrary at all, but very sensible and necessary, given the circumstances.
Also, given the way the (very few) female characters were written, I would wager that this author had had very limited interactions with actual human women.
The main plot line had some moderately interesting turns and reconnections. The ending was promising to be very trite, until the expected happily-ever-after fell out from under the main character at the last minute. So I was briefly hopeful that we might see him grow and mature a bit as he faced his new future--but no, instead he made what seems to me a rather foolish life choice. Which I suppose was more in keeping with how flat of a character he had been all along anyway. All in all, this book seemed to be about figurines marking the place of human beings in a series of events, rather than about actual people I could get to know through the pages.
Also, given the way the (very few) female characters were written, I would wager that this author had had very limited interactions with actual human women.
The main plot line had some moderately interesting turns and reconnections. The ending was promising to be very trite, until the expected happily-ever-after fell out from under the main character at the last minute. So I was briefly hopeful that we might see him grow and mature a bit as he faced his new future--but no, instead he made what seems to me a rather foolish life choice. Which I suppose was more in keeping with how flat of a character he had been all along anyway. All in all, this book seemed to be about figurines marking the place of human beings in a series of events, rather than about actual people I could get to know through the pages.
November 5, 2016
These books that start out with a good character who then goes on to establish interesting personal relationships with other interesting characters always peter out when the writer feels the need to culminate the story with battle/war. What originally makes the book charming is lost, and suddenly the writer is trying to appeal to an audience that differs from the one who started out liking the book. Finnian, a bard, is interesting until he goes to war because he ceases to be unique--thereafter he's just one of the guys who hack and slash and drink together, sidelining any worthwhile female characters and losing the very individuality that makes him worth following in the first place. Snore.
October 23, 2022
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-harp-and-the-blade-by-john-myers-myers/
The author is a fascinating figure in his own right; the book is a rollicking Dark Ages story of a bard who turns warrior and defender of the vulnerable, which would qualify as straight historical fiction, were it not for the first chapter in which the Little Folk put the protagonist under a geas which compels him to be helpful. As usual, the names are completely wrong, but the story is a decent fist at imagining historical France in the 6th or 7th century, and, as mentioned already, it is rollicking good fun.
The author is a fascinating figure in his own right; the book is a rollicking Dark Ages story of a bard who turns warrior and defender of the vulnerable, which would qualify as straight historical fiction, were it not for the first chapter in which the Little Folk put the protagonist under a geas which compels him to be helpful. As usual, the names are completely wrong, but the story is a decent fist at imagining historical France in the 6th or 7th century, and, as mentioned already, it is rollicking good fun.
October 23, 2024
I quite enjoyed The Harp and the Blade - fair warning, some minor spoilers are ahead.
In The Harp and the Blade, we follow the adventures of an Irish bard named Finnian as he journeys through medieval France. This is a sword and sorcery-type tale, but there's no real fantasy to it, it's more of a historical fiction. I very really liked the setting, loosely accurate or inaccurate as it might have been, and the banter between Finnian and those he encounters on his travels was fun to read. There was a bit of a strange mix of "period-appropriate" dialogue and more anachronistic turns of phrase, but it all came together in an enjoyable way.
The story rambles a bit, but it fits well - when we first meet Finnian, he's really only in it for himself. He has a destination in mind, but no real purpose other than looking out for number one, and as he comes across folks in need of help, he treats it as an inconvenience. Throughout the course of the story, Finnian finds his place in the local politics of a place he was merely passing through, and thus begins to grow and see how he can shape the bigger picture of the world to provide a safe and nurturing community in the turbulent times in which he lives.
It's a very satisfying tale, seeing Finnian find his place and start to contribute in meaningful ways. He becomes a respectable figure to those around him, and attracts his own following. As the tale nears its conclusion, things are looking up, like Finnian has truly grown and developed and will be a force for good in the world. However, and here's where the spoilers really begin, at the very end of the tale, Finnian's "happily ever after" is taken right out from under his nose. Rather than responding in a way more fitting for his more developed character, he falls right back into his old ways and decides to move on, throwing away everything that he's gained and built because he can't have the woman he's been building up in his head for the latter half of the book. It honestly felt a bit cheap and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth - I was really rooting for Finnian!
Still, The Harp and the Blade is a great read, and despite the last few pages, I do recommend it. It's turned me on to John Myers Myers and I look forward to exploring more of his work.
In The Harp and the Blade, we follow the adventures of an Irish bard named Finnian as he journeys through medieval France. This is a sword and sorcery-type tale, but there's no real fantasy to it, it's more of a historical fiction. I very really liked the setting, loosely accurate or inaccurate as it might have been, and the banter between Finnian and those he encounters on his travels was fun to read. There was a bit of a strange mix of "period-appropriate" dialogue and more anachronistic turns of phrase, but it all came together in an enjoyable way.
The story rambles a bit, but it fits well - when we first meet Finnian, he's really only in it for himself. He has a destination in mind, but no real purpose other than looking out for number one, and as he comes across folks in need of help, he treats it as an inconvenience. Throughout the course of the story, Finnian finds his place in the local politics of a place he was merely passing through, and thus begins to grow and see how he can shape the bigger picture of the world to provide a safe and nurturing community in the turbulent times in which he lives.
It's a very satisfying tale, seeing Finnian find his place and start to contribute in meaningful ways. He becomes a respectable figure to those around him, and attracts his own following. As the tale nears its conclusion, things are looking up, like Finnian has truly grown and developed and will be a force for good in the world. However, and here's where the spoilers really begin, at the very end of the tale, Finnian's "happily ever after" is taken right out from under his nose. Rather than responding in a way more fitting for his more developed character, he falls right back into his old ways and decides to move on, throwing away everything that he's gained and built because he can't have the woman he's been building up in his head for the latter half of the book. It honestly felt a bit cheap and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth - I was really rooting for Finnian!
Still, The Harp and the Blade is a great read, and despite the last few pages, I do recommend it. It's turned me on to John Myers Myers and I look forward to exploring more of his work.
May 26, 2021
I have read this many times. I still love it! Such an awesome story.
January 19, 2008
I love this book. Absolute top-five book. The house is on fire, The harp and the blade is out of print. To hell with the baby pictures, I'm going to need to read this book while rebuilding the house.
It's the ultimate take on vacation book. Just a really cool ride, or as John Myers Myers puts it: "[A minstrel], if he is fond of eating, cannot waste time trying to improve the taste of his hearers. He must give them something they're in the mood for at the moment, and only the simple old things like bawdiness washed down with a sip of moral justice are sure fire."
Have plenty of wine and ale handy, you'll need it to keep up.
It's the ultimate take on vacation book. Just a really cool ride, or as John Myers Myers puts it: "[A minstrel], if he is fond of eating, cannot waste time trying to improve the taste of his hearers. He must give them something they're in the mood for at the moment, and only the simple old things like bawdiness washed down with a sip of moral justice are sure fire."
Have plenty of wine and ale handy, you'll need it to keep up.
April 3, 2015
I'd read The Harp & The Blade as a teenager (after having read Bard by Keith Taylor and being on a bit of a binge for reading anything with a bard in it.) I found it recently and re-read it for nostalgic reasons. I enjoyed the way John Myers Myers confounds some of our expectations about the idea of a bard (or a hero, for that matter) by giving Finnian a less-than-optimistic perspective on the world much of the time and never quite giving him what he wants. The prose still holds up after all these years, but I did find myself craving a bit more development in Finnian's character.
March 30, 2015
historical fiction that reads like a fantasy adventure novel...written WWII era after Robert E. Howard's Conan and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings...about an Irish bard who meets a German? warrior named Conan much like Conan the Barbarian...not sure if the basis is an actual historical character or not...takes place in same time period as Conan the Barbarian but there's no sorcery, just sword and song...nice story...was one of my favorites when i was younger...
January 2, 2017
A fun romp
The story is not very deep but a fun romp through medieval France. A bit of "what if..." scenario. It's easy to like and yet be disappointed in the protagonist, Finnian, and makes one wish the author allowed a better development for him.
The story is not very deep but a fun romp through medieval France. A bit of "what if..." scenario. It's easy to like and yet be disappointed in the protagonist, Finnian, and makes one wish the author allowed a better development for him.
June 19, 2012
Not a story I would have picked up on my own, but read as a recommendation from a co-worker. A very enjoyable read.
August 1, 2016
Great read! Loved the detail of the period.
Words limits stink. Word limits stink. Word limits stink. Blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah
Words limits stink. Word limits stink. Word limits stink. Blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah blah wah
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews