The Sword and the Satchel

The World of the Alfar #1

by Elizabeth H. Boyer

paperback.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy, Mythology, Science Fiction, Historical

312 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 1980

Reviews

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little old school fantasy. Not complicated, no twists, no turns, some back stabbing, some sniveling, some Norse mythology. Giving it a 4 because it made me smile and I remember thoroughly enjoying it back in 1980 when I first read it. The cover cracks me up... the hero portrayed wearing high renaissance type stuff in an obviously viking tunic and leathers world...

But seriously. As I read this book, slogging through the travel bits, knowing what would happen at the turn of each page (...and not from memory either)I found myself fascinated at how much fantasy writing has grown. This is a good story. Solid love-able characters, a reasonable bad guy, even if you don't really encounter anything but his minions until the end, enjoyable encounters for good or ill along the way. But. It is almost pedantic, incredibly predictable, and unsophisticated compared to most of the fantasy novels of today. It made me nostalgic and thoughtful, wondering if I could put together a list of books that would illustrate the genre's growth.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good wins against evil book, but I would encourage them to approach the story like you would approach any of the classics of literature, with an open mind and plenty of time to spare.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the cover I have was pictured here. This book is still among my collection, though in fairly poor shape. Almost 30 years old this book introduced me to Ms. Boyer and her northern world of what I suppose should be called "derivative mythology". A young man (Kilgore) draws a magic sword and gets launched into a life of adventure. So do readers of Ms. Boyer's fiction. Adventure, humor, action, fairly well plotted and absorbing. This is what I suppose might be called "brain candy" at it's best.

[BobA707 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summary: Pretty awful stuff, swords and sorcery for imbeciles

Plotline: Yes a plot exists and the book follows it

Premise: very poor, inconsistent and not thought through

Writing: poor descriptions, poor characterisations, very simple

Ending: I was too relieved that i'd finished to notice if it was any good. Doubt it.

Pace: Boring from the start.

[Shaitarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Kilgore dreams of being a hero, but when he proves to be the only person able to pull an enchanted sword from a tree trunk in his father's hall he receives more of a heroic task than he wants: as the bearer of the enchanted Alfar sword he must travel north to the troll and vargulf haunted land of Gardar to defeat the evil ice wizard Surt who seeks to bring eternal winter and darkness to the land. Accompanied by a crotchety old fire wizard and a rescued princess with a neat line in throwing hammers, he faces dark elves, evil wizards, trolls and frost giants in his quest. And then there's one final problem: having survived twenty previous assassination attempts, Surt is apparently immortal and unkillable.

This book is set in a world with a distinctly Scandinavian feel: some of the names and events will sound familiar to anyone who's read any Norse mythology (pulling the sword from the tree trunk, the name Surt, the Ljos Alfar and the Svart Alfar). But anyone who picks it up hoping for a fantasy re-telling of some Norse mythology will probably be disappointed. The book has a fairly light-hearted, almost whimsical feel, not in the slightest bit dark or intense (as another reviewer pointed out, the hero Kilgore is one of the most incorrectly named characters in fantasy - he hardly ever kills, and there is no gore).

This is an old book (my copy was published in 1986) and one that I first read as a teenager. Then I liked it enough to buy another book by the author. Would I now? I.... don't know. I think my tastes have become darker over the years, and while I didn't dislike this book at all I didn't especially enjoy it either.

If you have a fondness for fairly light fantasy novels, you may enjoy this one. If however you'd like a blood and thunder re-telling of the Norse sagas, than steer well clear.

[Alice Horoshev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced action packed full of twists and turns Lord of the Rings like adventure story in Scandinavian setting. It was refreshingly short and entertaining, nothing to mull over and ponder about, but very engaging.

[Kaila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've given this book two stars because once upon a time I would have enjoyed it, but that time is not now. I'm going to admit that I didn't even finish reading it this time, I couldn't. It has been sitting on my bedside table for months and I can't be bothered to read the final quarter because there's nothing in it for me. Suffice to say that this is an old style fantasy book, and it really shows. Very simple premise, predictable plot, silliness, and nothing to really keep me interested.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good fantasy story. Great use of magic by the main character. Very recommended

[Dantegideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really was quite boring. No character development either.

[William Leight · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author’s description of Elizabeth Boyer in the back of my copy of “The Sword and the Satchel” says that she loves Tolkien and studied Norse mythology in college, and this novel is more or less what you would expect from a writer matching that description. It’s an epic fantasy set in an imaginary country where all the world-building elements are taken directly from Norse mythology. The only surprise is that the tone is more “The Hobbit” than “The Lord of the Rings”, which I suspect is also due to the profound influence of Norse mythology. A book taking place in a world where the gods are as fallible as mortals is bound to have a different feel to it than one in Tolkien’s Catholic-inflected universe. That’s presumably why our hero keeps meeting characters who lie about their identities, won’t give him a straight answer to his questions, and, if they are bad guys, try to trick him, rather than mounting a direct attack. Thus, for instance, when our heroes meet the King of the Trolls, rather than fight them, he challenges them to a series of contests that turn out to be riddles (the contests seemed familiar to me, and it turned out that the whole episode is lifted from the Prose Eddas). The difference in tone is perhaps most notable in the character of Skanderbeg, the novel’s Gandalf equivalent and owner of the titular (magical) satchel: he is both testier and less competent than Gandalf is. On the plus side, then, “The Sword and the Satchel” isn’t just another LOTR clone: on the minus side, it doesn’t manage to set itself apart from the general run of epic fantasy on the basis of character or plot. The result is a book that’s good enough to finish, but not good enough to inspire me to read more Boyer.

[Paul Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

If only I could give a half a star extra! This was a solid story with decent characters and a strong female co-lead.
Set in a Norseland where man as ruled for many centuries the book centres around the hero Kilgore, his companion wizard Skanderberg and the uncrowned queen Asny. Perhaps because of the resurgence of Norse myths in popular culture brought about by Marvel’s Thor and Gaimen’s the over-reliance on “well-known Norse storylines is tiresome but in 1980 the over-familiarity with Norse myths was perhaps much less than now and the tales would have felt fresh.
The story clips along as Kilgore tries to introduce his magical Elven sword Kilburn to the necks of the evil Surt and his gang of trolls, Dark Elves and ice wizards.
I read this when I was a teenager, shortly after reading The Bulgarias and I think it was all a maelstrom of fantasy for me then. I recently re-read Eddings’ work and enjoyed that to. So thanks Elizabeth H Boyer for your story.
PS: it’s a magic sword obviously and a magic satchel, a la Mary Poppins’ carpet bag.

[Mathew Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished the book.
It wasn't that great, but the tone of it kept me reading. It was light and funny. It also hit all the classic fantasy quest notes, like a magic sword, a grumpy wizard, an evil villian living in the badlands over the mountains. There was just something classic about it.
So, for an old fantasy reader like me, it did something to my senses that made me overlook the mediocre writing and the lackluster plot.
It was probably magic.

[Amy K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic example of the '80's quest fantasy, this novel steals gleefully from Tolkien in several recognizable elements of plot but adds a healthy dollop of humor to the recipe as well. While it lacked the emotional resonance of Tolkien's unmatched series, The Sword and the Satchel was still an enjoyable and entertaining read.

[Megan Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this book, but not as much as the second in the series (The Elves and the Otterskin). Was essentially the same story, but not as well written. Many of the descriptions were hard to follow and there were quite a few typos. For an old-school hero adventure, it was fine, though.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read, a classic fantasy tale that really made me feel the loss of the characters and the trouble they went through during the story. I enjoyed meeting characters that made me want more especially about their background or what they'll do next.

[Carilius · Rating 1 out of 5]

As somebody said before, poor in every aspect, but it is perhaps because we see it from our modern view after Abercrombie or Martin. It has become quite old-fashioned and childish

[Floyd Behmlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it as a teen and still do today, some 30 years later.
Once I pick it up, I have to finish it.

[Karen]

Same story.

[Marianne Van Tol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geweldige foute, ouderwetse sword and sorcery compleet met held met zwaard, knorrige tovenaar, warrior prinses en slechterik die die wereld wil vernietigen. Heerlijk!

[Bill Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort of hybrid between Lord of the Rings and a Viking Saga - not bad - worth reading

[Simon Thornley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough fantasy offering in a nordic style world.

[James]

Qualifies for Free Super Saver Shipping as well as Amazon Prime.

[Luke Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! The final chapter was awesome.
I enjoyed the images it conjured within my mind.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were slow, but I enjoyed it overall and will read the next book.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little fantasy novel that blends Scandinavian myth with the usual fantasy tropes (lots of Tolkien, is what I mean). Kid gets magic sword, embarks on quest to save the world (the island of Skarpsey, anyway).

The hero, Kilgore (the name does not fit: he rarely kills, and never gorily) pulls Excalibur (I mean Kildurin) out of a tree, and heads off to save Gondor (I mean Gardar) with the help of the wise old wizard Gandalf (I mean Skanderbeg).

There are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting, and it's different enough from Tolkien to keep things lively and fun, though. For example, it turns out the bad guy wants to throw the magic item into the fires of Mount Doom (I mean Grimshalg), not the hero.

There's also an elf (sorry, Alfar) wizard of dubious loyalty who figures in the plot, and who seems a likely inspiration for a more famous wizard who came later, named Snape. Boyer also adds another scroungy sort of wizard, who causes much trouble as the Gollum stand-in.

The only plot issue that drove me nuts was a queen awakened from a 65 year slumber who immediately believes that sure, she's slept 65 years, going all-in the first time someone tells her she that's what she did, without a second question or looking for any sort of proof that she did indeed sleep for 65 years. Even in a fantasy novel, her reaction is a bit much.

But whatever, it's a fun book (there are several sequels, or maybe prequels, not sure), and it's a great example of the kind of early 1980s fantasy novel that every kid who'd exhausted Tolkien was delving into with fervor at the time, though the tone is pretty light-hearted, more like Peter Pan than Lord of the Rings.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating should be closer to 2.5. The book was too long for its ramshackle plot. The decisions of the characters make more sense if you know how the Icelandic sagas function, but if you are not familiar with those, this book will make no damn sense at all; the characters will profess to be human, but they will behave like space aliens to you. In addition to the novel's general tediousness is the author's habit of name-dropping characters from the sagas -- and sometimes the general set-ups -- but then doing absolutely nothing with them. Thus, their resonances don't really enhance the story, and in a while you get the sense that the author is using them as plot crutches and without any understanding of how they tick or why. Certainly if this novel is meant to ape the Icelandic sagas, it utterly fails in that regard -- one only needs to read the ending to see this. Maybe she was using them for parodic effect? The episode with Njal's house could be seen that way, but I don't think the others can.

In any event, it's not as good as her later Alfar novels THE ELVES AND THE OTTERSKIN and THE WIZARD AND THE WARLORD, which could be another reason I was disappointed in this novel. Still, some of the incidents are bonkers enough to make things interesting, so I rounded up to three stars from 2.5 instead of rounding down to two.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance, this seems like your typical, derivative northern European hero fantasy. There's a whole bundle of Norse folklore references along the way and you probably won't be massively shocked at the ending, it's true. There are Tolkien influences in here a mile wide and plenty of other stereotypical hero's journey tropes too.

But what I think this book does really well, and this is the reason that it gets four stars rather than two or three from me, is humour. There's a wry sense of amusement that runs throughout the story that tells you that, actually, Boyer is pretty well aware that she's using the rusty old formula. Part of the fun of reading it is seeing that recognised and pushing it a little towards comedy. The dialogue, the general character and antics of one of the villains and the mid-book action show that this isn't a book that spends too long pretending to be an epic and taking it too seriously. Plus, it has an excellent strong heroine and manages to resist the usual romantic cliches that these books normally insist on ending with.

Read this if: you're getting a bit bored with terribly earnest barbarians and wizards who never crack a smile, or if you think more fantasy novels should be written by hobbits!

[Stuart Macmartin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars is a little harsh, as there were some interesting details. Standard Quest fair. Boy gets sword, a la sword in the stone. Wizard takes boy on the journey, not telling him enough. Boy accidentally rescues girl, who turns out to be a warrior princess. Misadventures and mistrusts abound. Brave boy accidentally wins, partly through the idiocy of the evil wizard (who seemed more cocky than evil or overpoweringly strong). Oh, and by the way, turns out boy gets girl even though boy was never distracted by her in the slightest. What saves this book is the history and plots of a thousand years to finally overcome the bad guy. References to various myths and legends. There doesn't seem to be a pantheon, except for a reference to Valhalla. And maybe Thor's hammer. Those references felt out of the blue, but I can accept a mostly agnostic people while still having something.

[Joel Flank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a throwback to the early days of mass market paperback fantasy novels, and I always looked at it on the store shelves and never quite picked it to read. Now that I have, I'm glad I did since it's different from most of what else is out there, both being based on Nordic mythology, and having more of a mythological feel than a more realistic feel that most fantasy books have. Unfortunately, it was a fairly formulaic plot, and the main characters were pretty one dimensional (though that is in part due to the mythological overtones). What was frustrating was that most of the challenges the characters dealt with were caused by their own, repeated obliviousness to dangers and lack of suspicion towards anything and everything they met.

That being said, I will read the rest of the series to see how things progress - hopefully as a first novel there is lots of room for improvement.

[Shehreyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Older fantasy novels have better prose on average than books today, but the authors seem content to bleed the words dry of excitement and momentum. I've read quite a few high fantasy novels from the 80s and 90s these past few months, but they've mostly failed to hold my attention. I suppose with the sheer volume of fantasy being published these days, its a simple thing to drop one book and just go for another. Somewhere out there is a novel that gives you exactly what you want, so why settle for less?

And honestly, I can look past medicore writing so long as the story is excellent.

[John Behnken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book (and the other 3 in the series) forever. I recall purchasing them back in the 80's because - if memory serves me correctly - they were recommended reading in one of the 1st Edition D&D manuals. I'm very happy I finally picked it up. About half way through and enjoying it immensely. It's very different from most fantasy though it has many familiar elements to tabletop gamers as well as mythology buffs. Recommended.