From the Bookshelf of Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"…

The Broken Sword

Poul Anderson

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* February - March Groupreads - Anthologies
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last updated Mar 27, 2023 09:03PM

* December Groupreads - Conan - Blood Of The Serpent
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What Members Thought

Mar 29, 2022 Liam rated it liked it · review of another edition

A sort of Sword & Sorcery tragic fairy-tale. I see lots of comparisons to Tolkien, and this is easier to make with First Age tales, The Broken Sword is in a more “adult “ category when it comes to battle and sexual things. And a huge difference is that this is historical fantasy, set after Alfred defeated the vikings and established the Danelaw

This has goblins, trolls, sidhe, elves, dwarves and more fae, and does a good job of blending Celtic and Germanic myth that comes in contact with Christia ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2017 Clint rated it really liked it

Shelves: studies-in-fantasy, sword-sorcery, fantasy, ballantine-adult-fantasy-series, fantasy-worth-reading, appendix-n, 2017, own-bafs

The Skinny:
Timeline, the story takes place between 1000 and 1100 AD. The Vikings are beginning to follow Christianity, but still pay homage to the Norse and fear the Giants of the North. They believe the fairy exist (elves, trolls and goblins), but with the intrusion of the White Christ (the name given to Jesus in the fiction) the Vikings have lost their Witch Sight and can not see them.

Orm, a Viking, sets upon a raid. One of the victims of the raid is a witch. The witch seeks revenge and sets ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 09, 2016 Kent Keifer rated it really liked it

This is a classic fantasy story that combines legends from various cultures (Norse, Irish, Scottish, British etc.) It's has epic bloody battles, romantic love, extremely descriptive language, poetry and songs and more. It's in a similar vein to Lord of the Rings and even has a sword which has a similar curse/power decision with which the hero has to contend. The characters are fairly complex and aren't obviously good or bad but have struggles and failures along with their successes. If you like ...more

1 like · Like · see review