The Broken Sword

Poul Anderson here tells a wonderful tale, full of magic, adventure and peril. It blazes forth at a blistering pace, yet still manages to include sufficient characterization. For me, however, the most beautiful aspect of this book is the language. Yes, the tone is dark, and there are many battles with graphic descriptions, yet I am surprised that more people haven't mentioned the majestic, epic quality to the prose: at once high and lofty, it is yet restrained and noble, often with the feeling of poetry one finds in the Old English sagas. This description, for example: "He went over hills, the reborn year around him. It had rained in the morning and the ground was muddy, pools and rivulets glittering in the sunbeams. The grass grew strongly, a cool light green to the edge of sight; and the trees were budding forth, a frail tint of new life across their boughs, the vanguard of summer." Essentially, I feel that Anderson has channeled all of the best qualities of the tone and feel of Tolkien's prose, yet his story is entirely his own. This reads as if an ancient bard is relating a classic tale from long ago, in a time when magic was still real. And it features lots of Vikings, gods, trolls and elves, while at times the din of Odin's hounds and chariot can be heard as he leads the hunt through the cold skies. If you like this kind of subject matter, and a somewhat archaic tone to the prose does not bother you, you can hardly fail to enjoy this.

Poul Anderson really was one of the greatest authors of speculative fiction. Many great authors can write swashbuckling heroic fantasy, or hard science fiction, but not many can write both with equal facility. Anderson was one of the few who could, possessing a degree in physics and a great depth of knowledge of Nordic mythology and ancient languages. "The Broken Sword" is one of his pure fantasy stories (and also one of his earlier novels), and draws heavily from northern and western European myth and legend. Anderson takes an interesting approach, postulating that the mythical creatures and deities of all cultures really existed, and sometimes interacted with each other. Thus, in this story, you see elves, trolls, dwarves, and other creatures from Nordic mythology, including some of the Norse gods, the Sidhe from Irish mythology, and even a lonely satyr from Graeco/Roman mythology -- a survivor of the supernatural creatures that followed Roman colonists into Britain centuries earlier. Even Christianity is present, acknowledged as a new and growing faith that is slowly, but inexorably driving out the others (the book is set in the era when Danish Viking armies were settling large parts of northern England during Anglo-Saxon times). What's fantastic about the book is how well Anderson evokes the myths of that era. All the essential elements of Nordic epic myths are present: the human hero, of special origin, almost superhumanly mighty a warrior, and like virtually all such heroes, fated to meet a tragic and early end; elves, dwarves, giants, trolls and gods, often at war with each other, or at best, an uneasy and fragile peace; powerful curses which work slowly and subtly, but inexorably to bring about their ends; characters motivated by hatred and revenge, whose grievances are not wholly unjustified; even Odin, travelling secretly (and sometimes appearing openly) in the world of men, and manipulating people and events, just as he did in the Norse myths. It's all here, especially the grim and tragic mood that pervades Norse mythology, for the epic tales of Nordic mythology were nearly always tragic. It's amazing how well Anderson captures the spirit of the epic material from which he drew his inspiration. This is one of his most unique and interesting stories.

Fast paced, imaginative and well plotted. A fantasy that evokes Norse mthology. Reads like a 'short story' with characterisation perhaps sacrificed for thunderous pace. Yet the magical nature of the story is so breathtaking that the author gets away with it. A gritty, often brutal saga which contrasts greatly with the ponderous epic Lord of the Rings. The Broken Sword is a 'mini' classic which I really enjoyed. There are two versions of this story - the author apparently rewrote it to soften some of the edges. I have read the earlier version only and love it!

This is THE classic sword and sorcery book. Anderson has his sagas down cold. He got the old Weird Tales alternate-technology magic just right. The reviewer below must be a little slow.

The Broken Sword is a beautifully told, violent and epic, fantasy story. Set in a Norse/ Scandinavian Myth landscape, with Elves and Dwarves etc; The Broken Sword draws upon similar caricatures as Tolkein's Lord of the Rings