Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths ReviewsArdneh’s Sword is a “bridge” story linking Fred Saberhagen’s Empire of the East series with his later Swords series. And while avid fans have always recognized the world of Swords as being a future iteration of the Empire lands, this novel cements that fact as an absolute truth, providing a rather seamless transition from one series to the next. The story opens with a thousand years having passed since Ardneh saved humanity from the arch-demon Orcus. That long ago time seems lost in the shadowy past however. Few people believing the legends of an epic clash between magic and technology. But Chance Rolfson is not one of those doubters; he has always believed the legends, as did his ancestors back to the illustrious warrior Rolf – a man who fought evil in Ardneh’s name.Even though his faith remains undisturbed, Chance finds himself beset by troubling nightmares. Terrifying images of death and destruction that refuse to leave his mind even when he awakes. In a vain attempt to put these dreams behind him, he joins a wilderness expedition searching for Ardneh’s Vault: A legendary place said to hold the savior’s secrets of wisdom and power that can save humanity!Naturally, things do not go smoothly on the journey; bandits, demon worshipers, demons and even a mysterious djinni with his own schemes causing untold complications and misery for the band. Soon, legendary entities come to life before Chance’s eyes, and he begins to suspect that his nightmares are, in fact, visions of the destruction of the world and that he might be the only one who can unlock Ardneh’s Sword (The ancient savior’s most powerful weapon!) and save everyone!If that description sounds like a fairly typical Fred Saberhagen fantasy story, I won’t attempt to disagree with you. I thought exactly that as I pounded my way through this sword and sorcery genre blender. Not that Ardneh’s Sword is a clone of the Swords series (The only Saberhagen novels I’ve ever read), but it definitely has the broken landscape and post-apocalyptic vibes, grey heroes and villains, and moody and gloomy atmosphere of the Book of Swords – at least to me. A similarity that is obviously expected to a certain extent (It is a bridge novel after all) and isn’t necessarily bad, but it certainly suggests that if you didn’t love the Empire or Swords series, then you probably won’t have your opinion of the author’s writing changed by this book.Even with that cautionary warning, there are certainly things to like about this novel. Naturally, the pure adrenaline rush of a sword and sorcery tale is fun, at times. Plus, Saberhagen adds such a cool post-apocalyptic history to the setting that it will undoubtedly stir your curiosity to learn more about the past and the future of this world and its shadowy denizens. And, lastly, there are a couple really interesting characters like the djinni, who are real scene stealers, instantly turning a casual reader into a concerned follower – at least of your favorite character.Unfortunately, the positives in Ardneh’s Sword didn’t outweigh the negatives for me, because this novel did a few flaws which really jarred my enjoyment of it. Specifically, the story was a bit too formulaic for my tastes and the ending was far too deus ex machina for me to rate it anything other than “okay.” But I can definitely see others adoring it – if for no other reason than they were able to revisit the world of Empire and Swords, gather up yet another morsel of lore about this post-apocalyptic world, and finally know for certain how these two Saberhagen fantasy series fit together.Recommended for diehard Saberhagen followers, devoted fanboys (and fangirls) of Empire of the East and the Swords series, or for old school sword and sorcery lovers. All others need not apply.
I was a bit disappointed by this book. You're just dumped into the middle of the story - not something I tend to enjoy - although by the end the backstory has been mostly filled-in. The setting is a bit pseudo-medieval/post-apocalyptic, and revolves around lost technology (which is kind of like a form of magic, as the characters think).It wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt like it had the potential to be so much more. The writing was quite succinct - each section of the chapters was extremely short. It isn't unusual to have three sections in 2 pages! While a concise style is sometimes great, in this case it just felt too simple, or unfinished.By the end, I had a very strong desire to go play Fallout 2.
What do You think about Ardneh's Sword (2007)?
Overall, I enjoyed this most recent entry in Saberhagen's Empire/Swords universe. "Because Saberhagen" is my usual excuse for auto-5-starring all of his related works, but this particular entry sort of fell flat (for me) right at the end. The ideas and concepts proffered were smart and intriguing, but certain sections of dialog felt incredibly ham-fisted, ostensibly forcing a connection between the two series. It is this readers opinion that this could have been accomplished in a much more subtle fashion.Still, though. I enjoyed it.
—Brian
It has been a long time since I read the other Empire of the East stories, and the Swords books, so wasn't sure how this one would come across. It did alright and turned out my suspicion was correct, it seems to be more of a transition story between the two series. Explaining how we get from one "world" to the other, so to speak. Some parts of the narrative seemed a little disjointed to me, as if in need of an editor or if the writer's mind had wandered some as he was writing it. This didn't really distract me from the story and overall it was an enjoyable read. Saberhagen has always been a favorite of mine.
—David
I read that one a few months ago. It was unusual, but I liked it. Sean really likes Saberhagen. I have the entire Swords collection and Empire of the East, of course.
—Jim
