- Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Tor Fantasy; First Edition edition (Jun 15 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0812505778
- ISBN-13: 978-0812505771
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.7 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #294,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A wicked magician and a batch of demons almost succeed in taking over Sarykam, capital of Prince Mark of Tasavalta, in this lackluster 11th, and final, volume of the series that began with The First Book of Swords . Vilkata the Dark King and his shape-changing demons return from the Moon, where they had been sent by Prince Mark, who can hurl demons into the heavens with an incantation. Employing the power of the Mindsword, which gives the holder the allegiance of all beings he encounters, Vilkata gains the fealty of the city and palace occupants except for 14-year-old Prince Stephen, son of Mark. The prince makes his escape using Shieldbreaker, the Sword of Force and the strongest of the dozen created by the Gods, and Sightblinder, the Sword of Stealth; he loses the former to Vilkata, although the Mindsword is destroyed. Then the Dark King gains an ally in the adventurer Baron Amintor, wielder of Coinspinner, the Sword of Chance, and sets out to consolidate his hold on the city by destroying all other swords. Meanwhile, Stephen tries to make his way to his father to seek aid. Saberhagen's saga ends happily and at a good time, since his original concept has run out of steam with tired and sketchy characterizations and plot and only brief appearances by many players from other volumes.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
In the concluding volume of Saberhagen's Swords saga, battle extends from palace to peasant hut--indeed, all the way to the moon--and is loaded with remnants of premagical technology as well as the secret of why the Old World fell and magic came to rule. Key to the battle against Vikata the Dark King is Prince Mark's second son, Prince Stephen, who turns out to be a formidable wielder of swords. By the time journeys and battles are done, the only one of the twelve swords that survives is Woundhealer, for even the terrifying Shieldbreaker has perished. Followers of the Swords tales will find the last much to their taste, so fantasy collections should supply it. Roland Green
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
HUNCHED in his saddle on the flying demon's back, buffeted by winds of air and magic, Vilkata the Dark King confronted catastrophe with a snarl of defiance. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
HUNCHED in his saddle on the flying demon's back, buffeted by winds of air and magic, Vilkata the Dark King confronted catastrophe with a snarl of defiance. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Egads!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Last Book of Swords: Shieldbreaker's Story (Mass Market Paperback)
I was all set to write a stinging review of the terrible book that killed this great series- but it would just echo what has already been written. And that ending- good grief Fred, what were you smoking??? So, I am here just to slam this piece of garbage with 1 star.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Do not read this book!!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Last Book of Swords: Shieldbreaker's Story (Mass Market Paperback)
If you enjoyed the rest of the series, stop and don't read this book. Yes, you will be left wondering what happens to the rest of the swords, who is the Emperor, what happens to Mark and the rest, but live with the curiosity. This book goes beyond anticlimactic, it is just awful. The ending and the explanation of the Emperor is so...I can't even find words for how disappointing it is.I'm left wondering if Saberhagen didn't outgrow the series and quickly wrote Shieldbreaker's story to bring the series to a close so he could move on to other endeavors. I can not believe that he actually thought that this ending would satisfy his readers. I can not stress enough how thoroughly disappointing and frustrating the ending of this book is. Saberhagen should personally apologize to everyone who read this book
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unsatisfying ending makes a good book mediocre,
By
This review is from: The Last Book of Swords: Shieldbreaker's Story (Mass Market Paperback)
Most of the book was fine, but the end section was a poor conclusion to the book, and the series. (WARNING! Specific plot details follow!) Just so readers are forewarned, the Emperor is never explained, and he gives a strange quasi-religious statement about himself. Here it is, verbatim: "Some long ago have called me the Sabbath, or the Covenant--Some have called me Wisdom. Some lately have said that I am the Program of Creation."Has Saberhagen found Christianity, and he's trying to inject it into his fiction? What the heck is he trying to get at, here? Beats me, and the book left me scratching my head and wondering what happened to this gifted writer.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
