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emtees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is probably my favorite book of the year, as well as the last. The Broken Sword takes Norse mythology and crafts an original story that feels like it could be one of the ancient sagas, but filtered through an approach to character and relationships that blends ancient and modern elements. It has all the power of both mythology and classic fantasy, but in its handling of the characters, especially the women, it feels more modern than Tolkien or other writers of the period.
The story follows two men: Skafloc, a Viking’s son stolen from his Christian mother before his baptism and raised by the elves, and Valgard, the half elf/half troll changeling left behind to replace him. While Skafloc is raised to be a great warrior among the elves, and gifted by the Norse gods with the Broken Sword, a mysterious and possibly evil weapon that is said to have the potential to save the world if it can be reforged, Valgard grows up in the world of humans, tormented by a rage and thirst for violence he and those around him cannot understand. When he finally learns the truth of his birth, he turns his violence on the family who raised him, which brings us to our third protagonist: Freda, biological sister to Skafloc and raised alongside Valgard, and an unexpectedly great character in her own right. Freda becomes Valgard’s prisoner, only to be rescued by Skafloc - but while Freda revels in the freedom of the elves, becoming a shieldmaiden who fights at Skafloc’s side, she is still a Christian and bound to human morality, and eventually the clash between the two worlds becomes too much for she and either of her brothers to handle.
The world of the Broken Sword does something that a lot of fantasy set in the real world tries but few succeed at: it takes place within historical “reality,” with the premise that all the myths and legends of the world are true and that the ebb and flow of human belief is echoed in the supernatural world. The story takes place in the 9th century, when the Norse gods still hold strong but most of the other pagan figures, from the Sidhe of Ireland to a Greek faun who wanders his way west after his own traditions fail, are fading into something more like legends in the face of Christianity. Both the Christian and pagan powers in this world are unmistakably real, and the clash between them is not one of truth but of faith. Men are weak compared to the elves, trolls and other supernatural creatures, unaware of most of what goes on in the world around them, but there is a sense that despite all the great battles the supernatural creatures fight, they are ultimately destined to lose and fade because of the beliefs of men.
The story feels very much like a Norse saga, with incredible battle scenes and feats of strength. The characters are all driven by powerful emotions and by destiny, and the gods play with the fate of lesser beings as if on a chessboard. But the characters also feel very human. Skafloc and Freda in particular come across as very believable and relatable and their tragedy is the emotional heart of the story. But even the non-human creatures have a depth and reality to them. In particular, the trolls, the evil enemies of the elves, have much more depth to them than Tolkien’s orcs and their successors. One of the most poignant scenes in the book features a troll king confronted by his daughter, driven mad after centuries imprisoned by the elves.
The story ends without every thread wrapped up. Supposedly this is because Anderson was leaving the possibility of a sequel open, but while I would have liked to read that, I kind of liked that the impression is that the story will go on beyond the battle that ends the book. It adds to the feeling that this story is part of the larger mythology of a world that no longer exists.
The story follows two men: Skafloc, a Viking’s son stolen from his Christian mother before his baptism and raised by the elves, and Valgard, the half elf/half troll changeling left behind to replace him. While Skafloc is raised to be a great warrior among the elves, and gifted by the Norse gods with the Broken Sword, a mysterious and possibly evil weapon that is said to have the potential to save the world if it can be reforged, Valgard grows up in the world of humans, tormented by a rage and thirst for violence he and those around him cannot understand. When he finally learns the truth of his birth, he turns his violence on the family who raised him, which brings us to our third protagonist: Freda, biological sister to Skafloc and raised alongside Valgard, and an unexpectedly great character in her own right. Freda becomes Valgard’s prisoner, only to be rescued by Skafloc - but while Freda revels in the freedom of the elves, becoming a shieldmaiden who fights at Skafloc’s side, she is still a Christian and bound to human morality, and eventually the clash between the two worlds becomes too much for she and either of her brothers to handle.
The world of the Broken Sword does something that a lot of fantasy set in the real world tries but few succeed at: it takes place within historical “reality,” with the premise that all the myths and legends of the world are true and that the ebb and flow of human belief is echoed in the supernatural world. The story takes place in the 9th century, when the Norse gods still hold strong but most of the other pagan figures, from the Sidhe of Ireland to a Greek faun who wanders his way west after his own traditions fail, are fading into something more like legends in the face of Christianity. Both the Christian and pagan powers in this world are unmistakably real, and the clash between them is not one of truth but of faith. Men are weak compared to the elves, trolls and other supernatural creatures, unaware of most of what goes on in the world around them, but there is a sense that despite all the great battles the supernatural creatures fight, they are ultimately destined to lose and fade because of the beliefs of men.
The story feels very much like a Norse saga, with incredible battle scenes and feats of strength. The characters are all driven by powerful emotions and by destiny, and the gods play with the fate of lesser beings as if on a chessboard. But the characters also feel very human. Skafloc and Freda in particular come across as very believable and relatable and their tragedy is the emotional heart of the story. But even the non-human creatures have a depth and reality to them. In particular, the trolls, the evil enemies of the elves, have much more depth to them than Tolkien’s orcs and their successors. One of the most poignant scenes in the book features a troll king confronted by his daughter, driven mad after centuries imprisoned by the elves.
The story ends without every thread wrapped up. Supposedly this is because Anderson was leaving the possibility of a sequel open, but while I would have liked to read that, I kind of liked that the impression is that the story will go on beyond the battle that ends the book. It adds to the feeling that this story is part of the larger mythology of a world that no longer exists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Incest
Moderate: Rape
A major plotline involves incest, though the characters are unaware that they are related when they begin a relationship. A non-detailed rape scene takes place early in the book, and later on a main character engages in a relationship with dubious consent. There is a lot of fantasy violence.miles's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Death, Violence, War, and Incest
athryn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic book, an overrated/overlooked classic. I love that it takes a bunch of mythology and folklore and synthesizes it into a completely new world. It's a shame that Anderson never did anything else with this universe, because it was really great to spend time in.
It was definitely influential to some extent - Moorcock said he was inspired by this when he was writing the Elric saga. And I can see it's influence in other places.
Makes me want to read more of Anderson's fantasy work for sure.
It was definitely influential to some extent - Moorcock said he was inspired by this when he was writing the Elric saga. And I can see it's influence in other places.
Makes me want to read more of Anderson's fantasy work for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Incest, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
daisythebrownie's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Violence
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