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aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
I have heard quite a lot of people say quite a lot of wonderful things about his book, and I have been meaning to read it for quite a while. To say the least, I was completely underwhelmed.
I suppose part of that is my own fault for diving into something in the “of manners” genre, which always read to me more like local gossip columns rather than anything with a plot and a sense of urgency. The same certainly applies here, with far more time devoted to banter and wit and glories of society such as fireworks and the theatre than to building plot or suspense.
Regrettably, the novel lacks a sympathetic character of any form. Richard, despite being charismatic, has a permanent stain around him centering around the fact that he murdered a former lover during an argument. Alec comes off as too much of a snob during almost every interaction with him, and I spent more of the book wondering how Richard could even tolerate him rather than caring about his character. Adding a great amount of instability and vulnerability that seems to disappear utterly once his true identity is revealed does not help matters.
The nobles are so self-centered in their little schemes and mechanizations that none of them are truly developed and they are almost completely interchangeable with one another. Michael Godwin ends up being utterly pointless—dominating the first half of the narrative along with Richard and Alec, then being sent off to the country and rarely mentioned again. He is an utter waste of page space, especially for so little payoff in the form of a rumor that may or may not be true. I honestly cannot fathom what the point was of devoting so much time to a character, only to have him wander off and be forgotten.
Let’s not even get into how big of an idiot Horn was regarding his kidnapping and almost turnaround-quick release of Alec. As far as plot devices go, his behaviour was absurd. I get that Horn was not supposed to be the sharpest crayon in the proverbial box, but it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone could be so blatantly stupid as to not realize what was going to happen to him.
The ending courtroom scene drags on for entirely too long, first with the extended inner dialogue regarding Ferris’s scheme and how it has all fallen apart, and then with his long-winded attempts to redeem himself. The final scene between the duchess and Alec is also too long and provides too little resolution.
There was a lot of possibility in his novel, but it all falls flat. A book centering around a swordsman, a former scholar with a mysterious past, and society intrigues should not have been so utterly dull.
I suppose part of that is my own fault for diving into something in the “of manners” genre, which always read to me more like local gossip columns rather than anything with a plot and a sense of urgency. The same certainly applies here, with far more time devoted to banter and wit and glories of society such as fireworks and the theatre than to building plot or suspense.
Regrettably, the novel lacks a sympathetic character of any form. Richard, despite being charismatic, has a permanent stain around him centering around the fact that he murdered a former lover during an argument. Alec comes off as too much of a snob during almost every interaction with him, and I spent more of the book wondering how Richard could even tolerate him rather than caring about his character. Adding a great amount of instability and vulnerability that seems to disappear utterly once his true identity is revealed does not help matters.
The nobles are so self-centered in their little schemes and mechanizations that none of them are truly developed and they are almost completely interchangeable with one another. Michael Godwin ends up being utterly pointless—dominating the first half of the narrative along with Richard and Alec, then being sent off to the country and rarely mentioned again. He is an utter waste of page space, especially for so little payoff in the form of a rumor that may or may not be true. I honestly cannot fathom what the point was of devoting so much time to a character, only to have him wander off and be forgotten.
Let’s not even get into how big of an idiot Horn was regarding his kidnapping and almost turnaround-quick release of Alec. As far as plot devices go, his behaviour was absurd. I get that Horn was not supposed to be the sharpest crayon in the proverbial box, but it’s hard for me to imagine that anyone could be so blatantly stupid as to not realize what was going to happen to him.
The ending courtroom scene drags on for entirely too long, first with the extended inner dialogue regarding Ferris’s scheme and how it has all fallen apart, and then with his long-winded attempts to redeem himself. The final scene between the duchess and Alec is also too long and provides too little resolution.
There was a lot of possibility in his novel, but it all falls flat. A book centering around a swordsman, a former scholar with a mysterious past, and society intrigues should not have been so utterly dull.
wodime's review against another edition
3.75
think i enjoyed swordspoint more on reread, but it's still a solid 3.75 for me. this is a very charming world, populated with some vintage Problematic mlm, and it's doing a lot of fun genre stuff. that said, its characters still didn't quite land? michael's subplot remains far and away my favourite, and while it makes an interesting counterpoint to st vier's story, it also overshadows it. on top of that, i (still) found alec a little too opaque; he's so close to being the exact type of character i go nuts for, but we never really get to be in his brain, or understand what makes him tick. in turn, this impacted my feelings about st vier and alec's relationship. hard to fully buy into it when you aren't sure what these men like about each other in the first place -- let alone why they like each other enough to stick around.
also, i found a lot of the structural choices to be baffling? i hate to say it, but the back half felt shapeless and directionless, and i really did not know where it was trying to go. (the road to your climax should not feel like wading through a mire!) could have used more judicious editing in a lot of places, both to smooth out the pacing, and to rein in kushner's tendency toward purple prose. still hoping the sequel will be better about this.
all that said, though. men in love with men 😭
also, i found a lot of the structural choices to be baffling? i hate to say it, but the back half felt shapeless and directionless, and i really did not know where it was trying to go. (the road to your climax should not feel like wading through a mire!) could have used more judicious editing in a lot of places, both to smooth out the pacing, and to rein in kushner's tendency toward purple prose. still hoping the sequel will be better about this.
all that said, though. men in love with men 😭
the_chicken_roll's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tsukibunny68's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
3.0
Ein paar Aspekte mochte ich, vor allem, dass man die Handlung (nicht durchgehend, aber über weite Strecken) nicht vorgekaut bekommt, sondern wirklich aufpassen und zurückgehen und Stellen noch mal lesen muss. Aber insgesamt ging es mir zu viel um adjektivreiche Coolness.
stjehanne's review
3.0
A weird read. I've been sitting here thinking about it for a while and I just don't quite know how to feel about it.
Let me start off by saying this: I utterly enjoyed Swordspoint. I liked its rather strange setting, not very fantasy but faintly otherworldly. Kushner has a distinct voice, mostly sombre and with a pragmatic emotionality that fit the cool air of the first autumn nights, in which I devoured the book, nicely.
As other reviewers remarked, the characters ended up being rather flat and never really developed much but to my surprise, I didn't mind that. Granted, most of the side characters were quickly forgotten and I had to check the past pages a few times to remember their names. However, I grew fond of Richard and Alec in particular. Honestly, I do not have a real reason for that - or at least, I cannot come up with a proper explanation.
Unfortunately, I found the narrative lacking. It started off very slowly (although with beautiful wording) and never really gained momentum until I was about 2/3 through the book. A few plot points seemed irrelevant to me and perhaps this space should have been used to give the characters a bit more personality.
Nevertheless, I had a good time with this one. A few hours well spent.
Let me start off by saying this: I utterly enjoyed Swordspoint. I liked its rather strange setting, not very fantasy but faintly otherworldly. Kushner has a distinct voice, mostly sombre and with a pragmatic emotionality that fit the cool air of the first autumn nights, in which I devoured the book, nicely.
As other reviewers remarked, the characters ended up being rather flat and never really developed much but to my surprise, I didn't mind that. Granted, most of the side characters were quickly forgotten and I had to check the past pages a few times to remember their names. However, I grew fond of Richard and Alec in particular. Honestly, I do not have a real reason for that - or at least, I cannot come up with a proper explanation.
Unfortunately, I found the narrative lacking. It started off very slowly (although with beautiful wording) and never really gained momentum until I was about 2/3 through the book. A few plot points seemed irrelevant to me
Spoiler
that lady that kissed Richard by his door? What?Nevertheless, I had a good time with this one. A few hours well spent.
katieinca's review
4.0
I realized I could remember the plots of the other two Riverside books much more clearly, and all I remembered about this one was a) Richard b) Alec c) delightfulness. So in preparation for [b: Tremontaine: The Complete Season One|29459081|Tremontaine The Complete Season One (Tremontaine #1.1-1.13)|Ellen Kushner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463033225s/29459081.jpg|49735720] and because you can only read so many snippets over your boyfriend's shoulder without accidentally giving him obnoxious spoilers, I picked this up for a reread.
I could more or less tell you the plot now, but I can also pretty confidently tell you that in three months I will remember a) Richard b) Alec c) delightfulness. And that's just fine.
I could more or less tell you the plot now, but I can also pretty confidently tell you that in three months I will remember a) Richard b) Alec c) delightfulness. And that's just fine.
crimsoncor's review
5.0
This was a re-read, but it had probably been two decades since I last read this. I think last time I read these books, I read Privilege of the Sword first, which I would not recommend to someone coming into the series. Swordspoint really sets the stage for how you understand the characters in Privilege in a way that I had not previously realized (and missed out on a lot of the depth in Privilege because of it). Since I remembered so little of the series, this was basically a new read for me and I was just blown away by how well this has aged (or not aged). An incredibly vibrant world, a painfully difficult queer relationship at the heart of a story that encompasses a huge gamut of different characters in ever strata of society without ever feeling crowded or rushed. You can't quite call it fantasy, because it remains firmly rooted in the non-magical realm, but does it really matter? We definitely are living in a golden age of diverse fantasty/sf now, but it is important to remember that there were authors doing amazing work in that space in the past as well.
alex_watkins's review
4.0
I truly enjoyed this world of bisexual fops fucking up each other's day. The swordsman at the center of the story is interesting, but his boyfriend is certainly the original depressive demon nightmare boy! I can't believe how close the descriptions come to Adam Driver. Personally, I had a hard time rooting for their love because he seemed like a complete dick a lot of the time
limonotte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5