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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
songwind's review
4.0
A note on shelving. I filed this under "fantasy," and it's generally considered such. However, there is really no fantastical element. It's more like a secondary world historical fiction, roughly Renaissance.
This is a secondary world tale of manners, and drama, and scheming, and romance, and lust. The two principal threads are the life of Richard St. Vier, a professional duelist, and the schemes of the nobility. The two are inextricably intertwined, as the profession of dueling (swordsman, as they are called in the story) is primarily concerned with proxy fighting between nobles for honor and social standing.
The plots are not terribly involved. Like most stories of this kind the meat and potatoes are the characters themselves and their interactions. I was able to follow the twists and turns, anticipated a few and guessed wrong on a few others.
The society on display is interesting. It's all the most decadent failings of nobility, but different from our historical ones in ways subtle and not-so-subtle. The separation of gender roles exists, but is different. Women, for example, wield considerable power in some instances, but are still expected not to fight and to be the caretakers of the household, etc.
Another major and obvious (but not belabored) difference is in the realms of sexuality. As one expects from these sorts of stories, there is a lot of bed-hopping. Said hopping seemed to have very little regard for gender in many instances. Homo- bi- and heterosexuality were all on display. This isn't terribly surprising as Kushner herself identifies as bisexual, but it's not written as any sort of message - it's just the way it is.
All in all, I enjoyed the story and began to care about what happened to several of the characters, despite it not being my usual sort of thing.
Audiobook note
Rather than a straight-up narration, the book was presented almost as a radio play. Kushner (an actor and radio presenter for NPR) was the narrator. There were actors for the primary characters' speaking parts, as well as Foley artists and crowd sounds where appropriate. It really helped to draw me in.
This is a secondary world tale of manners, and drama, and scheming, and romance, and lust. The two principal threads are the life of Richard St. Vier, a professional duelist, and the schemes of the nobility. The two are inextricably intertwined, as the profession of dueling (swordsman, as they are called in the story) is primarily concerned with proxy fighting between nobles for honor and social standing.
The plots are not terribly involved. Like most stories of this kind the meat and potatoes are the characters themselves and their interactions. I was able to follow the twists and turns, anticipated a few and guessed wrong on a few others.
The society on display is interesting. It's all the most decadent failings of nobility, but different from our historical ones in ways subtle and not-so-subtle. The separation of gender roles exists, but is different. Women, for example, wield considerable power in some instances, but are still expected not to fight and to be the caretakers of the household, etc.
Another major and obvious (but not belabored) difference is in the realms of sexuality. As one expects from these sorts of stories, there is a lot of bed-hopping. Said hopping seemed to have very little regard for gender in many instances. Homo- bi- and heterosexuality were all on display. This isn't terribly surprising as Kushner herself identifies as bisexual, but it's not written as any sort of message - it's just the way it is.
All in all, I enjoyed the story and began to care about what happened to several of the characters, despite it not being my usual sort of thing.
Audiobook note
Rather than a straight-up narration, the book was presented almost as a radio play. Kushner (an actor and radio presenter for NPR) was the narrator. There were actors for the primary characters' speaking parts, as well as Foley artists and crowd sounds where appropriate. It really helped to draw me in.
taarna's review against another edition
I like the concept but got close to halfway through before I realized I knew where this was going but was going to have to wait around another few hundred pages for it to get there and I really wasn't invested enough in any of these characters to do that.
xeyra1's review
3.0
Enjoyable read but it ended up not being exactly as good as I expected, especially as I had very high expectations regarding it.
For one, I hated Alec. Apparently he is well beloved by the fans of this novel but I found him to be a bit of a despicable coward. He had a few redeeming qualities, granted (I kind of slightly cheered during the trial scenes), but overall I didn't like him. His haughtiness and whiny personality rubbed wrongly on me. I couldn't quite understand how Richard could like him, unless it was because Alec was in need of protection and Richard liked to have someone to protect.
I also expected a bit more of court intrigue. Only halfway through the novel does anything of some substance happen and even then it's not what we're waiting for. In the end, it all ends up being rather petty.
Still, it was an enjoyable read, even if it didn't meet my high expectations on it.
For one, I hated Alec. Apparently he is well beloved by the fans of this novel but I found him to be a bit of a despicable coward. He had a few redeeming qualities, granted (I kind of slightly cheered during the trial scenes), but overall I didn't like him. His haughtiness and whiny personality rubbed wrongly on me. I couldn't quite understand how Richard could like him, unless it was because Alec was in need of protection and Richard liked to have someone to protect.
I also expected a bit more of court intrigue. Only halfway through the novel does anything of some substance happen and even then it's not what we're waiting for. In the end, it all ends up being rather petty.
Still, it was an enjoyable read, even if it didn't meet my high expectations on it.
blastoise's review
medium-paced
3.5
I picked this book up from a 2nd hand book store cos it was on my to-read list, though I couldn't remember why I put it there. 4 chapters in and I knew why, its very GAY.
Gay, political, swordsman drama/fantasy.
The gayness is not just implied or hinted at, its very obvious and there are multiple gay/bi/queer characters. Its also socially acceptable so no homophobia which is great.
I did zone out a bit at all the political drama, not really my jam, but stayed for the badass bi master swordsman and his upperclass melodromatic pretty boy twink.
Clear class heirarchy, lords and ladies and servants. Shakespearean city setting.
There was one character storyline that bugged me, a main character was pretty much written out over half way through and we didn't see much of him at all. Maybe there is more of him in the sequels, just felt his arc was left unresolved/unsatisfying.
I feel like some of the nuance went over my head, I'm not very book-smart, it would have been more enjoyable if I was. Wouldn't say no to reading the sequel. 3.5 stars.
Gay, political, swordsman drama/fantasy.
The gayness is not just implied or hinted at, its very obvious and there are multiple gay/bi/queer characters. Its also socially acceptable so no homophobia which is great.
I did zone out a bit at all the political drama, not really my jam, but stayed for the badass bi master swordsman and his upperclass melodromatic pretty boy twink.
Clear class heirarchy, lords and ladies and servants. Shakespearean city setting.
There was one character storyline that bugged me, a main character was pretty much written out over half way through and we didn't see much of him at all. Maybe there is more of him in the sequels, just felt his arc was left unresolved/unsatisfying.
I feel like some of the nuance went over my head, I'm not very book-smart, it would have been more enjoyable if I was. Wouldn't say no to reading the sequel. 3.5 stars.
destobie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25