Ardneh's Sword / Fred Saberhagen

Ardneh's Sword

category: fantasy, sub-adult, author:

Fred Saberhagen

book 1 or ?? of (new) Empire of the East
original copyright 2006

read in November 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

This book fails to excite. Fails to impress. It's a book which is written by the numbers.

Take one wimpy kid with obvious hero potential. Add a support cast of magician, wise old teacher, tough old soldier, loyal pet with claws. Throw in a mysterious relic, promise of treasure, group of healers who set up business as far from people as possible...?! Sweeten with attractive girl and a group of cute kids...

Yuk !

Arrgh... it flows... Without much rhyme or reason, but things happen in a somewhat logical sequence. The sequence of events has some logic. The motives and actual events lack logic.

I've included this book in the category "sub-adult". Not to insult younger readers... :-) but the plot and motives are simplified. I enjoy a simple plot. But even young readers deserve a less mechanical story-line.

The book is fantasy, based on a post-post-apocalyptic world. "Post-post-apocalyptic?"

The book is set 1000 years after the Empire of the East books... which appear to have been post-apocalyptic. Where a super-computer was battling against... demons?!

So there is an underlying idea of super-technology. In a battle against the demons of myth and magic. This is trite, a cliche, clever enough as the basis for a series... Perhaps the earlier series was fantasy plus science fiction. But enough, it's drifted into pure fantasy.

Especially the ending...

Trying to not give too much away: At the grand finale, the immortal gods of legend are recreated... With their original memories... So if they are immortal -- where have they been?! And what will the real immortal gods say -- and do -- when they find that they have been cloned?!

Good grief!

After all that hard-to-believe non-excitement... This book is revealed as being chapter one of a totally new series: The Post-Post-Post-Apocalyptic World of the New Old Gods.

Groan.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index