Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

Have you read it? How do you feel about it?

This a classic, old school fantasy. It reminds me of the Norse mythology I've read along with Beowulf & such. It's clean - no explicit sex or gritty elements - but exciting & very character focused. The characters are flawed in interesting, but understandable ways, too. Best of all, it's easy to read. I like the bardish tone.

I've finished the secondary read for July do I was thinking about reading this too. There are a few The Broken Sword on Goodreads - who is it by?

Sorry about the typos! The iPhone app doesn't let you edit your posts!

Poul Anderson

Thanks

I just found out that I can pick this up on Monday. Very much looking forward to it after a bit of a break from the internet and reading (sadly I know but I was adventuring in the outdoors).

Just ordered from the library, I hope it comes in time.

Horace wrote: "This a classic, old school fantasy. It reminds me of the Norse mythology I've read along with Beowulf & such. It's clean - no explicit sex or gritty elements - but exciting & very character focus..."

I do agree it has an epic/mythology feel & like it for that. However I'm not sure about the "no explicit sex or gritty elements", IMHO there are plenty of sex & violence & moral ambiguity in it.

Just ordered this one, I may have read it before years ago but can't recall.

im going to start this tomorrow. Ive only ever read Tau Zero of Poul Anderson's so im looking forward to it.

I've started it. It's interesting so far and definitely a classic mythology based fantasy.

My favorite fantasy by Anderson is Three Hearts and Three Lions, but this one comes in a close second. I like the voice of the former better than the bardic tone of this one. There's more distance from the characters. I root for certain ones sometimes, but I don't have as much empathy.

Anderson wrote some great SF, too. Flandry is quite a good hero, but I think his most memorable character is a Nicholas van Rijn, trader to the stars.

Book delivered just going to finish Room then start with this.

Horace wrote: "My favorite fantasy by Anderson is Three Hearts and Three Lions, but this one comes in a close second. I like the voice of the former better than the bardic tone of this one. There's more distanc..."

i bought these editions of & for £3 :D

Im 6 chapters in and have really enjoyed it, its so much better than i was expecting at the moment.

I really like the names of the characters: Orm, Valgard, Skafloc, Imric etc brilliant

I finished and it was certainly an interesting book. I'll have to check out some of Anderson's other works.

I have read some of his books over the years ( he is pretty prolific ) some of it is ok but some of it is not so good. I also read some of his fantasy stuff I think it was King of Ys books. Not great. But he has won lots of awards so what do I know?!

Well I read it and yep I hated it.

It seems old fashioned now and the bardic tone mentioned earlier annoyed me. I though the characters were very flat and the story itself a mish mash of lots of old mythologies.

Yawn, yawn and once again yawn.

I read it and didn't like it I am afraid. It is difficult to say why with out spoiling the story but I did not like the ending. The writing was interesting, and the story was different but I shan't rush to try anything else by him and as Bev said he was very prolific.

@Bev and Sam - I think that's because it's in the style of the Norse myths which are so slow and are an acquired taste. And in today's world appear very much boring and flat.

Jonathan I actually like Norse mythology as a rule especially Beowulf, however it is Andersons writing which is out of mode( if it was ever in mode. You cannot cover up poor characterisation just through a period of time. I dare say if I had read it at the time of publication I would still have disliked it.

Ah okay well I just thought that it worked as a kind of mythological tale. I've read many myths which were told in that style. My main issue with it was the tragic side and the slow nature of the book.

Yes exactly it was slow. Maybe modern fiction is like modern life more hectic in pace? Maybe that is why many people struggle with older classics?
Saying that it is good to try things outside of your comfort zone so I am glad I tried it.

i really enjoyed the first 3/4's of the book but then so much seemed to be getting crammed into paragraphs without much detail as to what these major events where.

A good book but im not sure if its one i will read again. Three Hearts And Three Lions is my next Poul Anderson to read in August

I thought the characterization was good. I don't expect a lot of depth from this sort of story, though. They're supposed to be caricatures, like Beowulf. Ditto with the pacing.

Three Hearts and Three Lions is written in a different style & I do prefer it.

Bev wrote: "Yes exactly it was slow. Maybe modern fiction is like modern life more hectic in pace? Maybe that is why many people struggle with older classics?
Saying that it is good to try things outside of yo..."

Scientific studies show that we find it hard to read long and complex bits of text due to the fact that our brain gets set in ways. With the advent of the internet the text snippets we read tend to be short, sharp and to the point. Hence the classic and long style tends to be harder for people to follow now. But if you read a lot of classics you tend to follow it easily enough.

My problem is that I read a lot of classics in my teens and 20's when studying. I also find that classics do take more concentration and with 3 small kids I just dont have that or the time.

Pickle wrote: "i really enjoyed the first 3/4's of the book but then so much seemed to be getting crammed into paragraphs without much detail as to what these major events where.

A good book but im not sure if i..."

        Three Hearts and Three Lions is very good, one of Anderson's best, imao.

Bev wrote: "My problem is that I read a lot of classics in my teens and 20's when studying. I also find that classics do take more concentration and with 3 small kids I just don't have that or the time."

Ah I see. I guess that since I have so much time the things I read are read from a different perspective to others. As a result I've been reading a lot of classics.

Jonathan wrote: "Bev wrote: "My problem is that I read a lot of classics in my teens and 20's when studying. I also find that classics do take more concentration and with 3 small kids I just don't have that or the ..."

I also have read a lot of classics in the past but as a working mum of 3 small boys I don't have the time to concentrate on them either. When they are all in bed I like to read something less taxing and not too slow to relax. I am afraid that I also like to have a satisfactory ending if not always a happy one.

I am glad I stuck with it though and I do like to read a lot of different types of books, even some classics.

Bev wrote: "My problem is that I read a lot of classics in my teens and 20's when studying. I also find that classics do take more concentration and with 3 small kids I just dont have that or the time."

a bit off topic but ive read more than ive ever have in my life since having kids, odd

Well done Pickle! I admire you. I am too tired to read that's my trouble. I pick up a book and fall asleep. :)

Depends on the kids' age & the time of year. New babies & indoor winter months are far more hectic & exhausting than when you can toss them outside & just listen for screams.
;-)

Horace wrote: "Depends on the kids' age & the time of year. New babies & indoor winter months are far more hectic & exhausting than when you can toss them outside & just listen for screams.
;-)"

Haha Horace you are so right.