The Broken Sword

Why did I put off reading Poul Anderson for so long?

This is the second novel by Anderson that I have read, and I enjoyed it so much that I went ahead and bought five more books by the author. Three Hearts & Three Lions was the first Anderson book that I read. It was very good novel, but here in The Broken Sword Anderson created something great.

The Broken Sword is a heroic tale drawn from Anderson's copious knowledge of Norse mythology and history. The novel reads like an Icelandic saga without the stodgy writing. Anderson's style is fluid and fun. He combines elegant prose with epic battles, mixing Lord Dunsany with Robert E Howard, a sort of Bran Mak Morn (or Turlogh Dubh O'Brien) in Elfland. The pages are filled with swords, magic, epic battles, love, tragedy, and otherworldly realms. This book is a real page turner.

Highly recommend.