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A series of fantasy novels written by [[Fred Saberhagen]] between 1984 and 1999. A distant sequel to his ''[[Empire Of The East]]'' trilogy. The novels are as follows:
'''''Book of Swords''''' is a series of fantasy novels written by [[Fred Saberhagen]] between 1984 and 1999 as a distant sequel to his ''[[Empire Of The East]]'' trilogy. The novels are as follows:
 
* ''1st Book of Swords'', 1984
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* ''3rd Book of Swords'', 1985
** Each of these were complied into the ''Complete Book of Swords'', 1985.
 
* ''1st Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story'', 1988
* ''2nd Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story'', 1988
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* '''Mindsword''', the Sword of Glory (Or, pejoratively, "Skulltwister, the Sword of Madness")
** ''Symbol:'' A flying banner. The blade itself is impossibly beautiful.
** ''Pros:'' Unsheathed, it emits the sound of a cheering crowd, and compels fanatical devotion toward its bearer upon '''all''' who can see or hear it. "All" including '''gods'''. The effects start wearing off after three days. Even sheathed, it works on some level. Wounds caused by its edge also fester horribly.
** ''Cons:'' This devotion can go to the user's head.
* '''Shieldbreaker''', the Sword of Force (also, "The Widowmaker").
** ''Symbol:'' A hammer.
** ''Pros:'' Confers immunity to all armed attacks (claws and teeth count), as well as magical spells and, most importantly, the effects of the other Swords. Substitutes its own abilities for the bearer's skill, blocking attacks and striking with superhuman strength and speed. Any weapon (or equivalent) blocked or struck by Shieldbreaker will ''explode'', generally severely harming or killing the opponent. This is the only way to destroy another Sword. Magical spells against Shieldbreaker's bearer are negated harmlessly.
** ''Cons:'' It's said that "no weapon" can stand up to it, and this is [[Exact Words|literally true]]; Shieldbreaker passes harmlessly through unarmed opponents and grants no protection whatsoever against punches, kicks, grapples, or any other type of unarmed attack. Furthermore, because Shieldbreaker controls its wielder's body during battle, he or she can't do anything to at all to fight back against an unarmed opponent - or, for that matter, choose ''not'' to kill an armed one. Also, it draws strength from its wielder to operate; a long-enough fight can cause its owner to die of exhaustion.
* '''Sightblinder''', the Sword of Stealth (or Deception).
** ''Symbol:'' A stylized human eye.
** ''Pros:'' People perceive the bearer as the person or entity they love and trust the most, or as the one they fear the most. Either way, someone they won't try to attack. The bearer's senses are sharpened, and they gain the ability to see through illusions (providing some protection from the Mindsword and Soulcutter).
** ''Cons:'' The bearer has no control over how he appears, and since he often appears to be [[Refuge in Audacity|something fearsome or wonderful]], the sword is [[With Catlike Tread|not particularly stealthy]]; its wielder is better off trying to brazen it out.
* '''Soulcutter''', the Sword of Despair (also, the Tyrant's Blade)
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* '''Stonecutter''', the Sword of Siege.
** ''Symbol:'' A wedge driving into a block.
** ''Pros:'' Stonecutter [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|cuts through stone and earth like it was soft cheese.]] Useful for toppling castles, making tunnels and cutting statues and gemstones.
** ''Cons:'' [[Crippling Overspecialization|Against anything not made of stone or earth, it's just a very well-crafted sword]].
* '''Townsaver''', the Sword of Fury.
** ''Symbol:'' A sword raised a stylized segment of castle wall.
** ''Pros:'' When defending unarmed people in a fixed position, Townsaver turns its bearer into a [[One-Man Army]], striking with inhuman strength and speed, and keeps him from succumbing to his wounds until the end of battle.
** ''Cons:'' Besides that last bit, Townsaver does ''nothing'' to protect its bearer. It will even place its bearer ''between'' an attack and the people he's protecting. As with Shieldbreaker, the user is also compelled to finish a battle once entered. With all of this, it's not uncommon for the wielder to draw it, fight off an army single-handedly, and then [[Critical Existence Failure|instantly die]] once the battle is over.
* '''Wayfinder''', the Sword of Wisdom.
** ''Symbol:'' Arrow.
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THE SONG OF SWORDS
 
{{quote| Who holds Coinspinner knows good odds<br />
Whichever move he make<br />
But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods<br />
Slips from him like a snake.<br />
<br />
The Sword of Justice balances the pans<br />
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.<br />
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans<br />
The fate of all folk everywhere.<br />
<br />
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?<br />
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.<br />
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?<br />
In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.<br />
<br />
Farslayer howls across the world<br />
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!<br />
Vengeance is his who casts the blade<br />
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.<br />
<br />
Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;<br />
Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,<br />
Has paid the summing of all debts in death<br />
Has turned to see returning light.<br />
<br />
The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light<br />
And men and demons knelt down before.<br />
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright<br />
Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.<br />
It spun in the twilight dim as well<br />
And gods and men marched off to hell.<br />
<br />
I shatter Swords and splinter spears;<br />
None stands to Shieldbreaker.<br />
My point's the fount of orphans' tears<br />
My edge the widowmaker.<br />
<br />
The Sword of Stealth is given to<br />
One lonely and despised.<br />
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen<br />
His nature is disguised.<br />
<br />
The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled<br />
But doth the spirit carve<br />
Soulcutter hath no body killed<br />
But many left to starve.<br />
<br />
The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow<br />
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.<br />
Stonecutter laid a castle low<br />
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.<br />
<br />
Long roads the Sword of Fury makes<br />
Hard walls it builds around the soft<br />
The fighter who Townsaver takes<br />
Can bid farewell to home and croft.<br />
<br />
Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads<br />
Its master's step is brisk.<br />
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads<br />
But adds unto their risk. }}
 
The Sword of Justice balances the pans
{{tropelist}}
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans
The fate of all folk everywhere.
 
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?
In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.
 
Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!
Vengeance is his who casts the blade
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.
 
Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;
Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,
Has paid the summing of all debts in death
Has turned to see returning light.
 
The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light
And men and demons knelt down before.
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright
Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.
It spun in the twilight dim as well
And gods and men marched off to hell.
 
I shatter Swords and splinter spears;
None stands to Shieldbreaker.
My point's the fount of orphans' tears
My edge the widowmaker.
 
The Sword of Stealth is given to
One lonely and despised.
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen
His nature is disguised.
 
The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled
But doth the spirit carve
Soulcutter hath no body killed
But many left to starve.
 
The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.
Stonecutter laid a castle low
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.
 
Long roads the Sword of Fury makes
Hard walls it builds around the soft
The fighter who Townsaver takes
Can bid farewell to home and croft.
 
Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads
Its master's step is brisk.
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads
But adds unto their risk. }}
 
{{franchisetropes}}
* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]] - all of the Swords, with beyond-absurd sharpness inside their specialties.
* [[A God Am I]] - Anyone who uses the Mindsword. Its ability is to turn everyone within a couple hundred yards into mindlessly devoted slaves to the wielder. A few days with the hangers-on, and the wielder starts to believe the hype.
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* [[Black Magic]]
* [[The Blacksmith]]
* [[Blessed Withwith Suck]] - Most people who get one of these swords. Sure, they are awesome, but they have cons and so many other people want to take it away from you.
* [[Book Ends]] - The main story begins and ends with Vulcan crawling along a mountainside looking for something.
** It's even more precise than that:
{{quote|'''First sentence of the First Book''': In what felt to him like the first cold morning of the world, he groped for fire.
'''Last sentence of the Third Book''': Dying, in what seemed to him the first cold morning of the world, he groped for fire.}}
* [[Born Lucky]]
* [[The Caper]]
* [[Call a Rabbit Aa Smeerp]] - Ridingbeasts, woolbeasts, milkbeasts, etc. Are they horses/sheep/cows?
* [[Catch Phrase]] - Whenever someone uses Farslayer, they recite the second line of its verse in the poem. The books seem disagree whether this is a necessary trigger or merely a tradition.
* [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe]]
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* [[Cool Sword]] - All over the place.
* [[The Dark Side]]
* [[Deal Withwith the Devil]] - Vilkata. He cuts out his own eyes as a sacrifice in order to curse an enemy. Thereafter, various demons provide vision for him. Vilkata throws his pet demons a bone every now and then in fresh human flesh to torture.
* [[Deus Ex Machina]] - Swords just randomly appear in the weirdest places...
** [[Justified Trope|Justified]] since the whole thing is a game run by the gods anyway.
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* [[Dual-Wielding]] - Difficult for most people to do. Causes intense nausea, but some people can handle it.
* [[Elaborate Underground Base]] - The Blue Temple's underground vault complex
* [[Everything's Better Withwith Princesses]] - Kristin
* [[Empathic Weapon]] - Coinspinner, arguably.
* [[Evil Albino]] - Vilkata.
* [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]] - The name of the country of Tasavalta literally means "republic" in Finnish.
** Wouldn't that be [[Blatant Lies]], since Tasavalta is a hereditary monarchy?
* [[Flaming Sword]] - Vilkata's demonic eyesight presents the Mindsword as a flaming spear.
* [[Forged Byby the Gods]]
* [[God Save Us From the Queen]]
* [[God|Gods]]
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* [[Heroic Bastard]]: Mark.
* [[High Heel Face Turn]] - {{spoiler|Queen Yambu}}
* [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]]: Several times, most notably the gods {{spoiler|getting brainwashed, cursed and/or killed by the swords they had Vulcan create}}.
* [[Implausible Fencing Powers]] - Certain Swords grant their users this ability.
* [[Infinity+1 Sword]]
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* [[Unbreakable Weapons]] - The Swords are invulnerable to everything except each other.
* [[Virgin Power]]
* [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?]] - And how.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:BookLiterature Ofof Swordsthe 1980s]]
[[Category:TropeLiterature of the 1990s]]
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