Swordspoint
Book description
On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless- until a death by the…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Swordspoint as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint is a sort of Renaissance-era, alternate-world, urban fantasy.
Intriguing, right? Our hero, Richard St. Vier, is a skilled and successful sword-for-hire, who plies his trade in the city of Riverside, where nobles often settle their feuds with duels.
In the course of the novel, he kills the wrong man and for the first time in his professional life, finds himself reviled rather than revered. The intrigue that follows draws Richard and his lover, Alec, into the court politics of the city as never before.
The story is riveting, and, of course, the writing is gorgeous.
From David's list on fantasy that made me say ‘wow!'.
I read this book way, way back in 1988. It was the first fantasy novel I’d ever read that had a queer character who was not a villain. I loved everything about it. The wonderful cover art, the baroque details of the setting—the banter. This is not a romance-heavy title but it had such influence on authors that came after that any serious fan should give it a read.
From Nicole's list on LGBT fantasy to make you believe in love again.
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