Swordspoint

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.

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.