LitPick Review
Swordplay is a collection of 17 stories revolving around the world of swords. These stories range from ancient samurai swords to long medieval swords cast by mythical dwarves. Swordplay gives one of the deadliest weapons a center stage in multiple time periods (past and present) and various locations around the world (from Basra to Hollywood).This wide variety of stories about cursed daggers and famous cutlasses opens the imagination of readers to a much broader perspective of swords in our everyday lives. These stories show swords as great weapons, invaluable artifacts, and centerpieces of incredible legends.
Opinion:
What impressed me most about Swordplay is the ability of the selected authors to compose such a broad center for stories about swords. A small proportion of the stories in this book is epic tales of a majestic sword in a fantasy realm. Instead, most of these stories take place in the present day but discuss a historical sword. One example is a story about the excavation by a U.S. soldier in Iraq of the sword that protected the Garden of Eden. Another example is the ignorant sale of the sword belonging to the Musketeer D'Artagnan. Despite my hope for more epic sword tales, this change in the way swords are viewed was very refreshing and enjoyable. My favorite story in the book was about the origin of the tale of King Arthur and Excalibur. What intrigued me was the unique way the author approached the legend, and this creative approach to sword tales is what makes this book so enjoyable. I recommend Swordplay to those with a vivid imagination and an interest in ancient weaponry.
