Battle Circle

This is a collection of 3 short novels about a post-apocalypse Earth, where warriors achieve standing through a life-long series of gladiator type combats, while trying at the same time to fight the system that keeps them down. On the surface these seem unsophisticated, especially at the beginning, but there is a lot more to these than it seems. Not amazing, but quite interesting.

Excellent look at a far future of a world that might come to pass if science goes horribly awry. How would the population segregrate? What kind of new cultures would form? Very enjoyable read. I was quite surprised at this hidden gem.

As a kid, I really liked this series.
Re-reading it as an adult - all I can say is "what was I *thinking*"
I really regret going back and re-reading this series. I'm bummed, because I went to great effort to track it down this year.

Too thick for the amount of detail offered about the society that replaces the former set of massive consumers. Given current trends in health and pollution, we are rapidly going to need survival hints. And travel seems whaaay too easy for the savages inhabiting the dumps.

Depicts a post-apocalyptic world where nomadic tribes settle disputes via ritualistic combat in a battle circle, with warriors named by their weapons.

The warrior Sol the Sword, who, after losing a duel, is renamed Sos the Rope and joins forces with the victor, Sol of All Weapons, to build a greater empire, while facing themes of honor, love, and destruction as they navigate their violent world, with later books focusing on their successors, Var and Neq, attempting to restore the fallen civilization.

Classic fantasy with mythological themes. Simple plot, not bad writing, for Anthony, and something of a flashback to the eighties.

I read this the first time in 1978/1979. Somewhere along the line I traded it or gave it away, and finally found it again, at long last.