The Reluctant Swordsman

Weird book. I was very enthusiastic about his Man of his Word series (and am enjoying, not quite as much, its follow-up), so I thought I'd try this other work. The first book is very strange. Almost nothing happens, and it takes a while to have this not-a-lot happen. It's like watching a movie where midway through you realise you've seen as much of the set as you ever will, because they simply don't have the budget to tell a larger story ... except this is a book, so his budget is unlimited, so I don't understand his choice to tell such a small, constrained tale.

The world is weird, as well. It's very small, with no sense of how people in that community could sustain themselves economically, so it's just not believable. The majority of show more the characters have to abide by a set of arcane sutras (it would be like having to have an advanced contract law degree just to be able to figure out how to ask a neighbour for a favour, or invite someone to a tea party), it's kind of ludicrous. Ultimately, I don't think I quite picked up what he was throwing down.

Especially, I think, the world is so strange that it's hard to get a sense of how one should be feeling about it. If you hear that John fell off the Empire State Building, you know that's horrible and unlikely to end well ... but if you hear that John fell off the Ashakin, you have no idea if that's good or bad or immaterial, because you don't know if the Ashakin is two inches high or two miles. You need a context to appreciate what's going on, and Mr. Duncan's world is just too odd to ease us into usefully.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, I'm a bit more ruthless. show less

I really loved these books - they worked on so many levels.

Here is a fantasy that does not fit into the stereotypical faux medieval fold. Instead, Duncan creates a convincing alternate universe that is filled with a geography, flora and fauna that are convincingly "other". He creates a whole culture within this world that is not just ripped off from european or japanese cultures, as so many writers do. Instead he invents a world that works on its own merits, and has a culture that makes you want to explore it.

And then he drops into this rich and diverse world a hero character that is - as the title suggests - reluctant. Ripped from a dull life on our world he finds himself put into this other world by a god calling himself just show more "Shorty". He has a task to do that only he can fulfill - but his journey of discovery to fulfill the task is long, arduous and very very interesting.

Yet despite the apparent flippancy of the god, Shorty, there is something deep going on in this story too. The book repays reflection, as it allows you to think of issues such as free will, miracles, science and magic, love and friendship, slavery, and the power of information.

I have no idea whether the author intended it to be a theological work, but one can certainly find many of the themes that C S Lewis would put into his works in this book and the sequels.

I would love to see a role playing game adapted from this book too. It would be a welcome changed from the Dungeons and Dragons games, but already has a concept of set professions.

But whatever angle you take, my recommendation is the same. read this book. It is worth it. show less

I bounced very hard off of this story about Wallie Smith, an American engineer who, dying of illness, is resurrected in the body of a swordsman in an Asian-style culture on a world with an endless river. He’s directed by a god to become the hero that the main Goddess needs, but since the Goddess seems totally cool with slavery and all its incidents—people are born with “slave marks” if they are destined to be slaves (because of something they did in past lives, apparently) and that’s that—I didn’t really care what the Goddess wanted. Wallie starts out thinking it’s a fantasy in his dying brain, then spends about five seconds sad that he had sex with Jja, a slave woman who had no choice in the matter, then decides to be show more nice to her in compensation, and she’s really happy and invested in keeping him happy and ugh. (Don’t get me started on the second woman in Wallie’s party, Cowie, who is even sexier than Wallie’s first slave, apparently mentally limited; is also a slave; and does not resist when a man initiates sex with her, which is sufficient for Wallie to accept that this culture’s definition of consent is just different.) show less

Have you ever thought I wish I lived in that books world? Well, The Reluctant Swordsman tackles the issue of being thrown in to an alternative universe and trying to assimilate modern ideas and values in a world that is not your own.

It's a very interesting concept actually, how do you fit in? What do you hold on to of yourself and what are you willing to change so that you can successfully live in a world that doesn't see or believe in the things you take for granted? It's not just that people don't agree with you, they literally don't even know the things you speak of, there isn't language to describe it, it just does't exist for them! And vice versa. It's truly fascinating. I loved it! It even made me rethink my desire to live in show more Middle-Earth.. But not for too long... show less

The hero of this story has his consciousness transported into another body by a Goddess with a mission for him. As the title informs us, he is not enthusiastic about his new life. It’s the tale of a modern man taken to a more violent time and how he adapts to the changes.

The book held my interest and it kept me coming back to see how the hero completes his mission. It’s got some corniness to it and I enjoyed that part of it.

It was better than average, but not by much.

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Title: The Reluctant Swordsman
Series: The Seventh Sword #1
Author: Dave Duncan
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 321
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Wallie dies. The End.

Ok, not really. In fact, he wakes up in the body of a magnificent warrior who is a Seventh Sword, the highest rank possible. He also wakes up into the middle of a power struggle between corrupt warriors, priests and some show more “gods”. Specifically, Wallie has been chose by a goddess to be the divine instrument of her will in the current game.

Forced to recognize tht he is in a different world, in a different body and that the gods are real, Wallie must play along or die.

My Thoughts:

This had the same fingerprints as Duncan's The Great Game trilogy. As such, there is a lot of mocking of religion in general and very not-subtle jabs at Christianity. This type of thing might not bother you at all, so your mileage is definitely going to vary from mine.

The story was great, the setup very good, the action was fast and furious and overall I really enjoyed my read.

But just like going on a picnic in a beautiful field with my wife, if I place the blanket over an ants' nest, those little buggers are going to bite me and cause some annoyance and that's what I'll remember instead of the good time I had. Duncan's jabs were like little pin pricks and it made it very hard to just sit there and enjoy my time. I've read enough of Duncan's various works to know that he doesn't always take potshots at religion and I've truly enjoyed those books. Therefore, it's deliberate on his part and that just makes it all the more unpleasant.

I'm going to give the second book a chance when I cycle around to it, but if it has the same smug dismissive attitude as this one, I'll be stopping there. show less

Maybe not quite as good as I remember it from junior high (maybe even grade school), but this was still quite enjoyable, and I’ll definitely be continuing the series.

I picked this up because I have such fond memories of how it felt to read it. I couldn’t remember a single detail, but it’s definitely living up to those memories. Very swashbuckling.