The Broken Sword
core novel 1954 The Broken Sword
Record
| First published | 1954 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.87 (7,912 ratings, collected 2026-08-26) |
| Page count | 208 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345298607 |
Synopsis
Set in the mystical land of Faerie and rooted deeply in Northern European folklore and the Norse sagas, this novel follows Skafloc, a human child stolen from his cradle by elves and raised among them as one of their own, gifted with elvish skill but troubled by an unshakeable, half-buried sense of his human origins. In his place, the elves leave Valgard, a troll-elf changeling raised in the household as an infant, twisted by the cruelty and suspicion of a family that never fully accepts him. As a long-brewing war between elves and trolls edges toward open conflict, the two switched children, one elf-raised and human-born, the other troll-blooded and human-raised, are fated to clash on opposite sides of a struggle neither chose, shaped by gods and fate in a Northern world with little mercy for either.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Broken Sword
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Poul Anderson
Notes
- A revised text with different opening and closing chapters was published in 1971; this catalogue follows the original 1954 text as the first edition.
Sources
- Poul Anderson bibliography (specialised genre-fiction encyclopedia)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broken_Sword
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