The First Book of Swords
core novel 1983 Empire of the East / Swords
Record
| First published | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.81 (7,652 ratings, collected 2026-11-02) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780523485607 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The smith-god Vulcan forges twelve enchanted Swords of Power as game pieces for the gods, each holding a different power. A human smith, Jord, is the only mortal to witness the forging; he loses an arm in the process and is given one of the Swords, which passes to his son Mark. When the Duke's men try to seize it, the blade turns violently on them, and Jord and Mark's brother die. Mark flees with the Sword, joins the dragonhunter Nestor and his companions, and seeks refuge with Sir Andrew. Meanwhile, powerful factions begin to move to claim the Swords and the control over others that they promise.
Where it sits
- Universe: Empire of the East / Swords
- Series: Books of Swords core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Fred Saberhagen
Notes
- From the series record (Books of Swords): Three novels in which twelve god-forged Swords of Power are scattered among mortals, thousands of years after the Empire of the East.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Books of Swords: position 1 of 3: next The Second Book of Swords (1983)
- Internal chronology, within Empire of the East / Swords: position 2 of 15: previous The Broken Lands (1968) · next Woundhealer's Story (1986)
Sources
- Wikipedia: Books of Swords
- Fred Saberhagen's official site
- AbeBooks listing (Tor, 1983)
- Fred Saberhagen's site: 1st Book of Swords
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