Product Description
Wallie Smith is staring death in the face; only a miracle can save him. And then one does! The Goddess appears to preserve his soul, but she does much more than that. She promises to bestow upon him a new and powerful body, and, more importantly, to endow him with the fabled Sapphire Sword of Chioxin. But nothing in this world or any other comes without a price. The Goddess demands that, for her services, Wallie become her champion. It will be an honor to serve such a presence, to have the chance to be victorious over all challengers. But Wallie and his sword quickly find themselves outmatched in a world of high-stakes magic. Even the Goddess’s priests cannot offer any resistance to the invading sorcerers and their quest to conquer souls for the Fire God. Wallie will need to find in himself and in the world the powers that will save all mortals. He will need to find The Coming of Wisdom.
Digitaldragon @ 3:07 pm
The Seventh Sword is a great series. I couldn’t put the books down. Wally Smith dies on earth and wakes to find himself in the body of a master swordsman, living another man’s life in another world. Suffice it to say, his 20th century values don’t quite match those of the man’s body he is inhabiting, which makes for some interesting turns as he runs into people who recognize him…
silliman89 @ 5:21 pm
“The Reluctant Swordsman” (Seventh Sword, Book 1)introduces the characters and world/universe the author continues with in “The Coming of Wisdom” (Seventh Sword, Book 2)and “The Destiny of the Sword” (Seventh Sword, Book 3). This is a brilliant trilogy which remains at the top of Dave Duncan’s impressive body of work.
The characters remind me of Dungeons and Dragons Roll Playing Games (D&D RPG’s). The hero is a 7th level swordsman who picks up a 7th level priest as a travelling companion. There is the same satisfaction of watching a companion swordsman advance through the ranks as there is developing your own character’s skill levels in an RPG. There are also some other character types familiar to RPG’s (archer’s are held in contempt). This is not one of those cheap knockoffs on a D&D game though. This is just one element of the world the author has created which is kind of fun.
The author created a universe with a multitude of gods, like the Greek and Roman gods. While this is very common in the sword and sorcery genre, Dave Duncan has made the gods active participants in his story. One god makes repeated appearances, talks with the hero, and performs the occasional miracle. The author is able to keep the gods from completely overshadowing the human characters by stressing how they value “free will” for there own purposes. The author’s brilliant use of deity characters (a recurring element throughout his best series) add facets to this story which lift it above a simple Conan type “guy with sword” story.
This trilogy has a detailed, multi-leveled plot which twists enough to keep you in suspense right up until the ending. And the ending reaches the appropriate dramatic climax, then has a satisfying denouement where the characters reap their rewards and the author ties up any loose ends. When this book ended, I was left saying, “Wow, imagine that!”
The only thing I can even think of that I didn’t like about this trilogy is that it ended. The author really wrapped things up for the characters. It would be almost impossible to continue the story. I do hope that Dave Duncan comes back to this world with some new characters though. Maybe the old characters can have a cameo in the new story. . .
Matthew Marlowe @ 5:54 pm
solidly done, story comes together very well, and the end of the book is masterful. Book is exactly the right length.
Jason Johannesson @ 7:18 pm
One less star for this 2nd installment of the gem that is ‘The Seventh Sword’, mainly due to the necessary world-building & character development seen in Dave Duncan’s many worlds. It robs a touch from the swashbuckling thrills I’ve come to expect in his worlds, but I feel the slowing of the pace necessary. A worthy read & essential for this trilogy, as readers of the third installment will understand. I enjoyed this book, but moreso as part of the full story over the three installments. As a stand-alone, it’s been rated. 5+ stars as part of an excellent & engaging trilogy.
Dirty_Gil @ 8:41 pm
Decent enough book with a really interesting world. Fast-paced read, easily done in a couple of hours. What bugs the heck out of me is the fact that Amazon has books #1 and #2 available for the Kindle, but not book #3. What gives?!