Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Swordspoint
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
The classic forerunner to The Fall of the Kings now with three bonus stories.Hailed by critics as a bravura performance (Locus) and witty, sharp-eyed, [and] full of interesting people (Newsday), this classic melodrama of manners, filled with remarkable plot twists and unexpected humor, takes fantasy to an unprecedented level of elegant writing and scintillating wit. Award-winning author Ellen Kushner has created a world of unforgettable characters whose political ambitions, passionate love affairs, and age-old rivalries collide with deadly results.SwordspointOn the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless--until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.From the Paperback edition.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
Leniverse
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

📚 Swordspoint (tagged), Sons and Lovers, The Sleeper and the Spindle (illustrated), Sense and Sensibility, The Sandman, Saga
✍️Dorothy L. Sayers
📺Spartacus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (Les Mondes Engloutis), Star Wars IV
🎤Sahara Hotnights
🎶Spark - Tori Amos, Secretly - Skunk Anansie, Sing it Back - Moloko, Starlight - The Supermen Lovers, Starman - Bowie, Smooth - Santana, Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zep, The Show Must Go On - Queen

Leniverse Other song faves: The Seven Seas of The - Queen, Stairway to Heaven - Queen, Shadowboxer - Fiona Apple 2y
Leniverse Oh, and Sun//Eater by Lorna Shore, but that might make people's ears bleed. 2y
27 likes4 comments
review
kwmg40
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
Mehso-so

Though there were many things I did like about this book, I just couldn't relate to the characters and their motivations. It seems a good example of “fantasy of manners“, but I don't normally read much in this subgenre.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#192025 #1987 @Librarybelle

Librarybelle It has a very 1980s cover! 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
kwmg40 @Librarybelle So true! 2y
kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks Thanks for stopping by! 2y
32 likes4 comments
blurb
Lucy_Anywhere
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

#TBRPile 📚 “Snow was falling on Riverside, great white feather-puffs that veiled the cracks in the facades of the ruined houses, slowly softening the harsh contours of jagged roof and fallen beam.”

23 likes1 stack add
blurb
llwheeler
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

I've been virtuous and gotten my workout for the day in already (Canadian winter style: I shoveled the driveway), and now my reading buddy says enough of this moving nonsense. I guess I have no choice but to sit here and read...

Andrea4 Every single time, I know which post is yours haha! 4y
MsMelissa How‘s the book? It‘s on my TBR and keep forgetting to read it. 4y
llwheeler @Book_Fiend_Melissa I'm about 100p in and really enjoying it so far! 4y
38 likes4 comments
blurb
llwheeler
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

My first read of the new year is one I've been wanting to read for years. Only 2 chapters in, I'm loving it so far, so I think it will be a great choice for an immersive read to start the year.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

33 likes1 stack add
blurb
Lucy_Anywhere
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

#TBRPile 📚 On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword ⚔️ This sounds like a juicy political fantasy - anyone read it?

MsMelissa I haven‘t read it, but I‘ve had a copy on my shelves for years. 4y
Lucy_Anywhere @Book_Fiend_Melissa That‘s my typical answer to anyone who asks me if I‘ve read something 😂 4y
10 likes2 comments
review
Sweetkokoro
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
Bailedbailed

Yah I‘m going to set this one down for now. I for the life of me can not keep the female characters straight. They are either called by their names or their titles hardly ever by Title+Name so it‘s making it very confusing. There is LGBT rep but I haven‘t gotten far enough to know if it‘s good rep or not. I‘m gonna hold on to it and give it another try in a few months, but for now it‘s a DNF

Sweetkokoro @TheAromaofBooks This is book 14 on my #bookspinbingo board 4y
Clare-Dragonfly I do remember many of the female characters seeming basically interchangeable! 4y
TheAromaofBooks I hate it when books do the name/title thing. There have been times that I've had to take notes just to keep characters straight because they have multiple names and it's SO annoying! 4y
Sweetkokoro @Clare-Dragonfly Oh you read this one? I‘m glad I‘m not the only one who sees the woman as basically all being the same character. It really is frustrating to try and keep them all straight. 4y
Sweetkokoro @TheAromaofBooks That‘s honestly what I will probably have to do with this book. Titles are fine but it has to be done right, this book is a mess with it. 4y
18 likes5 comments
blurb
Buchbeeg
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image


While I am still missing "The Dispatcher", this audio book is certainly hard to complain about. If you dig big productions, check this one out. Neil Gaman sells it well right from the start.

review
Christy2318
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
Bailedbailed

I waited months for this hold. I love a good novel of manners & thought I would be a big fan. I gave it until 20%. 😴😴😴😴

blurb
Clare-Dragonfly
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
This post contains spoilers
show me
post image

Waiting for one of them to say "I am not left-handed." ?

review
melissa.drake
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
Pickpick

This was mightily enjoyable. Sword fighting (high stakes and bloody) and political intrigue (doublecrossing and vengeful) in an unnamed country reminiscent of a slightly more medieval late-eighteenth/early nineteenth-century Western Europe. (Hopefully that makes some sort of sense...) I can't wait to read more of Ellen Kushner's books set in this world!

quote
melissa.drake
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
This post contains spoilers
show me
post image

This is one of the most satisfying conclusions to a book that I've read in a long, long time. It was like being tucked in and kissed goodnight after a long bedtime story. 😊

quote
melissa.drake
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
review
shanaqui
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
Pickpick

A reread. Alec and Richard remain so fucked up. I understood all the politics waaaay better this time. Have I grown up?! Or just got better at reading?

blurb
elkeOriginal
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

And before you ask another silly question @aeeklund - let me just stop you with this one.
#Cantyfangirl #fantasyfreak

aeeklund Well, I assumed you had THAT one. 🤣 7y
JazzFeathers Beautiful 😱 7y
53 likes3 comments
blurb
xicanti
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

A post-Tidying Festival shelfie of my wall mounted shelves. I kept only those books that sparked joy, even if that meant ditching stuff that's technically part of a series. Like, THE MANTICORE is gone but I've still got FIFTH BUSINESS and WORLD OF WONDERS.

15 likes1 comment
blurb
Larkken
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

I didn't like this book while I was reading it- lots of fantasy politics and machinations... not really my speed. I found myself rolling my eyes at the first half, & the majority of the main characters are scheming & manipulative. But! After finishing, I kept reliving scenes, and the central characters had this fantastic relationship that continued to captivate me later, just like what happens for books I love. #changedmymind #feistyfeb

blurb
Leniverse
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

I'm not currently reading anything with a #OneWordTitle so I picked the first one that sprang to mind that I haven't posted about before. (Although the dictionary might disagree with Swordspoint as one word.) This book is a bit hit and miss, as some readers don't like the characters, but I do (still! Years later) and the story and writing ticked a lot of boxes for me, so for me it's a hit. #riotgrams

23 likes1 stack add
blurb
Sneakybea
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner

Listening to the audiobook. I read it years ago and remember being dismayed at the lack of magic but really enjoying The Fall of the Kings.

blurb
emtobiasz
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image

I turn 30 in 2017, and that combined with grad school is giving me more conservative, achievable goals for the year. I'm following @TheNextBook 's lead and reading a book published every year I've been alive. I can't commit to a hard-and-fast list, though, so I've given myself some... options. 😂📚📚❤

Marchpane Love it! Gotta have options 😂😂 8y
BethFishReads Fun. Wish I had thought of this when I was younger. 😬 8y
TheNextBook I gave myself tons of to options! I love that you wrote them all out. Have fun!!! I'm glad you're doing it! 30! 8y
See All 10 Comments
Suzze @BethFishReads Me too! Jeesh my KIDS are in their 40's. 😳😳😳😳 8y
BethFishReads @Suzze I know, right? 8y
Bookzombie I'm doing the birthday challenge too, except I'm going to be 38. 🙂 My list is full of options too. 8y
ValerieAndBooks I'm glad you're doing the #birthdaychallenge! I've been enjoying mine so far. I didn't let my age stop me (had to start with 1965 😱!) but know it'll take me a while 😉. 8y
ValerieAndBooks P.S. I wrote down several options per year as well, and have my list stashed away in my purse in hopes of coming across some of them in used bookstores😊 8y
emtobiasz @ValerieAndBooks that's great! Most of these are ones I own already, which was further motivation to get them read already! 8y
emtobiasz @Bookzombie Hooray and good luck! 8y
48 likes1 stack add10 comments
review
kgriffith
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
post image
Bailedbailed

Couldn't do it. Sorry Neil Gaiman, but you're a better narrator than judge of others' narration skills, it seems.

review
bandigiu
Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner
Mehso-so

Did not like this one much. It's well written and I enjoyed the last quarter of it, however I have trouble caring for scheming, selfish characters and the lack of a plot for the majority of the book did not help. For me it would have worked better as a novella. 😕