A young man’s dreams of warfare and glory turn into a bitter nightmare when an invading army, led by the Dark Champion Nevenka Nieroda and his twelve Dead Captains, the Toal, besieges his father’s feudal fortress. Nieroda and the Toal demand the surrender of an ancient artifact long-believed to be a myth. With the walls breached and his family slaughtered—or worse—Gathrid flees into the wilderness beyond his familiar castle walls. Lost and alone in the woods, hounded by the Dead Captains, Gathrid takes refuge in a vast cavern. There he discovers an ancient sword— Daubendiek, the Great Sword of Suchara, the fabled weapon once wielded by the legendary tragic hero of an ancient age, Tureck Aarant. Daubendiek, a restless and thirsty blade, promises Gathrid the ability to claim his vengeance. But as he begins to take that vengeance, Gathrid starts to understand the terrible price that the sword will exact of him. Enemies soon become allies and strange bedfellows abound as the prophesies of an age swirl into chaos.
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It's a shame Glen Cook has never continued this tale; the ending inarguably leaves room for a follow-up and we as readers can only hope Glen returns to this particular world of his creation one day. “The Swordbearer” is a deftly-written, action-packed high fantasy tragedy with a truly compelling and sympathetic lead character and a host of memorable side personalities. A young boy's idealistic dream of becoming a warrior is thrust upon him all too suddenly and violently in a manner that not only demands he grow up whether he likes it or not but own up to those demons most dark and personal as his goddess-determined fate forces him to become the wielder of a blade that incorporates the souls and memories of those he slays into his own consciousness.
The promise of character development through personal tragedy and global disillusionment inherent in a tale of this magnitude is taken full advantage of by Mr. Cook who manages to add a heaping dose of political double-talk, intrigue and personal betrayal into the mix along with his penchant for a full serving of crackling, perfectly-scored swords-and-sorcery action; no one quite writes action with the rhythm, timbre or intensity of Cook. If you love Glen's work, you shouldn't miss this particular stand-alone read. The worst thing that can be said about it would be that the author has never explored further into the world of our hero Gathrid and his dwarf companion Theis Rogala. I truly hope Cook decides to return to this particular miniature saga in the future; it would be a tremendous character study well worth further pursuit.
