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Original Title:	The Misenchanted Sword
ISBN:	1587152827 (ISBN13: 9781587152825)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	Ethshar #1
Characters:	Valder

The Misenchanted Sword (Ethshar #1)

Lawrence Watt-Evans

Paperback | Pages: 228 pages

Rating: 4.02 | 3277 Users | 124 Reviews

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Title	:	The Misenchanted Sword (Ethshar #1)
Author	:	Lawrence Watt-Evans
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 228 pages
Published	:	December 20th 2000 by Borgo Press (first published 1985)
Categories	:	Fantasy. Fiction. Humor. Magic

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- Wirikidor? What kind of name is Wirikidor?
- An old one, soldier. It's from a language so old that the name of the tongue is forgotten and no trace remains of the people who spoke it. It means 'slayer of warriors', and it was part of the spell I put on the thing, so now that's its name.

The realms of fantasy are practically infested with magical swords of all sorts but I believe there isn't any to rival this Wirikidor in terms of fickleness and general unreliability. It brings on the head of its wielder, a lowly scout in the armies of Ethshar named Valder, more troubles that its alleged prowess in battle would suggest. Probably our man Valder should have been more careful not to annoy the grumpy wizard who did the enchantment.

This is my first novel by Lawrence Watt-Evans, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the trip to Ethshar. It probably helped that I went in with no expectations of any kind except picking a nice slim sword & sorcery book for my vacation. In a lucky coincidence, Watt-Evans fits in nicely between the previous forays in the sub-genre (Leiber, Moorcock) and the more recent crop of authors who seem so enamoured of the dark and gritty aspects of magical adventures. Published in the mid-eighties, "The Misenchanted Sword" benefits from some of the charm of traditional fantasy (according to some information I found on the internet, the world of Ethshar was first developed for a table-top strategy game) and from the editors more strict control of page count. It is also an attempt to modernize the genre by borrowing from science-fiction in its structure and by offering a highly unconventional type of hero in Valder.

while the setting is pure fantasy (two empires locked in a centuries-old conflict, dragons, wizards and sorcerers, gods and demons), the plot made me think of SF through the way Watt-Evans prefers to explore in detail the implications of an idea rather than go for the usual quests made popular by Conan, Fafhrd or Elric.

He turned down offers that ranged from dull and dangerous to downright bizarre, requests for aid from silk-robed aristocrats and starving children - the latter leaving disappointed, but always well-fed. He refused to rescue princesses, slay dragons, depose tyrants, locate lost siblings, kill pirates, loot tombs, battle wizards, terrorize witches, dispose of demons, settle boundary disputes, and search for everything from ancient magical treasures to a missing cat.

Instead of a new technological advance, the central idea of the story is the one given in the title: how will the magical properties of the sword Wirikidor affect the life of Valder the soldier? Will he become another Elric, a brooding nexus of wrath and wholesale destruction? Will he become a king like Arthur, feared and respected by the mighty lords of Ethshar? Will he crave power, wealth and fame?

The answers are to be found within the pages of this first book in the world of Ethshar, following Valder over the decades as he struggles to maintain his sanity and his common sense when faced with supernatural circumstances. (view spoiler)[ Valder refuses glory, hanging up Wirikidor over the mantel of his inn, where it remains unused for decades:

Every sort of person imaginable stops at an inn, sooner or later, and after a day on the road most are eager to talk, so it's never dull. I hear news that never reaches the city, and get many of the great adventures described first-hand. It's a fine life.

I thought this was a great resolution of the killing-sword dillema on the part of the author, even if the ultimate spell to make Valder immortal felt like a get-out-of-jail-for-free finish (hide spoiler)]

As an added enticement, I would mention that the novel is also structured as a stand-alone story, so there's no need to be wary of having to read a multi-volume saga like Wheel of Time to get to the point. There is some room left for a sequel, and I hope Valder or somebody like him will be part of the next Ethshar adventure.

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Ratings: 4.02 From 3277 Users | 124 Reviews

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This book is great in that it examines a consequence not often seen in fantasy novels. It literally starts with a hundreds of years old war that ends a half way through. The action is consistently glossed over in favour of the complications involved in actually owning a magic sword and what happens to the heroes after the war ends. Not ending with the war, the author does a wonderful job providing a different kind of read.

This... is a deeply odd book. Born in the 1980's fantasy novel craze, it lives in its own space between the high fantasy of Tolkein, the low fantasy of Thieves World and the funny fantasy of Myth Adventures. It's... Mundane Fantasy. That requires a little unpacking: The Ethshar books (at least the 3 I've read) are about ordinary young men who want to live ordinary lives, are thrust into circumstances that would normally be the starts of heroic careers, and then claw and kick and drag themselves

a young man, a scout, is trapped behind enemy lines and meets a wizard, who grumpily enchants his sword so that they can escape. What follows is Ethshar's adventures with the sword. Good enough read, but not very memorable.narrated by J. Bruce McRell

I really liked the first third of this book, but then it seemed to lose its plot.Valder was a scout lost behind enemy lines and pursued by sorcerers when he came across a wizard. One exploded house later, the wizard foisted an enchanted sword on Valder to get rid of him. I loved the vivid details of the marsh and the swordfights, and Valder's experiments to figure out the limits of the magic.But the rest of the book was just boring. (view spoiler)[ Valder hated being forced into assassinating

This book is great in that it examines a consequence not often seen in fantasy novels. It literally starts with a hundreds of years old war that ends a half way through. The action is consistently glossed over in favour of the complications involved in actually owning a magic sword and what happens to the heroes after the war ends. Not ending with the war, the author does a wonderful job providing a different kind of read.

This is my favorite book in the Magic of Ethshar series,closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon. I recorded most of them, including this one, in 50-55 minute installments for my local Golden Hours radio service for blind or reading-impaired listeners. I also made CD copies for myself.Valder is an Ethsharitic Scout who has been cut off by a Northern Alliance offnsive, trapped behind enemy lines, and is pursued by an enemy patrol which includes at least one wizard and possibly a shatra, a demon

This is a simply written book about a scout who is given a sword. We then follow him on his adventures and the set up of the city.I liked how Valder is simply written - his motivations of a quiet life are clear, and his desire to be an average person (although his clearheadedness is above average). I liked that it was written from his perspective as a scout - and that he remains a minor character in the grand scheme of the country.It's ultimately a book that feels mundane - and perhaps, that is