Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner was a book recommendation from a friend whose opinion I trust, and the story was every bit as lush as I had hoped. Granted, if you're looking for something straightforward in terms of narrative, this may not be your novel. That being said, if you're in the market for a work where an author handles omniscient third person point of view masterfully with vivid descriptions of people and places, then Swordspoint is a winner.

We enter a world where swordsmen are employed by those wishing to settle scores or eliminate opponents via what amounts to legalised assassination – with rules, mind you. The swordsmen themselves are elevated to the status of celebrities – and it is one such swordsman, Richard St Vier, whose story is the primary one that we follow. Richard is dragged into the murky machinations of the local nobility, and though he is never one to be told what to do, he nevertheless tries to push back – and the results have consequences that are difficult to predict.

Much like life, there is no clean closure in Swordspoint. Where the story shines, is in its dialogue, and the mindful expression of interpersonal power play between characters. This is not so much a novel about a quest, but rather a slice of life that gives readers a glimpse into the Machiavellian plotting in a complex society. This is also a novel that begs a second read-through to pick up the bits missed the first time through. Don't go into this expecting magic, dragons and elves – this may as well be fantasy fiction of a historical bent, reminding me an awful lot of the work of Alexandre Dumas with a side order of queer and sharp tongues.