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    The Desert and the Blade
    The Desert and the Blade
    The Desert and the Blade
    Audiobook26 hours

    The Desert and the Blade

    Written by S.M. Stirling

    Narrated by Tom McClaren

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In his Novels of the Change, New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling presents "a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF."* Continuing their quest that began in The Golden Princess, two future rulers of a world without technology risk their lives seeking a fabled blade. Reiko, Empress of Japan, has allied herself with Princess Orlaith, heir to the High Kingdom of Montival, to find the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword, a legendary treasure of an ancient dynasty that confers valor and victory to its bearer. Orlaith understands all too well the power it signifies. Her own inherited blade, the Sword of the Lady, was both a burden and a danger to her father, Rudi Mackenzie, as it failed to save the king from being assassinated. But the fabled sword lies deep with the Valley of Death, and the search will be far from easy. And war is building, in Montival and far beyond. As Orlaith and Reiko encounter danger and wonder, Orlaith's mother, Queen Matildha, believes her daughter's alliance and quest has endangered the entire realm. There are factions both within and without Montival whose loyalty died with the king, and whispers of treachery and war grow ever louder. And the Malevolence that underlies the enemy will bend all its forces to destroy them. *Publishers Weekly (starred review)
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 1, 2015
    ISBN9781490673868
    The Desert and the Blade
    Author

    S.M. Stirling

    A well-regarded author of alternate history science-fiction novels, S.M. Stirling has written more than twenty-five books, including acclaimed collaborations with Anne McCaffrey, Jerry Pournelle, and David Drake. His most recent novels are T2: Infiltrator, The Peshawar Lancers, and the Island in the Sea of Time trilogy.

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    Reviews for The Desert and the Blade

    4/5

    11 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Orlaith & Reiko run off on their own Quest, to Southern California, and encounter their own battles…and spiritual epiphanies.Much of this episode is devoted to catching people up on what’s gone before, and the new background scenarios: the Dunedin outpost in the Muir Wood trees, a lot of mythical Japanese history, the problems of the people of Topanga valley, and the Jews who anticipated another pogrom as a result of the Change and took off to hide in the desert. That’s actually a lot of the book. But, thankfully, the bad guys are anticipating where they’re all heading and provide enough action to keep us awake. There’s actually less blood—for a book this size—inasmuch as the fighting is much more tactical than strategic—i.e. put the bad guys where you want them, when you want them, and then trounce them from a distance.
    • 3/5
      For me this is one of those series that you want to see through to the end. The people after the change are now in their third generation and there are few pre-Changelings left. Stirling is masterful at exploring how language and cultural references might evolve in such a scenario. I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the earlier stories. The protagonists aren't quite as complex, and the final action in this one started and stopped too abruptly for me. The whole saga is still engaging, such that I'm looking forward to the next one.
    • 3/5
      Just as it gets going it’s over - a lot of trying to get someplace and then - we’re there - did the thing - help getting back - last conflict POW! - over and ready for sequels. A whole lot of conflict for explanation sake and then the main event blows by - if the enemy was, and needed to be, waiting for Reiko to get the blade, then why try to stop her? Stupid enemy, stupid.
    • 5/5
      An excellent book in an outstanding series. Two princesses join forces inn their quest for a fabled sword. Their battle and leadership skills are severely tested as they face ugly, even demonic., enemies as they venture into unexplored areas of the Kingdom of Montivale.
    • 5/5
      And the storied quest of the two fated princesses reaches its conclusion. First we have two titanic battles. A land action out of the traditions of Camerone and the Hot Gates with a near simultaneous sea battle in the spirit of the age of Nelson. We have four new survivor cultures [three previewed in the Change anthology released this past spring], each with their own weird wonderful quirks and the four forming a mosaic on what was once greater LA. We have a harrowing trek into the dessert where our young Japanese empress must confront a place and demons out of phase with time and land. We than have a final confrontation whose twists will completely surprise you…while setting up the next round in the struggle of light and darkness. Series like this can often drag after a while. Same characters fighting the same villains with very minor real situational change. Here you have the feel of a living changing world and very plausible characters trying their best to grow and come of age as each faces responsibilities far beyond her years or life experience. The only pity is having to wait twelve months for the next book.