Play Audiobook Sample
The Broken Sword Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.02) - 1,278 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
This acclaimed fantasy classic of men, elves, and gods is at once breathtakingly exciting and heartbreakingly tragic.
Poul Anderson's novel The Broken Sword draws on similar Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon sources as The Fellowship of the Ring. In his greed for land and power, Orm the Strong slays the family of a Saxon witch—and for his sins, the Northman must pay with his newborn son. Stolen by elves and replaced by a changeling, Skafloc is raised to manhood unaware of his true heritage and treasured for his ability to handle the iron that the elven dare not touch. Meanwhile, the being who supplanted him as Orm's son grows up angry and embittered by the humanity he has been denied. A pawn in a witch's vengeance, the creature Valgard will never know love, and consumed by rage, he will commit a murderous act of unspeakable vileness.
It is their destiny to finally meet on the field of battle—the man-elf and his dark twin, the monster—when the long-simmering war between elves and trolls finally erupts with a devastating fury. And only the mighty sword Tyrfing, broken by Thor and presented to Skafloc in infancy, can turn the tide in a terrible clashing of faerie folk that will ultimately determine the fate of the old gods.
Download and start listening now!
"Classic awesome Scandinavian-based blood-soaked fantasy. Contemporary grimdark's got nothing on this: (view spoiler)[the plot kicks off with an elf raping a troll (hide spoiler)]. This book is wonderfully written and stays true in tone to the source mythology."
— Violetta (5 out of 5 stars)
The Broken Sword Listener Reviews
-
" A bit dissapointing probably caused by age. "
— Jeroen, 1/12/2014 -
" I was but a young boy when I read this (in the sixth or seventh grade). I remember enjoying it quite a bit. I have not read a fantasy book in a long, long time, but I have very fond memories of escaping to fantasy worlds in my youth and this book stands out as a favorite. Curiously, I recall listening to David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album while reading this book-- so whenever I hear a cut from that album I think of this story. "
— Nathan, 12/4/2013 -
" Superb, fast, and quick moving tale. Moves like lightning. Brilliant economy of language. Extremely harsh - perhaps a bit too harsh for my liking, but overall a marvellous piece of poetic story telling. "
— Sean, 11/25/2013 -
" Wow. This was wonderfully dark. "
— Jared, 11/23/2013 -
" Brutal, romantic, and tragic. No cute hobbits. "
— Steve, 9/10/2013 -
" An okay fantasy classic with a slightly different mythos but predictable and dull by today's standards. "
— Nathan, 5/22/2013 -
" My favorite Poul Anderson book. A wonderful, wonderful fantasy read. "
— Charles, 5/6/2013 -
" Awesome, dark, and wondrous, with a good use of mythology and some emotional prose. Definitely one of the highlights of Anderson's career. "
— Robert, 2/26/2013 -
" Great, great, great.... I loved this! High adventure, magic, all the good stuff. The old legends that Tolkien and so many authors have drawn from. told again. "
— Jaya, 12/22/2012 -
" Being based off of Norse tales, keep in mind its anti-Christian. Poul's concept of the elves is interesting though, not as perfect as Tolkien's and frankly, a relief. "
— Rachel, 8/18/2012 -
" A dark, stark representation of some classic Northern European mythology; like a bleaker Tolkien making a Norse edda more accessible to a modern audience. "
— James, 11/24/2011 -
" Too much blood. But if you like violence, and Norseman tales, very well written "
— Thannasset, 3/17/2011 -
" Well written of course being Anderson but not as good as Three Hearts "
— Peter, 1/8/2011 -
" Darker, bleaker than Tolkien. Outstanding reworking of saga(s) into a fantasy story. "
— Paul, 11/6/2010 -
" A classic of the genre. "
— Chip, 1/16/2010 -
" Being based off of Norse tales, keep in mind its anti-Christian. Poul's concept of the elves is interesting though, not as perfect as Tolkien's and frankly, a relief. "
— Rachel, 11/27/2009 -
" A neglected fantasy classic. Anderson borrows elements from the tales of Sigmund and Siegfried and retells them in a fast-paced adventure fantasy. "
— Keith, 11/25/2009 -
" Brutal, romantic, and tragic. No cute hobbits. "
— Steve, 7/11/2009 -
" Dark, brooding, tragic yet romantic. A classic of the highest calibre. Reminds me why I like fantasy. "
— Simon, 3/11/2009 -
" My favorite Poul Anderson book. A wonderful, wonderful fantasy read. "
— Charles, 7/17/2008
About Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) was one of the most prolific and popular writers in science fiction. He won the Hugo Award seven times and the Nebula Award three times, as well as many other awards, including the Grand Master Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America for a lifetime of distinguished achievement. With a degree in physics and a wide knowledge of other fields of science, he was noted for building stories on a solid foundation of real science, as well as for being one of the most skilled creators of fast-paced adventure stories. He was author of over one hundred novels and story collections, several hundred short stories, and several mysteries and nonfiction books.