Swords, Magical and Historical

Excalibur

King Arthur's famous blade Excalibur is often called Caliburn, or Caledfwlch in Welsh.

Was Excalibur the famous Sword in the Stone that young Arthur extracted to become recognized as High King? Or was it a totally different weapon given to him by the Lady of the Lake? Myths vary. La Morte D'Arthur, Thomas Malory's compilation of Arthur legends in the 15th century, includes both versions, and he further compounds confusion by calling both swords Excalibur.

A highly readable classic re-telling of the Arthur legend is found in T. S. White's The Once and Future King, the first part of which is also published separately as The Sword in the Stone, basis for the Disney movie of the same name.

A newer version of the Arthur legend can be found in Ray Cattie's Ard Righ: The Sword on the Stone. In this version of the legend, a very Celtic spin on the tale, the blade, here called Caledfwlch, is the same throughout Arthur's career. We await a review copy of this intriguing novel.

The Seventh Swordsman

Dave Duncan's The Seventh Swordsman trilogy, comprised of The Reluctant Swordsman, The Coming of Wisdom, and The Destiny of the Sword, form a geekboy's dream come true.

Nebbish Wallie Smith is dying in a hospital. When he awakens, he finds himself ... elsewhere. His being, personality, mind and/or memories are now inhabiting a different body. A body Conan the Barbarian might envy. He has been extracted from his death by this other world's Goddess, who has a mission for him. The body he inhabits is that of a Seventh Rank Swordsman. The Goddess bestows him with unusual swordly prowess and sets him loose with a demigod named Shorty for a companion.

He soon acquires a slavegirl, a young swordsman protege and a Seventh Rank Priest as part of his burgeoning posse, as he struggles to figure out the culture he has been dropped into, so that he can finish his mission and appease the Goddess. In this culture, with gods and goddesses playing very active roles in human affairs, it's really necessary to keep on their good side!

Wallie leverages his Earth-learned skills to form alliances and obligations; only Duncan's fascinating worldbuilding skills and character development keep this series from degenerating into a novelization of a dice-rolling game. But you keep reading, because Wallie's plight is so well conveyed and his our-world solutions interesting and at times uniquely humorous.