Swordspoint

Ellen Kushner wrote, a number of years back, what is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels: Swordspoint. I've reviewed it, I think, a couple of times, and I happen to be in the middle of rereading it right now. Again.

The universe is a mix of Restoration/Georgian England, with a few touches of Tudor thrown in, and the satire is the bright-eyed, razor-sharp Jane Austen variety. The writing is better than fluent, and the story has enough intrigue and turns and counter-turns to make anyone happy.

But the characters! I think Alec, the abrasive, sarcastic former student with a death wish, is probably one of my all-time favorites, although as I reread the book more and more (at least once a year, probably more like two or three times) I'm coming to appreciate the level-headedness of Richard, his swordsman lover. There is something childlike about Richard, a particular brand of innocence, no matter that he quite matter-of-factly kills people for a living. He's really an amazing creation, subtly drawn and tremendously appealing.

It's also worth noting that theirs is one of two romantic relationships in the book that are not motivated by self-interest, power, and influence, and the other, between two secondary characters, is necessarily in the background. They're not a terribly romantic couple, but there is a real sense of something fundamental at the bottom of their relationship. (In fact, they never say the "L" word until the sequel, The Privilege of the Sword, which is also worth reading.)

Find a copy. Read it.

(I have to say, though, that the cover of the current edition, as apt as it may be stylistically, is somewhat misleading: while a beautiful blonde woman does play a key role, albeit largely behind the scenes, the romantic interest for Richard is Alec and only Alec.)

Update: Serendipity and Synchronicity

I just ran across this post by Ilya Somin at Volokh. The connection is that not only is a major portion of Swordspoint taken up with a trial, but the different ways the law treats the haves and have-nots is a constant throughout the story.

And the prize out of all that is this wonderful resource for fantasy writers: the Law and Magic blog.