The Sword of the Lady

August 15, 2009
In a world where technology has been replaced by older powers, Rudi Mackenzie and his kinsman Edain, both of Clan Mackenzie, attempt a perilous journey across a changed North American continent, now populated by minikingdoms, bands of cannibals, and religious fanatics seeking the source of the event now known as "The Change." VERDICT Stirling's latest addition to his popular "Change" series ("Dies the Fire") follows Rudi's journey as he discovers a life-changing secret at the heart of the Change. Series fans should flock to this "hero's journey."

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2009
Still trying to find out whats happening on time-displaced Nantucket (see The Sunrise Lands, 2007, and The Scourge of God, 2009), Rudi Mackenzie now bears the name Artos (one indication of the Change sagas affinities to the Matter of Britain, among other things). Like any hero-king, Artos must constantly fend off enemies and make new allies. His major enemy remains the Church Universal and Triumphant, whose leaders obviously wield extraterrestrial powers. His latest allies include Chicago gangbangers, Scandinavian farmers from Wisconsin, real Norsemen in Maine, and initially hostile Moorish pirates, in whose ships he finally reaches Nantucket. En route, he battles with every sort of post-Change (i.e., primitive) weapon, rejoices in betrothal to Mathilde Armiger, and participates in elaborate Celtic rites. Finally on Nantucket, he finds time travelers, receives a Sword of Power, and learns of a war in heaven from characters of the original Nantucket trilogy (Island in the Sea of Time, 1998; Against the Tide of Years, 1999; On the Oceans of Eternity, 2000). This new novel of the Change is quite probably the finest by an author who has been growing in skill and imagination for more than 25 years. If one nonetheless boggles at the thought of several more volumes, be assured that Stirlings fantasy saga now ranks with Cards Hatrack River tales and Jordans Wheel of Time among the best American examples of their kind.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)