Showing results by author "Fred Saberhagen" in All Categories

For a game, the gods have given the world 12 Swords of Power so that they might be amused as the nations battle for their possession. But Vulcan the Smith has had his own little joke: the Swords can kill the gods themselves. What started out as Divine Jest has become all too serious as the gods fight to recover the Swords, and mortals discover that the mantle of power is more delicious and more terrible than anything they could have imagined.

Magistrate Wen Chang, famed for his investigative powers, and his young physician assistant, Kasimir, set out to recover Stonecutter and return the stolen Sword to its rightful owner, Prince Mark. The Red Temple, Blue Temple and a gang of rebels, each for their own purposes, are intent on possessing the Sword. A mysterious young girl, Natasha, enlisted by Kasimir as a spy, fascinates Kasimir, but can she be trusted? Listeners will need all their powers of ratiocination to unravel this adventure of the Sword of Siege

Mark and Ben travel deep into the Blue Temple's hidden horde of treasures in an attempt to recover gold and Swords for Sir Andrew. Gods, demons and human traitors have other plans for the Swords and for the adventurers. When playing the game of the gods no one's survival is secure, even a god's.

Returning to the milieu of his Swords trilogy, Saberhagen offers a new scenario. The gods have withdrawn from the human world and the 12 Swords of Power they had forged are now scattered, lost and hidden. The weapons are still coveted, though, by men like Baron Amintor, who has lost one kingdom and now sees them as the means to another. No scruples stop him from stealing the sword Woundhealer from the White Temple, where its powers were offered to cure all pilgrims.

In the reign of Minos, King of the Cretans, the gods gave proof of their existence: a bull-headed man accompanied by his bronzen servitor strode forth from Neptune's realm. At last the gods had removed the veils that separated them from their worshippers...or had they? Strangely enough, the Minotaur forswears all claim to divinity - and his metallic servant cannot speak at all. Instead, he comes to the Greeks bearing gifts of alien knowledge. But Daedelus at least will have cause to beware the teachings of...The White Bull.

Long ago, the gods forged 12 Swords of Power and threw them on the gameboard of life for greedy mortals to scramble over. Too late, the gods learned that they had forged too well; the Swords could kill the gods themselves. Now, ages later, the Swords are back in human hands, as powerful as ever. Vilkata the Dark King returns from exile seeking revenge on those who defeated him. His first goal is the vault in which his enemy Prince Mark has placed the remaining Swords; with these in hand, none can oppose his rule. Only one untested warrior stands in his way: 14-year-old Prince Stephen, with Shieldbreaker in hand.

Wayfinder, the Sword of Wisdom, finds its way into the hands of a simple vine-grower in search of the perfect wife. Mark searches desperately for Woundhealer, the Sword that will cure his Princess. The evil wizard Wood would have Woundhealer and Wayfinder. For what purpose? At what price? Yambu and Zoltan continue their pilgrimage, hoping to encounter Yambu’s one-time husband, the enigmatic Emperor. Quests and battles. Magic and wit. All here as Wayfinder leads you to adventure.

The never-before-told story behind the legend of Count Dracula! The story of the Count’s greatest love, Mina Harker, and the bloodthirsty vampire hunters whose cruel pursuit drove the master of the night to actions ever more ruthless. The Count Dracula sets the record straight.…

Long, long ago, the Gods forged Twelve Swords of Power, each with a unique and deadly quality. They forged too well, for the swords could kill the Gods themselves. Then the swords were lost, scattered across the land; and many are they, both good and evil, who are desperate to find them again. This story is of Farslayer, the sword that can kill from across an entire world. The game is fierce; the prize is the sword.

Long ago, the gods forged Twelve Swords of Power and threw them on the gameboard of life to watch men scramble. But they had forged too well: The Swords could kill the gods themselves. Now the gods gone, the Swords are scattered across the land, some held by those of good heart...others by those whose purposes are evil...and one, Sightblinder, is held by Arnfinn, a young country boy who knows nothing of the Tale of Swords or of Sightblinder's power; to make the viewer see that which he most desires - or most fears.

In post-Arthurian England, 10-year old Amby and the troupe of traveling players he belongs to are on the run from a conqueror. He has been gifted with second-sight, and when the troupe stumbles upon an unoccupied castle he is the only one in the group who senses the power that lies within the stone building. In the near future, the Fisher King, Mordred and Morgan le Fay seek to gain control of Dr. Elaine Brusen’s hypostater, a machine capable of altering fundamental reality.

In the distant future, society has crumbled. Dark forces now rule the land, keeping all humans under their oppressive thumbs.

Prince Murat of Culm possesses Coinspinner, the Sword of Chance which brings untold good fortune to its owner. Can Coinspinner aid Murat in his efforts to acquire Woundhealer, the Sword of healing Murat’s ruler desperately needs? Or through lack of wit and Coinspinner’s propensity to whimsically change owners will Murat find himself caught up in different quest? Prince Adrian, away at a school for magic, is assigned a test of his abilities. More challenges than a school trial await him.

Five hundred years have passed since the combined fleets of humanity met and broke the berserker armada at Stone Place. But though the human victory was total, one of the killer machines (weaponless, its star drive a ruin) managed to limp to a secret sanctuary on a planet called Hunter's World. Over the years, a new cult has arisen there, a cult dedicated to Death as the only and ultimate Good.

Now the great Mindsword is in play. Murat of Culm with the help of Coinspinner has located the Blade. Knowing Mindsword brings blind devotion to whoever wields it, Murat plans to keep the Sword sheathed until he can gift it to the beautiful Princess Kristin of Tasavalta to win her free affections and to make reparation for a grave past transgression. The power of the Sword and the intentions of the Murat’s son and advisors make for twists and turns in Murat’s once honorable plan.

The gods forged the Twelve Swords of Power; now the gods have been destroyed by their own handiwork. The Swords are loose in the world, falling into the hands of human beings, changing human lives for good and ill. Young Kasimir was the custodian of Stonecutter, the sword which can hew mountains and split diamonds with equal ease - until he discovers Stonecutter has been stolen.

A classic time-travel story. The settlers and tourists on Azlaroc are trapped in an ageless void during Veilfall, when shimmering rays of pure energy fall on the planet and create a time pocket from which there is no escape.

A gripping collection of stories about machines called Berserkers that are programmed to destroy all organic life.

The art of speculative fiction lies in the ability to create a plausible future that tells us a great deal about our present. This critically acclaimed recording by narrators Aaron Lustig and Henry Strozier chronicles human reactions on Earth to an invasion by alien exterminators intent upon wiping out all sentient life on Earth.

Tom Scheffler knew that this great-uncle, Montgomery Chapel, had made his fortune by selling ancient Egyptian artifacts that were finer than those in any museum. Scheffler also knew that -- fifty years later -- Chapel was still afraid of some man, some entity, known only as Pilgrim.