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The Sword Lord

by Robert Leader

Review by Tim Milton

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.      Arthur C. Clarke, "Profiles of The Future", 1961 (Clarke's third law)      English physicist & science fiction author (1917 - 2008)

     The Sword Lord is the first of a trilogy by Robert Leader dealing with a war between the inhabitants of the 5th planet (called Dooma, and yes it is doomed to be our present day asteroid belt) in our solar system and how this war involves Earth (specifically Precolonial India). 

     First off, the good points. I love the way he involves a human culture that rarely gets represented in science fiction. When was the last time you read a Science fiction book that had anything remotely Indian in it? Also the descriptions by the Indians of thier otherworldly visitors are rather poetic. The story itself in enjoyable to read and has enough plot and twists (although very predictable ones) to keep you reading and interested. 

     My biggest problem was that this is not really science fiction; it's more science fantasy. It's "Conan goes to the stars." It's all swords and gods and the struggles against the godless heathens. The blue skinned Gheddans (these godless heathens believe in only science and trial by combat and power) are either the author"s atheists or Scientific Materialists and are the root of all things evil and bad. The Alphans are the upright good moral believers in the true one god who accept all other beliefs and faiths (some kind of Christianity/Judaism/Islam religion that has never existed on earth). As the Gheddans masquerade as the gods of Hindu mythology, the Alphans work to help the locals to stop the Gheddan plan of conquest. Sounds fun, doesn't it? That's because it is fun, but where is the science fiction? There is practically none. This is the type of story that readers of "The hairy chested hero slays the dragon and gets the girl" genre would like. But If you want science fiction (and not fantasy) sorry, you need to look elsewhere. I liked it and will read the next two novels but I have given up on seeing any real Sci-Fi in these stories.

Tim Milton is a reviewer for Atomjack Magazine.

The Sword Lord can be purchased through Barnes & Noble.