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jalgorth's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is a classic old fantasy book. For it's time, I'm sure it was revolutionary, but it feels somewhat tired today. It's kind of like that old movie, a New York Yankee in king arthurs court, or something like that. Light, fun, not amazing, but an enjoyable read.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this classic fantasy that had great characters and a thrilling plot with no excess filler. Listened to the audio version read by Bronson Pichnot who really threw himself into all the different accents and dialects.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
Holger Carlsen is transported to another Earth, where he is destined to play a part in the war between Law and Chaos. Assisting him are Hugi, a dwarf, and Alianora, a swan maiden. Can they overcome the forces of Chaos and get Holger home?
I got this from Netgalley.
Since I've been wanting to read this for several ice ages, since I first got into Dungeons and Dragons and, later, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion craziness, it had a lot to live up to. Yeah, it was kind of a disappointment.
Three Hearts and Three Lions is a mish-mash of a ton of quest stories, combining Arthur, Charlemagne, Shakespeare, and various other sources. I can see the influence it had on many later works, like the aforementioned D&D and Elric. I wonder if Roger Zelazny and Philip Jose Farmer were influenced by it as well for Amber and the World of Tiers. The battle between Law and Chaos has been a staple of RPGs since the beginning and fantasy fiction not long after that.
Three Hearts and Three Lions is very much a product of its time, at least as sexist as the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. While entertaining on some level, the sexism yanked me out of the story a few times. Another thing I didn't care for was the phonetic Scottish accents of some of the characters. For a chapter, it was fine. After that, it got on my nerves.
All things considered, Three Hearts and Three Lions is an enjoyable Chosen One quest story. If you're looking for one of the ancestors of modern fantasy, it's worth a read.
I got this from Netgalley.
Since I've been wanting to read this for several ice ages, since I first got into Dungeons and Dragons and, later, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion craziness, it had a lot to live up to. Yeah, it was kind of a disappointment.
Three Hearts and Three Lions is a mish-mash of a ton of quest stories, combining Arthur, Charlemagne, Shakespeare, and various other sources. I can see the influence it had on many later works, like the aforementioned D&D and Elric. I wonder if Roger Zelazny and Philip Jose Farmer were influenced by it as well for Amber and the World of Tiers. The battle between Law and Chaos has been a staple of RPGs since the beginning and fantasy fiction not long after that.
Three Hearts and Three Lions is very much a product of its time, at least as sexist as the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. While entertaining on some level, the sexism yanked me out of the story a few times. Another thing I didn't care for was the phonetic Scottish accents of some of the characters. For a chapter, it was fine. After that, it got on my nerves.
All things considered, Three Hearts and Three Lions is an enjoyable Chosen One quest story. If you're looking for one of the ancestors of modern fantasy, it's worth a read.
scottwcoleman's review against another edition
5.0
Three Hearts and Three Lions
This book is everything sci-fi fantasy should be. Poul Anderson penned a classic half a century ago that more than holds up today.
This book is everything sci-fi fantasy should be. Poul Anderson penned a classic half a century ago that more than holds up today.
heychomy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
nickleby_shepherd's review against another edition
3.0
An alright, fun-ish, enjoyable enough episodic fantasy adventure. Apparently inspired a lot of early D&D by basically throwing everything at the wall in 160ish pages.
johndamon's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
scutajar's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a gift from Stef and an attempt to read classic fantasy that inspired Dungeons and Dragons (as one of the books often mentioned by [a:Matt Colville|17055400|Matt Colville|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]). The portrayal of the world and its denizens are stunning, and I found myself repeatedly gripped by Anderson's description of the Holger's encounters. The only place I struggled was in the dialogue, where use of heavy dialect, old English and a smattering of different languages here and there sometimes made it hard to keep up.
Overall, an excellent book, and one of the few to
leave me with a sense of frisson when I got to the end.
Overall, an excellent book, and one of the few to
leave me with a sense of frisson when I got to the end.
jhouses's review against another edition
3.0
Es un libro de fantasía clásica con regusto a [b:Un yankee en la corte del rey Arturo|34995922|Un yanky en la corte del rey Arturo|Mark Twain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493262561l/34995922._SX50_.jpg|2621763] y aromas de Narnia en el que un miembro de la Resistencia danesa durante la 2ª Guerra Mundial se ve transportado al pasado mítico de la Canción de Roldan. En cierto modo un precursor de muchos de los arquetipos posteriores como los enanos con acento escocés, la lucha entre Caos y Orden, los trolls de AD&D, sabe entroncar con la mitología arturica de los cantares de gesta a través del caballero Olgier el Danés de la corte de Carlomagno y su espada Cortana, que ha llegado a ser un héroe fundacional de los países nórdicos aunque yo no lo había encontrado antes. Sufre un poco de «viejunismo» a lo Astonishing Magazine, pero es que es exactamente lo que es.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure how I missed this classic back in the day. After all, it is in the "Appendix N: Inspirational and Educational Reading", of the original Dungeon Master's Guide, which was like a bible to me for many years.
It was definitely a bit dated, but that just made me like it more. Not sure women nowadays would appreciate the female characters, but I still thought it was a fun little adventure with memorable characters and a bunch of myth and legend woven together.
It was definitely a bit dated, but that just made me like it more. Not sure women nowadays would appreciate the female characters, but I still thought it was a fun little adventure with memorable characters and a bunch of myth and legend woven together.