Reviews

The Sword of Welleran by Lord Dunsany

kerrygold's review against another edition

5.0

The Sword of Welleran, first published in 1908, is Lord Dunsany’s third book, coming after The Gods of Pegāna and Time and the Gods. It marks a change of focus, and contains several of Dunsany’s best known stories, including the title story itself, along with "The Fall of Babbulkund,” "The Kith of the Elf-Folk,” and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth.” As with all of Dunsany’s early volumes, the illustrations by Sidney H. Sime are lovely.

While the first two volumes are purely fantasy, with no reference to our everyday world, the stories of The Sword of Welleran are sometimes set in in the world we know, with references to London, Paris, East Anglia, and so on; or at least they are “dreamed” by the narrator, who presumably belongs to the world we know. This latter is a device Dunsany will use frequently in future volumes of fantasy stories.

The first two volumes tell of the gods, their prophets, and the kings the prophets serve. While the stories of The Gods of Pegāna and Time and the Gods are individually unique, they belong to a single type, as it were. The stories in The Sword of Welleran, in contrast, are quite varied. "The Sword of Welleran” and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth” are heroic tales; "The Kith of the Elf-Folk” is about a Wild Thing, a kind of fairy; "The Highwayman,” "In the Twilight,” "The Doom of La Traviata,” and "On the Dry Land” all tell of death and the journey of the soul; "The Fall of Babbulkund” tells of a fantastic city and its passing”; "The Ghosts” is, well, a ghost story; "The Whirlpool,” "The Hurricane,” and "The Lord of Cities” are all typically Dunsanian anthropomorphizing of natural forces—the latter of the spider, who eventually conquers all cities!

As with the first two volumes, Dunsany’s writing in The Sword of Welleran is distinct, poetic, and beautiful.

dibujared's review against another edition

A mix of the Pegāna mythology-like stories and more independent, "normal" short stories. Some of the longer tales felt a bit long but I enjoyed the collection nonetheless.

Favorite stories were "The Sword of Welleran," "The Highwaymen," and the epic "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth."

b1g_chungus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

samuel_kane_horrigan's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

mbs1236's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

mithren's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Edit 27/08/2023: I initially gave this book 4.5 stars but it has been one month to date and I am still thinking of it, which practically never happens, so I am rounding the rating up to 5 stars.

--------------

Most of the stories are very good with some few 5 stars that stand out specially. Even for the ones I didn't like very much, Lord Dunsany's prose is still fantastic.



5 stars:

• The Sword of Welleran
• The Highwayman
• The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth

4 stars:

• The Fall of Babbulkund
• The Kith of the Elf Folk
• The Whirlpool

3.5 stars:

• In the Twilight
• The Ghosts
• The Hurricane
• The Lord of Cities

3 stars:

• On the Dry Land

2 stars:

• The Doom of La Traviata

scarfin_and_barfin's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

godard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-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

4.0

paulgtr234's review against another edition

4.0

Some weird and fascinating stories. The language and structures of these stories is archaic and it takes a little work to follow where the author is going. The effort is worth the trip in most cases. Lord Dunsany has a wild imagination and takes the reader for quite a ride.

arthurbdd's review against another edition

5.0

After two early collections in which he was still honing his craft, Dunsany reached the height of his powers with this magnificent collection. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/01/08/the-ornate-brevity-of-lord-dunsany/