The Broken Sword

The Broken Sword explores what happens when a human child is exchanged at birth and taken and raised by the elves. It is a solid bit of writing and a masterful story. This dark fantasy borrows strongly from Nordic Mythology and tells of a time when the Norse gods still walked the earth, and elves still maintained their own corner too. Why it's on the list This is a Viking-themed fantasy story, told by a master storyteller. A favorite in the whole "sword & sorcery" fantasy genre. While there are countless excellent authors who can write heroic fantasy or hard science fiction – there are very few who can write both. Poul Anderson was one of the greatest speculative fiction authors. With a degree in physics and a great depth of knowledge about Nordic mythology and ancient languages, Anderson was able to create a true fantasy classic. Read if you like Nordic Mythology. Released at a similar time as Tolkien's novels. This is an excellent example of how similar, yet completely different a Nordic/Romantic/Dark fantasy type book can be.