The Reluctant Swordsman

By: Dave Duncan

Narrated by: Donald Corren

Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true?

What in the world will Wallie do now that he's found himself stranded in a strange realm? Well it just so happens that the Goddess is in need of a swordsman. It won't be easy but if he succeeds he will have everything he wants. If he doesn't, things could get ugly.

Wallie is reluctant but sees his chance. If only he had the faintest clue as to the adventure he is about to unleash! If only he could imagine the forces that will be out to vanquish him!

©1988 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Surprisingly good. I had no predilictions

Where does The Reluctant Swordsman rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a very good book. I was surprised simply because I purchased it on sale as a 'first in the series' book only. I thought both the writing and the narration was very well done. So much so, that I purchased the next three books.

Will Leave You Wanting

I read the reviews on this book and I got a good feeling for the series. I am always reluctant to speak against some of the reviewers I follow. After all I follow them because they seem to like the same book choices I do. I have to say though this time the reviews were wrong.

Dave Duncan did not build the characters or the world at all. The opening goes like this, in todays time a man named Smith dies. Three chapters later you find out that the dead guy was sharing the body of a Swordsman. There is very little character building for Mr. Smith/Swordsman. The swordsman had also died so that Mr. Smith could take over his body. A small god then gave Mr. Smith all the knowledge he needed to be a master swordsman. Poof there you go. I am a big believer in knowledge about the characters. Part of my enjoyment is deciding if a character would make a certian decision or not. If the author fails to develop the characters personality, I do not know enough to make that call. I love the story line itself but I did not like where the author went with the story.

Thoroughly enjoyable!

I really enjoyed the world building. The author has created a complex socioeconomic system that is quite interesting and unique. I also found the many moral dilemmas placed upon the protagonist to be interesting as well, and never fails to make you wonder what decisions you would make in his stead.

I enjoyed this entire series

Superb narration. This is a fun series, told in 3rd person, with 4 books total. I usually avoid stories with time-portals and/or world-jumping, but the author fit that trope so neatly into the plot that it is often almost unnoticeable.

The books are classified as fantasy, but I'd called it off-world fiction or fantasy-light. There are no elves, giants, dwarves, etc. Just humans, and odd animals, like the camel-dog-horse. And a river that has no source apparently, and appears to loop around, reconfiguring itself like Chutes and Ladders.

This series is set on another planet, called simply "The World" — a place the goddess watches over. Her people are stuck in the medieval Age of Legends, without writing. Stuck in the age of sagas and sutras and storytellers, where mankind makes the most of speech through minstrels and heralds, and where a good memory is a huge advantage.

The goddess, who is the River, transplants the soul and memories of Wallie Smith, a dying young petrochemical engineer on Earth, into the body of the dying Lord Shonsu, master swordsman here on The River. She gives Wallie a task to accomplish, encapsulated in a riddle he must unravel. It's a difficult task, but he's not alone, as the goddess sends him six helpers. Wonderful cast of characters! Together, they must interpret the vague riddle and accomplish the mission.

Fun series. I was constantly guessing the riddle, too. Surprising twists.

Seven ranks of swordsmen and the color of their kilt:
Level 1 is called a novice, wearing a white kilt.
Level 2 is called apprentice, wearing a yellow kilt.
Level 3 is called swordsman, wearing brown. (At this level, you can own things.)
Level 4 is called adept, wearing orange.
Level 5 is called master, wearing red.
Level 6 is called "honorable" wearing green.
Level 7 is called "lord" wearing blue.

Slaves, beggars, and the nameless wear black.

Why So Reluctant?

Any additional comments?

A fun entertaining fantasy story that was a bit different than the normal formula one encounters.

Excellent portal fantasy

Excellent story. I remembered liking the book as a teen. While I dislike the slavery in the story, as feels a bit too much like a teenager’s sexual fantasy, the story remains excellent. And the narrator did a great job.

Great story.

If you could sum up The Reluctant Swordsman in three words, what would they be?

Great story. When I finished this book I immediately ordered and began to listen to the next book in the series

What about Donald Corren’s performance did you like?

Great Narrator. Really got into the story

Awesome narrator - good story.

What did you love best about The Reluctant Swordsman?

The narrator is terrific! The story itself is pretty good, but the narrator truly brings the story and its characters to life in a compelling way.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the character portrayals best - each voice was totally different and full of life.

Which character – as performed by Donald Corren – was your favorite?

So many! Wally Smith/Shonsu's voice is simply captivating.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Mostly - the story started off a little slowly, but I kept coming back because the narration was so good. After the story picked up, I wanted to listen as often as possible.

Any additional comments?

This was a great narration match for this book - Donald Corren does a commendable job. I will keep a look out for other books with this narrator!

Great story and easy listening

It’s been a while since I’ve heard a great story that flows so well. Right balance of character development, story progression and overall action!

OK, but it could be better

Would you try another book from Dave Duncan and/or Donald Corren?

I'd only get another if I heard good things, read a good book in that series. But I'd only get another book in this series if it was on special discount.

What could Dave Duncan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Actually have the adventure begin. The whole first book is the action I would expect in the first act of any adventure book. The whole thing was all about the hero preparing to leave and ended with him finally leaving.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was actually pretty good, I just don't think this particular book was good enough material.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Only if they combined it with the other books inn the series.