The Book of Swords Series is a series of science fiction/fantasy novels written by Fred Saberhagen from 1983 to 1995. The story revolves around the Twelve Swords of Power, which were forged by the gods and given to humanity, and how various characters acquire and use them. The series spans several decades and features dozens of characters. Works The Book of Swords The First Book of Swords (1983) The Second Book of Swords (1983) The Third Book of Swords (1984)Omnibus: The Complete Book of Swords (1985) Books of Lost Swords Woundhealer's Story (1986) Sightblinder's Story (1987) Stonecutter's Story (1988)Omnibus: The Lost Swords: The First Triad (1988) Farslayer's Story (1989) Coinspinner's Story (1989) Mindsword's Story (1990)Omnibus: The Lost Swords: The Second Triad (1990) Wayfinder's Story (1992) Shieldbreaker's Story (1994)Omnibus: The Lost Swords: Endgame (1994) Short stories An Armory of Swords (1995), an anthology of eight stories in the Swords universe by eight authors, including "Blind Man's Blade" by Saberhagen. Related books The Book of Swords series is also linked to the Empire of the East series, which is set in the same universe and presents the backstory to the series. The first three works in the Empire of the East series predate the Book of Swords series (The Broken Lands (1968), The Black Mountains (1971), and Changeling Earth (1973), also titled Ardneh's World), with the fourth Empire of the East book, Ardneh's Sword (2006), returning to the universe long after the Book of Swords series was complete. Composition Saberhagen wrote the first books in the series in the 1980s with the intention of developing them into a video game. Although some preliminary code and art was developed, the project was deemed technologically infeasible. Premise The Book of Swords series blends science fiction and fantasy, combining fantastical settings with the kind of logic-puzzle plots common to science fiction. Setting The books are set far into the future. Approximately 50,000 years before the story, sometime during the third millennium, mankind was almost driven to extinction by a global apocalypse brought on by a nuclear World War prior to the events in Empire of the East. The role of post-apocalyptic technology in creating a magical mythological society echoes Saberhagen's Berserker series. An intelligent supercomputer, ARDNEH (which was formerly part of an American nuclear response system), initiated a physical change to the structure of the world. Unintentionally combined with a similar system on the other