Swordspoint

Perhaps the quintessential definition of the 'fantasy of manners' subgenre (sometimes referred to as 'mannerpunk'). It's a book that brilliantly combines elements of court intrigue, unbridled human emotion, and sword fighting.This book, first published in 1987, retains some of those classic fantasy traits with clear distinctions between the good heroes and the bad guys. And in a period where fantasy was mostly stagnated (with the exception of a few breakout works like The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series), helped prove fantasy could be elevated above the 'low' reputation it had acquired due to the various Lord of the Rings ripoffs and sexualized Conan limitations that prevailed during this period.Swordspoint can also be given just credit for helping to pioneer the fantasy of manners style of fantasy blended with court intrigue that later authors developed and expanded on (i.e. Jacqueline Cary's works).A classic, but one that should be read.