Book Review: Swords for Hire

If you enjoyed The Princess Bride (either movie or book version), you'll probably enjoy Swords for Hire. Written in equal parts sarcasm and humor, this book made me laugh quite a bit. It parodies your typical fantasy adventure-- dynamic sword-wielding duo rescues princess and overthrows bad guy-- so it isn't particularly original, but the material is familiar enough (and funny enough) that it's not really a disadvantage. Instead, it's more like seeing an old friend again. Overall, I thought that this was a book worth reading, and it made me wish that its author, Will Allen, was still alive. I'm sure he would have made a mint with books like this, and I wish there was more where this came from. (It was written in 1979 by Will Allen when he was twenty-two. He was terminally ill with melanoma.) The characters in the book are actually based on Will and his family members, and their portraits are on the cover!

If you can't find this book and think it sounds interesting, more information is avaliable here.