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Felt like re-reading this on Kindle instead of my well-loved copy with the unforgettable Thomas Canty cover (the reason I bought it a long time ago). There were some annoying formatting issues which I found somewhat maddening because this delicious and witty romp deserves better. With that said, Swordspoint will always have a special place in my heart because it packs more action and intrigue than many brick-thick trilogies. Each time I revisit Riverside I find something new and interesting. Diane, Duchess Tremontaine really needs her own damn novel.

Ellen Kushner's first novel sets the standard for what a polite fantasy of manners and romance should be. Like Jane Austen, Ms. Kushner's language sparkles with wit and verve. She creates a world both familiar and yet not like anyplace we've ever been and inhabits it with characters who cease to be imaginary. Like Rafael Sabatini, the swordfight scenes keep one on the edge of their seat, though are elegantly restrained yet sharply honed.

Richard St. Vier is as dashing and gallant as Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn, and as just complex. He kills for hire, yet has a poetic soul and a certain code of honor, which includes not taking commissions in which children or women are to be harmed. His companion, the mysterious Alec - once a student at University, now 'slumming' on the other side of the river, has a definite taste for danger though he can barely handle himself. He's wry, sarcastic and perhaps a little unhinged. The alluring Diane, Duchess of Tramontaine is one of literature's cleverest femme fatales, and I would love to see an entire novel written about her. She comes off as completely uninterested in anything outside of her little social milieu, a facade that fools nearly everyone around her.

I'm a little appalled that some critics of the book make much of the novel's take on bisexuality, to the point that they did not enjoy such a well-crafted tale. I think these readers forget this is not a social treatise, but a work of fantasy fiction and as such, Ms. Kushner doesn't have to deeply examine the whys and wherefores of her imagined society's tolerance. To be honest, I found Ms. Kushner's treatment of the fluid sexuality of her characters to be passionate yet tasteful. She doesn't write erotica, but allows the reader to imagine the power of the various couplings. Bottom line - good fantasy fiction allows us to immerse ourselves in places and times not our own, and if one brings their silly baggage and hangups with them, they do a great disservice to the writer...and to themselves.

My only issue with 'Swordspoint'...it was far too SHORT. I fell in love with Riverside and its inhabitants and shed a tear when I had to leave. The true sign of a book that will remain dog-eared and much-beloved.