[Mithfânion]

Have you ever read about special weapons, weapons that really stand out to you because you'd never heard of them before or because they're just very ingenious or powerful?

Personally I always liked the Bow, but that's not really a Fantasy weapon. One of the weapons that really awed me when I read about them was a Morningstar ( I think that's the appropriate name). Plus of course the various powerful swords but they go without saying.

[ChrisW]

Well here is a list of weapons that stand out in my memory
Waylanders double crossbow
Druss's Axe(forget the name)
Mat's weapon from WoT(can't spell the damn name)
Power wought swords from WoT(heron marked prefered) cause they just sound cool and heck ya don't have to sharpen them.
The magical weapons for Erikson's books are all cool


Oh Mithfânion, a couple of weeks ago you said you were halfway through "The Eye of the World". Were ya just teasing or was it soooo bad you just thought it's not worth mentioning. Or did you stop reading it again:(. I'm dying here, I wanna know if you hate it damnit!

[Mithfânion]

Hi Cal

No I'm serious, I'm really reading it. I'll post a review for you and Bond when I'm done ;)

Most of the reviews indicate that this is really just a prelude book and that the books 2-5 are more original and better. I'm not disappointed sofar though. I could definitly do without the childish behaviour of the women though, that's my main sticking point sofar.

What about Crown of stars, doesn't that have anything special in the weaponry department? Because it's also on the to-read list.

[Dakel]

John Marco's Tyrants and Kings springs to mind when you mention ingenious weapons. The jiiktar definitely deserves a mention among hand-held weapons, and also something a little bigger - the flame cannon :) (there are others, but I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for people that haven’t read the books).

I’ll flip through the books later on and post a better description of a jiiktar than I’d be able to come up with now :p

Edit: ^ done

Behind the beasts [wolves] came swarms of warriors, each one shouting and brandishing a dual-bladed jiiktar. Lucyler gritted his teeth and snarled.

'Come then, damned Drol!' he cried, and gave the center of his own jiiktar a powerful twist. The weapon came apart in his hands, forming two light, long-bladed swords.

[Kingslayer]

Eddard Stark's 'Ice' and Aragorn's sword.

I love swords with great names.

[Mithfânion]

flame cannon?? Not hand-held is it?

[Dakel]

Not hand-held, no. Though I remember a pair (or maybe 3) swords being used to hold one up when its proper stand was unavailable.

There are other types also, but again, I don't want to give too much away *cough*one type is mounted on ships*cough*

[Kingslayer]

Dakel, I read somewhere that Tyrants and Kings had tanks in it.I'm hoping this is some kind of wooden carriage, not World War Two tanks?

[Dakel]

Hmm, there is a trebuchet (catapult) but I think the reference to tanks is something else. They aren't World War Two tanks, nor are they wooden carriages. I wouldn't worry too much about the fantasy aspect of the book being effected by the use of these semi-modern things - it leads to some interesting warfare and also the invention of the weapons used is accounted for (war labs in the capital city) :)

[Bond]

Ah! An update from Mithfanion...yes, I would be interested in your opinion. :)

Eye of the World, save for the introductory prelude involving Lews Therin Telamon, struck me as so-so. Books 2-4 though are on all together higher level. Simply fantastic. Fires of Heaven starts to get clumpy but isn't bad either. It's only in Lord of Chaos that I think things start to go terribly awry. Even then if you only read the beginning and end of that book you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was better than anything that came before. A Crown of Swords though really was a disaster if you don't like Cairheinin political intrigue.

As for the topic of this thread: Callandor, the sword that isn't a sword must be mentioned. Myrdraal blades aren't bad either.