REHupa

Hank Reinhardt co-edited (with Gerald Page) one of my all time favorite original anthologies- Heroic Fantasy (D.A.W. Books, 1979). He became an expert on edged weapons by using them. He supposedly often would want to take a museum piece out and “see what this can do.” He died a couple of years back due to complications after heart surgery. He had been working on a book on swords and his papers were put together to make this book. This book is a hell of a lot of fun to read. Anyone thinking of writing fantasy or historical fiction needs to read and absorb this book. Reinhardt explodes myths such as clashing swords together in combat like in the movies. He also points out that fighting is not the same thing as fencing. Chapters are devoted to metal working, design and geometry of swords, wounds, Viking era, Rapier & small sword, Sabers, Two-handed swords, the Katana, Eastern Tw0-handed swords, African swords, basics of cutting, fighting with a sword. Unfortunately, Reinhardt did not write the chapter on Middle-Eastern swords when he died. I wish this book was double the size. I finally got around to reading Richard Cohen’s By The Sword this summer which I did not care for. That book struck me as being a bunch of anecdotes strung together. Reinhardt has come closest to a unified theory on the sword yet. This could have been a very dull boring book but Reinhardt writes in an engaging style that makes for relaxing reading. You also come away knowing a few more things. Robert E. Howard would have loved this book.