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Other Worlds, Times, and Places: Fred Saberhagen

(1930 - 2007)

First Published Book: The Golden People (1964)
Final Published Novel: Ardneh's Sword (May 2006)

Destroy All Life

The best known works by Saberhagen are his Berserker® stories. Set in the far future, mankind has encountered mechanical constructs, killing machines leftover from a galactic war, that are programmed with one overriding command - Destroy all life.
The stories span a wide range of time and space which allows for divergent plots and story lines.

Empire of the East/Swords Universe

In the distant future technology has fallen, but for a few remnants. Magic and demons have filled the void. Dark Forces under the control of the Emperor rule the land. This is the setting at the beginning of the Empire of the East. The original series chronicle the struggle for freedom in a changed earth.
These are the first Saberhagen books that I read. The mix of bits and pieces of technology in a world of strange creatures and growing magic was irresistible. Every couple of years I will revisit Rolf, Mewick, and Chup as they venture from the Broken Lands to the heart of the East.

In the Swords books, the world has further changed. Magic has grown much stronger and gods play games with man. I was thrilled when I found that Saberhagen had continued the changed world setting. I picked up the first book of swords and then had a hard time waiting for the next book to be published. These stories are every bit as good as the original trilogy.

Empire of The East,
includes The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, and Ardneh's World (Changeling Earth)

The First Swords: The Book of Swords Volumes 1, 2, & 3,
includes the First, Second, and Third Books of Swords

Works by Fred Saberhagen

Ardneh sequence

The Broken Lands (1968)
The Black Mountains (1971)
Changeling Earth (1973) also as Ardneh's World
Ardneh's Sword (May 2006)- (Kindle Edition )
Empire of the East (Bks. 1-3: The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, and Ardneh's World)

The First Book of Swords (1983)
The Second Book of Swords (1983)
The Third Book of Swords (1984)

Woundhealer's Story (1986)
Sightblinder's Story (1987)
Stonecutter's Story (1988)
Farslayer's Story (1989)
Coinspinner's Story (1989)
Mindsword's Story (1990)
Wayfinder's Story (1992)
Shieldbreaker's Story (1994) (actually subtitled The Last Book of Swords)

Dracula sequence

The Dracula Tape (1975)
The Holmes-Dracula File (1978)
An Old Friend of the Family (1979)
Thorn (1980)
Dominion (1982)
A Matter of Taste (1990)
A Question of Time (1992)
Seance for a Vampire (1994)
A Sharpness on the Neck (1996)
A Coldness in the Blood (2002)

Berserker series

Berserker (1967)
Brother Assassin (1969)
Berserker's Planet (magazine serialization 1974; 1975)
Berserker Man (1979)
The Ultimate Enemy (1979)
Berserker Base (1985)
The Berserker Throne (1985)
Berserker: Blue Death (1985)
Berserker Kill (1993)
Berserker Fury (1997)
Shiva in Steel (1998)
Berserker's Star (2003)
Berserker Prime (2003)
Rogue Berserker (2005)

Books of the Gods

The Face of Apollo (1998)
Ariadne's Web (1999)
The Arms of Hercules (2000)
God of the Golden Fleece (2001)
Gods of Fire and Thunder (2002)

Boris Brazil series

The Golden People (1964)
The Water of Thought (1965)

Pilgrim, the Flying Dutchman of Time series

Pyramids (1987)
After the Fact (1988)

Non-series novels

The Veils of Azlaroc (1978)
Love Conquers All (magazine serialization 1974-1975; 1979)
The Mask of the Sun (1981)
Coils (with Roger Zelazny) (1981)
Specimens (1981)
Octagon (1981)
A Century of Progress (1983)
The Frankenstein Papers (1986)
The White Bull (1988)
The Black Throne (with Roger Zelazny) (1990)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (with James V. Hart) (1992) Novelization of the Francis Ford Coppola film.
Dancing Bears (1995)
Merlin's Bones (1995)
The Arrival (Earth Final Conflict) (1999)

Non-series collections

The Book of Saberhagen (1975)
Earth Descended (1981)
Saberhagen: My Best (1987)

Non-series anthologies

A Spadeful of Spacetime (1981) (reprint anthology)
Pawn to Infinity (1982) (reprint anthology, with Joan Saberhagen)
Machines That Kill (1984) (reprint anthology, with Martin H. Greenberg)