Long ago, the gods forged Twelve Swords of Power and threw them on
the gameboard of life to watch men scramble. But they forged too
well; the Swords could kill the gods themselves.
Now, the gods are gone, the Swords are scattered. Some are helb by
those of good heart, others by those whose purposes are evil. And one
– Coinspinner – is held only as long as Coinspinner chooses. The
Sword is subject to no rules but its own, and exactly what those
rules are no one knows.
At the moment Coinspinner is in the hands of Crown prince Murat of
Culm, who is visiting Tasavalta to beg Princess Kristin for
permission to take Woundhealer, the sword of Healing, on a mission of
mercy to Culm. The princess's refusal sparks a theft: Woundhealer is
removed from the White Temple.
Withdrawing the Sword Stonebreaker from the Tasavaltan armory, the
doughty General Rostov sets off in pursuit of Prince Murat – only to
find that Woundhealer is not with the prince, and that one of the
Culmians has absconded with Coinspinner. But Coinspinner will not
stay with its new possessor for long...
Meanwhile, far from Tasavalta, a young Prince Adrian, whose
magical gifts are immense, is approaching the extremely unreliable
City of Wizards, where nothing – not even the sun – is what it
seems. He and his beautiful companion Trilby, will face unexpected
peril there.
Elsewhere, Wood, the evil Macrowizard who has slipped the bonds of
time, is polishing his plans to abduct Adrian, hated spawn of his old
enemy Prince Mark.
But first Wood wants Coinspinner.
Coinspinner, however, has its own agenda. Bestowing gigantic luck
on he who holds it, the Sword moves where it wants, and when it
wants, changing all circumstances in a twinkling.
It's not surprising that Wood wants it. EVERYONE wants
Coinspinner.
Told with Fred Saberhagen's huge gusto and narrative skill. THE
FIFTH BOOK OF LOST SWORDS: COINSPINNER'S STORY will delight the
reader.
