# Can anyone recommend me some great fight scenes(?) in literature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297 "2004-04-16T02:37:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/21 "2004-04-20T02:33:09Z")
If you’re looking for something a bit more classic, I heartily recommend _The Three Musketeers_. Alexandre Dumas really had a gift for vivid writing. _Musketeers_ is my personal favorite, but really, anything by Dumas is bound to have some gripping fights. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/22 "2004-04-20T03:06:11Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > In “The Princess Bride,” by William Goldman, there is a wonderful scene near the beginning when Inigo Montoya attempts to gain the rank of (I think) Master in terms of swordsmanship. He has to demonstrate a variety of moves, attacks and defenses in front of an expert. The short conversation they have at the end of this long demonstration is nothing short of inspired. **Sauron** already touched on _The Princess Bride_, but there’s also the famous “Cliffs of Insanity” duel between Inigo Montoya and The Man in Black. Hell, at the end of the book the fight scene between Inigo Montoya and Count Rugen, and the fight scene between Westley and Prince Humperdinck–they’re all great! ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/23 "2004-04-20T10:37:40Z")
> [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](#): > > I highly recomend any of the Forgotten Realms books written by RA Salvatore, especially his earlier work. I’ve only read one Salvatore book, [The Demon Awakens](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345421620/104-1528159-0115942?v=glance), and I wasn’t very impressed. The basic plot and setting were fine, but Salvatore’s descriptions fell flat too often. One character is described as flailing his arms in the water like a robot. Another scene has a zombie with its arms constantly stretched out in front, but instead of lurching about it teleports without moving its legs. And the main character’s weapon really got on my nerves; it was a bow that could be used as a quarterstaff. Even if you allow some magic to keep the thing from breaking when you hit someone upside the head, a bow is not a good shape for a melee weapon, especially not a fancy recurve bow made by an old elven master. I’ll second A Song of Ice and Fire, but my favorite duel was between Sandor and Lord Beric. The, ah, unusual circumstances make it quite tense. Arya is rather frightening, although I dunno if she gets in _duels_, exactly… and Dany vs. the, uh, well you better just find out for yourself. Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books have a few good duels. There’s one where Princess Elspeth is armed with nothing more than a piece of broken pottery. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/24 "2004-04-20T13:04:15Z")
His Drizz’t fights are better and not nearly as oddball. Some of the ones he has with Mr Entreri are simply delicious. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/25 "2004-04-20T15:17:20Z")
Thanks **smiling bandit** , I thought I might have been the only person who ever read any RA Salvatore here! And **sturmhauke** I have yet to read any of the RA’s other books. I’ve stuck to his Drizzt books, I think there is about 14 or so of them now. I would give the first two trilogy’s a chance (Icewindale and Dark Elf). MtM ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/26 "2004-04-20T15:32:54Z")
_Fifty Grand_ by Ernest Hemingway because it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![violacrane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c57346/32.png) [@violacrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/violacrane)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297/27 "2004-04-20T23:22:16Z")
Icelandic sagas have very good battle scenes. My favourite is from Njal’s saga, the fight at the Markar river where Skarp Hedin jumps twenty feet down onto a frozen river, then slides toward his enemies, who are crossing at the ford, where he has to simultaneously jump over a shield someone skimmed at him and… you’ll have to read the rest because I haven’t figured out spoiler boxes yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-me-some-great-fight-scenes-in-literature/240297.md?page=1)