Battle Circle Series by Piers Anthony, Robert E. Vardeman

Wandering tribes of primitive humans meet and fight and love and die. When one tribe meets another, individuals fight inside a Battle Circle. The loser must become a member of the victorious tribe. Each warrior is named by his weapon. When Sol the Sword is bested by Sol of All Weapons, he loses his tribe, his name, and his weapon. Re-named Sos the Rope, he joins with Sol of All Weapons to try to create something greater than a world of Battle Circles... moreWandering tribes of primitive humans meet and fight and love and die. When one tribe meets another, individuals fight inside a Battle Circle. The loser must become a member of the victorious tribe. Each warrior is named by his weapon. When Sol the Sword is bested by Sol of All Weapons, he loses his tribe, his name, and his weapon. Re-named Sos the Rope, he joins with Sol of All Weapons to try to create something greater than a world of Battle Circles. An early classic from Piers Anthony, creator of the legendary Xanth series, Sos the Rope was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award. less

The Scourge of EnmitySol controlled the mountain and Sos the Empire. Two worlds so completely different from each other that they could not exist together on the same planet. There had to be war... Var was the chosen one. Half man, half animal, a mutant victim of the blast, he would have continued to live as a savage if Sos had not rescued him from the badlands... moreThe Scourge of EnmitySol controlled the mountain and Sos the Empire. Two worlds so completely different from each other that they could not exist together on the same planet. There had to be war... Var was the chosen one. Half man, half animal, a mutant victim of the blast, he would have continued to live as a savage if Sos had not rescued him from the badlands. And now Var was called upon to repay that debt, to risk his life as the champion of the Empire in a duel he was secretly afraid of winning... less

An age of darkness was descending upon the Empire. Soon there would be no food, no weapons and no honour--the laws of the nomads were forgotten in the struggle to survive. Neq was the greatest of warriors. No man faced his sword without feeling its sting. Yet even he could not save the Empire alone, he needed the help of those who had begun its destruction...the great leaders who had thought only of war... moreAn age of darkness was descending upon the Empire. Soon there would be no food, no weapons and no honour--the laws of the nomads were forgotten in the struggle to survive. Neq was the greatest of warriors. No man faced his sword without feeling its sting. Yet even he could not save the Empire alone, he needed the help of those who had begun its destruction...the great leaders who had thought only of war. And so Neq travelled many dangerous miles to find them,knowing that upon his journey rested the future of the world... less

Including Sos the Rope - Var the Stick - Neq the SwordIn this highly imaginative trilogy, master science fiction writer Piers Anthony creates a world of savage power, of primitive and brutal laws where all disputes are settled in the battle circle, and where men must seize and realise their vision of an empire by the might of their primitive weapons... moreIncluding Sos the Rope - Var the Stick - Neq the SwordIn this highly imaginative trilogy, master science fiction writer Piers Anthony creates a world of savage power, of primitive and brutal laws where all disputes are settled in the battle circle, and where men must seize and realise their vision of an empire by the might of their primitive weapons.Anthony's story of men fighting for mastery of wandering tribes, with sword, club and rope in the ceremonial Great Circle, has its own internal conviction - its own grandeur, even...a rigorous masculine power, rare in any kind of novel nowadays. - The Observer less