Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws... and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.
Halla’s late husband’s relatives try to force her to marry a clammy cousin in order to secure an inheritance unexpectedly left to her. A lawyer, a Gnole, and a sword set out to make sure it doesn’t happen on their watch.
A re-read. Kingfisher’s protagonists tend to be pragmatic and surrounded by a very believable cast of characters. Swordheart is no exception. I love this unreservedly, probably because I see myself in them.
However, upon re-reading, I realised how much more I prefer the Paladin books. I absolutely enjoyed this, but she writes such utterly perfect Paladins.
This is a really great tale of a magical sword inhabited by a warrior who must guard the wielder and the somewhat feckless housekeeper/heiress who comes to own him. Largely humorous in nature, but with a really good plot to move it along, I very much enjoyed this tale of swords and questing told from a very unusual perspective. Recommended!
I always love T Kingfisher books and this one was no exception.
Halla is a widow who's been taking care of her late husband's uncle until he dies, leaving her everything. Great you say, but you've never met Halla's in-laws now murderously set on keeping the inheritance in the family. She escapes their clutches with the help of a man trapped in a magic sword but must return to town to claim her inheritance.
This one's going next to The Princess Bride in "I guess it's technically a love story BUT LOOK AT ALL THE ADVENTURE!"
Seriously, it's good, and the travelogue-y bits where we get to know the characters and see them both oblivious to the relationship forming are fun to read. Plus it's T Kingfisher so there's bonus bloody scenes!
I think I read somewhere about a panel on "Comfort Fiction" that included T. Kingfisher, and the describes this very well. I think if you have read the Paladin series some of this will feel suspiciously familiar, but at the time it was just what I needed.
This book was another delight, and T. Kingfisher may be fast becoming a favourite author. Set in the same world as the Clockwork Boys but not really related, this is the story of the widow Halla whose great-uncle dies and unexpectedly leaves her everything, to the fury of the rest of his family. everything turns out to include an enchanted sword, which summons a swordsman to protect its wielder.
Sarkis, the sword/swordsman, has spent 450 years protecting the various wielders of his sword against assassins, enemies, and war. He was not quite prepared to protect his wielder against embroidery-hook wielding aunts with designs on his wielder’s inheritance, but he’s willing to give it a try.
The author’s afterword says that she was inspired to write the story after considering that the real victim in Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone books was his sword, who had to put up with its owner …
This book was another delight, and T. Kingfisher may be fast becoming a favourite author. Set in the same world as the Clockwork Boys but not really related, this is the story of the widow Halla whose great-uncle dies and unexpectedly leaves her everything, to the fury of the rest of his family. everything turns out to include an enchanted sword, which summons a swordsman to protect its wielder.
Sarkis, the sword/swordsman, has spent 450 years protecting the various wielders of his sword against assassins, enemies, and war. He was not quite prepared to protect his wielder against embroidery-hook wielding aunts with designs on his wielder’s inheritance, but he’s willing to give it a try.
The author’s afterword says that she was inspired to write the story after considering that the real victim in Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone books was his sword, who had to put up with its owner no matter what. this story expresses an alternate way of looking at that relationship very well, with plenty of intrigued, doublecrossing, entertaining and obscure religions, bandits, swashbuckling, and just enough romance as well. The ending highly implies there will be two more sequels and I for one cannot wait. Could not put this book down until I finished it, which is why this review is being written well after midnight!
Excellent writing, wit and humour - well worth reading. The main story is one of lust and love- there's quite a lot of sex, a lot more of thinking about sex, and quite a lot of manoeuvring for sex. There's some magic, including a haunted sword and a witch who uses language instead of magic. The heroine stabs several people, and the hero kills a lot more, but it's all alright. There are jokes about swords, and everyone has a lot of fun.
