Swordheart (Swordheart, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Nov 27, 2018 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: humor, fantasy

Halla is a respectable widow who was housekeeper to an artifact collector and scholar until his recent death. After the entire estate of the collector was willed to Halla, she is imprisoned by her husband's family until she agrees to marry her brother-in-law so that the family can get their hands on the inheritance. Halla resolves to kill herself rather than be married and unsheathes an old sword on a wall to do it. But when she unsheathes it a magical warrior, Sarkis, appears with a mission to Halla is a respectable widow who was housekeeper to an artifact collector and scholar until his recent death. After the entire estate of the collector was willed to Halla, she is imprisoned by her husband's family until she agrees to marry her brother-in-law so that the family can get their hands on the inheritance. Halla resolves to kill herself rather than be married and unsheathes an old sword on a wall to do it. But when she unsheathes it a magical warrior, Sarkis, appears with a mission to protect the sword's wielder. Halla and Sarkis set off to the Temple of the White Rat to engage a lawyer-priest so that Halla can claim her inheritance.

Set in the same world as the Clockwork Boys, this is the beginning of a new trilogy looking at a trio of warriors trapped inside magical swords. Like in all the other books I've read from this author, the characterization is especially rich and the best writing is in the dialogue between them. Halla is wonderful, from her boundless innocent curiosity to the way she's able to weaponize her place in society to get her way. Sarkis has layers on layers, even if he's primarily here as a straight-man for Halla's off-the-wall approach to the world. Halla and Sarkis are joined by the Rat Priest Zale, a gender non-binary character, and Brindle, a gnole, one of this world's excellently conceived badger-people. All of these characters are wonderful and make a very simple plot just sparkle. It's just there-and-back-again, with random encounters and intrigue to overcome , but made amazing through the lens of these characters, particularly with the romance that springs up between Halla and Sarkis.

This also hits a number of points that are just not normally well-handled by traditional epic fantasy: concern about pregnancy when birth control is not present, the role of law and lawyers in a pre-industrial (but still fairly civilized) society, and that adventurer's can't simply go through the world killing people indiscriminately. This author seems to constantly question these underlying elements of traditional fantasy (see the wonderful "Sun, Moon, Dust" (as Ursula Vernon) for her viewpoint on the flipside of the Hero's Journey).

Note that this is a completely independent story from the Clockwork Boys, and is set five years after those events in a different part of the world. If you read those two books, you'll get some background info on gnoles, rune, demons and paladins, but none of it is necessary to appreciate this book. ...more

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Mar 02, 2019 Lata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-f-h, auth-f, x2019-read

T. Kingfisher returns to her world of the Clocktaur War, and instead of another story with large ramifications to this world, she's crafted a little story about a housekeeper, Halla, inheritances and disgruntled relatives, and a weary warrior, Sarkis, magicked into a sword centuries earlier.
Though unconnected to the events of the Clocktaur books, there are elements already introduced in those books that are mentioned here (gnoles, paladins, etc.). It's not critical to have read those books to en ...more

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Feb 18, 2019 Alissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ebooks

3.5 stars. This is a stand-alone, but I’m looking forward to Angharad’s book :) you don’t need to read the Clocktaur War’s duology to appreciate this, anyway you should because it’s lots of fun too.

In the songs, men always say they’d die for you. I suppose there’s something to be said for the fact that you found one who actually did.

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Feb 29, 2020 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

There’s always a really good vibe to this author’s books.

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Feb 18, 2019 Veronique rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, read2019

4.5*

Kingfisher’s new novel takes us back to the world of the Clockwork Boys, but apart from the same brilliant ‘setting’, the story is quite different. Namely, this is not a tale about saving the world. No, this is much more mundane, and I absolutely loved it!

The author’s mastery is in creating amazing characters, complex, flawed, and so believable! The interaction between Halla, a quirky 36-year old widow in danger from her in-laws, and Sarkis, a sullen soldier imprisoned in a magic sword, is ...more

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Mar 31, 2019 Robyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

I love the main characters, the humour, the world, everything. Never want her books to end!

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Apr 16, 2019 Denise rated it really liked it

3.5 stars rounded up.

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Apr 28, 2023 Cathy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Funny! Comfort read! Audio with great accents! Great ideas! I enjoyed this so much that I just kept going and never took any notes. Halla is unintentionally funny, naive, willfully clueless and ever curious—I understand why Sarkis keeps banging his head against inanimate objects. And he has a delightful brogue in the audio. Scottish?

What is it about? Halla is a 36-year old widow, looking after an elderly collector of curious items. After his death she inherits all of this estate. Her mother-in-l ...more

6 likes · Like · see review