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bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
This is an unusual book. First of all, the back cover doesn't actually tell you much about what actually goes on in the book - which is Sarkis, immortal swordsman in the most literal possible sense, is now bound to Halla, a housekeeper trying her darndest to get her inheritance and evade her aunt's attempts to steal it. Considering the majority of the story takes place while traveling back and forth on one particular stretch of road in an effort to set up what is essentially a court case, it doesn't sound all that appealing.
There's also the whole romance angle. It's not even hinted at on the back cover, but it's glaringly obvious from the moment Sarkis enters the story that he and Halla are going to be a thing. And for how much of that angle is some variety of mutual pining, I shouldn't have liked that very much, either.
And yet. And yet I liked this book a lot. Because while boiling this story down to its barest elements does indeed make it sound quite boring, it's the details that get boiled away that make it so much fun. The world itself is, for the most part, a standard rural vaguely-Western-European setting. But with Sarkis being several hundred years old and remembering different things about his homeland and his home time, the world has a sense of having depth and longevity and realness - it may not be teeming with excitement and adventure, but it feels solid, somewhere you could sink your teeth into. (Plus there's that one weird group of hills full of very nasty things that definitely do not stay in one place, which adds some delightfully dangerous whimsy to the whole thing.) And the plot itself, while not on the surface incredibly exciting, is solid. The goals and motivations are clear, the consequences of failure are quite dreadful (though not life-and-death), and the journey, though mostly back and forth on one road, has enough detours and obstacles to never feel truly dull. Besides creepy moving hills, they also encounter bandits, some very unpleasant priests, and a host of other interesting allies, antagonists, and situations that add up to a very entertaining story.
What really makes this book sing, though, are the characters. Halla and Sarkis, obviously, but also Zale, the nonbinary lawyer-priest who Halla enlists to help legally stake her claim on the inheritance and so ends up spending a lot of the journey with them. All of them are great in their own unique ways, and even the more minor characters are engaging. Even with all of that, though, this book could have easily slipped into "well-written and generally fine but overall lackluster" territory - if it wasn't for the dynamic between Halla and Sarkis, which was the absolute star of the book for me.
And most of that was Halla. I love her so much. She's smart, practical, no-nonsense, and incredibly quick-witted. She knows her options are limited as a widow in a patriarchal society, but she refuses to let that stop her, and her humility bordering on self-effacement makes her utterly unashamed to let people think less of her if it moves her closer to her goals. She wields ingenuity and fast-talking instead of a sword and shield, but she's just as much of a warrior as Sarkis. And that's what made their dynamic so good - I loved Halla accepting each new development and figuring out how to deal with it, while Sarkis got progressively more amazed at how this random middle-aged housekeeper was dealing with everything so well and kept falling more in love with her. (The romance angle could easily have been annoying, but I liked their dynamic so much I didn't mind.)
This book is also hilarious. It's peppered with absurd moments and unexpected one-liners that made me laugh. Although I tried reading a few of them to my husband and he didn't find them funny, so I think they're only funny in the context of the book itself. Either way, I thought it was a great touch, and the humor was balanced really well with the darker elements of the book.
This is exactly the kind of book I'm starting to expect from T. Kingfisher - serious without feeling too dark, an uncomplicated but engaging plot, and characters that leap off the page and elevate the story into something great. I'm a little sad that there isn't a sequel to this book (I really want more Halla), but I have more T. Kingfisher books on my reading list, and I hope they're enjoyable as this one is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Murder, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Religious bigotry, Animal death, and Excrement
Animal injury/suffering, forced marriage (attempt)booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Halla is a widow who has inherited her uncle's fortune, whereupon her aunt and brother-in-law have locked her in her room until she agrees to marry him. He has an odious personality and clammy hands, and seemingly no understanding that locking a woman in a room until she agrees to marry you is a very terrible start to any kind of relationship. When she decides that death is better than her upcoming fate, she tries to kill herself with a sword that turns out to have Sarkis, an immortal swordsman, trapped inside. Together they escape and attempt to get help for Halla's legal troubles and grasping relatives.
SWORDHEART is one of the funniest books I’ve read recently, and the main contenders for that honor are other White Rat books by this same author. It’s vibrant without requiring the characters to constantly be witty, the whole thing is a delight. It’s a fluffy romance in desperate circumstances, buoyed by Halla’s never-stymied open nature and endless optimism, and tempered by Sarkis’s practicality. Halla uses prattle, questions, and observations as a multi-purpose tactic on a near-constant basis. Sarkis is trapped in a sword and is unfamiliar with current customs of Halla’s home, creating a natural ebb and flow of competency and possession of relevant information at any one moment. Zale is a welcome addition to their party, a temple lawyer acquired to help with Halla’s legal tangle, and Brindle rounds out their party by taking care of the ox and cart.
SWORDHEART is not technically a sequel, it is a stand-alone book. However, it takes place in the world of the White Rat approximately five years after the events of CLOCKWORK BOYS and THE WONDER ENGINE. It contains details that blur the line between callback and spoiler, I think they’re suitably opaque as to keep from giving away major plot points of that duology, but I do recommend reading this after the duology for the best overall experience. The worldbuilding seemed complete enough to stand on its own, someone reading just SWORDHEART would know everything they need to. It is focused on different aspects than in the earlier duology, complementing the prior information without feeling redundant. Because Sarkis is from another land it also helps to establish the patchwork of kingdoms and territories in this part of the world.
I had a fantastic time reading this and I'm looking forward to more books set in this world.
SWORDHEART is one of the funniest books I’ve read recently, and the main contenders for that honor are other White Rat books by this same author. It’s vibrant without requiring the characters to constantly be witty, the whole thing is a delight. It’s a fluffy romance in desperate circumstances, buoyed by Halla’s never-stymied open nature and endless optimism, and tempered by Sarkis’s practicality. Halla uses prattle, questions, and observations as a multi-purpose tactic on a near-constant basis. Sarkis is trapped in a sword and is unfamiliar with current customs of Halla’s home, creating a natural ebb and flow of competency and possession of relevant information at any one moment. Zale is a welcome addition to their party, a temple lawyer acquired to help with Halla’s legal tangle, and Brindle rounds out their party by taking care of the ox and cart.
SWORDHEART is not technically a sequel, it is a stand-alone book. However, it takes place in the world of the White Rat approximately five years after the events of CLOCKWORK BOYS and THE WONDER ENGINE. It contains details that blur the line between callback and spoiler, I think they’re suitably opaque as to keep from giving away major plot points of that duology, but I do recommend reading this after the duology for the best overall experience. The worldbuilding seemed complete enough to stand on its own, someone reading just SWORDHEART would know everything they need to. It is focused on different aspects than in the earlier duology, complementing the prior information without feeling redundant. Because Sarkis is from another land it also helps to establish the patchwork of kingdoms and territories in this part of the world.
I had a fantastic time reading this and I'm looking forward to more books set in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Animal death, Grief, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, Child death, Alcoholism, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, War, Terminal illness, Torture, and Death of parent
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