The Living Sword

This is rather a short book, closer to a novella than a full-length novel, but it packs a hefty punch for its size. Eurik is a human who was found as a baby in a boat with his dead parents, and raised by a non-human island-based society called the San. Ah, the orphan of unknown heritage story, that'......more

The Living Sword intrigued me, because I absolutely love the idea of sentient weapons (partly because of the D&D player in me) and it’s something you don’t see that often, and can be difficult to get right. I actually really enjoyed how Janes depicted the sword here, and Misthell had so much person......more

Mr. Janes introduces a new world with interesting new races, new magical concepts, and new ideas to the fantasy genre that makes this short story entertaining. My understanding is this book has been published for some time, but Mr. Janes has had it edited and revised per his readers' suggestions, an......more

Innovative magic system The 'magic' system is interesting and the main character doesn't go through any of those annoying phases were main characters cry about how terrible they are for defending themselves that seem to be so popular nowadays. I also like how the author was able to convey a slight dif......more

When I think of Fantasy books, I often think of the following: unique names, complex plots and characters, fantastical locations, magic or magic-like capabilities, and really, really thick spines. The Living Sword by Pemry Janes has most of these things, but what it lacks are the things that would h......more