I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Demon Sword Asperides by Sarah Jean Horwitz Narrator: Mark Sanderlin
Published by Algonquin Young Readers on July 11, 2023
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Fantasy & Magic
Length: 7 hours 8 minutes
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher, Purchased
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A scheming demon sword and a wannabe knight band together on a (possibly wicked) quest in this fantasy, perfect for fans of Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett.
For the past two hundred years, the demon sword Asperides has led a quiet life. While his physical form has been tasked with guarding the body of an evil sorcerer, the rest of his consciousness has taken a well-earned vacation. That constant need to trick humans into wielding him (at the price of their very souls, of course) was rather draining.
Nack Furnival, on the other hand, is far from satisfied with his existence. Nack has trained since birth to be a brave and noble knight—but, unfortunately, he isn’t especially good at it. Determined to prove his worth, Nack needs a quest. And to complete that quest, he’ll need the one thing no knight can do without: a sword.
When an attempt to resurrect the evil sorcerer throws Asperides into Nack’s path, the demon sword can’t help but trick the boy into making a contract to become his new owner. And with the newly undead (and very, very angry) sorcerer on their trail, Asperides and Nack find themselves swept up in a bigger adventure than either of them bargained for: saving the world.
This was such a fun book! I believe that this middle grade fantasy is a perfect read for both younger readers and adults. We meet the sword Asperides right away once I realized a sentient sword would be one of the main characters, I knew that I was in for a good time. I was entertained by this fascinating tale from beginning to end.
Nack has been cast out by his family and hopes to prove his worth by completing a task to win back his place. I felt horrible for Nack since he was truly on his own with no place to go and even loses his sword right away. He decides to go on a knight’s quest where he finds Asperides and enters into a contract believing it is an angel sword. Nack was such a great character and I adored his interactions with Asperides. I found this story to be really exciting with quite a few surprises worked in. The characters all grow and change over the course of the story as they try to do what is right.
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mark Sanderlin did a great job with the story. I have listened to this narrator’s work on a couple of adult romance novels so it was fun to see him tackle a different genre. I thought that he did a great job with the various character voices which helped to bring the story to life. I do believe that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. It was an entertaining story featuring wonderful characters that should appeal to a wide range of readers. I would not hesitate to read more of this author’s work in the future.
I received a review copy of this book from Algonquin Young Readers.
I haven’t read many middle grade books, but I must admit that this one sounds exciting! Glad you had such a good time with it 🙂
What a fun MG fantasy. It looks like it would make a great series.
Adding this to my list for Will for books to try! My goal for this upcoming school year is to find at least one book that he actually enjoyed reading/listening to and this sounds really good!