Demon Sword

4 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Toby Strangerson, bastard son of a woman raped by Sassenach Englishmen, is a village outcast - or would be if he weren't unusually big and strong, and protected by the village's witchwife and its hob. But when the witchwife's prophecy about violence and danger comes true, he finds himself pursued by a sorceress.

Review
I'm not generally a fan of historical fiction – history is what it is, and second-world fantasy simply allows more scope for invention. But I picked up this series based solely on Dave Duncan's name – he's not entirely reliable, but generally his books are good, easy reads. I might have done the same even knowing it was historical fantasy, and in fact it's better described as alternate history, with magic thrown in.

Duncan's strength was adolescent coming of age stories, and that's what this is. Toby, trying to figure out his future while also staying clear of Englishmen and demons, is accompanied by Hamish, his well-read sidekick, and Meg, the girl with a childhood crush on him. You can see where this is going, and that's where it goes. The thing is, it goes there quite nicely. The characters are interesting and credible, the magical plot points work nicely, the romance and tension all do the things they should – it's fun, and there's enough that's unexpected that it maintained my interest easily. Not exactly grimdark, it's not all sweetness and light, either.

Not the kind of thing I'd have picked up just based on a synopsis, but it's a nice, quick read, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.