The Demon Sword Asperides

What worked:
The most innovative aspect of the book is having a demon sword as a main character, able to mentally communicate with a human main character named Nack. Asperides has been around for centuries and it’s used to being paired with ruthless, power-hungry men. Its primary goal is to trap captured souls and send them into the depths of the underworld. Asperides draws magical power from these souls which it uses to slay and reek chaos. An intriguing twist occurs when a wanna-be young knight in training becomes the sword’s new partner to rescue two female knights in danger. Readers will wonder what’s going to happen when a kind, young boy becomes the partner of a rare, terrifying demon sword.
Nack battles an internal conflict throughout the plot. He displays compassion for an enemy early on but he’s shunned by his family for the kind act. His major motivation after that is obtaining an angel blade, completing a brave quest, and then being welcomed back into his family. However, Asperides calls Nack a coward when the boy fails to decisively kill human opponents and Nack suffers from self-doubt. He still stands up for defenseless women and children by slaying demon creatures and he tries to behave kindly toward others. His ultimate goal is to be welcomed back home but he’s shocked when he enters the castle of the family’s nemesis to rescue his older brother. Despite being the master of a demon sword, the anguish, confusion, and insecurity within Nack’s mind add complexities to the story.
The conflict tying the entire plot together involves Asperides’s former, undead master and his plan to return to power. Amyral schemes to regain possession of the demon sword and retrieve his soul from the deepest depths of hell. Readers will wonder what will happen since Nack and Amyral have been partnered with the same sword. Who is the rightful master of Asperides? Amyral’s plot will culminate when the Missing Moon returns after two thousand years so the story has a built-in countdown clock. Amyral is aided by a young necromancer and her presence contributes additional twists to the plot.
What didn’t work as well:
Some readers might question the pace of the plot and Nack sometimes comes across as whiny. However, readers must appreciate the evolution of the characters in addition to the quest to stop Amyral. There’s no continuous action and the battles aren’t overly descriptive but the changes in personalities, attitudes, and self-images are what’s important.
The final verdict:
This book is a finalist for the 2023 Cybils Award in Elementary/Middle-grade Speculative Fiction. Nack, Asperides, and others are dynamic characters and undergo realizations and transformations throughout the book. Their emotional adventures will engross young readers as they try to stop Amyral from releasing swarms of demons from the underworld. Overall, this is an innovative twist on familiar middle-grade quests and I recommend you give it a shot.

Make way for a newer and so much cooler Howl's Moving Castle, without Howl of course. And Calcifer is a sword. And Sophie is a a young boy named Nack Furnival, who wants to be knight instead of a hatter.

The Demon Sword Asperides by Sarah Jean Horwitz is a middle grade fantasy that follows the dual perspectives of Nack Furnival, a boy aspiring to be a world famous knight, and (you guessed it) the demon sword Asperides. Trying to prove his worth, Nack sets off a quest that will finally prove his worth. But not without a sword, of course. When an attempt to resurrect the evil sorcerer Asperides has been trying to guard goes awry, he is thrown into Nack's path. Thus he has no choice but to make a deal with Nack, in order to save the world from the newly awoke evil sorcerer. No big deal, right.

What I loved most about Horwitz's work is the tone it presents the story in. Most fantasy stories presenting plot lines like these, will set it up to be much darker and grittier. But The Demon Sword Asperides is witty and fun. But still doesn't hold back it's punches with the more darker side of life. And you can't exactly go wrong with the set of characters Horwitz provides. I will forever loved Nack and Asperides, and the only way you'll get to them is by prying them from my cold dead fingers.

I feel like this book is a perfect firs step into fantasy for an reader, big or small. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a great need to track down Horwitz's last book, The Dark Lord Clementine.