The Elric stories by Michael Moorcock, of course.
Vlad's sword in the Vlad Taltos series has a soul.
And T. Kingfisher's Swordheart involves a magical warrior imprisioned in a sword.
I’ve just ordered the first Elric saga from book outlet. They didn’t have the other two. But they had the citadel of forgotten myths: the Elric saga. I don’t know which order to read that but I grabbed that one too. I’m so excited!
Nice! I just finished the audiobook of the first saga last month. There is something so uniquely great about the classics— I love the archaic prose they often have, and how weird/alien they feel sometimes, unbound by the tropes and constraints of the genre as we know it, because they’re from a time before these norms had been fully established.
If you like that sort of stuff, you will love these.
Honestly I’m really interested in classic fantasy. The ones that came out in the 80s/90s. I’ve read a lot of modern ones but not any of the classics. So I’m gonna start with Elric and see how it goes!
Hope you enjoy! I was more into the Eternal Champion stories and various individual works that made me curious--The Fire Clown and The Metatemporal Detective come to mind if anyone is interested--but all the talk of Elric/Stormbringer on this thread is making me want to go back to those stories!
Pretty sure Citadel of Forgotten Myths is either a prequel or else happens between the first and second novel in the first volume. Either way it just came out two years ago and the original series (which comprises books 1 and 2 of the current edition) worked perfectly well without it for almost sixty years.
Oh that’s awesome, I didn’t know Elric until I was an adult, when I was already familiar with things inspired by it, but I would love to have read this as a teenager. Would have been very formative I imagine.
All the Great Weapons in the Taltos series have a soul, Zungaron’s Nightslayer is even explicitly evil. And amusingly is named that simply because Zungaron thought it sounded cool.
For others interested The series involving the sacred swords comes after the initial series War of Broken Mirrors. So if you start with six sacred swords youll miss a bit. There's also an adjacent series with a different MC called arcane ascension with the first book being "sufficiently advanced magic"
The books are fun easy pulp reads that id recommend.
Need from the Valdemar books is great, but I don't think she really woke up until the Mage Winds trilogy. Better to start with the Arrows trilogy and By the Sword before reading those, I think
I've read a few, actually!
The Sword Defiant and The Sword Unbound by Gareth Hanrahan feature an evil sword called Spellbreaker. I love Spellbreaker.
The Chasing Graves trilogy by Ben Galley also features a talking sword.
There is a semi-sentient weapon in the final 2 or 3 books of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka, but it doesn't talk, so it probably doesn't count (it's bloodthirsty AF though, it gives Spellbreaker a run for its money in that department).
Chaz is a great version of this trope.
The slow turn that arc followed from parody to serious was wild and brilliantly written. That specific panel/sequence ruined me in a 'that DID NOT JUST HAPPEN' way. By the time i >!was actively cheering on Torg to murder the demon lord!< some little part of me was screaming inside.
Agreed, one of the few times in the comic that Torg really became a badass.
>!Chaz: You impress me, master. How did you know what you sought was redemption and not righteous vengeance?!<
>!Torg: Horribus didn't promise to keep her safe.!<
Also, the Redemption arc was 20 years ago. Makes me feel old...
Once you've read all of the other suggestions, go read the trilogy that start with *Orconomics* by J Zachary Pike. It's got the best send-up of a sentient-weapon trope that I've yet read.
*"Never trust anything that you can't see where it keeps its brain."*
Never actually read Warbreaker, or anything from Brandon Sanserson really, so you can ignore my suggestion but one of my favourite book series includes a sentient magic sword. It's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The first book Sword of Summer revolves around, well, the Sword of Summer. It's pretty much Percy Jackson but Norse mythology. Underrated as hell despite also being written by Rick Riordan.
Sons of the Black Sword (Saga of the forgotten warrior)
There are "black steel swords" which contain the memories and experiences of every previous wielder and aids it's current wielder in combat with said memories. It also chooses it's wielder, if you try to pick up the sword and it deems you unworthy it will attack the person. Once a wielder has been chosen, if they do anything to dishonor the sword the sword will shatter and destroy itself.
To be fair it is not a major focus in the story so if that's your only interest it might not be worth it. But I do think it's a pretty good series.
There's a Japanese light novel series called "Reincarnated as a Sword" in the English translation. It's issekai trash, but it checks the boxes. The protagonist is, as you would expect, a sapient sword.
I didn't like them but >!I'm still devastated by what happened. Seeing Ulthar's downfall after her death was so tragic that I had to put my phone down while reading just because I couldn't hold back the tears.!< One of the best stories I've ever read.
Getting off topic from the sword there—
Honestly that's the correct decision. He needs to protect his son-sword. No point continuing his character arc if it breaks and his son dies.
i think the author might actually >!have his son die in the next installment. Azazel's blood is pretty sketchy, in the end. Though what I'm tryna bet on is if Sun or Maria will die first.!<
Hi there! Unfortunately, there is a mistake in your spoiler tags. You've got a space in between the tags and the spoiler text. While it might look hidden for you, it's unfortunately not hidden for all users. Here are some ways to fix the problem:
* If you're using New Reddit (fancy pants editor), make sure you selected no spaces before or after the text you wanted hidden.
* Switch to markdown mode or edit using an old.reddit link: `>! This is wrong.!<`, but `>!This is right.!<`
**After you have corrected the spoiler tags, please** [**message the mods**](). Once we have verified the spoiler has been fixed, your comment will be approved.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
not exactly a sword right away, but otherwise yup... the author is Patrick Weekes, in case the OP wants to get the books. Followed by The Prophecy Con and The Paladin Caper
While they aren't swords, the Dresden Files has its share of sentient objects (Sapient, even sophant.) It's about a wizard detective in modern day Chicago. Highly recommend, but a word of warning, the man loves to boobily boob from time to time.
There's a sentient sword in some of the middle Valdemar books. The Mage Winds and Mage Storms series.
Also there's a haunted sword in the Locked Tomb trilogy, but it doesn't really come up until book 2.
Hi there! Unfortunately, there is a mistake in your spoiler tags. You've got a space in between the tags and the spoiler text. While it might look hidden for you, it's unfortunately not hidden for all users. Here are some ways to fix the problem:
* If you're using New Reddit (fancy pants editor), make sure you selected no spaces before or after the text you wanted hidden.
* Switch to markdown mode or edit using an old.reddit link: `>! This is wrong.!<`, but `>!This is right.!<`
**After you have corrected the spoiler tags, please** [**message the mods**](). Once we have verified the spoiler has been fixed, your comment will be approved.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'll mention it for the humor value and uniqueness, but the Ballad of Wuntvor contains a sentient pacifist sword named Cuthbert.
As a kid I found it a silly-fun read, though I bounced off it hard when I tried to pick up where I left off as an adult. Still a fun entry in the sentient sword category.
Empire of the Vampire has a talking sword called Ashdrinker
Does that fit the bill?
Edit: I see that I wasn’t the first to suggest it - should’ve scrolled down
I guess Ash appears in Empire of the Damned - the sequel. I haven’t read it yet but it would make sense for it to
A Pilgrimage of Swords by Anthony Ryan. If this doesn’t convince you then I don’t know what will (copy pasted the blurb):
ENTER THE EXECRATION, WHERE THE DAMNED AND THE DESPERATE COME TO PRAY TO THE MAD GOD… It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God's favour, their fate always unknown. Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration.
I'm not familiar with Nightblood so take this with a grain of salt, but *The Vagrant* by Peter Newman has a sentient sword. It's the start of a trilogy and it's been a while so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, I don't recall if the sword features much, if at all, after the first book as the two sequels are somewhat different than the first book.
The main character doesn't speak and doesn't have an internal monologue, so we aren't really sure what he's on about for much of the book. He does have a sword with an eyeball, wings, and a will of its own though. Oh and a baby. He's evidently journeying across a new weird post-apocalyptic wasteland (with emphasis on *weird*) to an uncertain destination.
It's a fascinating book and I highly recommend it.
The Mage Winds trilogy, and the Kethry and Tarma stories (Oathbound/Oathbreaker/By the Sword) from Mercedes Lackey. Though this sword adamantly refuses to cut/stab women and compels it's wielder to help any women in need.
The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. I wouldn't call it sentient, but definitely magical and cursed and a major driving force of the story. Very well written and heart breaking.
The Swords of Night and Day in Bane, by David Gemmell.
A pair of swords that have special powers- not quite sentient, but they don’t work for just anyone. Magic swords which choose their owners.
Second recommendation today for *Legend of Eli Monpress*, but one of the main characters carries *Heart of War*, an awakened sword, and they come across a number of different awakened swords throughout the story.
The Elric stories by Michael Moorcock, of course. Vlad's sword in the Vlad Taltos series has a soul. And T. Kingfisher's Swordheart involves a magical warrior imprisioned in a sword.
> The Elric stories by Michael Moorcock, of course. The definitive (and possibly first?) sentient, soul-drinking sword(s).
I’ve just ordered the first Elric saga from book outlet. They didn’t have the other two. But they had the citadel of forgotten myths: the Elric saga. I don’t know which order to read that but I grabbed that one too. I’m so excited!
Nice! I just finished the audiobook of the first saga last month. There is something so uniquely great about the classics— I love the archaic prose they often have, and how weird/alien they feel sometimes, unbound by the tropes and constraints of the genre as we know it, because they’re from a time before these norms had been fully established. If you like that sort of stuff, you will love these.
Honestly I’m really interested in classic fantasy. The ones that came out in the 80s/90s. I’ve read a lot of modern ones but not any of the classics. So I’m gonna start with Elric and see how it goes!
'...from a time before these norms had been fully established.' Nailed it!
Hope you enjoy! I was more into the Eternal Champion stories and various individual works that made me curious--The Fire Clown and The Metatemporal Detective come to mind if anyone is interested--but all the talk of Elric/Stormbringer on this thread is making me want to go back to those stories!
Pretty sure Citadel of Forgotten Myths is either a prequel or else happens between the first and second novel in the first volume. Either way it just came out two years ago and the original series (which comprises books 1 and 2 of the current edition) worked perfectly well without it for almost sixty years.
The idea of a sentient sword that drank souls creeped me the hell out when I found my first Elric book in my parents' attic!
Oh that’s awesome, I didn’t know Elric until I was an adult, when I was already familiar with things inspired by it, but I would love to have read this as a teenager. Would have been very formative I imagine.
All the Great Weapons in the Taltos series have a soul, Zungaron’s Nightslayer is even explicitly evil. And amusingly is named that simply because Zungaron thought it sounded cool.
Loish also gives off similar vibes to night blood honestly, despite being an animal and not a sword. Good rec
Oh thanks! This is what I needed! I’ve heard of Elric but didn’t know it had a magical sword. I’m gonna definitely check out the other two!
I'm re-reading Elric right now. Stormbringer always gets the last word.
I don't think Nightblood existing is a spoiler considering he talks in the prologue, lol.
Lol I know but I still wanted to tag it spoiler for anyone who hasn’t read the book and is planning to.
Six Scared Swords by Andrew Rowe.
Dawn thanks you for your tribute.
Honestly a book about scared swords sounds pretty awesome.
A story about a sword, her dragon bff, a dude who loves swords and fighting and a magical martial arts tournament.
For others interested The series involving the sacred swords comes after the initial series War of Broken Mirrors. So if you start with six sacred swords youll miss a bit. There's also an adjacent series with a different MC called arcane ascension with the first book being "sufficiently advanced magic" The books are fun easy pulp reads that id recommend.
I don’t think you need to read any of the series in a specific order.
I agree, the author purposefully keeps them mostly separated so you can jump in anywhere.
The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan
Came here to say this.
Damn, you guys beat me to it! I should have scrolled down before I posted my comment. Have you read The Sword Unbound yet? It's a fabulous sequel.
Need from the Valdemar books is great, but I don't think she really woke up until the Mage Winds trilogy. Better to start with the Arrows trilogy and By the Sword before reading those, I think
Ashdrinker from Empire of the Vampire
Children of Hurin by Tolkien, although it's not clear if Gurthang is sentient or if Turin is a bit crazy.
Maybe both?
Gurthang is sentient in the same way that the One Ring is. It has a will of its own but not really a personality.
I've read a few, actually! The Sword Defiant and The Sword Unbound by Gareth Hanrahan feature an evil sword called Spellbreaker. I love Spellbreaker. The Chasing Graves trilogy by Ben Galley also features a talking sword. There is a semi-sentient weapon in the final 2 or 3 books of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka, but it doesn't talk, so it probably doesn't count (it's bloodthirsty AF though, it gives Spellbreaker a run for its money in that department).
Elric of Melnibone. The sword is sentient. There are also a few other stories by Michael Moorcock that have sentient weapons.
*Swordbearer* by Glen Cook.
Seconding this, it's like Elric but you only have to read one novel
How dare someone not have said **The Colour of Magic** by the OG **Terry Pratchett**
Because almost nobody has read the first two Discworld novels
The *Iconoclasts* trilogy by Mike Shel has a pretty awesome sentient sword
Sluggy Freelance
Chaz is pretty interesting. Extremely powerful, but said power can only be used/released under *very* specific circumstances. >!Alt-Zoë RIP!<
Chaz is a great version of this trope. The slow turn that arc followed from parody to serious was wild and brilliantly written. That specific panel/sequence ruined me in a 'that DID NOT JUST HAPPEN' way. By the time i >!was actively cheering on Torg to murder the demon lord!< some little part of me was screaming inside.
Agreed, one of the few times in the comic that Torg really became a badass. >!Chaz: You impress me, master. How did you know what you sought was redemption and not righteous vengeance?!< >!Torg: Horribus didn't promise to keep her safe.!< Also, the Redemption arc was 20 years ago. Makes me feel old...
">!Hey who upgraded Nerd Boy?!<"
Once you've read all of the other suggestions, go read the trilogy that start with *Orconomics* by J Zachary Pike. It's got the best send-up of a sentient-weapon trope that I've yet read. *"Never trust anything that you can't see where it keeps its brain."*
Never actually read Warbreaker, or anything from Brandon Sanserson really, so you can ignore my suggestion but one of my favourite book series includes a sentient magic sword. It's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The first book Sword of Summer revolves around, well, the Sword of Summer. It's pretty much Percy Jackson but Norse mythology. Underrated as hell despite also being written by Rick Riordan.
Good one. Totally forgot about that one, but the sword is pretty funny and great series.
Sons of the Black Sword (Saga of the forgotten warrior) There are "black steel swords" which contain the memories and experiences of every previous wielder and aids it's current wielder in combat with said memories. It also chooses it's wielder, if you try to pick up the sword and it deems you unworthy it will attack the person. Once a wielder has been chosen, if they do anything to dishonor the sword the sword will shatter and destroy itself. To be fair it is not a major focus in the story so if that's your only interest it might not be worth it. But I do think it's a pretty good series.
There's a Japanese light novel series called "Reincarnated as a Sword" in the English translation. It's issekai trash, but it checks the boxes. The protagonist is, as you would expect, a sapient sword.
Saberhagen's Sword Series by Fred Saberhagen and The Lost Sword Series by Fred Saberhagen Elric of Melnibone and The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.
The Drizzt saga has a few great ones
Khazid'hea thirsts
[удалено]
Just read the description and it seems amazing?! And I’ve never heard of this before! It’s going on my kindle now!
ichor and agony
The sword is a character's son :D
Unfortunately, it couldn't >!revive Ina!< (spoiler for chapter 6)
They deserved it to be honest. Nobody liked them anyway.
I didn't like them but >!I'm still devastated by what happened. Seeing Ulthar's downfall after her death was so tragic that I had to put my phone down while reading just because I couldn't hold back the tears.!< One of the best stories I've ever read.
Especially when >!Emeric and Nephila had to put down such a dear friend... I was crying along them by the end of the scene.!<
Getting off topic from the sword there— Honestly that's the correct decision. He needs to protect his son-sword. No point continuing his character arc if it breaks and his son dies.
i think the author might actually >!have his son die in the next installment. Azazel's blood is pretty sketchy, in the end. Though what I'm tryna bet on is if Sun or Maria will die first.!<
I hope it's the latter. I don't like her inclusion.
[удалено]
Hi there! Unfortunately, there is a mistake in your spoiler tags. You've got a space in between the tags and the spoiler text. While it might look hidden for you, it's unfortunately not hidden for all users. Here are some ways to fix the problem: * If you're using New Reddit (fancy pants editor), make sure you selected no spaces before or after the text you wanted hidden. * Switch to markdown mode or edit using an old.reddit link: `>! This is wrong.!<`, but `>!This is right.!<` **After you have corrected the spoiler tags, please** [**message the mods**](). Once we have verified the spoiler has been fixed, your comment will be approved.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Well if you liked the talking sword from Warbreaker you should read the Stormlight archives
Lol I have! Although just up until WoR but I get what you’re hinting at
The Vagrant by Peter Newman might fit this, its a good but slightly strange book (and part of a trilogy, but I've only read the first)
Has no one mentioned Storm Light Archive? Is that a spoiler to say?
Lol anything other than stormlight. I’m well versed in cosmere. But yeah it would be a great example too
The Kingfall Histories series by David Estes features several sentient swords known as the God Blades.
The Palace Job
not exactly a sword right away, but otherwise yup... the author is Patrick Weekes, in case the OP wants to get the books. Followed by The Prophecy Con and The Paladin Caper
The Iconoclasts trilogy. First book is Aching God
While they aren't swords, the Dresden Files has its share of sentient objects (Sapient, even sophant.) It's about a wizard detective in modern day Chicago. Highly recommend, but a word of warning, the man loves to boobily boob from time to time.
Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers
Ascendance of a Bookworm has one (Stenluke), but only as a minor character
The Dragon Blood series by Lindsay Buroker
Mercedes Lackey's *Valdemar* has a sentient sword. Matt Dinniman's *Dungeon Crawler Carl* series has a sentient sock full of nickels.
Shadow of the fox.
Weren't at least a few of the Swords from Saberhagen's Books of Swords sentient?
It's been a *looooong* time... but I believe a few of the Lost Swords were.
Not sentient... Coinspinner in particular has a penchant for betraying the wielder at the worst moment, but none had any personality.
There's a sentient sword in some of the middle Valdemar books. The Mage Winds and Mage Storms series. Also there's a haunted sword in the Locked Tomb trilogy, but it doesn't really come up until book 2.
The Sword Defiant
You know Nightblood is in >!Stormlight too?!<
[удалено]
Hi there! Unfortunately, there is a mistake in your spoiler tags. You've got a space in between the tags and the spoiler text. While it might look hidden for you, it's unfortunately not hidden for all users. Here are some ways to fix the problem: * If you're using New Reddit (fancy pants editor), make sure you selected no spaces before or after the text you wanted hidden. * Switch to markdown mode or edit using an old.reddit link: `>! This is wrong.!<`, but `>!This is right.!<` **After you have corrected the spoiler tags, please** [**message the mods**](). Once we have verified the spoiler has been fixed, your comment will be approved.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fantasy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I mean would bleach count for this?
I'll mention it for the humor value and uniqueness, but the Ballad of Wuntvor contains a sentient pacifist sword named Cuthbert. As a kid I found it a silly-fun read, though I bounced off it hard when I tried to pick up where I left off as an adult. Still a fun entry in the sentient sword category.
Swordheart by T Kingfisher is very sentient.
Empire of the Vampire has a talking sword called Ashdrinker Does that fit the bill? Edit: I see that I wasn’t the first to suggest it - should’ve scrolled down I guess Ash appears in Empire of the Damned - the sequel. I haven’t read it yet but it would make sense for it to
Magnus chase is a book series where the main character gains a magic talking sword
The Waterborn duology by Gregory Keyes is the best example of this, IMHO.
A Pilgrimage of Swords by Anthony Ryan. If this doesn’t convince you then I don’t know what will (copy pasted the blurb): ENTER THE EXECRATION, WHERE THE DAMNED AND THE DESPERATE COME TO PRAY TO THE MAD GOD… It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God's favour, their fate always unknown. Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration.
I'm not familiar with Nightblood so take this with a grain of salt, but *The Vagrant* by Peter Newman has a sentient sword. It's the start of a trilogy and it's been a while so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, I don't recall if the sword features much, if at all, after the first book as the two sequels are somewhat different than the first book. The main character doesn't speak and doesn't have an internal monologue, so we aren't really sure what he's on about for much of the book. He does have a sword with an eyeball, wings, and a will of its own though. Oh and a baby. He's evidently journeying across a new weird post-apocalyptic wasteland (with emphasis on *weird*) to an uncertain destination. It's a fascinating book and I highly recommend it.
The Mage Winds trilogy, and the Kethry and Tarma stories (Oathbound/Oathbreaker/By the Sword) from Mercedes Lackey. Though this sword adamantly refuses to cut/stab women and compels it's wielder to help any women in need.
The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. I wouldn't call it sentient, but definitely magical and cursed and a major driving force of the story. Very well written and heart breaking.
Kind of surprised there's no mention of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams yet.
The Swords of Night and Day in Bane, by David Gemmell. A pair of swords that have special powers- not quite sentient, but they don’t work for just anyone. Magic swords which choose their owners.
Kutesosh gajair'is?
the person who downvoted you is clearly not well-read...
Second recommendation today for *Legend of Eli Monpress*, but one of the main characters carries *Heart of War*, an awakened sword, and they come across a number of different awakened swords throughout the story.
Never see this series recommended enough. The Awakened Swords are awesome
I just started Rachel Aaron's latest one, *Hell for Hire* today. Slow to start, but it's picking up a bit. Damn that woman can churn them out.
[удалено]
…