The Sword Maiden (Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Susan King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2006

Blacksmith Lachlann MacKerron has loved beautiful and wise Eva MacArthur, daughter of the clan chieftain, since they were children. What he doesn t know is that she loves him, too. Believing that a future for them is impossible, Lachlann leaves Scotland to fight with Joan of Arc in France. When he returns bitter, disillusioned, scarred, and doubting his ability to craft the miraculous swords he once created he learns that Eva is in desperate need of his help. Legend says Eva must save her beloved Innisfarna with the power of her sword, and only Lachlann can forge a Sword of Light. But beneath the surface of the warrior and the bladesmith lie a man and a woman, deeply in love and desperate to save their clan and find a way to spend their lives together.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Blacksmith Lachlann MacKerron has loved beautiful and wise Eva MacArthur, daughter of the clan chieftain, since they were children. What he doesn't know is that she loves him, too. Believing that a future for them is impossible, Lachlann leaves Scotland to fight with Joan of Arc in France. When he returns--bitter, disillusioned, scarred, and doubting his ability to craft the miraculous swords he once created--he learns that Eva is in desperate need of his help. Her father is dead, one brother imprisoned and another outlawed, and her home threatened by her evil fiancé's soldiers. Legend says Eva must save her beloved Innisfarna with the power of her sword, and only Lachlann can forge a Sword of Light. But beneath the surface of the warrior and the bladesmith lie a man and a woman, deeply in love and desperate to save their clan--and find a way to spend their lives together.

Medieval Scotland comes to life in this latest novel from Susan King. Descriptions of the Highland's hills and forests, lochs and isles, hamlets and citizens are rich with the color of a time long past. The story employs the magic of fairy lore, the power of legend, and the fascinating details of the ancient craft of bladesmithing in a plot driven by human greed and obsession. Expertly crafted and written, The Sword Maiden is King at her best. Don't miss it. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Against the backdrop of the Hundred Years' War, King (The Swan Maiden, etc.) deftly spins a mystical Highland romance between the daughter of a Scottish clan leader and a humble blacksmith. Feisty Eva MacArthur is the guardian of Innisfarna, an island that is purported to possess fairy magic. Eva's status and her precious holdings have earned her the unwanted attentions of Colin Campbell, a land-greedy clan chief who has close ties to the English king. When Eva's oldest brother is imprisoned and her father falsely executed for treason, Colin blackmails Eva into accepting a betrothal in exchange for her brother's life. Colin stalls on his promise but seizes the MacArthur lands anyway. Desperate to reclaim Innisfarna, Eva turns to her trusted friend Lachlann MacKerron, only to find that the physical and emotional wounds he incurred while fighting in France have impaired his ability to craft her a fairy sword. Nevertheless, Eva and Lachlann ignite sparks that fan into a strong love and a successful rebellion. King, whose popularity has grown with each book, is a consummate storyteller with a keen ear for dialogue and the ability to create multifaceted characters who capture the reader's sympathy. Her solid grasp of history also helps to firmly entrench readers in this era.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: The Large Print Book Company (January 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596880449
• ISBN-13: 978-1596880443
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,289,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The weak sister of the trilogy, December 3, 2001

By 

Sisreview (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sword Maiden (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is not a bad read, but I did not find it as compelling as the Swan Maiden or the Stone Maiden. The legend itself was not as gripping as the other two, and I did not find the main characters as complex or interesting. Life in the Scotland of the time is as well drawn as I have come to expect in Susan King's stories, but everything else seemed less fully-featured. Still, a mediocre Susan King is better than many other authors' best. If you haven't read The Swan Maiden or The Stone Maiden, try them first,but if you are without something to read on a rainy day or a chilly evening, this one is okay company.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Emphasis on Job Descriptions..., June 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sword Maiden (Mass Market Paperback)

Lachlann and Eva could have been very interesting, and the overall plot wasn't too bad, but for heaven's sake, I want dialogue between a hero and heroine that tells a story, not a line or two thrown in just to remind us that there ARE characters in this book, while the author relates page after page ...after page, of smithy work. I appreciate her knowledge of the craft, but I didn't like it as the focal point for the ENTIRE book. This was much more about smithy work than a love story.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story of first love, November 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sword Maiden (Mass Market Paperback)

Excellent!! A tender story of "first love" that mixes history and legends. It's beautifully written, with a great subplot about Joan of Arc. I loved the smith hero and the feisty sword-weielding heroine, and there is lots of action and swordplay to keep the story moving. Intelligent, well-crafted, good story.