DAGGERBOUND continues T. Kingfisher’s fantastical saga that began with SWORDHEART, which has an incredibly unique premise. Four hundred years earlier, three warriors were trapped inside enchanted swords, destined to be the eternal slave to whomever wielded said sword. 

The figure who has been trapped for centuries inside the enchanted sword in this novel is known simply as the Dervish. It has been a long time since the Dervish became exposed, and he is about to be summoned by the unlikeliest of characters with whom he also will form an unexpected connection. Learned Edmund is a disillusioned scholar and monk-in-training who is tasked with taking an ancient relic from one religious temple to another. He learns that it is an antique sword, which he has no knowledge of or interest in.

"The figures in this story...jump off the page and ingratiate themselves to readers in such a way that you feel like you know them intimately and care about every deadly situation in which they find themselves throughout this wild romp."

When Edmund is accosted on the road by two bandits who rob him and wish to leave him for dead, the sword is inadvertently unsheathed. The Dervish comes to his aid and slays the bad guys. He looks down upon the strange young man and realizes he is experiencing the first bit of luck in a century by being freed of his silvery prison while kept inside the scabbard that holds the sword to which he is bound. He nurses Edmund back to health and convinces him that he is not a guardian angel, conveying the tale of the ancient curse that put him in the predicament in which he finds himself. They continue on their way, accompanied by a broken-down and extremely dense mule, to the intended destination where Edmund is to present the ancient sword.

Edmund and the Dervish make two new travel companions: Large Francis, a giant pill bug, and Dog Violet, a talking gnole. They will face one challenge after another on the way to helping Edmund complete his mission. Perhaps the most interesting trial that they endure is when they come across a dragon in the countryside and report its presence to the nearest town. They soon find themselves captured by the town's insane leader, who intends to sacrifice them to the dragon to sate its hunger.

Many things happen to Edmund along this journey. He realizes that he has no more affinity for his religious calling and decides to leave it behind him. Most of all, he finds and eventually acts upon the deep feelings he has developed for the handsome and strapping Dervish, making for one of the most unlikely romances I have ever experienced. Once Edmund eventually gets to his destination, he learns that not everything is as it seems, and his desire to keep the Dervish for himself might come at a cost he is not prepared to make.

DAGGERBOUND is yet another example of the enormous talent that is T. Kingfisher. Throughout her career, she has shown the ability to spin tales of gothic horror, dark fantasy and supernatural terror, often tinged with a sense of humor that makes her characters ring true. The figures in this story, both human and otherwise, jump off the page and ingratiate themselves to readers in such a way that you feel like you know them intimately and care about every deadly situation in which they find themselves throughout this wild romp.