My Swordhand is Singing

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Author: Marcus Sedgwick

Genre: Historial, Horror,

Age Range: 11+

Theme/Subject: Vampires, Folklore, Ukraine, Historical, Loss, Redemption

Publisher: Orion

ISBN: 1842551833

Synopsis: (Edited from the inside of the jacket)

In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter arrive in Chust and settle there as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast flowing waters around their hut, so they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn’t know why his father has done this not why his father carries a long, battered box, whose mysterious contents he is forbidden to know. Set in the remote and forbidding landscapes of the seventeenth century, this is a heart-rending story of loss and redemption, and inspired by the original vampire folklore of Eastern Europe it represents a unique regeneration of a timeless myth.

Review:

This is the fourth Sedgwick that I have read and must admit to taking a shine, not only to his style of writing, but also the eye with which he sees the world. Sedgwick’s ‘Swordhand’ is a real triumph in portraying a time when people were still greatly affected by folklore and dark whisperings in the world that surrounded them. Much like ‘The Dark Horse’, Sedgwick has encompassed a land where, in terms of knowledge and understanding, people are still in their infancy and the Europe is still vastly untamed.
The book’s dark and brooding pace suits the story’s mood. Written in third person, the tale oversees the life of Peter whose secretive father hides a tragic past and whose distant and offhanded demeanour makes growing up in the cold wild of 17th century Romania difficult. After moving from place to place we find father and son beginning to settle on the fringes of the village of Chust. Here, Peter tries to forge relationships with the guarded locals, but all is not as it seems as the nights are plagued by vampires. Peter finds himself not only entangled a web of deceit within the village but also in the grip of his father’s past which will not leave them alone.
Although aimed at the younger teens, I have found ‘My Swordhand is Singing’ fits 10+ in age as long as the reader is prepared to be scared and is competent. The landscape and characters are so well crafted and the storyline so deeply sown into the world painted by Sedgwick that this is a book you shouldn’t miss. I was particularly taken by Tomas (Peter’s father), who is handled with great mysteriousness and who plays well opposite Sofia, a gypsy girl whom Peter befriends. With no end of scary moments and gripping episodes, the book ends in a climax that leaves the reader wanting more. This is a vampire story that deals more with their origins rather than the typical soft-brush that they tend to be painted with these days.