It’s hard not to compare this book to Norse Code. They came out around the same time and both draw heavily on Norse Mythology. Norse Code was definitely more my type of book, a tangle of sub genres and dense with ideas. Black Blade Blues is literally a tale of a magical sword being used to slay a dragon. You don’t get much more core fantasy than that. Also, not that much of a spoiler if you happen to glance at the cover.

The strength of Black Blade Blues lies in its main character. Sarah Beauhall is many things before she becomes a dragon slayer. First, she’s distinctly working class, holding down 2 jobs to make ends meet. She’s a blacksmith by day and the pro master for a very indie movie theater in the evenings. She’s got a beautiful girlfriend and a ton of baggage from her very conservative upbringing. She’s also surrounded by people that seem to know more about the magical aspects of the world than she does.

As more and more magic enters the story, Sarah resists. Part of that magic is Norse Mythology and part of it is love and in both cases she resists. She drives herself more than a little emotionally ragged and makes plenty of bad choices. The first two thirds or so of the book follows this roller coaster and then the stakes are raised. The big battle at the end is gritty and epic despite it’s relatively small scale.

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I'd followed much of this saga as it unfolded as I'm rather obsessed with eBooks and the future of publishing. It was good to see all the behind the scenes pieces fall into place. The narrative was well structured considering the material is admittedly rather dull.

Personally I think that this case highlights some of the flaws of our current legal framework with respect to digital goods and worry a bit about the president set.

It's a quick read and I highly recommend to anyone even marginally interested in the future of publishing or of digital goods in general.