Now that Laserblasted is available in my store, here’s one final snippet from that book.
For all you might hear about stories of weapons haunted by previous owners, there aren’t that many actual legends. The modern archetype would be the Elric saga, overflowing with “I’m suddenly strong and my body’s acting weird and I keep breaking things please help me oops I’m doomed so I’m taking all of you with me.” There’s no better metaphor for a young boy transitioning to adulthood. Stormbringer isn’t exactly haunted, only ravenous for everything it can devour—again, like teenage boys. The Norse legend of Tyrfing teaches the essential lesson of “if you’re going to kidnap me and make me forge a mighty magic blade for you, you better expect that magic to fuck you up something fierce.” Master Japanese swordsmith Muramasa was rumored to pass his blood thirst and madness into his blades. Even unenchanted swords made by mentally healthy swordsmiths are viciously dangerous. Merely training with live steel, especially before antibiotics, demands a little madness.
If you buy the print from me you get the ebook free. Or you can wait a month to get either version from other, lesser bookstores.