The Name of the Blade
3 primary works • 6 total works
Book 1
When Mio sneaks the family’s katana — a priceless ancestral sword —from her parents’ attic, she just wants to spice up a costume. But the katana is much more than a dusty antique. Awakening the power within the sword unleashes a terrible, ancient evil onto the streets of unsuspecting London. But it also releases Shinobu, a fearless warrior boy, from the depths of time. He helps to protect Mio — and steals her heart. With creatures straight out of Japanese myths stalking her and her friends, Mio realizes that if she cannot keep the sword safe and learn to control its legendary powers, she will lose not only her own life . . . but the love of a lifetime.
Book 2
Against all odds, Mio has defeated the evil Nekomata and seen her love, Shinobu, restored to life. But in the wake of the battle, Mio’s unsettling connection to the katana—an ancient sword her family has been compelled to guard for generations—has grown more frightening. And now the Underworld has sent the Shikome—foul women whose feathers carry death—to spread a supernatural plague through London. With her best friend in the hospital, Shinobu’s very existence at risk, and the city in chaos, Mio realizes there is no way she can keep everyone she loves alive. What terrible sacrifice must she make to save the world?
Book 3
It’s been a long few days since Mio stole the ancient, magical katana from her family’s attic. She and her friends have defeated the demonic Nekomata and banished the Goddess of Death’s plague-spreading Shikome. But at a terrible cost: Mio’s beloved Shinobu is lost to her, imprisoned again within the katana. With no time to succumb to guilt and grief, Mio must find a way to defeat the vengeful gods Izanagi and Izanami once and for all. Her only hope lies in the one place immortals can’t go: the realm of dreams, a shifting dimension of water and ice, echoes and memories, beauty and danger.
Fans of fantasy series such as The Mortal Instruments and The Raven Cycle will adore Zoë Marriott’s incredible Name of the Blade trilogy. Frail Mortal Heart is the third book in the series.
“For fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Cassandra Clare” – Booktrust. Zoë Marriott has been named "a rising star of fantasy fiction" by The Times. In the thrilling final instalment of her epic, Japanese-inspired urban fantasy trilogy, Mio has succeeded in banishing the Goddess of Death’s plague-spreading monsters – by making the most terrible sacrifice. With Mio’s love Shinobu lost, and hell literally breaking loose in London, the only things standing between the human world and an apocalypse are Mio and her sword.
Ancient Japanese gods and monsters are unleashed on modern-day London in this epic trilogy from an acclaimed fantasy writer.
When Mio steals the family's katana – a priceless ancestral sword – from her parents’ attic, she just wants to spice up a fancy-dress costume. But the katana is much more than some dusty antique and her actions unleash a terrible, ancient evil onto the streets of unsuspecting London. Soon Shinobu, a fearless warrior boy, appears to protect Mio – and threatens to steal her heart. With the gods and monsters of Japanese myth stalking her and her friends, Mio realizes that if she cannot keep the sword safe, and learn to control its legendary powers, she will lose not only her own life ... but the love of a lifetime.
Who would you sacrifice to save the world? Don't miss the second explosive book in the young adult fantasy series, The Name of the Blade
Against all odds, Mio, Jack and Shinobu have defeated the terrifying Nekomata and got home alive. But Mio is still compelled to protect the katana, and now the Underworld has spawned a worse monster – one carrying a devastating plague that sweeps through London like wildfire. As Mio struggles to protect the city and control the sword’s deadly powers, she realizes that this time there is no way she can keep everyone she loves out of the line of fire.