"No other writer manages to combine such raw and visceral storytelling with so exquisite a style. A fierce and compelling story of love, life and loss."
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Clark Award Winner for Children of Time
"A Woman of the Sword is brilliant grimdark fantasy. It hurts to read at times, is unputdownable at others, and I feel different people at different stages of their lives are going to take away different things. This is Anna Smith Spark at her heart-wrenching, mythic-feeling, storytelling best, and completely unmissable for anybody who enjoyed her Empires of Dust Trilogy."
Adrian Collins - Editor in Chief Grimdark Magazine
"Epic fantasy from the victims' viewpoint, as seen by someone used to being a victor. Uncompromising and unputdownable - prepare to be challenged."
Juliet E McKenna
"Warrior and mother, fierce and flawed - Lidae's story portrays motherhood as you've never seen it before."
Charlotte Bond - Breaking the Glass Slipper
"A Woman of the Sword is a different but very satisfying fantasy reading experience with, in Lidae, a captivating protagonist at times fierce and proud, conflicted and tormented, but never less than compelling." T.O. Munro - The Fantasy Hive
"I felt emotional at numerous points of the story, and after finishing it, sat speechless. Most great books stay with you afterwards, and some parts stay with you for years. Outlooks on life, or strong feelings they gave you. This is one of those books. If you’re ready not just to read, but to experience, if you’re ready for a book to burn itself into your being, to feel and to marvel at an extraordinary writer, read A Woman of the Sword." Spells and Spaceships
"Anna Smith Spark is a storyteller that makes every word count. A grasp of colour, imagery, emotion and violence that is a work of constant hypnotic violent beauty. A Woman of the Sword is a tale that very quickly captures the reader and forces us to look and consider life at the truly sharp end of the sword." Runalong The Shelves
"A Woman of the Sword is a tragic masterpiece, reaffirming Anna Smith Spark’s reign as the queen of grimdark. Her new novel is a must-read for grimdark fans, and especially for parents." John Mauro (Before We Go Blog)
"...the strength of A Woman of the Sword, as implied by the title, is that it foregrounds the limitations of the patriarchal order from a position outside it. Moreover, it does this with an in-your-face relentless intensity that grabs its readers by the scruff of the neck and makes them look properly at what is happening both in the average epic fantasy novel and far too often in the real world that is producing such cultural artifacts. It’s certainly a good antidote to George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.... it remains with the reader long after this powerful book is finished." Parsec
