The Black Swordsman

[Gwan-Thwei]

One of my favourite book series is Berserk, a manga/anime set in the dark ages.
The main Character, Guts, was considered to be a demon child because his birth mother was slain and his adoptive mother died from the plague. Blaming Guts for his misfortune, his adoptive father started sparring with Guts when he was 6 years old and using a sword far too big for him. Years later, his adoptive father goes on a drunken rampage, attacking Guts and blaming him for all their misfortune. Without thinking, Guts takes up his sword and defends himself, resulting in his adoptive father's death. Guts finally seems to find his place among The Band of the Hawk, only to have their leader Griffith offer everyone up as a sacrifice so he could become a Demon God. Surviving everything that was thrown at him, Guts now only has two goals in mind - to restore the mind of his girlfriend Casca, who went insane after watching her comrades get eaten, and to slay Griffith as he had slain the Band of the Hawk.
Despite being younger than most mercenaries, Guts is an amazing fighter, not only because he has a giant greatsword that slices through armor just from the weight of the sword alone, he also has amazing determination, powering through battles and injuries that would kill lesser people.

This series is INCREDIBLY dark in tone, with lots of violence and 'adult themes'. Definitely not for the faint hearted, but a good read if you can stomach it!