I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The plot got me, but the book didn’t convince me.
I finish it, but it was a challenge. I was bored and I fall a sleep a few times.

I've had this book for 9 months and barely made it 5% into it. I think it's safe to call this a DNF because this 800 page book hasn't captured my attention. I found the story too slow to start and the problems the characters faced were not interesting to me.

I enjoy watching Vikings and playing Assassins Creed Valhalla, so hoped I would click with this story but I found this a slow read and I was bored with the characters. The initial fight in the village was good but after that I felt it didnt keep up the pace.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

Here are a few things you can expect from this book:

A Norse inspired viking fantasy;
A rich and detailed world filled with known and more unknown lore and myths;
Chaotic and bloody battle scenes;
A captivating plot.
On to the full review…

Northern Wrath is a norse inspired Viking fantasy and book one of The Hanged God Trilogy. I think I stand with a lot of people when I say Norse Mythology is an incredibly interesting one, it has so so much involved within its lore and the cultures that belonged to it are also incredibly interesting. Thilde managed to incorporate quite a lot of this in her writing too which is testament to the research and knowledge of this area, which meant she excelled in her world building.

This book has gods, monsters, heroes and so much more and it is all woven well into the world and its plot. I really liked the idea that the diminishing belief in the gods was closing the gateways of sorts to the other realms, and it made the fight for ones belief about more than just their gods but being able to be with their families in the afterlife.

As a debut writer Thilde has done a great job of bringing many of the scenes in Northern Wrath to life from the exploration of the other worlds and the races the fill them to the battle sequences. She manages to really encapsulate the chaos that is battle.

Now let me explain why, for me, this book ended as a three star book on Goodreads, while this book excelled in it world building and its plot was captivating enough for me to finish the book, world-building is my lowest ranked attribute of a book. Characters are my jam, followed by plot and then world-building.

So unfortunately, I’m in a wee bit of a minority here as while I liked this book I did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would. My two main issues for this book go hand in hand with each other in my opinion. In short I felt like this book lacked the character depth I prefer as a reader and it was much too long.

Northern Wrath has quite a cast of characters, more than I expected to be honest, and at times some felt like they were inserted randomly and generally didn’t need to be a POV at all.

I honestly feel like with more editing both of my issues could be helped massively if not completely resolved. Now, I am no editor nor have I written my own book but I think, from my experience as a reader, that had this book have had less character POVs it could have both spent more time with other POV’s to achieve a greater character depth and cut down the page count by removing the filler.

Let me also remind you these are my personal opinions based on my personal preferences, a book is to many readers completely different things. So I urge you to check out the other reviews for this book as many reviewers I respect and trust have LOVED this book and given it full marks!

THE RANKS:

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I would still pick this book up in its Kindle form and quite possibly read book two, because like I said it was a good book in parts and I am hopeful, as I am not the only person to share these critiques, that they could be remedied in book two.

Northern Wrath intrigued me when I first came across it. However, I could t make it to the end. I did skim the majority of the book hoping it would grip me and get me interested again. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

I loved this book. I haven’t read many viking inspired fantasies and I don’t know why! I loved the brutality and the morally grey characters of this story. I’m a sucker for some strong female leads and this book has a ton of badass female warriors which was one of my favourite aspects! I also really enjoyed seeing how much having faith matters so much for where the characters go in their afterlife’s and how important it is for them. Norse mythology is obviously heavily present in the story and I loved learning more about the gods and the stories behind them too. My only complaint is that sometimes the shift in perspectives took me out of the story and took me until half way into the book to get comfortable with also some of them were more enjoyable than others. However overall this is an excellent debut book and I can’t wait for the next one!!

Northern Wrath is the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy by author Thilde Kold Holdt. Released 27th Oct 2020 by Rebellion, it's 616 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is epic campaign historical fantasy realism at its best. The plotting is so well crafted and seamless - bound and true to its roots of Scandinavian and Viking history and belief systems that it's difficult to tell where realism ends and shades into fantasy. The characters are wonderfully rendered and believable. It's compellingly written and exactingly put together. I'm frankly astounded and truly impressed that it's a debut novel.

I won't give a precís, other reviewers have done that. I will say that despite being a hefty doorstop fantasy, the action and characters move the plot along at a good pace - I never found the story dragging or overly convoluted. There's a fair amount of graphic violence and some body horror, along with frank descriptions of violence done to animals.

There will be inevitable comparisons between this book (and presumably the rest of the series) and Harry Harrison, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Brandon Sanderson. I submit that this book compares very favorably and I'm excited to see what's in store in future from this author. Definitely one to watch.

Five stars. Highly recommended to fans of campaign fiction, scandi-fantasy, and immersive doorstop books.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

DNFed at 34%. I started this back at the start of October and as much as I hate DNFing because of the perfectionist in me, I had to call it quits. This was a very dense and slow-moving book which I am normally ok with, but I was bored and never wanted to pick it up. I didn't like some characters which made it even harder for me to continue reading.

8 stars out of 10
It has a lot of potential but I don't like the pacing.

Keywords: high fantasy, Norse, mythology adaptation, multi-pov

REVIEW
Northern Wrath tells about a group of Viking people trapped in a war between men and a war between force way greater than men. We follow the story from several point of view characters, namedly Hilda, a fierce shieldmaiden ready for revenge; Einer, a young man with deadly secret; Ragnar, a dead chief who saw something in the land of the dead; and Siv, Einer's mysterious mother.

What I like from this book:
- The myth and the culture
I always like reading about Norse mythology. Even though I only know the one from famous mainstream medias, reading about Norse mythology always fascinating. In Northern Wrath the author weaved those mythology into a gritty adaptation. There are a lot of Viking's culture and tradition in the book and I love reading them.

- Strong women
Women hold important plot points in this book and they are all badass. Hilda and Siv are both fierce and have admirable quality.

What I dislike from this book:
- Too many pov it lost focus
There are many point of views in this book and the change between each point of view always too abrupt and jarring. Each point of view's chapter is too short. I think it would be better if some of those chapters were merged to each pov's chapter so it will be more conclusive and not confusing.

- Some parts should've been shorter
I feel like the pacing of this book is too slow. Some scenes are unnecessary long.

Overall it's moderately good. But it has lots of potential and quite entertaining especially if you like Viking and Norse mythology. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the e-arc of this book for an exchange of an honest review.

This is a great introduction to the Hanged God trilogy, influenced by Norse mythology. It is told using multiple perspective and the writing is good throughout. The characters are well written. the plot is compelling and the world is a vivid one. It took me a little while to become invested in a few of the characters, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

An excellent epic fantasy that kept me hooked. It's a well written, gripping and highly entertaining grimdark.
I loved the great world building and storytelling, the excellent character development and the well developed plot.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

*4.5*

Northern Wrath tells the story of a small Viking village that is attacked by warriors of the south. Alongside this, there are so many other narrative interwoven! You have a dead man walking between worlds, a survivor who releases the fire demons of Muspelheim and must find a way to contain them again, beserkers, giants, gods, dwarves. This book expertly weaves all of this with aspects of Norse mythology. To say there’s a lot going on is an understatement, but wow, it was incredibly written!

If you enjoy multiple perspectives, you will love this. There’s pretty much a POV from every single character. The women in the book were my absolute favourites. Strong, filled with emotion and passion, and just overall intriguing characters. I had to knock off half a star just because some POV’s got a little boring for me, and I just wanted to get back to the parts I was invested in, but that’s just me! The battle scenes and descriptions were brutal, and it felt like you were there watching it unfold. I also loved that the characters weren’t given anything for free, and they were out through a tremendous amount of suffering to gain something (not that I like seeing ppl suffer 🤣) but it felt more realistic in such a hard world.

If you love Viking culture and mythology, you will love this!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

All I can say is wow. This book was amazing. It has bloody and realistic battles, magic, giants, demons, gods, love and more. An epic fantasy focused on Norse mythology that compares to Neil Gaiman in its writing style. It’s lyrical and brutal all at once. This read packs a punch and the twists and turns leave you racing onto the next page to see what’s going to happen next. I made myself take my time with this book as I didn’t want to miss anything. I loved this book and I am so glad that there will be more in this series. If you like retellings of myths and legends and the more descriptive style of Gaiman then this is the book for you. Just magical...

THAT COVER THO.

I love daring hero, battle filled, sea faring Viking stories as much as the next fantasy lover and Northern Wrath gives you all that plus some with its fantastically bloody and mythic filled pages. Thilde has done a great job of infusing a little education of Viking beliefs and ways of life throughout the book and I love that we can get a little education along with our entertainment. It’s a two for one that you don’t want to miss out on.

One of my biggest issues was that the shifts in POV were a little distracting and confusing at times. These shifts often happen mid-battle and left me a little dazed at times. Maybe this was a clever tactic of the author to immerse us in the fog of war but I don’t think that is the case here and if it is then high five to Thilde on that one.

Okay, so some people enjoy plenty of POV changes and don’t mind a slower pace but for me Vikings should be fast and vicious they should leave me exhausted and struggling with whiplash from the constant brawl to brawl nature that we have come to know. Again, this is just my opinion and others will love the pace. Thilde Kold Holdt does a fantastic job when it comes to bringing the battles to life within the book. We are thrown right alongside our protagonists in the midst of battle and Thilde does not hold back with the gory descriptions. I like that a lot.

As you guys know I am a huge fan of good world building and again Northern Wrath ticks all the right boxes here. We get a lot of travelling done within this epic and not all on the world of the living we also get to see a good chuck of the underworlds. Thilde Kold Holdt does a amazing job of bringing to life the battle fields, the dark caves, the villages and towns. I often found myself dreaming of these lands when I was going about my day.

To sum up on Northern Wrath… If you love Vikings, if you love great world building and you love a good amount of gore then you will love Northern Wrath and I will recommend you pick up a copy of delve into its rich content. However if you find an abundance of POV switches or a slower pace a little off putting then I would recommend giving the 700 page epic that is Northern Wrath a miss.

For those of you awaiting the, seemingly, unlikely to be released The Winds of Winter, Northern Wrath will be a distraction well worthy of your time and attention. Set in a bygone era of Viking raiders, Norse gods, runes, giants, dwarves and other fantastical creatures from ancient tales, this book honestly took my breath away. I have been reading it for ages to savor it slowly and immerse myself in this magical, not to be forgotten, experience.

I admit to a passable knowledge of Norse mythology and reading this has fueled a desire to know a lot more. But this isn't simply about Odin and Loki. Here we travel with a band of raiders seeking vengeance alongside a handful of disparate souls on separate, but linked, adventures. Not one of them is as they appear and that feeds the magic of this engaging yarn. I find it difficult to express how rich this story is. It's got such great bones - characters fully fleshed out, huge challenges that must be overcome, brilliant battles, all with roots in an ancient religion that brings meaning to it all. More than just the future of our raider's village is at stake, it is safeguarding the nine worlds and their ways which face a slow death as Christianity takes hold and unsettles the balance. The scope is huge and awe inspiring given this was Thilde Kold Holdt's debut!

I am so excited for any of you who can read this during the next lockdown (here in the UK). You will be happy for the distraction-free time to enter a new and amazing world crafted within the pages of Northern Wrath. What's even more exciting is knowing this is the first of a series (hooray!). I, for one, am eager to get my hands on the next installment to see how we carry on from the harsh blow dealt at the close of Northern Wrath.

Unfortunately this book is a DNF for me. The writing is a little bland and the plot is too obvious from the start. Also the pacing is pretty slow. DNF @ 50 pages

I wanted to take a break from cozy mysteries and dig into a nice juicy fantasy book, so when I found a new trilogy revolving around Norse mythology, I had to request the first book. Northern Wrath by Thilde Kold Holdt is the first book in the Hanged God trilogy. It was released on the 27th from Solaris Books. As usual, I must thank NetGalley and the publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s get on with it.

Northern Wrath follows a number of mortals and giants and monsters alike as they prepare for the final battle. The Runes are fading, signaling the weakening of the bond between humans and the gods. Some want to save the nine worlds, others want to save themselves, and a handful just want to watch the worlds burn. Who will prevail? Only time will tell.

I’m not usually one who likes a story that’s split between more than two or three POVs, but I really appreciate the different glimpses we get in this book. There’s a name at the beginning of each chapter to let us know who we’re with, so it doesn’t get too confusing. And all of the characters are so well rounded that I can’t pick a favorite. I will say that Hilda, the young woman we’re with the most, kind of gets on my nerves. The whole “I don’t need anyone’s help” thing gets annoying, but she’s in the middle of learning her lesson, so I’m hoping I’ll eventually love her like I love Einer and Siv and the rest of them. I even like Finn even though he’s kind of a dipshit.

The plot is fun and twisty and has a lot of familiar Norse mythology sprinkled throughout as well as some stuff I am not entirely familiar with but that I vaguely recognize. It helps keep things interesting when I can tie into the story with stuff I know, but I don’t think any knowledge of the mythology is actually necessary to enjoy the book. The author does a wonderful job of explaining or showing the important points (like Ragnarok or Loki and Odin’s relationship) without feeling infodumpy. Everything is woven together and works to fully immerse the reader in this violent and lovely world.

I admit the writing is a little dense at times, but it doesn’t get in the way of the story. It’s almost 500 pages, but it manages to keep the reader’s attention with no problem. I have to say, there aren’t many books that keep me thinking about them when I’m not actively reading them, but this one did. Also, it’s a fast-paced story despite its length.

Ultimately, I loved Northern Wrath. I’m a tad bitter that I have to wait for the next two installments. But I did notice Thilde Kold Holdt is also planning a fantasy set in Korea which I will also be checking out when it becomes available.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I knocked off one because things could have been tightened up a bit and because of my own feelings toward Hilda. But it’s totally worth picking up if you’re into Norse mythology or just looking for an interesting new fantasy world.

There is no way I could start this review without talking about the absolutely stunning cover art, it caught my eye immediately, and it is a beautiful cover that is only matched by the phenomenal story within. Northern wrath is the first book in the Hanged God trilogy, and the author’s debut, and what a debut! It comes out swinging from the start, grapples you and pulls you thoroughly into one of the most beautifully crafted Norse worlds I have ever read.
Northern Wrath is historical epic fantasy, and it not just in the breadth and depth of the world that has been created here, but also in the Norse Mythology and lore that is brought to life within the pages of the book. There is a depth of knowledge here that is mind-blowing, and the author’s research is evident from the start, but there is no info-dumps, no feeling that the research is stifling the narrative, because not only is it woven into every strand of the story, there is a passion to it that can’t be denied, and shines through in all the little details that are captured throughout. From rituals and customs and beliefs to more physical aspects of Norse life, it is all here, and it brings Northern Wrath to life in such a way, that you are pulled into this world, journeying through it with the characters, living and breathing it with them.
There was a wonderful blend of historical accuracy and authenticity, entwined with Norse myths and other fantastical elements, to create an outstanding world and it is particularly delightful to witness how the different aspects come together to create a culture that forms the backdrop to the narrative. This was not a gentle world, there was brutality and war and death, there was conflict of faith, myths made real and so much more, and it could have been overwhelming, and yet it is so beautifully balanced, every aspect of the worldbuilding and narrative coming together to creating an overarching flow that brings it all together and pulls you along with it. A dazzling tour-de-force of Norse life and beliefs and some of my favourite parts of Northern Wrath was the exploration of some of the major Norse myths, retold and portrayed as
The characters are by no means left behind in this sprawling epic, and there is a substantial number of them, which can make it harder to connect as deeply with them, or so it might feel at the beginning. However, between the world, the storylines that are woven together and the way Kold Holdt has brought together a cast of characters who all have their own motivations, goals and voices, which them all different in their own way, you find yourself more and more invested until by the end of the book its not just the main POV characters that you care about, and that brought another level to this book.
I love books that have multiple POVs, and Northern Wrath has done that to perfection, setting up multiple storylines that each have their own conflicts and obstacles and journeys, while still being brought together in a cohesive overarching story. Every thread and individual storyline is given its own weight, and depth and each contributes to the main story, and those pauses, where you have to wait to return to a storyline helped to build up the tension that permeates through Northern Wrath and leaves you unable to put this book down. The characterisation was spot on, and every journey was unique and carried its own emotion and power, and I don’t think there was a single storyline that I was not invested in or any character. That said, I was torn between Siv and Hilda for my favourite characters/storylines.
Kold Holdt’s writing really brought all the other fantastic elements together and gave Northern Wrath that feeling that you were being told one of the old Norse epics. There were some truly beautiful descriptions throughout, building on that mythical feeling as well as the realism of the setting, and also bringing to life the feeling of suspense and mystery beneath it all, and balanced by some fantastic, smooth action scenes.
Northern Wrath was a spectacular read at all levels, beautiful written, complex and delightfully brutal in all the right ways, and it is as book pulls you firmly into its pace and won’t let you go from start to finish. A standout debut that is up there with my favourite books for 2020, and I will definitely be grabbing a physical copy for my shelves. I would highly recommend, especially to anyone with interest in Norse-inspired fiction, because this book takes that and blows it out the water, and I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris Books / Rebellion Publishing for approving me to read the ARC of 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡 by Thilde Kold Holdt.
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𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.
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It's not that often that I enjoy a book that falls into the fantasy genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
It was an excellent balance between the action of the plot taking place, and the norse mythology. I loved how the mythology was interwoven into the story, and how the desire to keep the old gods alive was portrayed.
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𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧 ... 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝.
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I think there was some excellent description throughout the story outside of the action, and it was great to see so many strong female characters.
I feel like this was a good nod to the culture of the Vikings, who recognised the strength of women and shieldmaidens within their socities.
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𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧, 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫.
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This was a strong novel as the start of the series from Kold Holdt, and I'm intrigued to know what happens next.

Northern Wrath is a fun, gory romp through the frozen North, with Vikings! The characters don't have a lot of depth, and aren't terribly dynamic. The plot is a pretty straightforward revenge tale, without much in the way of twists or originality. The fantasy elements are lifted straight from Norse mythology, and are given enough context that it was possible to follow what was going on, although I constantly felt that if I was more well-grounded in my lore that I could have gotten a lot more out of this book. I didn't love every minute of it, and for a book that I didn't love, 700 pages gave me a LOT of those minutes. But when Holdt stuck to writing about Vikings doing Viking stuff, it was great.

The story is set in Jutland, around the time that Viking life was in decline. Southerners and Christians are spreading North from Denmark and points south and the Old Ways are in danger of being left behind by history. While the Viking Warriors of Ash-Hill are out raiding, murdering and pillaging, as Vikings tend to do, the undefended village of Ash-Hill is put to the flame by the zealous Southern Christians, who's military arm has caught up with their harmless missionary presence. As far as revenge stories go, it was really hard to find much sympathy for the Vikings of Ash-Hill, coming home to find their families slaughtered and their homes destroyed. By the time this early event happens, we've already seen battle, ruthless murder, and human sacrifice, and I must say, if I was a Southerner I would want Ash-Hill incinerated myself! It's not a stretch to say that the Vikings are devoid of any modern moral high-ground, which you really need in a revenge story, if the revengers are to carry any sympathy.

There are three main protagonists, Einer, the son of the Chief of Ash-Hill, Hilda, Einer's childhood friend who longs to become a shieldmaiden, and Siv, the mysterious runesmith who guides Ash-Hill's spiritual life. I found Einer's story to be the most interesting, while I found Einer himself to be the least interesting character. Most of his story could have happened without him. He floated along as second-in-command while his father Vigmar made poor decisions and the wily Finn made life difficult for him. Although Einer is a berserker, who is overcome by a blinding battle rage, he is also slow to anger and quick to forgive and lets Finn shit all over him through most of the story. He literally stands by looking morose while Finn tries to steal his ship, his girl, his sword, his father, his birthright, and even his life. Some Berserker! Still, his story has the least magic, and the most of gnarly Viking warriors just doing Viking stuff, sailing, fighting, drinking, fighting, telling stories of olde, and fighting. His chapters were a joy to read, in spite of him.

I found Hilda to be less likable, for opposite reasons. She is a hot-headed, chip on the shoulder, young woman who longs to be a shieldmaiden and fight shoulder to shoulder with Einer in battle. She's been frozen out by Chief Vigmar from ever joining the raids despite being a capable warrior. She becomes one of the very few survivors of the Ash-Hill massacre and flees to meet up with the warriors who left Ash-Hill defenseless while they raided the coast. She proceeds to stumble upon supernatural event after supernatural event, until she finds herself some sort of powerful warrior sorceress. Through all her traumatic story she doesn't actually learn anything about herself or life. She doesn't grow or progress as a character at all. All you need to know about Hilda, is that she is type of person who captures her spirit animal and ties it with a chain rather than befriending it and earning it's trust. Yuck.

Siv is the most interesting and dynamic character of the three, but her story left me lost. This is where I felt that I could have used more Norse mythology education. Siv is an ancient being who knows how to travel between the nine-worlds and can perform powerful magic. I understood very little of what she was doing or why after the Ash-Hill massacre. She just sort of jumped from one supernatural encounter to the next. I felt like her whole story was just a vehicle to talk about ancient magic and gods, and the nine worlds of Norse mythology rather than an interesting plot that moved from point A to point B.

This isn't a character driven book. Fans of George RR Martin or Joe Abercrombie will find little here to keep their interest. Fans of Vikings, mythology, battles, and gory writing will find a lot to like, without all that troublesome character development getting in the way.