Representation: Finnish mythology and folklore

Ulla, a small green-eyed girl, is tromping along in the forest, looking for mushrooms to bring home when she runs into a bear. She gets badly mauled by it, but is saved by the famous wizard, Väinämöinen. After recovering, it’s discovered that her scar healed into a striking resemblance to a bear claw, the Mark of her clan. This is the start of an ancient prophecy about a child who will come from the North, and bring all the seven Clans together once again to defeat Löhi, the Witch of the North. Ulla lost her family at a young age, and is torn away from her village as Löhi’s forces start moving south, attacking and destroying the Northlands. Väinämöinen is traveling all over the lands, trying to bring tidings of war, warning people to prepare for hard times ahead, and using his magic to help however he can. Miles and miles away, Prince Egan is forced to become king when his father is killed by one of Löhi’s people spreading sickness. He’s burdened with war and all the tough decisions that come with at the age of around fifteen.

Rating: 3.75/5 I really enjoyed this! It definitely reads as the beginning of an epic, and this is the first book in a series. This takes Finnish mythology and uses the world of the Kalevala (a work of epic poetry that compiles Karelian and Finnish mythology into an epic story) to tell a story that mixes the mythology with completely original characters to give us a new take on fantasy. I don’t really know much about Finnish folklore, but really enjoyed what I learned through this! This book had a very interesting approach to storytelling. It’d often swing between epic, fantastical, big storytelling and detailed descriptions of clothing worn by the different clans, farming methods, how these people live year-round, and so on. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy high fantasy, detailed mundanity, and mythology from other countries.

This is a fantasy story based on Finnish tales. Ulla is from a small poor little town in the far northern lands and is attacked by a mama bear and saved from death by a great wizard. After she heals, the mark of the bear clan is on her shoulder. Thus begins her travels.

As a fan of The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara, I was really interested in reading this book, but it did not live up to my expectations.

I received a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.