‘All the Horses of Iceland’ by Sarah Tolmie is a novella about how horses might have arrived in Iceland.

Eyvind of Eyry takes on a grand trip that leads him to strange places. Along the way he gathers horses to take back with him to Iceland. He meets a variety of different people and races. Eyvind returns a changed man in more ways than one.

I had a hard time getting into this story, but there were things I really liked about it once I finished it and thought about it. The lyrical nature of some of the prose, the different races that he meets along the way, and the ultimate outcome of horses in Iceland were all interesting.

All the Horses of Iceland is a fictional historical account of Eyvind, a man from Iceland who travels all the way to Mongolia and back in search of horses to trade and sell. During this journey, he encounters ghosts, and a magic horse that not only may ensure his survival on his way back to Iceland, but also the survival of the many horses that travel with him.
I loved the historical elements and the diverse cast but it was way too much for such a short book. I wanted to connect more. I def recommend reading it though

Sarah Tolmie's epic historical fantasy tells how Eyvind of Eyri left Iceland as a crewman and became a wide-traveler, who returned - after all kinds of adventures - with horses and felt..

His long journey to the Mongolian Steppes and back went through many different cultures, where he had to deal in trade, war, ghosts, and magic.

A magical white mare kept him and his horses safe and guided them home to Iceland.

Written like Norse epics, All the Horses of Iceland is an expansive epic miraculously packed into novella form. Unfortunately, the plot is a bit lost in the world-building and prose.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

In a long-ago time, a Norse trader embarks upon an expedition to Central Asia in search of riches. He hooks up with an experienced Jewish merchant as they travel through Khazaria to the steppes of Mongolia, through war-ravaged territory and vast, open lands. He encounters new peoples and their magic, bringing the wisdom of his people and learning much more. When he returns to his home in Iceland many years later with a herd of tough steppe horses, led by a white mare without a name that sometimes only he can see, he is a changed man.

The best thing about this short novel is the wonderful authorial voice. Tolmie conveys both familiar and unfamiliar customs and assumptions without modern exposition. That is, Eyvind remarks on events from the context of his own culture and understanding of others, not from a modern narrator’s viewpoint. The effect is to immerse us into a world view informed by his open-mindedness. He takes the customs and teachings of the people he encounters on their own terms, with an occasional dry and witty comment. He’s incredibly generous, even when he disagrees. His open-mindedness evokes an open landscape, both of thought and of physical distance. It’s very deftly done. While there is plenty of adventure to be had, for me the heart of the story is very much the exploration of a vivid world only hinted at in history books.

I quite enjoyed this story. No, it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I read it in one fell swoop and was engaged the whole time. It has the story telling flavor of, sort of, Tolkien, rather saga-like.
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Very sad to say that I didn't enjoy this. I liked the atmosphere of historic Iceland, but the 'plot' left me lost and I couldn't get myself into the book. It took me an inordinately long amount of time to read considering it's just over 100 pages.

A tremendous part of my interest in this story is my love of Iceland, and its horses. I do think I ended up loving the idea of this story more than the story itself. The author certainly succeeded in doing exactly as the book was marketed as--giving a mythology to the horses of Iceland--I just personally didn't find I particularly cared for the created mythology. Still extremely well written; it's more of an "it's not you, it's me" scenario.

As a book that was pitched as telling the origin story of the horses of Iceland, I wish that had shared more of the story of the horses of Iceland.

This novella took me 2 attempts to get through after stalling out on my first attempt only a few pages in when realizing this book was very different that the mythical origin story I was promised. This book follows the story of a Norse trader who ends up joining a merchant group traveling to the far reaches of Mongolia where he conveniently solves the mystery of a local ghost problem and is gifted magnificent horses. The story is a lot more about Eyvind's travels in a very hand-wavey kind of way both to acquiring his horses and bringing them home.

The writing was very straight-forward and distant, with the story actually being recorded by a clerk of some sort, dictating Eyvind's story. What I felt was most odd was that it would make very small, casual references to some of the unique myths about the various horses of Iceland without actually going into any detail of those stories. I was definitely expecting THOSE stories to be what this book was about, and not the casual references to "well you know how unique these horses are..." No. In fact, I do not. That's why I picked this book up. The white mare did have some significance towards the end of the book, which I appreciated, I just wish it had actually been a much greater focus of the story.

This was actually quite historical, with historical names of places being used along what I think may have been partially the silk road? But I'm not a historian and could not say for sure. It felt like a lot of references without any context. But I think someone looking for a more historical, less mythical, exploration story of a Norse trader traveling with Jewish (I think) merchants to Mongolia, and the challenging and sometimes dangerous nuances of the religious interplay here may appreciate the book much more than me.

I really thought I would love this one, as it looked to be super atmospheric and bewitching. While it was atmospheric, if was almost too much. There was no buildup for this one, we dive directly into the story. Too many characters and places were getting thrown around, and I spent the whole time confused. Not my thing.

Told through the words of an omnipotent narrator, this historical fantasy novella is set in the 9th century and follows a Norse trader, Eyvind of Eyri, as he seeks his fortune along the Silk Road. While a disbeliever of magic, after assisting a trapped spirit, Eyvind is trailed by a mysterious white horse that may be the key to his survival on the journey homeward.

The novella is extremely “tell” heavy. Because of the narrative style, there’s no urgency to the tale. The narrative basically explains when something happens and follows up with how things ended. There’s little conflict that isn’t quickly resolved. Along these lines, there’s no emotional depth, as everything is explained via our narrator, recounting events from some point in the future. Our main character, Eyvind, isn’t especially likeable. He’s close-minded and narrow-focused. After experiencing mystical events, we don’t really get a sense of how his viewpoints are changing. He simply goes with the flow.

The setting isn’t explained well, and cultural terms aren’t put into a context for readers to understand. It detracts when readers need to pause to research a word or a place to understand what they’re reading. Conversely, Eyvind makes a disparaging joke about lawyers, and everyone finds it funny. Are lawyers already thought of so poorly in the 9th century across different cultures?

I was left with many questions. What is the significance of the scroll Eyvind is given? What is the impact of the horses for future generations? What message should readers come away with? Unfortunately, there were many dots—those which would provide the story with a lasting message—left unconnected and unrealized.

All the Horses of Iceland is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a short novella that is part ghost story, part horse history, and as a fan of both horses and ghost stories you'd think I would have loved this book. However, although I did like it for the most part, the writing style was overblown and confusing at times and a bit rough to get through the first half. But it's relatively short, and gets better as it goes along... and then suddenly it's over. I have mixed feelings about it because I did enjoy the story but did not enjoy the read.

This novella reads like an old primary account of a mystical happening that I'd stumble upon in school. The myth that Tolmie has created in these pages detailed and imaginative, yet deeply researched. In the author's note, Tolmie references multiples stories that served as inspiration—I'm almost curious to read translations of them, myself.

The story is about a young man who travels from Iceland to the mainland of Europe searching for his next adventure. He joins a trading party that eventually winds up as guests of a great ruler who is haunted by the ghost of his wife. What comes is a journey across countless borders and through awe-inspiring landscapes, where magic runs amok.

This is a delightful little story, a perfect quick read for when you want something imaginative yet rooted deeply in history.

This is a book unlike any I've read before, with some of the most beautiful writing!

It's a short read, but packs a truly lovely punch.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review galley!

If you love horses, magical tales, or stories stemming from Iceland, then you've got to look into All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie. Admittedly the title of this story is very on the nose, but that is far from being a bad thing.

Follow a Norse trader as he travels through Iceland. His story is full of magic, wonder, lore, and whispers. Everything has a balance and a cost, especially when trading in horses. Eyvind can promise you the truth in that statement.

"Every horse in Iceland, like every person, has ancestors who sailed here in a ship...their sturdy kin can be seen...working around farms and fjords...[these] little horses of the North, strong as oxen..."

Is it possible for a book to be everything and nothing like you expected at the same time? If so, then that description applies to All the Horses of Iceland. I knew that this would be a horse book (obviously), and based on the description, I also knew that it would be more. And yet I was unprepared for the depth and turn that this book followed.

Eyvind of Eyri is a horse trader, a calling that provided the opportunity to travel all over Iceland searching for deals, buyers, and horses. It also opened the door for so much more, as readers are quick to discover.

The foundation of All the Horses of Iceland is excellent. The world is beautiful and carefully laid out, detailing even the trade route and history of the region. From there, the world is infused with color as characters and the plot rises to the surface. There were times when this became a lot, but I don't think this was a bad thing.

This was a lovely novella with lyrical and immersive writing. I loved the folkloric tale. I cannot wait to read more by this author!

I liked this book well enough but I definitely did struggle with it.
It's a really short read but it still took me quite a while to finish it as I struggled with the writing style.
I did really like the story though so I do recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Tolmie — both a medievalist and professed horse person — brings a scholarly precision to her fantasy that makes magic mundane and the mundane utterly sublime. The simple fact of honest men doing their best, discussing customs, names, religions and opinions with genuine curiosity, is deeply refreshing, a kind of grace.

Sarah Tolmie's All the Horses of Iceland is beautifully poetic novella which, like the Edda's and the Heimskringla by Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson, lays forth the story behind a national legend. For Tolmie, that's the story of all the horses of Iceland. And like all good legends, there's magic and the supernatural, there's good and evil, and there's a wanderer who encounters many things.

On the surface, this might appear to be a tale of the horse of Iceland. In fact, we open with a poetic moment:

Every horse in Iceland, like every person, has ancestors who sailed here in a ship. What has a horse to do with a ship? In a ship, a horse cannot hold on. A horse cannot row or trim sail or bail out water. A horse has no business on the sea at all. Horses were carried here, cold and sick and protesting, in open boats, frost riming their manes, from Norvegr and the Føroyar, from Irland and Hjaltland and the Suthreyar. Their sturdy kin can be seen in all those places, long-haired in winter, working around farms and fjords. These little horses of the North, strong as oxen, carry tall men in their endeavours of work and pleasure and war, all the way to Garthariki. The mare of whom this saga speaks, she came from a land beyond even these, a great ocean of grass. Her journey here was long and the wealth she brought with her was considerable, but no rune stones speak of them. What are the most important words, after all, that rune stones record?

Names.

But a horse can't tell its own story and as the narrator suggests, a horse had no reason for being on a ship to Iceland. Except for Eyvind. Eyvind of Eyri was a trader who brought the horses to Iceland. Focusing on one mare to whom the ghosts spoke and who was somehow able to command the attention of other hardy horses.

It really is a marvelous idea and the language is so captivating. It is so disappointing, then, that the story itself is so ponderous.

Though barely a hundred pages, this book reads like a 500 page epic. Not because there are so many lofty ideas, but because it moves so slowly and sometimes incoherently ("Who's speaking? That's the ghost? No, that's the horse? No, it's a merchant we haven't met yet?").

I was so eager to read this book, I moved it ahead of all my other books in my ARC-to-be-read queue. It was so disappointing then to be so let down.

Looking for a good book? All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie is beautifully poetic and appears to be not unlike classic Scandinavian myths and legends, but perhaps the story gets lost behind the words.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.