If you enjoy beautiful prose and enchanting stories then this short and sweet novel is for you. Both the story and the writing has a sort of enchanting and calming vibe to them. This magical story follows the tale of a Norse trader and his journey to Mongolia where he bartered for a few horses that turned out to be much more and changed the land of fire, stone, and ice forever.

" I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this short little novella! This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I am so excited I got to read it early. Unfortunately, this book is not entirely to my taste despite being brilliantly written. That is entirely a me problem--I always think I will like literary, more dry historical works more than I do when it comes to fantasy. I wanted more whimsy, like the cover seems to promise. However, that's not what this book was trying to be. I do not think Sarah Tolmie should have changed her vision to fit my taste. I just am simply explaining why this was a 3 stars for me.

BUT, if you like any of the following things, CHECK THIS BOOK OUT:

1. Folklore, specifically the Icelandic variety. This was probably the thing that excited me most about this book as I was expecting something a la Bear and the Nightingale. And I do think there's elements of that here, but what this book does so well with folklore is it truly feels like an origin story for folklore. It is a retelling of what is quite clearly an origin story of Icelandic horses. If you know more about the Icelandic culture and how important horses are, this is going to resonate with you a bit more. However, I was not super familiar with that, and still got a lot out of the folklore bits. There were times where I wondered, why are we talking about this? But then I remembered--this is retelling folklore, and Sarah Tolmie is probably including all the bits that people know about this piece of folklore. This feels like folklore retold a la Ariadne more than Bear and the Nightingale in a way--this is a straight retelling of a specific story/origin myth, and there's not a whole lot of character dynamics or plot added to it. And that is fine. I think if you liked that book, and like a drier more origin-story-like telling of legends and folklore, this will resonate with you just fine.

2. LITERARY FANTASY. If you like Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant or Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, I highly recommend this to you because the literary vibes are similar. This is not exactly LIKE those books in terms of plot, but in terms of the literary quality and the deep look into history, it is like them. If you liked those, this bite-sized literary fantasy may be for you.

3. Horses. If you're a horse person, and want to hear about Icelandic lore about horses, I recommend this.

Overall, I'm glad I read this, but it is not a new favorite. I recommend it, but it's not one I will talk about often.

The writing was gorgeous, but I could not follow the plot for the life of me. Nothing really made sense to me it felt like so much was going on for such a short book.

I really liked this one! It felt like I was reading a myth. I appreciated the magic, and the history, and it thought it was just the right amount of pages. I don't know anything about the history of Iceland and I still liked it very much, but those who are familiar might get even more out of this than I did.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing me with this advance reader copy.

Description from NetGalley:
Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. Sarah Tolmie’s All the Horses of Iceland weaves their mystical origin into a saga for the modern age. Filled with the magic and darkened whispers of a people on the cusp of major cultural change, All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and ice. His search for riches will take him from Helmgard, through Khazaria, to the steppes of Mongolia, where he will barter for horses and return with much, much more.

This was sold to me as a historical fantasy. It’s very light on fantasy, aside from the ghost. It’s told almost as someone else telling you the main character’s story, which threw me off for a moment. It is also slow to get going, which is not a good thing for a novella. The well written story is about how the horses of Iceland got to Iceland by way of Asia and a long, long journey. I think I was expecting more of the story to take place in Iceland.

Overall it was a quick, nice read. 3/5

Set in the 9th century, All the Horses of Iceland is presented as a story about the origin of the Icelandic horses. I know nothing about the background, so I’m completely unable to judge how much of it is based on actual legends, myth, and history vs made up, but it sure was interesting and refreshing. It’s told in a very distant style, with occasional commentary from the narrator, suited it very well in my opinion, given that it’s presented as a legend from the old days, but it does create a distance between the reader and the story. Especially the characters. I’m not sure I would be able to tolerate it in anything novel-length. However, I appreciated very much that the characters don’t read like modern people inserted into the 9th century.

It’s not going to be a novella for everyone – I can see the distant style in particular as a dealbreaker – but in the end, I liked it well enough.

I had no idea about what I would find in this story when I was on the page 1. After reading few pages, I thought it should be some urban legend or mythical story. Deeper I went, more I realized that it was story of man finding himself and his purpose instead of figuring out where all the horses of Iceland came from.

I cannot put my finger on it, but I needed something more from this story. It was missing a bang in my opinion. I know not every book has to leave something behind or resonate with every reader,, but hopelessly I have that expectation from all of the ones I read.

It was flowing; easy to read in one sitting. I was happy to see few words from my mother tongue sprinkled here and there as well. But like I said, I needed bit more from it!

One of my most anticipated books of 2022 was All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie. When I first heard about it last year, I was instantly intrigued by it.

The narrative style of All the Horses of Iceland reminded me of a nonfiction book I read earlier this year called Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee. That book followed the lives of Edward I’s five daughters. In this book, there was a clear narrator, and it was basically written as an autobiography of a fictional historical figure. The story followed a man during his travels and chronicled the people he met, the places he went, the magic he encountered, and ultimately the horses that would give context to the title of the story.

I’m not very familiar with the sources Tolmie used for some aspects of the story. So, I found the author’s note in the back helpful for clarifying a few details I was unsure about after I finished reading.

All that to say: All the Horses of Iceland was a slow and contemplative story, but I enjoyed reading it.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (TorDotCom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

DNFing this one at 50% because I am incredibly bored. This had some really great writing, but I just could not get into the story at all. It was interesting for a second with the ghost plot, but after that was done I couldn’t stay interested.

I also didn’t like the main character much? He just did not click with me. I am interested in trying out other books by this author though! I hope this finds people who will love it.

This book emulates a historical saga in its prose and fluidity, and I really loved the historical elements of this book. The light fantasy portions that interweave themselves throughout the book are also completely engaging and I found myself really interested in every aspect of the different cultural approaches to magic. Set in the 9th century, I really appreciated the lens of the multicultural and multi-religious setting that this book takes place in, from the far northern reaches of Iceland to the steppes of Mongolia. This reads like a historical travel journal, but the interweaving of fantastic elements keeps the narrative gripping.

Some content notes to be aware of: enslavement, death, decapitation, burial, death of adult child (off page),

Thank you Tor and Netgalley for an eArc in exchange for an honest review!

The book had beautiful descriptions of the main character, a horse trader, as he ventures throughout Asia. The writing style was a bit cumbersome and very little of the descriptive narrative stuck with me as I really wanted to enjoy this book. I really didn't feel any emotion or any insight to the character's personality as I continued to read. I was really looking for more beautiful insight, especially with the title of the book, and of the scenery. I didn't feel the magic or whimsy within the book that it was advertised as. I was really hoping for more thorough explanations as the book progressed, but there really wasn't much, so I think it will leave most readers confused and wanting more from the book.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I love the cover on this. The title and the cover together made me so intrigued, and when I read the premise, I was even more interested. Unfortunately, for me, this felt so bogged down in heavy words, I just felt like I was struggling to get through it. The story felt incredibly slow, and for such a short story, I thought it would move at a faster pace. I didn't get connected to the characters, and it just didn't work out for me.

This novella was very absorbing. After getting used to the writing style in the beginning, I was sucked into a very unique tale of a mans journey after leaving, and eventually returning, to Iceland.

Things I Liked:
-The No Name Horse was so well described and had so much character i could visualize her so clearly
-The magic spoken of throughout the story
- The journey and different people met along the way
-The mythology

Things I did not like:
-The story was at times confusing
- I was not always clear on where they were. I wish there had been a map to reference.

Beautiful story.

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

Tor.com has a well-established reputation for their quality SFF novellas. <i>All the Horses of Iceland</i> is an interesting work with excellent writing, yet didn't meet my expectations. Protagonist Eyvind is an Icelandic man exploring the medieval world. In the company of merchants, he explores deep into Asia and finds extraordinary horses--and a powerful ghost.

Foremost, the book has a staunchly literary vibe. It is very slow to get going, and I always felt distanced from Eyvind. The premise of the book is set-up right away: we are reading a tale of events that have happened. Therefore, there's no real sense of urgency as the plot gradually unfolds. The description of the novella had me quite excited. I am HERE for historical fantasies about horses! However, the horses--and the principal horse--played a much smaller role than expected. Really, they don't feature in the novella much at all until about halfway through.

What I found the book excelled in was creating a particular mood. The author obviously put immense research into this work, and the way the diverse characters interact is fascinating. The book feels incredibly grounded in its unique setting.

In all, it's an intriguing read, even if it didn't fully connect for me.

It's not the fastest read despite its short length, but I had a great time reading it. Thank you for giving me a chance to check it before the official release.

I'm not quite sure what it was exactly, but something about this was a miss for me. I wanted a lyrical and poetic story and while they was nothing wrong with the writing it just didn't pull me in. The story dragged, I spent most of it confused. I think the concept is so interesting, I'm definitely going to be researching the horses of Iceland after this.

Lyrical, haunting, beautiful. What a triumph of a story. I didn't want it to end. I could have happily read another 300 pages of this world. What a radical novel, told in such a unique way, that felt dreamy and feverish and poignant.

"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...".

In the ninth century, in the city of Helmgard, Norse trader, Eyvind of Eyri, approached a "substantial merchant" named David and addressed him in river-language (a form of Norse-Slavic creole). He asked if he could buy into his trading vessel. David, not a river trader, planned to travel inland along the Silk Road to the grassy steppes of Mongolia. Eyvind elected to journey with David and his crew, hoping to barter for horses thought to be resilient to harsh weather; strong, wild horses that would make him rich upon his return to Iceland.

This historical fantasy novella, written as a saga, describes Eyvind's experiences in his multi-year journey. He would encounter religious differences. "In the matter of religion he was no better and no worse than the rest of his countrymen...". Many trade routes would be controlled and tolls collected. The trip would take between one hundred days and one year, in each direction, depending upon warfare with the Rus or the Khazars. Finally! David and Eyvind view "a great ocean of tough grass. It went on and on to the horizon, waving like the sea. [They] had come to the country where herdsmen and shepherds were chieftains". Eyvind needed to secure permission to trade for some incomparably different horses, ones that were strong and spirited. Why would an occasional horse go crazy and rear?

"In Iceland, ghosts are robust but this ghost who came to speak to Eyvind had a faint, windy voice, lips moving soundlessly." Perhaps Eyvind was gifted with magical powers in his deaf left ear. Might he communicate with the spirit world and help the ghost of Borte, the chieftain's dead wife, find peace? A white horse, kept pace with Eyvind, moving "steadily and purposefully" through the herd. This horse with no name, a small compact horse from the Northern Steppes, would make the long, difficult journey to Iceland accompanied by twenty brown and black horses. And, so ends the saga of a magnificent white horse, the most famous of all horses in Iceland.

Author Sarah Tolmie's extensive knowledge of Norse history and merchant trading along the Silk Road was most informative. Heavy on history and slow to introduce horse trading to the tome, some readers might find this read to be more history than folklore. This reader, however, was delighted!

Thank you Macmillan/Tor-Forge, Tordotcom and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The further you delve into a discipline, the more specific your feelings—and not just your knowledge—become. You start to have very strong opinions about things that people outside the discipline cannot hope to fathom, and your love and your humor grows a little strange. So when Sarah Tolmie wrote “To deal with ghosts you must be a magician or a lawyer and Eyvind was neither.” It’s a good and funny line on its own, I laughed out loud and explained the whole thing to my husband, who unsurprisingly did not find it quite as compelling after a mini-lecture on the place of lawyers in Iceland with specific reference to Njal’s Saga.

I only studied the Icelandic sagas for a few years, but I do know enough to (a) love them intensely and (b) wish that there had been some about Icelanders venturing further East. We know that certain intrepid seafarers made it to Greenland and Vinland, and we have corresponding stories. We don’t, however, have stories to go with the runes found scored into the stone of the Hagia Sophia. We know Norse traders and fighters ventured very far across the world, Icelanders among them, but we don’t have sagas about the full range of their adventures.

All the Horses of Iceland attempts to fix that in its small but potent way. It tells the tale of Eyvind, who journeys to the steppes of Mongolia as a trader. He wants to enrich himself and do well for his country if he can, and so signs on with David, an experienced merchant who knows the lands and languages. We get insight into the major powers moving in the region without having to delve too much into politics, which I appreciate. It keeps the story focused and moving forward, even when Eyvind spends months more or less sitting still.

Eyvind becomes stuck in the steppes because of a curse, one that can only be broken by a foreigner. He has no reason to suspect he is that foreigner, except that the ghost of a powerful woman won’t leave him alone. Bortë, who died in childbirth, is too strong to be at peace. She will torment her entire clan until someone can find a novel solution, but Eyvind is not a magician. In fact, he hates ghosts. What can he offer?

A lot, as it turns out. Eyvind, steadfast in his traditional paganism, finds that his ways are wildly innovative to Bortë’s clan, and theirs to him. They have much more than goods to offer one another, and All the Horses of Iceland is able to subtly tie this to larger meditations on how strangers and outsiders sometimes have more access to the sacred than members of a tradition do. The world has always been porous, and religions and traditions always more flexible than doctrine suggests.

I love the way that Eyvind doesn’t get terribly excited about his magical ability to connect with Bortë or to fix her problem. He has some suggestions, he makes them known, and then he lets her people decide how to proceed. There is no desperation or drama, just as there was no particular acrimony or fanfare when Eyvind left his former crew and set out on his own. That stoicism is the bedrock of the sagas, and I’m glad that Tolmie was able to access it.



She also manages to walk that very fine line of magic that does not devolve into either spectacle or superstition. Eyvind’s experiences are eerie and astonishing, but always have a certain subtlety. This is true of the horses, and of the written document he receieves as well. We forget, I think, in this world in which we read and write more than we farm, ride, fight, or trade, that literacy was so rare as to be inherently powerful. A priest Eyvind encounters fears a document written in an unfamiliar script because it seems more potently pagan to him, more than the pagan man standing in front of him.

Many of the characters remark on the magic of writing, and of literacy. I wish Tolmie had pushed this concept a little more and explored the nature and dangers of this power a little more. Still, it’s nice to consider the accessibility of magic as contrasted with magic that is innate or accidental. Eyvind has magic because he was ill as a child, and is now deaf in one ear. That ear can hear spirits, a power that he does not particularly like or want. But as for the magic of writing, Eyvind has chosen not to be literate because it doesn’t interest him.

SFF tends very often toward characters and plots about people with ultimate power. They have it, or they want it, or they’re trying to stop someone with it. I love that All the Horses of Iceland refuses that narrative. We hear rumor in Eyvind’s travels of a holy king and a vast war, but Eyvind wants no part of that, either. He just wants to avoid a fuss, buy some horses, and then go back home to sell them so he can have a comfortable life. This doesn’t mean his life is easy or unworthy; far from it. His journey is harrowing, filled with danger and death. There is also room in it for curiosity and for exchange.

That’s what the sagas are, in one sense. They’re stories not about kings or conquerors, but about lawyers, traders, fighters, and settlers. All of them come from a lonely, relatively poor island in the middle of nowhere, and they tell us the same thing All the Horses of Iceland is telling us: no story is small. No journey is unworthy. No exchange lacks value. Everything we do has consequences we cannot anticipate, and will survive us in strange ways.