I absolutely loved this book. It felt both timeless and alive, almost like reading a living, breathing myth. Helm — this ferocious, mischievous wind — becomes more than just an elemental force; it feels like a character you can almost reach out and touch.

I loved the way the story weaves through different eras and voices, showing how deeply nature and spirit intertwine with human longing and fear. There’s a wildness and a strange tenderness that lingers in every chapter, pulling you deeper into its foggy, wind-whipped world.

This is a novel that makes you feel small and awed in the best possible way, reminding you that nature is both lover and destroyer, friend and foe. It’s beautifully written and entirely unforgettable.

Highly recommend for anyone who loves folklore, nature’s raw power, and lyrical storytelling that leaves you haunted (in a good way).

Sarah Hall’s novel Helm presents a sweeping and imaginative history of humankind’s relationship with Helm, the powerful and often very destructive wind that is the only named wind in the British Isles. Making the wind itself the character of greatest interest in the novel, Hall gives Helm a winning personality. Helm makes it clear that even though fascinated and amused by their activities, he is doubtful about the tiny ant-like human beings from the time his attention is first drawn to them. The novel moves from the prehistoric group focussed on building the stone circle now known as Meg and her Daughters, near the original settlement of the village of Eden, through several time periods up to the present day. The latest action of the novel is focussed on a young scientist, stationed near the top of Helm’s mountain, to carry out a research project on the effect of atmospheric polymers on the wind. Each period is focussed on the activities of a main character engaged in an attempt to understand or to control Helm. Only the first human project, a stone circle that will accurately reveal the winter solstice, the time of the coming of more light, is an unqualified success.

I found this beautifully written novel a compelling and enjoyable read and a clear warning of the ultimately destructive effects of human activity on nature. I would recommend it to any reader interested in nature and our often unwitting threat to her continued smooth operation. The Helm wind makes a wonderful representative for all natural forces. (My thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC)

I had fun with this! I was not expecting a sentient wind being to be so funny, but I loved Helm's sense of humor.

The concept of a mischievous wind is what drew me in, which just sounded so adorable to me and the book really exceeded my expectations.

The books spans human history, with characters being introduced and then left behind. Which isn't normally something I like, however obviously works really well with the story the author was trying to tell here. The wind is everlasting after all, an ancient being that will never fade even when humanity does. The one negative I'd say is that since the MC is the literal wind, its hard to really have any kind of emotional connection here.

This is super experimental and I think pays off very well. Such a unique concept, this is the kind of book that we need more of out there. I'll definitely be reading the authors next book.

Thank you to Mariner Books for the ARC

In this miracle of imagination, Sarah Hall presents her argument against man's effect on the weather. The wind has been anthropomorphized in fable and song (They Call the Wind Maria, the Wayward Wind et al), but here it is given a distinct identity, and the respect granted through millenia is threatened by the effects of climate change. Wonderful perspective.