Scott Oden
Thomas Dunne Books
June 20th, 2017
Grimnir is one of the long-lived, fabled skraelingr–repudiated by the Norse, the English, the Gaels, everyone. He is the last of his kind, and he’s seen more years than you’d guess.
Grimnir is bound and determined to avenge the murder of his brother by his brother’s half-skraelingr son, Bjarki Half-Dane. As he’s searching for the Half-Dane, he comes across a Dane traveling with what looks like a young boy monk–but when he kills the Dane and takes the monk prisoner to use as an English translator he discovers the monk is a woman in disguise. Her name is Etain. This makes little difference to Grimnir–all he’s interested in is finding the Half-Dane, who was last seen in the company of Englishmen. He needs a translator–like it or not, Etain was coming with him.
The two encounter foes both human and supernatural, and take a journey across the Ash road that takes them into the future and to the Half-Dane’s doorstep. By finding the Half-Dane, Grimnir and Etain stumble into a war.
Witches, elves, dwarves and spirits, this book had them all.
I loved this book. It read like an old Norse saga–at times hyperbole, and at others a more literal reading. The characters were well rounded and interesting, and the story suitably grand for a saga. Definitely recommended.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.