Review: Fenrir (Craw trilogy 02) by M.D. Lachlan

Book info: 
Publisher: Gollancz (Pyr)
Book form: e-book (mobi format)
Target audience: adults
Genre: historical fiction, fantasy


Synopsis (with some inevitable spoilers concerning the first part, Wolfsangel):


This part is set up in times of Charles the Fat and more precisely, during the famous siege of Paris (886), which was attacked by several Viking armies. Count Eudes, the descendant of Robert the Strong who is ruling Paris, faces a very difficult problem. Either he surrenders his city, because the Vikings forces are clearly prevailing, or he gives his own sister, Aelis, to these filthy heathens.

If only a Viking king wanted to marry the girl it would be still more or less acceptable – after all a king is a king, even if he is a stinking pagan, and a Christian consort could convert her husband and his people in due time gaining universal recognition, maybe even a status of a saint. Rumour has it, though, that Aelis is to be killed – more precisely sacrificed to an unworthy false god called Odin. It is a horrible fate and one unacceptable for a noble woman and a sister of a leader of Christian Franks. On the other hand what is worse – condemning a whole city of people to death or slavery or condemning one girl? Troubled Eudes asks Jehan of St Germain, a blind, crippled monk declared a living saint, for advice.

However, soon enough the decision is taken from his hands in quite unpredictable manner. During a bold attack the Vikings enter the city and Aelis must flee for her life; following the instructions of a stranger who is supposedly a werewolf, she jumps into the Seine (as dirty as nowadays), gets lost in a forest, meets a greedy merchant called Leshii and disappears completely from her brother’s sight. Other forces are actively looking for her as well– an evil sorcerer Hugnin with his horrible but even more powerful sister Munin, a werewolf who saved her and that crippled monk, Jehan who was captured by Vikings and kept prisoner…after all even pagans understand that a living saint can be worth a lot of money both dead and alive. Aelis must head for the country of Rus near Ladoga where reigns Helgi, a prince who, allegedly, knows enough magic to save her. Will she manage to get there? Who will help her and why? What will she discover during her journey?

What I liked:

The sequel, like the first part, is a literary rendition of the cyclical myth of Fenrir, the wolf destined to kill Odin at Ragnorok and end the era of Norse deities for good. It also features the same set of main heroes. From almost the very beginning it becomes obvious that Aelis and Adisla (a peasant girl from the first part) are, more or less, the same person. Identifying Vali and Feileg, the twin brothers in love with her whose father is Loki himself, is not that easy. Of course both brothers were also given interesting parts but I won’t reveal their identities because it would be two major spoilers. Let me only say that their fates are closely intertwined, the idea was original and their identities –surprising. The author throws as many red herrings your way as it is only possible and he mostly succeeds in disorienting you, making this book different than Wolfsangel– no mean feat when the main characters are supposed to follow the same path for the second time.

Their path might be the same but their social role isn’t. I complained that in the first part Adisla seemed to me the weakest of the trio. Here the opposite is true – she is a really strong female lead who takes difficult decisions, can defend herself and is often the most aware of the course of action happening around her. Mainly because of Aelis I liked the second part better than the first, although it was grimmer - we get here definitely less sense of humour and those happy, cheerful ordinary life scenes are really few and far between.

Overall the characterization was really a strong point of this novel - each character develops as an individual, has their own flaws, and almost every one displays some degree of moral ambiguity - I loved that immensely. Even the nominal bad guys are not wholly bad. What’s more? I am happy to say that Loki reappears forwarding the action every time in a new direction but we see almost no witches (and good riddance to bad rubbish, I hated them).

What I didn’t like:

Sometimes the narration was overwhelming because of the amount of atrocities, described; I felt like having a really bad nightmare, one after which you wake up tired and drawn but grateful it’s over. Be warned - cannibalism, killings, murders, torture scenes are thrown at you one after another until the very end. Yes, they are used in context with the rest of the story and often play important role in the progression of the narrative, everything being logical and explained in a believable way but if you are not in a mood for such entertainment better steer clear of this book.

At the end no HEA is waiting for you either, although some might quarrel that a prospect of living again after being killed can be counted as such. However, how much is such a prospect worth when you are entangled in the same vicious cycle of running for your life, being turned into a monster, killing and being killed, most of it happening against your own will and for unknown purpose? I hope the final part will end up in a more positive way for Vali, Adisla and Feileg, no matter how they will be called and what they will become.

Finally it is hardly a flaw but I am also not sure this one is a stand-alone novel. Not really. In my opinion you would miss too many good analogies and most of rune magic. I do recommend reading Wolfsangel first. For those who like reading a series out of order – don’t do it this time.

Final verdict:

In my view, Fenrir lived up to the high expectations set by Wolfsangel. It is rare when it comes to sequels – the more I am pleased to admit it. The book still remains a rather violent mix of Norse magic and myths with some Christian elements added but if you are not put off by the high amount of violence you will enjoy it and you will, like me, wait for more.

Review: Wolfsangel (Craw trilogy 01) by M.D. Lachlan

Book info:
Form: e-book, mobi format
Genre: fantasy fiction
Target audience: adults

Synopsis:

Authun a Viking king has a problem – he is childless. He is not just any king, mind you, he is Authun the Pitiless and his exploits are legendary. He must ensure his people will be led by somebody at least as good as him or better. In short his son. Acting on the prophecy of the witch queen Gullveig, he raids an Anglo-Saxon village looking for a promised infant. He finds twins instead, with their disfigured mother. One he keeps and names Vali; the other, Feileg, is kept by Gullveig herself to serve as her protector; the boy is sent to be schooled in the animalistic magic of the berserkers and wolf people. However, the prince and the wolf boy are entwined in the same web of destiny - over the years, the twins become pawns in the complex game of magical subterfuge that is the eternal war between Odin and Loki.

The tale moves forward. Vali is brought up in a peaceful village, leading a lifestyle which makes him value pursuits other than those expected of a son of Authun the Pitiless. He is known as Vali the Swordless for one thing and, to make it even worse, he falls for a simple peasant girl, Adisla, refusing to marry a princess designated to be his wife. In short Vali is a prince who doesn't want to play the role expected of him– he abhors fighting and he intends to lead a “normal” life (normal from our point of view of course). Unfortunately his fate will be a bit different.

The princess’s father, another local ruler, wants to get rid of Vali but he must do it in a very diplomatic way - the wrath of Authun can be deadly. He tricks the young prince (Vali is thirteen at that time but we are talking about a society in which a 35-year-old man is called old so, I suppose you can place Vali's age somewhere around 18) into bringing him a head of a werewolf or even better, capturing a live werewolf. Adisla’s life depends on it. Vali goes werewolf hunting and, quite unexpectedly even for himself, returns with his twin brother, Feileg, who, in the meantime, became a real beast of a man, hunting with his bare hands and teeth and living like a wild animal in the forest. Soon after Vali’s triumphal return Danes raid the village and, despite the heroic defense led by Vali, they manage to steal Adisla away. Vali finds out it was not an accident - they were looking specifically for the girl, even knew her name. What did they need a simple peasant girl for?

Vali, now an outlaw, with his faithful mentor and bodyguard, Braggi, and Feileg, who managed to fall in love with Adisla in no time, set out to rescue his beloved and find out more about the mysterious raid. He never imagines how the journey will change him.

What I liked:

This novel was a good page turner - it begins as a historical Viking story but soon it turns into a battle between ancient Gods and other magical powers, with a nice touch of horror along the way (nice meaning original, not pleasant - there are plenty of entertaining but brutal action scenes).  Fortunately the author didn’t forget to add some sense of humour to the mix, making it all more palatable.

The characterization of main characters was excellent, particularly that of Vali and later his twin wolf brother, Feileg. It was easy to feel empathy for these two, even when their actions were brutal and bloody. It added to a dark atmosphere, a pervasive bleakness against which the characters had to strive; it also fitted perfectly with the Viking setting. There was a constant sense of an oppressive destiny bearing down on Vali, but the reader is kept guessing as to exactly what that is until quite far into the story. Also I admit the rivalry and suspense around the twin brothers was well-played – even the love triangle with Adisla didn’t annoy me as much as such ugly plot tricks usually do.

What’s more, the whole world building and, more precisely, the depiction of the use of magic and the Norse Runes I found truly excellent. Lachlan stayed close to the shamanistic nature of Norse religion and  the effect was very powerful indeed. I am hardly a Norse mythology and culture expert so I might be mistaken but it somehow resonated right. I found the way that magic consumes and distorts those who use it particularly striking. For example the witch queen allegedly had enough power to kill her sisters without lifting her little finger and she could become a deity of a kind but she paid for it a horrible price – her body, seasoned to endure torture and hardship beyond belief, remained forever that of a child. You get nothing for nothing. Even the witches have to earn their magic in all manner of unspeakable ways, while the Gods do not bestride this novel as all-powerful beings — rather, they scheme and operate from behind the scenes, especially Loki, my all time favourite.

Speaking of Loki…I was very nicely surprised that, for a character who is barely present in the novel, he steals every scene he appears in. And very rightly so! I would love to see more of the Trickster God in subsequent novels! I loved his dialogues, like the one I am quoting below:



“You chose imperfection — what could be more perfect? You saw your imperfection was perfection and therefore remedied it by imposing an imperfection on yourself thereby becoming perfect again. The logic is imperfectly flawless.”

What I didn’t like:

Portrait of Loki via Wikipedia

Firstly, the character of Adisla, the main squeeze of two protagonists, was rather sketchy – I really was wondering what Vali and Feileg saw in that girl because neither her actions nor appearance justified sufficiently such deep feelings and everlasting devotion. She was kind and pretty, she swam like a seal, she was loyal but also a bit tame, especially compared to those two brothers.

Secondly I found it sometimes really hard to get into Lachlan's writing style. It was too detached for me, and too often leaned on telling rather than showing. At times it was more like reading a newspaper article than a novel. The lack of warmth and immediacy really stopped me from becoming invested in the book as much as the story was worth.

Finally the fact that the magic system, presented here, involved so many deaths (and, more particularly, the death of children) to make things work, made me a little uncomfortable. It is true that the magical context was well-explained and logical but still…it doesn’t change the fact that these Norse witches were icky sadistic psychopaths and some ‘exploits’ of Authun and his son made me nearly nauseatic.

Final verdict

I finished the book caring about the characters and wanting to know what happens next.  That is a good sign. Of course the book wasn’t flawless but, taking into account the fact that it is a debut novel, it really wasn’t bad. I am willing to continue this series. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Norse mythology and Viking stories with a dash of supernatural.