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kusine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
astridlovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
elaineg's review against another edition
While the story might be interesting, I found the cod-archaic language to be clumsy and annoying. Cod-Norse is a different idiom from cod-Shakespearian, pick one. Or the author thinks that wherefores and whithers make it fantasy, which is a poor reading of Tolkien.
jennifer_fatula's review against another edition
2.75
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: February 13, 2024
2.75 stars. Ooof this was hard to get through. I was so excited for a Norse and Lord of the Rings inspired story but there were way too many parallels to LotR for me and the writing was also very reminiscent of Tolkien's - which is fine if you like that writing style, I would recommend the book for you in that case, but I find it dry and hard to get through.
Pub Date: February 13, 2024
2.75 stars. Ooof this was hard to get through. I was so excited for a Norse and Lord of the Rings inspired story but there were way too many parallels to LotR for me and the writing was also very reminiscent of Tolkien's - which is fine if you like that writing style, I would recommend the book for you in that case, but I find it dry and hard to get through.
dei2dei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TL;DR - I LOVED this. It is difficult to read, but I think it’s 100% worth it. Lord of the Rings, with a Viking flavor, and a female Gandalf as the lead is my best comp for this. Love, love, love it.
A Flame in the North tells the story of Solveig who, after her brother kills a man, is traded to another clan for a year and a day. This clan of takes her North, to where she believes is their home, but it is instead the beginning of an epic journey. She and her sworn Shieldmaiden face threats straight from the old ballads as they travel, finding themselves nearly lost in the cold north.
This is a journey book, in the purest most basic form. So if you don’t enjoy journey’s definitely pass this one up. It’s also dense and difficult to read. Lilith Saintcrow takes a very classic style with her writing. It’s meaty and she introduces and uses quite a few new world specific words and terms, and more archaic language and sentence structure at times.
Is all that worth moving through to get to the end? Yes, hard yes. I adored this. It took me so long to read and when I did I almost pre-ordered the audio AND the physical. I wanted the book for my shelf and I wanted to hear it again in my ears. This is a journey of cold you can feel, political maneuvering that will leave you furious and intrigued, and a few moments of heartbreak.
6 out of 5 little squat man rune statues. This is going to be a best book of the year. Pick this up if you are interested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping and Gore
keepcalmblogon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
February 2024 is apparently the season for Nordic inspired fantasy! A Flame in the North reminded me of a Norse Lord of the Rings–and I really enjoyed it! The first thing that stood out to me was the style of language in which Lilith Saintcrow wrote the book–it’s a very old fashioned usage, so outside of the plot it also feels like The Lord of the Rings stylistically. It is also written in first person, which feels a lot more to me like a YA POV and can often make the MC feel unrelatable or unsympathetic and whiney with so many me and I statements, but this FMC doesn’t come across any of those ways and often uses a fourth-wall break style to reveal future events or knowledge. I ended up really enjoying the first person POV because it felt like a bard spinning a saga on which they journeyed.
The immersive worldbuilding has come to be something I expect from Saintcrow’s writing, in which lore is not often explained, and can be a little disorienting, but just enough backstory was often given to keep me curious for more! I actually ended the book with as many questions as when I began, but I don’t count that as a bad thing–I just can’t wait for the next to come out! I think it’s meant to be a duology, so hopefully the conclusion has all the answers! Regardless, for a book with a lot of travel and journeying, which can become boring and repetitive, I enjoyed the ride! Five stars!
lenastockton's review against another edition
4.0
First off, thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book before its release.
Now, let's talk about this story. I'm going to try to keep it spoiler free because I feel this book needs to be experienced to really understand how the tale has been woven. The plot is so delicately laid out in beautiful prose even as the story is sometimes brutal.
Solvieg knows who and what she is and she also knows the rules of how she should be treated. Her character drew me to her and her relationship with Arn, her shieldmaid, well, I love them together. Their bond is subtle but tells its own story.
There were times that I thought the pacing was slow, but then when I finished I realized it all made sense and how am I ever going to wait for the next book in the series when this one isn't even put yet!
If you like Goddess of Nothing At All or Shield Maiden, give this one a go!
Now, let's talk about this story. I'm going to try to keep it spoiler free because I feel this book needs to be experienced to really understand how the tale has been woven. The plot is so delicately laid out in beautiful prose even as the story is sometimes brutal.
Solvieg knows who and what she is and she also knows the rules of how she should be treated. Her character drew me to her and her relationship with Arn, her shieldmaid, well, I love them together. Their bond is subtle but tells its own story.
There were times that I thought the pacing was slow, but then when I finished I realized it all made sense and how am I ever going to wait for the next book in the series when this one isn't even put yet!
If you like Goddess of Nothing At All or Shield Maiden, give this one a go!
flockandforge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
**I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review**
A Flame in the North is an epic style fantasy novel with Nordic undertones. This novel is written in the first person point of view of our main character Solveig (Sol), the first born daughter of the ruling house of her lands. She is given in service to a lord of the North after her Brother kills the Lord’s Son. She must journey north with her shieldmaid, Arn, and a party of Northerns. She soon finds out that her journey is not what she thinks it will be, and the dangers of the North and Black Land are much more alive than anyone had thought.
This book’s style of writing is admittedly difficult to read which made it slow going and I often found myself having to re-read some portions to understand fully what was being said or happening. This may deter some people, however I found this book to be a great read if you can get past the writing style. The characters are very likeable and I love our strong, noble female main character duo. It is a slow to medium paced book with good world and character building.
The journey is full of peril, truth, lies, growth, trials and much more. I really enjoy a book where we can see the struggles of the main characters and the growth that happens throughout the journey. I also love that we get a full range of emotions from our female main character who admits fear in many instances. It also doesn’t end in a terrible cliff hanger, but instead a good spot that you could pick up the next book and be ready to read.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to for something with strong female characters, epic journeys, and a unique world and magic system. The reading can be challenging and slow going but if the writing/language doesn’t deter you, this is definitely one to check out!