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A review by pam_h
Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox
4.0
4.25 stars
This was so interesting, and nothing like I was expecting. I went into it prepared for a slow start, but I was pulled into Caius' world from the very beginning.
The history: I was nervous about the far-distant time frame for some reason, but the writing style makes for an easy read without feeling anachronistic and it's really not history-heavy at all. In fact, I wanted *more* history. There's a thematic reason we don't get a whole lot of factual background, but what we did get really piqued my interest and made me desperately wish for more.
The monks: The other thing that kept me from reading this for so long. I just could not see myself getting invested into monk life, but the way Caius fits in with the brotherhood (and the ways he doesn't) and the details that set their abbey apart are a large part of what made this so interesting.
The mysticism: I skew pretty woo-woo myself, so I was fully on board with this element, but the ending didn't feel quite right after all the buildup. It felt ... too small for the epic nature of the rest of the story? The simplicity was fine, but I guess I was expecting a grander scale to the epilogue? I don't know, but it was still satisfying overall.
I also went in forewarned for tears, so I made a point not to get too invested in anyone outside of the MCs, and for once that actually worked! (Of course some days it feels like numb and detached has become my default mood to get through these strange times, so that may have helped me here...)
Highly recommended
This was so interesting, and nothing like I was expecting. I went into it prepared for a slow start, but I was pulled into Caius' world from the very beginning.
The history: I was nervous about the far-distant time frame for some reason, but the writing style makes for an easy read without feeling anachronistic and it's really not history-heavy at all. In fact, I wanted *more* history. There's a thematic reason we don't get a whole lot of factual background, but what we did get really piqued my interest and made me desperately wish for more.
The monks: The other thing that kept me from reading this for so long. I just could not see myself getting invested into monk life, but the way Caius fits in with the brotherhood (and the ways he doesn't) and the details that set their abbey apart are a large part of what made this so interesting.
The mysticism: I skew pretty woo-woo myself, so I was fully on board with this element, but the ending didn't feel quite right after all the buildup. It felt ... too small for the epic nature of the rest of the story? The simplicity was fine, but I guess I was expecting a grander scale to the epilogue? I don't know, but it was still satisfying overall.
I also went in forewarned for tears, so I made a point not to get too invested in anyone outside of the MCs, and for once that actually worked! (Of course some days it feels like numb and detached has become my default mood to get through these strange times, so that may have helped me here...)
Highly recommended