simina_lungu 's review for:

Blood Feud by Rosemary Sutcliff

5.0

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I haven't read Sutcliff in a long time and I kinda forgot her style. Well, this book was perfect to reacquaint me with her writing. It was evocative and dark at times, without ever being really hopeless. I liked her descriptions, as usual. It's strange, because most of her books are set in Britain. In this one, the characters go from England to the northern lands, to Kiev, Thrace and Constantinople, so I would have thought it was a bit outside Sutcliff's comfort zone. Yet each place is brilliantly described, so much so that you become instantly familiar with it. Very few writers have that much power in their descriptions, making the place they are describing become alive before your eyes. Sutcliff is a master at this.

Then there is the plot itself, and the characters, and I like how Sutcliff tackles the traditions of the Vikings, especially since they are told from the point of view of someone who doesn't completely understand them, even though he accepts them. As usual, the road the characters take is not clear, there are many unexpected turns that change their paths, and the clever bit is that they are not overdone or unrealistic. I also liked the ending - I must admit I was beginning to suspect something of the kind, but that does not mean I did not enjoy it.

All in all this was a brilliant and touching story, and it reminded me why I like Sutcliff so much in the first place.