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A review by pegasuspages
Viking Quest by Edale Lane
3.0
Viking Quest is a fun WLW book about, well, Vikings and their quest. Lena, warrior princess, loses her husband via an assassin and vows to avenge his death. She later rescues Caitlin, a Celtic girl taken as a slave from her homeland. The two have fantastical adventures and meet many classic Viking monsters and heroes.
Unlike most other books about Vikings, Viking Quest takes place in the 1000s when Christianity is already established and raiding is not as much of a part of life. I really liked getting to read historical fiction set in this time period. I enjoyed also seeing the aspects that setting a book in this time period set up, like slavery, religion, honor vs. oaths, and the areas that women were allowed to inhabit in those times based on class. Viking women had more freedom than was typical for that time period and location and I enjoyed getting to see this explored. This book also had a Black and Muslim character, which is definitely historically accurate and I liked his character and the way that the book addressed his religion, race, and slave status and how it affected his life.
In general, I liked the characters and enjoyed how Lena and Caitlin's relationship proceeded. It was interesting to read about women falling in love during Viking times and what they could do about their feelings based on their society. I could have done with less of the internal monologues pining for each other for most of the book, but we do love conflicted feelings and slow burns!
The fighting in this book was also well written, I feel like it is so easy to say "they moved so fast that their bodies were a blur" and not actually describe anything. I usually scan through fight scenes but I felt like I could follow the fighting in this book. I thought the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth-like villains were fun despite their quite cliché dialogue. This book definitely isn't the most violent book about Vikings that I have read, but if you're sensitive to fighting and descriptions of gore, this may not be the book for you.
However, I thought that overall the writing in this book was very basic. I feel like the author moved back and forth from more formal language that is usually in books set in around this time period. The plot points were also very predictable which made the reveals much less exciting. I also felt like this book dragged a bit despite the fairly short length. I keep going back and forth on the fantastical element that appeared once in a while as I kind of wanted more of them but also thought that made the story a little strange to have sporadic things of myth happen in a fairly grounded book. The frequently restated warrior princess, charming girl, huge man, etc. descriptions also got to be a bit much for me and I would have appreciated a few more varied character attributes.
Overall, I enjoyed Viking Quest and would recommend it if you want a fun story in a unique time period. If you're expecting a more serious Viking book, I'd read some Bernard Cornwell instead. 3.35 stars rounded down to 3. Thank you to BookSirens and Past and Prologue Press for the electronic ARC! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
TW: Violence, death of a partner, death
Unlike most other books about Vikings, Viking Quest takes place in the 1000s when Christianity is already established and raiding is not as much of a part of life. I really liked getting to read historical fiction set in this time period. I enjoyed also seeing the aspects that setting a book in this time period set up, like slavery, religion, honor vs. oaths, and the areas that women were allowed to inhabit in those times based on class. Viking women had more freedom than was typical for that time period and location and I enjoyed getting to see this explored. This book also had a Black and Muslim character, which is definitely historically accurate and I liked his character and the way that the book addressed his religion, race, and slave status and how it affected his life.
In general, I liked the characters and enjoyed how Lena and Caitlin's relationship proceeded. It was interesting to read about women falling in love during Viking times and what they could do about their feelings based on their society. I could have done with less of the internal monologues pining for each other for most of the book, but we do love conflicted feelings and slow burns!
The fighting in this book was also well written, I feel like it is so easy to say "they moved so fast that their bodies were a blur" and not actually describe anything. I usually scan through fight scenes but I felt like I could follow the fighting in this book. I thought the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth-like villains were fun despite their quite cliché dialogue. This book definitely isn't the most violent book about Vikings that I have read, but if you're sensitive to fighting and descriptions of gore, this may not be the book for you.
However, I thought that overall the writing in this book was very basic. I feel like the author moved back and forth from more formal language that is usually in books set in around this time period. The plot points were also very predictable which made the reveals much less exciting. I also felt like this book dragged a bit despite the fairly short length. I keep going back and forth on the fantastical element that appeared once in a while as I kind of wanted more of them but also thought that made the story a little strange to have sporadic things of myth happen in a fairly grounded book. The frequently restated warrior princess, charming girl, huge man, etc. descriptions also got to be a bit much for me and I would have appreciated a few more varied character attributes.
Overall, I enjoyed Viking Quest and would recommend it if you want a fun story in a unique time period. If you're expecting a more serious Viking book, I'd read some Bernard Cornwell instead. 3.35 stars rounded down to 3. Thank you to BookSirens and Past and Prologue Press for the electronic ARC! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
TW: Violence, death of a partner, death