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A review by richard_nell
The Blood-Tainted Winter by T.L. Greylock
4.0
Fantastic read. Absolutely recommended for really any fantasy reader, particularly for any fans of Norse mythology, but really even historical fiction lovers. Three main reasons:
1. The writing. For me, bad writing ruins a good story, and good writing hardly needs a story. Fortunately this book actually has a good story, but nevermind. Ms. Greylock knows how to show, rather than tell, and it's obvious on every page. The description is great, efficient, and nothing feels overly-described. Really, nothing. The only thing worthy of criticism here is quite a bit of passive voice. But even then, stories like Beowulf are full of passive voice, so it kind of works for this.
2. A slow build to a strong finish. Loved the ending, which actually is a little strange since it isn't the ending you'd expect after reading the first quarter of the book. Anyway, it's great, and at about 90% I completely ignored the world until I was finished.
3. The setting/style. Who doesn't like Norse mythology done well? Greylock presents it here in a genuinely authentic-feeling, magic realism style. These Norsemen are brash, glory-hungry, treacherous killers, just as they should be. And if there's a few half-gods living amongst them? Well, no big deal. So Loki's his dad. Not his fault. But maybe keep an eye on him...
I always like to critisize something, so...give me a...second here...oh! As an inhabitant of a mostly frozen wasteland, I quirked a brow as our heroes swam through a nearly frozen river for several minutes, and then went about their raiding like it was a quick dip in the pool. But you know what, they're vikings, so I let it slide. That's literally all I've got.
The only reason this isn't a 5 star review is because I'm stingy and 5 stars is reserved for my absolute favorite books of all time (and yours should be too, you overly generous other reviewers!).
Excited to see more from the author, and will certainly finish the series.
1. The writing. For me, bad writing ruins a good story, and good writing hardly needs a story. Fortunately this book actually has a good story, but nevermind. Ms. Greylock knows how to show, rather than tell, and it's obvious on every page. The description is great, efficient, and nothing feels overly-described. Really, nothing. The only thing worthy of criticism here is quite a bit of passive voice. But even then, stories like Beowulf are full of passive voice, so it kind of works for this.
2. A slow build to a strong finish. Loved the ending, which actually is a little strange since it isn't the ending you'd expect after reading the first quarter of the book. Anyway, it's great, and at about 90% I completely ignored the world until I was finished.
3. The setting/style. Who doesn't like Norse mythology done well? Greylock presents it here in a genuinely authentic-feeling, magic realism style. These Norsemen are brash, glory-hungry, treacherous killers, just as they should be. And if there's a few half-gods living amongst them? Well, no big deal. So Loki's his dad. Not his fault. But maybe keep an eye on him...
I always like to critisize something, so...give me a...second here...oh! As an inhabitant of a mostly frozen wasteland, I quirked a brow as our heroes swam through a nearly frozen river for several minutes, and then went about their raiding like it was a quick dip in the pool. But you know what, they're vikings, so I let it slide. That's literally all I've got.
The only reason this isn't a 5 star review is because I'm stingy and 5 stars is reserved for my absolute favorite books of all time (and yours should be too, you overly generous other reviewers!).
Excited to see more from the author, and will certainly finish the series.