(The Norrland Saga Book 1)
by Jack Alriksson
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Just released: July 8, 2015
Publisher: self
Genre: Fantasy
ebook
Rating: 4
The Norrland Saga series:
The Call Of Gelduur
book 2 - tba
First sentence(s):
Gone are the days of the great Khans. Gone is the empire they held together by wisdom and sword.
Great warriors have tales because they’re dead. Ivar Skullcleaver has a saga because his sharp wits have carved him into a living legend.
Start your journey in the mysterious islands of Norrland, embark on an adorable pillaging cruise, sail bravely through a fierce storm and reach the island-kingdom of Ingorle... shipwrecked and defenseless. But don't worry, it's not that bad. Not yet. Not until the soldiers of Ingorle turn you into a slave and send you up north to defend their borders from a hidden threat that only reveals itself moments before killing the beholder in a very rude way. Now it's truly bad. So, again, don't worry. It should get better. Especially since the hidden threat strikes and...OK, that's enough for spoilers. Read the book!
SOUNDS INTERESTING, BUT WHAT DO I ACTUALLY GET?
- A delightful adventure in a fantasy world inspired by an Europe at the dawn of the Viking Age
- A story of conquest, vengeance, friendship, bravery and subtle manipulation
- Battles. An obscene amount of battles. Land battles, sea battles, sieges, duels, slaughter, a bit of torture (not much, though. The author is not very fond of it), basically every act that can be performed by upstanding pirates, cutthroats and murderers
- A war of wits. Because wars are not won simply by hurling soldiers at the enemy
- A big and happy smile on the cover, just to brighten your day :)
- Plenty of twists and unexpected turns of events that are overcome with the most powerful form of magic. The magic of the mind
- Definitely not the "you must love the hero because I've made him so unbelievably perfect and you must hate the antagonists because they're bad in such a cheap way" approach. Definitely not that. Feel free to love or hate the characters based on your own morality. Or lack of.
- A bit of humor and a lighthearted story. Just because the characters are busy slaughtering each other doesn't mean the tone of the novel has to be dead serious.
HURR-DURR!
You mean "I'm still unconvinced"? Then buy it "ironically". In fact, buy it "ironically" for everyone you know. There's your chance to make a change! Fight for your beliefs! Come the revolution and all that.
My two-bits:
From the get go it there is action and fight scenes galore. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on as in the reason for the battles but the reading eased me along. Some the interactions were amusing with dialogue that caused a chuckle or two.
This is one of those stories that chugs and pulls you along for no good reason except for adventuring in the olden time.
About the author:
Seriously speaking (even though he hardly does that), Jack practices the black art of satire journalism every now and then and is a staunch believer in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Except for when he believes in Pizza and Beer.
* review copy courtesy of author
