A Gathering of Ravens by Scott Oden

I actually own this one. Believe it or not, not all my books are ARCs. Anyway…

I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, but the discovery of Netgalley tended to push back what I wanted to read in favour of ARCs. When I got book two to read (ironically through Netgalley), I bumped it up my TBR. To cut a long story short, I loved it. The story tells of Etain,a young “English” woman masquerading as a boy so she may join the Church (just stick with it). She is kidnapped by Grimnir, considered a monster in many lands (skraelingr, orcneas, fomoraig), and her guardian Njall is left for dead. Their journey takes them on a journey from Denmark through England and finally Ireland, where the real battle is between the old Celtic and Norse ways against the coming of Christianity. Here are my thoughts on the book:

• The characters are great, but Grimnir and Etain take the lead. Grimnir is considered a monster, but while he is a willing killer, he doesn’t kill needlessly and shows some respect to worthy opponents. However, he’s on a mission, and anyone who gets in his way is going down. Etain is the opposite, staunch in her Christian ways, but she’s also as tough as nails and drives Grimnir bonkers at times. She has an interesting backstory, but I’ll leave that for you to figure out. The other characters are a mix of fiction and real characters, some of whom (like Brian Boru) steal the show in their limited appearances
•  The setting seems very authentic. It’s set around 1014 (the Battle of Clontarf, which the events lead up to), from the austere stone castles and churches of the Christians to the sweeping forests and hills of the old religions. The historical aspect, as one would expect from Scott Oden, is accurate, especially from the Irish aspect (which I am very familiar with). The clothing, the various factions and so forth all reek of the period in general
• After the characters, I think my favourite aspect is the melding of different mythologies. While Joseph Campbell would likely beg to differ on that point, the author (SO, not JC) incorporates Danish legends with British and Irish Celtic with great aplomb. Many, particularly fantasy readers, will be familiar with these mythologies courtesy of their presence in popular media, but not like this. There is no video game-playing Thor or urban fantasy fey, these are the legends akin to the religion the people of the three lands believed in, and they are appropriately different at their core
• The plot itself is a tale of revenge, as Grimnir seeks revenge on a fellow Dane, and uses Etain as a guide as he travels through England to find his foe. Even though she is unfamiliar with Ireland, Etain proves her worth and Grimnir brings her along as he develops a grudging respect for her. We learn more about both characters as the story progresses, both through flashbacks and as they tell each other their respective stories, and both are fascinating.

Verdict

If you like your mythology and history dripping with realism, then drop what you’re reading right now and read this.