Title / Northern Wrath
Author / Thilde Kold Holdt
Published / 2020
Page no. / 616
Overall Rating / ★★★.5
Northern Wrath is the first book in the Hanged God trilogy and is influenced heavily by Norse mythology. It is a multiple perspective story that follows roughly five character views. This is the author’s debut book. It is an epic fantasy book with a vivid world and compelling plot.
While I enjoyed this first instalment, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted and this was mainly due to the characterisation. I felt that some of the characters were well written and their perspective was compelling, but others I found to be less so. This meant that some chapters I found myself skim reading so I could get to a character perspective that I was invested in. I think I was in a bit of a reading slump when I read this though and I think that did affect my enjoyment. I found I was most invested in Siv’s perspective, but also found Hilda to be an interesting character. All of the characters lacked a little depth for me, although it does make sense in a way since there are so many characters, it would be hard to give them all the depth they need.
One of the main strengths of this book was the use of Norse mythology and the world building. It is clear the author has spent a lot of time creating this world and weaving Norse mythology into it. The world is a vivid one and I enjoyed exploring it throughout the book. Holdt clearly displays her skill at writing and world-building in her debut book. I settled into the flow of the writing from early on and the plot remains compelling throughout.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I definitely plan on checking out the sequel in the future though. If you enjoy fantasy influenced by Norse mythology and/or Vikings then you should definitely check this book out. Have you guys read this book? I’d love to know what you thought of it. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.
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