I read All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear because the book of hers I wanted to read (Ink and Steel) wasn’t available. But sometimes things work out in a pleasant surprise and I ended up liking the book quite a lot.
The story begins with Ragnarok and a battle to the death between the Children of Light and the Tarnished. We are dropped into the aftermath, into the carnage, the dark and ice and snow. Only one Child of Light survived, Muire, a waelcyrge (valkyrie). She survived because she fled from the battle. She combs the field looking for survivors and finds one critically wounded valraven (the flying steed of Valkyries). She saves Kasimir’s life and he offers to serve her but she refuses, saying she is not worthy.
For a couple thousand years Muire lives among mortals believing herself a coward and deserving to be alone. But now the world is about to end again, this time because of human greed. And Muire discovers she and Kasimir were not the only ones to survive Ragnarok, one of the Tarnished, Mingan, the Wolf, survived as well and he is on the hunt. Muire thinks she has to save the last human city from the Wolf, but it turns out things are more complicated than that.
The book is a wonderful story about chocies, responsibility, hope, love and forgiveness. Muire, though a Valkyrie, is not a warrior. She is a historian, a poet, a singer. When asked at one point why her name is not in any of the stories she replies, because she was the one writing and telling the stories. And now she diconcertingly finds herself the protagonist of a story she does not want to be in.
Muire is also small. She is so small she has to carry her sword strapped to her back because it is too large to sit on her hip. One of the things I really liked about the story is that Muire does not suddenly become a badass warrior. She stinks at fighting with her sword. But, she learns, there are other ways of fighting and other ways of winning. Nonetheless, she always worries she is not good enough, she is, after all, a coward. But Kasimir believes otherwise and tells her:
‘We are what we are … and that which we are shall be sufficient.’
In the end, of course, it turns out that Muire has more courage than she gives herself credit for.
All the Windwracked Stars is the first book in a trilogy called “The Edda of Burdens.” It is infused with Norse myth but doesn’t require the reader to be well-versed in myth to understand what is going on. It is well-paced and wonderfully written, full of surprises and “Ah!” moments. And even though it is the first book of a trilogy, it can also stand alone. I very much enjoyed it and look forward to reading By the Mountain Bound at some point in the not so distant future.
Very interesting plot line and while I was reading through, I kept thinking Norse Myths and seems like it is kinda influenced by the same!
LikeLike
cirtnecce, It has magic and technology and the “villain” is someone who decides that doing wrong in order to save a city is ok which makes the story one that isn’t black and white but lots of wonderful shades of grey. And Norse myths! I really need to read some 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful title for a book! I like the sound of shades of grey; also of a protagonist who might be rather averse to confrontation.
LikeLike
Helen, isn’t it pretty? It comes from a poem but I forget which one and I was dopey enough to not bookmark it. The shades of grey was refreshing since fantasy tends to be very black and white. As someone who is smallish I appreciated having a small protagonist who was realistic and had to be more resourceful because of her stature. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, that lack of shades of grey does often put me off fantasy. Sometimes I think I’m just reading it wrongly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I absolutely love it when a search for a single book is frustrated, only to find that its “replacement” volume is just what I wanted and didn’t know it. These sound wholly enjoyable: I hope the next installment is just as satisfying as the first one was.
LikeLike
Buried, I like when that happens too! Such a wonderful surprise. The great thing about the next installment is that I have no idea where it might possibly go. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
“choices, responsibility, hope, love and forgiveness” Sound good to me. I probably won’t read it, of course, but I do like the sound of its themes.
LikeLike
whisperinggums, one of these days I’m going to read a sci-fi or fantasy novel that ticks all your boxes and you will have to read it and then you will fall in love with the genre. You just never know 🙂
LikeLike
One (ie you, as I’m happy as I am!) can live in hope!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the take on the Nordic myth–will have to think about adding this one to the library’s popular fiction collection–I am never sure which sci-fi /fantasy books are worth adding! Glad this one turned out to be a good read–those expected ones are often the best!
LikeLike
Danielle, it is a nice twist with the myths and served to make me want to actually read some of the Eddas. Will that happen? Remains to be seen.
LikeLike