A gripping Viking tale of one woman's courage, fighting old and new
gods amid the savage beauty of Ice Island: the second instalment of
The Book of Bera fantasy adventure series Bera, the Viking seer,
has been having visions. During the hard birthing of her daughter,
she feels the earth convulse, an upheaval that somehow links the
black bead of her necklace to the precious stone: Obsidian. As her
destructive visions start to become reality, she has no choice but
to set out for the Far North, to steal Obsidian and put it to use.
But Bera is not the only one who wants the stone - to what lengths
will she go to win it? Steeped in the life and beliefs of the Norse
peoples, this standalone second instalment in The Book of Bera
trilogy is a gripping, atmospheric adventure.
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My review
Mon, 7 Oct 2019 | Review
by: Breakaway R.
A Viking seer sets out on a quest to save the world from ending
Wracked with the agonising pains of childbirth, Bera the Valla sees and feels the earth below being torn apart with her. Beneath the ice, fire pushes upwards as she pushes her child out of her body; fire that will burst through the ice and engulf the world in a storm of ash, lava and brymstone. With her daughter safely born and clearly destined to inherit her powers of foresight, Bera’s vision of the world’s destruction and the wrath of Hel haunts her as she works to carve out a life for herself, her stepson, Heggi, whom she loves as much as her own flesh and blood, and the impoverished band of sea-faring exiles she has led to the harsh, ever-shifting land of Ice Island.
However, Bera’s past will eventually catch up with her in the shapes of the friend who betrayed her, the husband who abandoned her, and her old enemy, the Serpent King. As the smouldering mountain above them becomes ever more menacing, Bera’s duty and calling as a Valla force her to leave her baby, friends and followers to find out how to stop the volcanic destruction and to sail across the sea once more to seek out a powerful black stone known as Obsidian.
Although it is the second novel in the Book of Bera trilogy, Obsidian can easily be read as a standalone novel. In this book, Bera, the teenage heroine of Sea Paths, becomes an adult, her exile and the birth of her child setting her on a new and difficult path of hardship, sacrifice, and painful choices. Perhaps Obsidian’s strongest attribute is how the grim hardship of the characters’ material lives blends naturally and seamlessly with the magical, mystical elements of the world surrounding them. While the presence of Bera’s skern (her male twin spirit), Drorghers (zombies), and Fetches (wraith-like omens of death) place the novel firmly in fantasy/mythology territory, its down-to-earth depictions of toil and tribulation also give Obsidian an intriguing and resonant historical twist.
The pace tends to plod somewhat at first, to the point where one wonders where the story is going, but, in a way, this adds to the bleak, gritty, and at times grinding realism of the world created. Bera remains a compelling protagonist throughout sympathetic, flawed, kind, selfish, frustrating, admirable, confident and brave one moment, uncertain and terrified the next – i.e. wonderfully and believably human. The plot picks up once Bera sets off on her quest and must confront enemies old and new, find her inner strength and outer courage, and call upon the Valla powers inherited from her mother and their ancestors to save the world from being laid to waste. A recommended read in particular for fans of well-written fantasy, and rigorously researched history and mythology.
Arwen Evenstar
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
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