Published: January 29, 2019
Publisher: Redhook
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 544 (Paperback)
My Rating: 3.5/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
A sweeping tale of clashing cultures, warring gods, and forbidden love: In 1000 AD, a young Inuit shaman and a Viking warrior become unwilling allies as war breaks out between their peoples and their gods-one that will determine the fate of them all.
“There is a very old story, rarely told, of a wolf that runs into the ocean and becomes a whale.”
Born with the soul of a hunter and the spirit of the Wolf, Omat is destined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps-invoking the spirits of the land, sea, and sky to protect her people.
But the gods have stopped listening and Omat’s family is starving. Alone at the edge of the world, hope is all they have left.
Desperate to save them, Omat journeys across the icy wastes, fighting for survival with every step. When she meets a Viking warrior and his strange new gods, they set in motion a conflict that could shatter her world…or save it.
I honestly didn’t think I would like this book all that much for the first little bit but whaddya know, I did like it! Once we got through all the piddly village drama, the Vikings appeared and Omat set off on her journey and she began to feel like the main character I wanted her to be. I don’t really know how to explain it, other than at that point I actually began to care about the story in its entirety. I cared what happened to her, Kiasik, Brandr, and I wanted so badly for this to have a happy ending after such a harsh life in the windswept arctic.
Omat was raised as a boy because when she was born her father’s spirit took up residence within her. She was raised to hunt and fish and commune with the spirits as her grandfather did and she would have eventually taken his place in leading their clan. Things never work out so simply in stories, because otherwise there would be no story to tell. Omat is forcibly taken to wife by an Inuk hunter that visited her encampment and shortly after that the Vikings come and her life is changed again. One of these Vikings, Brandr travels with her down the coast (though he believes Omat is a boy) so that she may track down the main Viking crew. Secrets are revealed, Viking and Inuk gods collide, and RAGNAROK ENSUES. It was a really cool final battle type thing and the ending of the book was so satisfying and unexpected!
I liked Omat and Brandr and the journey they embarked on. I liked the meddling of both Viking and Inuk gods and how the author wove these two pantheons together in a way that felt natural. I liked the story overall, but ultimately I didn’t LOVE it. It was really good and filled a unique niche in the fantasy genre but it’s not something I’ll go out of my way to read again and I’m not sure I like it enough to continue with any sequels that may happen.
Powder & Page 
Sounds like this was “good” but not quite “good enough”. Glad it didn’t waste your time anyway…
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