Book Review: Northern Wrath, The Hanged God Trilogy Book 1, Thilde Kold Holdt
Fantasy: Northern Wrath, The Hanged God Trilogy Book 1, Thilde Kold Holdt
Blog Tour November 23, 2022
First, an apology. I had every intention of reviewing the entire trilogy for this post. That is not
going to happen, though I will definitely be reviewing the next two books ASAP. Memo to self:
before agreeing to review a series, double check the page count!
Northern Wrath is an incredible fantasy set in medieval Scandinavia. There are multiple
protagonists and each chapter takes the plot further from the perspective of a different
character. Einar is the son of a chief. As a teenager he confronted an adult polar bear armed
with only his axe. He won. This sort of strength was completely unexpected from anyone, let
alone a teenager.
Hilda is a few years younger than Einar. She is the daughter of Ragnar, their community’s skal
(a ceremonial post keeping faith and heritage alive among the village). Despite her longing to
join the warriors as a shield-maiden, her father has forbidden it and the chief will not cross him.
Siv is the wife of the chief and the mother of Einar. She is respected, even revered, by the
community who all recognize that she is special. None of them know just how special.
Early on, Ragnar dies and moves on to the spirit world. Rather than getting his final reward,
though, he is stuck in a dark place where he is killed over and over and over again. Eventually
he begins to learns how to survive longer and longer and even move out of the darkness,
though what he sees makes him wish he never found the light again.
When Einar and the other warriors are on a raiding trip, southerners attack the village. Hilda
escapes, believing she is the sole survivor. Siv also escapes, along with a young girl. And that’s
when the adventures really begin. Gods and dwarfs, giants and other spiritual beings, Midgard
and Asgard and Hel. Worlds draw close enough for people to cross from one to another, for
influences to be felt between the worlds. It is a mixture of Norse history and religion, tension
between invading Christians and the traditional faith in the gods. The entire universe is in
danger, not just earth/Midgard but all of the other worlds and their inhabitants as well. Ragnarok
is coming far too soon and no one is ready for it.
This series has just been released in the United States and if you like epic fantasy series, get it.
Now. Don’t wait. Thilde Kold Holdt has created a world of fantasy and reality, mythology and
history, giving life to ancient gods and to powerful humans. I am incredibly excited about this
series, and am really looking forward to reading the rest of the books.
And hopefully remembering to check the page count before I overcommit!
Our thanks to The Write Reads for our copies of this trilogy (both e-books AND physical copies
of the first two), provided so we could participate in this blog tour. The opinions here are solely
those of Scintilla. For other perspectives on this book, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: Northern Wrath, The Hanged God Trilogy Book 1, Thilde Kold Holdt
Great review!!