Sky in the Deep
Adrienne Young
Wednesday Books (April 24, 2018)
Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy
After having read several books on the religion of Asatru lately, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some Viking literature. Even better, two of the characters were shield maidens, and another was a Tala or speaker for her clan, and there were women healers as well. The book fit the historical facts I’d read dutifully, including Asatru, though loosely and adapted to the author’s style.
What I loved about this book was the main female characters were not just love interests for the male characters. No. They were fully developed characters with dreams and desires of their own and plans to reach them. And they were equal in strength, sometimes even stronger than their male counterparts emotionally and physically. The battle scenes give the reader plenty of action while woven into the background is a romance brewing and the conflict between two rival clans almost destroyed by the Herja, a clan thought to be just a good story around the campfire.
Will the two rival clans gather to save what is left of their people and their culture? Will the one shield maiden taken as a slave make it home to her people? I stayed up all night, enthralled by the plot lines and the battle scenes, cheering on my favorite characters.
Elegant, strong, and filled with bravery, Young’s words scream at you from the page about honor, sacrifice, and what makes home truly home and what makes a person identify with their family. It is gritty, but beautiful. I am reading the sequel now and expecting nothing less from that book than the wonderful ride I experienced in the first one.
