#blogtour A Gathering Of Ravens by @orcwriter @ThomasssHill @TransworldBooks @BantamPress

Book Description:

Beowulf meets The Lord of the Rings in an epic novel of vengeance, faith and the power of myth.

To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas; to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind—the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days.
Drawn from his lair by a thirst for vengeance against the Dane who slew his brother, Grimnir emerges into a world that’s changed. A new faith has arisen. The Old Ways are dying, and their followers retreating into the shadows; even still, Grimnir’s vengeance cannot be denied.

Taking a young Christian hostage to be his guide, Grimnir embarks on a journey that takes him from the hinterlands of Denmark, where the wisdom of the ancient dwarves has given way to madness, to the war-torn heart of southern England, where the spirits of the land make violence on one another. And thence to the green shores of Ireland and the Viking stronghold of Dubhlinn, where his enemy awaits.

But, unless Grimnir can set aside his hatreds, his dream of retribution will come to nothing. For Dubhlinn is set to be the site of a reckoning—the Old Ways versus the New—and Grimnir, the last of his kind left to plague mankind, must choose: stand with the Christian King of Ireland and see his vengeance done or stand against him and see it slip away?

My Review:

I loved this fantastic, gripping book! Firstly let me say that I don’t read a lot of fantasy books but I had heard so much about A Gathering of Ravens that I had to read it for myself, and I’m pleased to say I was not disappointed.  My main issue with fantasy books is I find they are quite descriptive and that tends to lose my interest.  This book is nothing like that it intrigued me from the start with the fast pace and action keeping me reading long into the night.  The first part if the book is a little slow in places but I felt that was necessary as the reader gets to learn more about the characters and their world.  Its definitely worth persevering though as in the second half the pace picks up with lots of action and brilliantly described. The author does a brilliant job in describing the Europe and Britain in the Dark Ages.  I felt like I could really see the places that Grimnar and Etaine visits in my mind’s eye which really increased my enjoyment of the book.

I actually really liked Grimnar, though I’m not sure I was meant to.  He is very fierce and a tad mean sometimes towards people who stand in the way of what he wants but he was also clever, resourceful and brave.  I liked that he didn’t always rely on his strength and sometimes managed to outwit his enemies, which I loved reading about.  Maybe I just liked him as I felt sorry for him having to put up with Etaine who was a very annoying character and manages to moan her way through most of the book.  Her piousness was the most annoying aspect of her, and she manages to bring her views into most situations which is very frustrating at times.  I wished that sometimes she would stand up and defend herself rather than rely on Grimnar all the time.

The author cleverly weaves some dark age history, including the introduction of Christianity, and some Danish myths into the story which was fascinating to read about.  I love history, but didn’t know much about the dark ages so I found those parts very interesting.

The book is described as being great for fans of Lord Of The Rings, though if you didn’t like that book please don’t be put off.  I didn’t actually like Lord Of The Rings (scandalous I know) but I lived this book.  I think if you like great fantasy books with plenty of action you will enjoy this book.  If, like me, you don’t read a lot if fantasy fiction I urge you to still try it as I think it will surprise you.

This is the first book by Scott Oden I have read and it definitely won’t be my last.  I believe this book is the start if an exciting new series with Grimnar featured in all the books.

Huge thanks to Thomas Hill at Transworld books for my copy of this book and for letting me be a part of the blog tour.

About the author:

Oden was born in Indiana, but has spent most of his life shuffling between his home in rural North Alabama, a Hobbit hole in Middle-earth, and some sketchy tavern in the Hyborian Age. He is an avid reader of fantasy and ancient history, a collector of swords, and a player of tabletop role-playing games. When not writing, he can be found walking his two dogs or doting over his lovely wife, Shannon.

Oden’s previous works include the historical fantasy, The Lion of Cairo, and two historical novels, Men of Bronze and Memnon. He is currently working on his next novel.

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