Modern man Miles Drake transcends time and space to arrive in the medieval world of the Vikings in Horsley’s debut fantasy novel.
Horsley ventures into dangerously shopworn territory: a modern protagonist travels in time back to the era of the Vikings. But the author’s cerebral approach is neither that of a standard teen action-adventure nor a derivative paranormal romance. Multiple narrative points of view and a strong grip on alternative cultural values flavor the saga of Miles, who, until recently, has led a charmed life as a champion college athlete and successful businessman. But as he’s still reeling from the deaths of both his wife and his best friend, Miles is approached by a stranger and asked to carry out a ritual with an ancient heirloom. Abruptly he finds himself in a medieval Norse cosmos, in which he alone can approach the World Tree for healing and answers. Miles is a skeptic of the Vikings’ faith, despite the fact that his new Icelandic friends interpret him as the gods’ own instrument. He adapts with surprising ease to routine raiding and casual killing, introducing his Viking brethren to modified weapons and fighting styles. He also campaigns for chivalry toward women and the helpless, and the colonization of the great North American landmass to the west. Horsley’s storytelling frequently shifts from Miles to those around him as the timeline doubles back and flashes forward with many twists and turns. This method of narration is less burdensome to read than one might imagine, but still eccentric. The author’s most considerable achievement, besides his diverting if tangled yarn-spinning, is illuminating a much misunderstood “barbarian” mindset. Horsley depicts Viking culture with depth and nuance, adding layer to a people who pragmatically accept violence, treachery, death and the will of potentially harsh gods as a predestined way of life. A virile immersion in traditional Viking values.
Pub Date: Dec. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-1462071654
Page Count: 396
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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