An excellent little slice of Banner Saga, following a small group of mercenaries from the Ravens as they cross the breadbasket region of Reynivik, and face the Dredge forces that stalk it. Fadeley has a confident narrative voice, and is very good at providing the reader all the information they need to know without falling into the 'as you all know...' exposition trap a lesser writer might fall into.



Sigbjorn the Varl is easily my favourite character. Ruthless and fatalistic, but with a complex r

An excellent little slice of Banner Saga, following a small group of mercenaries from the Ravens as they cross the breadbasket region of Reynivik, and face the Dredge forces that stalk it. Fadeley has a confident narrative voice, and is very good at providing the reader all the information they need to know without falling into the 'as you all know...' exposition trap a lesser writer might fall into.



Sigbjorn the Varl is easily my favourite character. Ruthless and fatalistic, but with a complex relationship with violence, haunted by the ghost of the better varl he could be. He also gets many of the best lines. I like also the mounting tension which develops between him and the sinister, spiteful Marteinn, and their influence over the younger Aron.



The Dredge are portrayed well, and feel like a living race rather than a colleciton of monsters for the protagonists to hew down.



Fadeley does a good job of translating the fight scenes into visceral, frenetic events, whilst retaining the strategic element fans will certainly recognise from the games' turn-based engagements.



As this is a shorter novella, my main issue is that I just wanted more, and I wasn't enamoured with further dividing up the novella into smaller chunks. I read Gift of Hadrborg previously, and appreciated the extra length a novel provides. But I feel a story making you want more is a sign a story has done its job frankly.



I would certainly recommend this novella for any fans of the Banner Saga, or readers interested in a fantasy setting with a distinct and unmistakeable scandanavian aesthetic.