Ormens lidande

Hammerfall #1

by Sylvain Runberg, Boris Talijancic (Illustrator), Stefan Carlsson (Translator)

Vintern närmar sig, eller "ormens lidande" som svearna vid Österjöns kust kallar det när 700-talet går mot sitt slut. Då Harald ska gifta sig med den vackra Lia, blir deras by plötsligt och brutalt överfallen av Björn den Vackre, en ung man som fem år tidigare blev bannlyst av tinget. Den tragiska kärlekssagan om Lia och Harald vävs samman med ett Europa som ser dagens ljus. För bakom den blodtörstige Björn den Vackre skymtar skuggan av en kejsare vid namn Karl den Store.

Sylvain Runberg och Boris Talijancic är båda passionerade av vikingakultur och har gett liv åt denna vackert illustrerade och spännande berättelse, Hammerfall.

Genres: Comics, Historical Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Historical, Graphic Novels Comics

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mitticus · Rating 3 out of 5]

+Digital ARC gently provided by Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review+

The theft of a Christian relic begins a struggle between different factions of Scandinavian warriors in the 8th century, where personal ambitions and revenge set a period of time where violence was a daily affair.

It reminds me of those old Viking movies that were once seen on TV. Raids, violence, some mentions of religion clash.



Björn is an exiled warrior who arrives with a mixed contingent taking advantage of a wedding to take revenge. The bride, Lina, stand out, is not intimidated and fight back. This is just the introduction of the journey during Jul (winter time). There is a glossary for some words and context.

Nice adventure and cool classic comic drawing.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

Who doesn’t love a good Viking saga? C’mon, who doesn’t? Yeah, I know. We want less rape, but there is something about the Vikings anyway isn’t there? Hammerfell tells the story of a group of Vikings who, sadly for our hero, suffer a defeat during the time he is to get married.

Part of the problem with this graphic novel, in fact the major problem, is that it is difficult to keep some of the men straight. There is not this problem with the women. And the whole, “we are Christians, we do not rape” idea for the bad guys seems a bit contrived. It’s not that I want to see rape, but it just has the feeling of contrived idea, especially considering what appears to be the back story of the bad guy.

Yet, the women in the book are just as strong as the man. And while our hero’s love, Lina, is, in part, the damsel who gets kidnapped and who he must save. She is not a violet who wants to be saved. She stands on her own. This makes a nice change.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling start for a viking story. It's got its sympathetic heroes, heinous villains, good action, tension for the future, and of course, fine art. So far so good.

[Fanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I can get it right, really. I pick and start books that I end up liking.
I started optimistic, because I used to love the show 'Vikings' and this brought me back to that.

There's a glossary at the front which is great! A full handy page of explanations for example the naming of people, lands and gods, which I enjoy because of my fascination with Norse mythology.

We're in 8th century Europe, with the svears (swedes (vikings), as they came to be called later) raiding a monastery at the coast of Northumberland (England). This attack was the beginning of a long and gory war between the Angles and the Norsemen.
The story continues in the land of the svears, where young Harald is to be wed to the beautiful Lina at the Jul celeration. Before the wedding could take place, the banished warrior Björn attacks the town with his men, kills Harald's father and takes the others as slaves.

This one was not for me but simply because for some reason the art style as a whole didn't win me. But what I can say is, there's a lot of action scenes, and I liked the use of colors.

[Books by Kimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent graphic novel with an interesting plot. With vikings, action, love and kidnapping you'd think you wouldn't need more. Unfortunately, you do.

I liked the art style - it was very different from what I usually read - and I enjoyed the roughness of the settings and the authentic atmosphere of the viking era. However, the story was a bit repetitive and it lacked... something. While there were good elements here and there, it felt a bit flat and I wanted more depth and maybe even some more superstition and fantastic elements. I was also annoyed with the font - there's a lot of historical text which is honestly hard on the eye.

An interesting read though.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good solid read, nice artwork and decent storyline.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a comic/graphic novel and I wanted to find one that would fit my interests as well as my artistic preferences. Hammerfall is a great story about strong populations at war with one another. There is a lot of personal history and pain between them. This story appeared to be just a portion of a much longer story and I cannot wait to read more sections.

The only part that bothered me in reading this was the font used. It hurt my eyes at times and I needed to take breaks just to let my eyes rest. Could be just because of reading this on the computer (pdf) versus a print. Other than that the art is beautiful, the character development is intriguing albeit still laying the foundation of who everyone is and how they're interacting.

[Hanna Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this copy.
I am late to review this book,

This graphic novel had beautiful illustrations, it’s a good start to this series and even though I gave it 3 stars I will still continue on.
Living in Norway makes stories about vikings and norse mythology easy to follow along to. I liked that aspect of the story. There is some graphic scenes in here.
This is like 60 pages long, and reads quickly. This first volume took me a little time to get into, however, once I did I definitely want to know what happens.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bjorn the Beautiful has returned from exile to revenge himself on those he considers the source of his troubles. He does not come alone, instead he brings Franks and Angles along with a Christian priest. He begins his revenge by attacking a wedding party, but this volume is only the opening of a saga of conflict between old and new beliefs. Now, I need to get hold of volumes 2-4 to finish the story!

[Elaine White · Rating 3 out of 5]

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

While the Serpent Sleeps (Hammerfall #1) by Sylvain Runberg
★★★☆☆
66 Pages
Content Warning: threats of rape, ransacking, blood/violence/gore, sex scenes/nudity

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one for the simple fact that it was so short, but there was a heck of a lot of story told in those few pages.

To start with, I had a real problem with the formatting, because the creators chose a historically-fitting font, which at times was really hard on the eyes. In paperback, or on a laptop, it would probably be big enough to not be a problem. But on a tablet, some of the text on the cream background were really hard to make out, and there were about 3 pages at the end where the text was actually a little blurry. I'm not sure if that was just my copy, like a glitch, or if that was a problem with the combination of text and colour background. Either way, it made it hard to read.

I'm a big fan of anything Viking-related, and I know their reputation, so I was prepared for the immediate thrust into action, the violence, even the threats of rape towards the women captors. However, it was refreshing to see that none of that appeared on page. Sure, there were a few sex scenes and some nudity, which means it's stuck in a certain age bracket, but they weren't excessive and were wholly consensual.

I'll admit, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Probably because we didn't get very far into the story. At the end of these 66 pages, we have the storyteller – the POV – as a captive, about to arrive and be bargained off to another clan/people. However, the blurb implies that Harald is the one who is patient and biding his time, yet he's quite impetuous in this volume. Not really the patient sort. Its his brother that keeps him calm and compliant, while Harald would go blazing in for revenge. So, because of that, I'm really not sure where the story is going or how long it's going to take to get there.

At the moment, I haven't been inspired to seek out the next volume and read it. With the difficult font, the jumpy flashbacks and back-stories, I'm really not sure that I'm prepared to pick up the next volume. We'll see.

[Fredrik Strömberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume in this four album long series, set in 9th century Scandinavia, a time when the religious fight for souls between Christianity and the ancient belief in the Norse Gods was just getting started. Rundberg has added some fantasy elements to this story, to spice it up, so despite the fact that it features historical figures like Charlemagne, it does not set out to be a historically correct tale.

The story follows a tribe of Vikings who gets attacked by another group of Vikings, led by a man who was once cast out of their homeland for being too violent and who has now taken side with the Christians. The main characters all get taken prisoners and are then transported across the land, towards a goal that is not explicitly explained to the readers.

This is very obviously a first volume, as it ends rather abruptly, leading onwards to volume two. The story is well crafted, making me think about the initial volume of the now classic French album series Thorgal, but I don't feel very much for the main characters, despite their plight.

The art is professionally done, though not inspired. It trasmitts the story well enough with a version of the realistic, somewhat bland style that is common in the historical genre of the French comics culture.

I'm giving this volume a three star ranking as it works as the action-filled, historically set entertainment it purports to be, but the development of this series in the following volumes will most probably affect my reading of it. So, onwards to volume two!

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Europe Comics for a digital edition of ‘Hammerfall: 1. While the Serpent Sleeps’ written by Sylvain Runberg with art by Boris Talijancic in exchange for an honest review.

It is set in 8th-century Northern Europe and explores how two cultures and two religions violently clash. Björn the Beautiful had been banished from his Viking community. During his exile he has made new alliances in the Christian court of Charlemagne and now has returned to his homeland to extract vengeance while professing to be on a mission for Christ.

He leads a raiding party to attack his former people during the wedding festivities of Harald and his love, Lina. Many are slaughtered and those spared are enslaved and forced to undertake a long march.

This is the opening for this historical tale set in Scandinavia, which draws on Norse mythology and highlights the beginning of the conflict between the traditional beliefs and the new religion of Christianity. It introduces the characters and setting as ends on a cliffhanger to wet our appetites for the next volume.

I certainly look forward to seeing how the story of Harold, Lina, and antagonist Björn develops and further explore the role of the forest people.

The art work is powerful with quite strong violence depicted in places that is appropriate for the subject. The author has also provided a handy glossary at the beginning of the text.

[Jen (Remembered Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hammerfall is the first volume in a tale of 8th-century Viking raids and religious shifts, and contains all the set pieces one expects from such a setting. The book opens with a battle sequence followed by a chase scene, and the action continues with only a few breaks for a wedding night bookended with two short scenes of exposition via dialogue.

The art is wonderful. Both the motion conveyed in the action sequences and the detail in the "wide-angle" panels are equally detailed and well-rendered. There's a panel with several men on horseback at the top of a cliff looking down on a snow-covered valley and another of a carriage falling through ice that are absolutely stunning work.

The translation by Tom Imber avoids a common issue in BD translations and manages to capture the feel of the original without leaning too far into the melodramatic.

An entertaining romp!

The edition I read was an e-ARC via NetGalley.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Hammerfall 1. While the Serpent Sleeps' by Sylvain Runberg with art by Boris Talijancic is a graphic novel about Vikings and Normans and captivity.

Harald has a good life. He is the village leader's son and he is about to get married to Lina. While the festivities are going on, the village is attacked and everyone is either killed or taken captive by Bjorn the Beautiful. Harald watches helplessly as Lina is taken by Bjorn. All he can do now is bide his time and wait for a chance to free them both.

I liked the idea of this graphic novel. The art was good, but confusing. I had a hard time telling the male characters apart. I also wished there had been a little more exposition about the scene at the very beginning. I liked the story, but felt like it could have been a bit stronger.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review:

The story follows that of a young Viking named Harald and his clan with the main protagonist being exiled "Bjorn the Beautiful.". The book definitely felt like it was only the beginnings of a long series; with world building and introduction to characters, however it held a high standard of interest throughout. Visually the illustrations were well done and gave a very 9th century Scandinavian feel..

Overall I would likely read the second installment as this left off on a cliff hanger, and I am interested to see where the story goes from here.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm… A book that might well prove one of the superior Norse/Viking graphic novels, but it might also be too early to say. As it stands it certainly has its moments where it is just shaggy long-haired bloke gutting other shaggy long-haired bloke, but it also promises to relate to a much bigger story, one where Charlemagne's presence, and the Christians in the region, get to make their mark. That, then, is a promise of things to come, although of the four books in the series this is the sole one in English as of yet. Credit to the art direction for having very dynamic 'cinematography'; no credit to the glossary for telling us what a slave and a wedding are. Three and a half stars.

[Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5.
Primer tomo de una novela gráfica ambientada en la Escandinavia del siglo VIII.
La historia narra de forma implícita casi todo lo concerniente a la cultura nórdica, podría decirse que hasta de forma didáctica. Con el transcurrir de la trama los conceptos y palabras propias de esta civilización histórica se van entendiendo sin esfuerzo alguno.

Se vale también del conflicto religioso entre católicos y vikingos para entrelazar una muy buena historia de traición y valentía en medio de la blanca estepa sueca.

[Ebb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on July 08, 2019.

A very good first chapter to an intriguing story. This book definitely felt like it was setting up for more of a story later on. This book is mostly an introduction to the main characters and the antagonist Bjorn the Beautiful. I really enjoyed the story and setting. I am not too familiar with this period of history so I'm looking forward to learning more about the wars that were going on and the relationships between the different peoples of northern Europe.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Disclaimer: I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Total "Banner Saga" vibes. "Hammerfall" isn't normally a comic I would pick up to read. The art style is pleasing, but the story was very boring. Lina and Bjorn seemed to be the most developed and interesting characters.

[InformationSuperhero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Scandinavia/Norse saga of disgrace, banishment and revenge. A graphic historical fiction based on facts of laws, politics and the honour of men.

I received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.