What do you think?
Rate this book
Valkyrie #1
Ill Wind
Gabriella Berryngton is an unhappy and oppressed fourteen year old girl from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1683. She dreams of escaping her bitter, ambitious stepfather and sailing off into the unknown.
Her dreams come true when her stepfather sells her into marriage.
Aboard the Freyja, she is hopeful that her new life in the Dutch West Indies will be an improvement – a hope that dies when she is given a slave (Klara) and a whip. She discovers that her soon-to-be father-in-law is a ruthless slave trader in league with pirates, and her fiancé is cold, unfriendly and disinterested in Gabriella. She is little more than a vessel to provide the next generation.
Largely ignored and desperately unhappy, she and Klara develop a friendship which makes life bearable – at first. Once married, Gabriella's life takes a turn for the worse and she descends into a world of horror and abuse, until tensions explode. Life will never be the same and she has no choice but to take fate into her own hands.
"Easily got lost in the story which is full of emotion. A must read."
"I could not have enjoyed the novel any more than I did."
"I love when a book can make me feel for a character, whether it's a kindred feeling, one of disgust, or a feeling of pure fear. K.A. Perkins succeeded in doing that for me . . . I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good historical adventure!"
Thank you for looking.
Her dreams come true when her stepfather sells her into marriage.
Aboard the Freyja, she is hopeful that her new life in the Dutch West Indies will be an improvement – a hope that dies when she is given a slave (Klara) and a whip. She discovers that her soon-to-be father-in-law is a ruthless slave trader in league with pirates, and her fiancé is cold, unfriendly and disinterested in Gabriella. She is little more than a vessel to provide the next generation.
Largely ignored and desperately unhappy, she and Klara develop a friendship which makes life bearable – at first. Once married, Gabriella's life takes a turn for the worse and she descends into a world of horror and abuse, until tensions explode. Life will never be the same and she has no choice but to take fate into her own hands.
"Easily got lost in the story which is full of emotion. A must read."
"I could not have enjoyed the novel any more than I did."
"I love when a book can make me feel for a character, whether it's a kindred feeling, one of disgust, or a feeling of pure fear. K.A. Perkins succeeded in doing that for me . . . I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good historical adventure!"
Thank you for looking.
116 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
13 people are currently reading
1492 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Perkins
5 books30 followersKaren Perkins lives in Yorkshire with her partner. She has been a keen sailor since childhood, competing nationally and internationally until the day she had both National and European Ladies Champion titles - and a terminally bad back.
Under the name K A Perkins She has written 1 novella (An Ill Wind) and 2 full-length novels: Dead Reckoning (which was long-listed in the Novel Competition in 2011) and Ready About! (coming in 2013 from LionheART Publishing House) in the Valkyrie series.
Thores-Cross, a haunting novel set in the Yorkshire Moors about isolation and superstition, will also be published in 2013 by LionheART Publishing House.
She has also co-authored a series of children’s books inspired by traditional African stories with acclaimed poet, director and playwright, Peter Mutanda, and a trailer for 'Rabbit and Elephant's Tug Of War' follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udauyl...
Under the name K A Perkins She has written 1 novella (An Ill Wind) and 2 full-length novels: Dead Reckoning (which was long-listed in the Novel Competition in 2011) and Ready About! (coming in 2013 from LionheART Publishing House) in the Valkyrie series.
Thores-Cross, a haunting novel set in the Yorkshire Moors about isolation and superstition, will also be published in 2013 by LionheART Publishing House.
She has also co-authored a series of children’s books inspired by traditional African stories with acclaimed poet, director and playwright, Peter Mutanda, and a trailer for 'Rabbit and Elephant's Tug Of War' follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udauyl...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 23, 2012
An Ill Wind is a short "novella" that introduces the reader to Gabriella Berrynton,and is a "Prequel" if you will, that continues on to further swashbuckling female pirate adventure books in the future.
We first meet Gabriella in the year 1683 in her home town Massachasetts Bay.She and her mother are summond to meet her father at his work at the docks and since he would never do this Gabriella and her mother know something is not right. Little did they know it would change Gabriella's life forever..Her father has always been a cruel and abusive man,but Gabriella soon realizes just how cruel as he has sold her to marry the son of a Dutch merchant.Hoping for a better life,those dreams are quickly dashed as well as she gets to know her father in law and her cold and distant new husband.The only good thing so far is a friendship formed with Klara the slave given to her,who is also shadowed by the masters of the house.How can she cope? Who can she turn to? In such a short story the author did a really good job of adding just enough adventure and drama without making you feel something was missing as some of these short "novella's" for me do.
This book isnt a "romance" but more of a "intro" to the main character and how it all began before her life takes a turn to piracy and finding romance and love on the high seas in the next book
Nicely done and I look forward to reading more of Gabriella's adventures in the authors continuing series.
We first meet Gabriella in the year 1683 in her home town Massachasetts Bay.She and her mother are summond to meet her father at his work at the docks and since he would never do this Gabriella and her mother know something is not right. Little did they know it would change Gabriella's life forever..Her father has always been a cruel and abusive man,but Gabriella soon realizes just how cruel as he has sold her to marry the son of a Dutch merchant.Hoping for a better life,those dreams are quickly dashed as well as she gets to know her father in law and her cold and distant new husband.The only good thing so far is a friendship formed with Klara the slave given to her,who is also shadowed by the masters of the house.How can she cope? Who can she turn to? In such a short story the author did a really good job of adding just enough adventure and drama without making you feel something was missing as some of these short "novella's" for me do.
This book isnt a "romance" but more of a "intro" to the main character and how it all began before her life takes a turn to piracy and finding romance and love on the high seas in the next book
Nicely done and I look forward to reading more of Gabriella's adventures in the authors continuing series.
December 22, 2015
I'm a sucker for a pirate story. Back in my bodice ripper reading days, I just loved the pirate themed ones. Well, this story was in no way a romance. In fact, there was almost too much reality in this story. This story takes place in the 1680's , not a good time for women. Gabrielle, a very young girl from America, gets sold by her father to a rich Dutch slave trader and sugar cane farmer. She must travel to the Caribbean to marry this man's son. Needless to say, none of the men in this story treat women well and they are horrific to the slaves. The Dutch men do business with pirates but this isn't really about pirates. I gave this 4 stars because of the great writing and character development. I just loved Gabrielle and her slave, Klara. What they deal with is heart breaking but I just have to read more about their story.
July 31, 2016
Imagine you are a 14 year old girl living in late-1600s Massachusetts. Now imagine that you learn your father has brokered a marriage for you, to a man you've never met who lives on a small island in the Caribbean. Not only that, you're leaving that same day. This is the situation confronting Gabriella, narrator of An Ill Wind. She is thrown into circumstances she could never have foreseen, and her only friend is her slave, Klara—although their relationship, due to a misunderstanding, gets off to a very shaky start.
The writing is very easy in style, and does give a strong impression of a teenaged girl. Not so easy is the subject matter. Forced marriage, slavery, piracy and violence all appear, but are handled with honesty and sensitivity.
Here be spoilers....
I very much enjoyed this book, and wish there had been more of it—that's the pesky thing with novellas, they run out too quickly! The descriptive language fits a teenage girl very well, with more focus on the things that catch Gabriella's attention or interest. The characters are believable, and painted in enough detail to give you a good picture of their appearance and personalities. The developing relationship between Gabriella and Klara is particularly poignant, and this relationship, with the ways they try to help and protect one another, is one of the most outstanding points of the book.
My thanks to the author, Karen, for letting me know that An Ill Wind was available as a free download via Goodreads. I'll definitely be looking out for further books in the series—especially since there was a bit of the next book as a preview, which has left me wanting more!
The writing is very easy in style, and does give a strong impression of a teenaged girl. Not so easy is the subject matter. Forced marriage, slavery, piracy and violence all appear, but are handled with honesty and sensitivity.
Here be spoilers....
I very much enjoyed this book, and wish there had been more of it—that's the pesky thing with novellas, they run out too quickly! The descriptive language fits a teenage girl very well, with more focus on the things that catch Gabriella's attention or interest. The characters are believable, and painted in enough detail to give you a good picture of their appearance and personalities. The developing relationship between Gabriella and Klara is particularly poignant, and this relationship, with the ways they try to help and protect one another, is one of the most outstanding points of the book.
My thanks to the author, Karen, for letting me know that An Ill Wind was available as a free download via Goodreads. I'll definitely be looking out for further books in the series—especially since there was a bit of the next book as a preview, which has left me wanting more!
February 7, 2013
When I received this book from the First Reads program I was excited to have found a new author that I had never heard of before. K.A Perkins does an excellent job portraying a 17th century Caribbean. An Ill Wind tells the story of a young girl, Gabriella, who is sold off into marriage to a man who, well lets just say, he isn't very nice. She befriends a slave girl who helps her through her tough times, and takes care of her as best she can. This is a novella, the first in the Valkyrie series, so its just a quick read, but has a lot of story packed into its' 116 pages.
I love when a book can make me feel for a character, whether it's a kindred feeling, one of disgust, or a feeling of pure fear. K.A. Perkins succeeded in doing that for me. I felt Gabriella's distress in leaving her mom and dad, meeting her new husband. But I also felt her confidence, and then her fear more towards the end. This book did a fantastic job at picking me up from my cold winter days, and transporting me to the hot and sticky Caribbean heat aboard the Freyja. It took me a little while to adjust to their dialect, but it really did add to the story for me. I was left wanting to know what happens next and was VERY happy to find out that the second book in the Valkyrie series, Dead Reckoning, is a full length novel!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good historical adventure! I will definitely be reading the next one sometime soon, as soon as I can get my hands on it. A great start to the Valkyrie series!
I love when a book can make me feel for a character, whether it's a kindred feeling, one of disgust, or a feeling of pure fear. K.A. Perkins succeeded in doing that for me. I felt Gabriella's distress in leaving her mom and dad, meeting her new husband. But I also felt her confidence, and then her fear more towards the end. This book did a fantastic job at picking me up from my cold winter days, and transporting me to the hot and sticky Caribbean heat aboard the Freyja. It took me a little while to adjust to their dialect, but it really did add to the story for me. I was left wanting to know what happens next and was VERY happy to find out that the second book in the Valkyrie series, Dead Reckoning, is a full length novel!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good historical adventure! I will definitely be reading the next one sometime soon, as soon as I can get my hands on it. A great start to the Valkyrie series!
November 29, 2012
The authors' intent is to bring you in and let you become one with the character. Which all in all she does quite well. The author also intends to leave you wanting more, needing to read on into the next novel to get some closure as to what is really happening and the author also does this quite well, be prepared to want to read the next novel of this series because all in all it was an excellent read with a hang on ending that will force you to grab the next book and move on. This book was a free E-book through Goodreads as a prize after losing the actual contest.
November 24, 2012
Wow! This storyis even better than the description. I'm getting ready to buy Dead Reckoning..the continuation of Gabrielle's story. The author begins the story immediately drawing you in to a scene that leaves you wondereing how such things are possible. Then continues to entrance you with the life that befalls this brave young lady. It's amazing how someone so young can adapt to such a grievous. Situation. I can't wait to see what happens next. A must read!
January 4, 2013
"Adventure, drama, intrigue, the story will keep you spellbound."
January 16, 2013
Easily got lost in the story which is full of emotion. A must read. I will be reading the next book for sure.
December 9, 2012
Superbly wrote and full of emotion.
October 25, 2013
I receive this book from the author.And I was so happy to read it.It is a wonderful book.I love books like this one.
There are so much to say about this book.Many,many things. Probably,you`ve read the description of the book.Most of you don`t want read it,because it is not fantasy,or something like that.But it is more than that.It is about the pain that women have to endure in 1660,in England.To marry a guy that you haven`t see it and most of it to not love you or appreciated you .It is hard.Many of was you don`t figured how this will be for us if where in there places. I have endured?Have I died?
So this book,like I said present us the live of Gabriella,a girl that has 14 years old.She is sold be her father for marriage.She has no choice.But she is thinking,that maybe,there ,with her new family it will be more fine and she will escape for her father abuse.
But she is so wrong.There she has no friends,or family to support her.The only friend it is her slave,Klara.Soon she will find out that it has better with her father and mom.
This book is about this years when a women idea,her feelings, emotions doesn`t metter.Is about a cruel, savage world.When only mens opinion metters.Marriage for love doesn`t exist.
Only money and power.
It is a different book and lovely one.It`s about to live in a world of power,and loneliness.The author`s thoughts are so smoothon paper.They are so wonderful to read.It is a book that I want so much to see here,in Romania too.I`m sure that every one will love it.
And who can you not?Just take a look on the cover.I have the book with the old cover,but the inside book metters.
Again thanks to the author for written this amazing book and for provide me and for one more person a copy of the book.
There are so much to say about this book.Many,many things. Probably,you`ve read the description of the book.Most of you don`t want read it,because it is not fantasy,or something like that.But it is more than that.It is about the pain that women have to endure in 1660,in England.To marry a guy that you haven`t see it and most of it to not love you or appreciated you .It is hard.Many of was you don`t figured how this will be for us if where in there places. I have endured?Have I died?
So this book,like I said present us the live of Gabriella,a girl that has 14 years old.She is sold be her father for marriage.She has no choice.But she is thinking,that maybe,there ,with her new family it will be more fine and she will escape for her father abuse.
But she is so wrong.There she has no friends,or family to support her.The only friend it is her slave,Klara.Soon she will find out that it has better with her father and mom.
This book is about this years when a women idea,her feelings, emotions doesn`t metter.Is about a cruel, savage world.When only mens opinion metters.Marriage for love doesn`t exist.
Only money and power.
It is a different book and lovely one.It`s about to live in a world of power,and loneliness.The author`s thoughts are so smoothon paper.They are so wonderful to read.It is a book that I want so much to see here,in Romania too.I`m sure that every one will love it.
And who can you not?Just take a look on the cover.I have the book with the old cover,but the inside book metters.
Again thanks to the author for written this amazing book and for provide me and for one more person a copy of the book.
July 24, 2013
At first glance, this book may appear to merely serve as an introduction to the next book in the series, Dead Reckoning. And, to be honest, since this is a novella, there is little space for complete resolution of the complex story being told here. However, more like an extended short story, Perkins manages to capture the essence of a moment in life in AN ILL WIND.
With great confidence she creates an atmosphere of pain and anger and places her main character right in the middle of it. Her choice for heroine in this novella would seem ill chosen, in that she is a 14 year old girl with little world experience, but I believe these exact features make her a perfect option for allowing the reader to get an honest view of the world of pirates and those who would commission these buccaneers to do their dirty work.
And we also are allowed to see a character who is able to continue to hold on to a bit of optimism, even when all hope appears to be lost.
I find myself eager to read the next book in this series to see what fates Perkins has in store for Gabriella and her new family. This book is definitely worth the read, but I have a feeling it doesn't hold a candle to what Perkins is setting up for the rest of the series.
With great confidence she creates an atmosphere of pain and anger and places her main character right in the middle of it. Her choice for heroine in this novella would seem ill chosen, in that she is a 14 year old girl with little world experience, but I believe these exact features make her a perfect option for allowing the reader to get an honest view of the world of pirates and those who would commission these buccaneers to do their dirty work.
And we also are allowed to see a character who is able to continue to hold on to a bit of optimism, even when all hope appears to be lost.
I find myself eager to read the next book in this series to see what fates Perkins has in store for Gabriella and her new family. This book is definitely worth the read, but I have a feeling it doesn't hold a candle to what Perkins is setting up for the rest of the series.
December 23, 2012
Wow – the author has done well to recreate such a stark, frightening time so vividly, and I immediately sympathised with Gabriella as she is sold in to marriage. An Ill Wind is fast-paced, tense and exciting and my only complaint is that it isn’t a full length book – I bought the next in the series straight away to carry on the story!
The slave and pirate background to the novel is realistically drawn and obviously well-researched, and the characters are also well-drawn with depth. I lived through their emotions with them, and had to keep reading 'just one more chapter' to see what happens next. It's full of action and adventure, but the author has also paid attention to small detail, which helps to create a very visual story.
This is a powerful book to start the series and I'm hooked!
The slave and pirate background to the novel is realistically drawn and obviously well-researched, and the characters are also well-drawn with depth. I lived through their emotions with them, and had to keep reading 'just one more chapter' to see what happens next. It's full of action and adventure, but the author has also paid attention to small detail, which helps to create a very visual story.
This is a powerful book to start the series and I'm hooked!
October 11, 2014
I liked the short chapters. They lent pace to this adventure where a 14 yr old girl is shipped off by her cold step-father to face hostility and ill treatment as well as pirates. The heroine is suitably brave and resilient, unlike the mother who had to let her go in order to save herself. The mother feels she has no choice, and therefore at the end when the heroine feels she has no choice - but to a very different dilemma, the structure of the novel is satisfyingly rounded.
There is plenty of action and the characters of the two women, heroine and her slave, are well portrayed. The males are rather more one-dimensional, but perhaps this is inevitable in the situation they are placed in.
This novel will appeal to enjoy pirate stories and a sea-born life. An exciting read that leaves you wondering how the heroine will make out. This will become clear in the next novel in the series.
There is plenty of action and the characters of the two women, heroine and her slave, are well portrayed. The males are rather more one-dimensional, but perhaps this is inevitable in the situation they are placed in.
This novel will appeal to enjoy pirate stories and a sea-born life. An exciting read that leaves you wondering how the heroine will make out. This will become clear in the next novel in the series.
August 28, 2014
The Valkyrie Series comes highly recommended for those who enjoy historical reading. It is a romance but not erotica. I would rate this series as 5 star.
I really enjoyed these stories. One big plus was the period dialogue. The language used is one you can imagine pirates of olden days in the Caribbean might have used. From start to finish, these are stories the reader will find difficult to put down as the story telling is fast paced and leaves the reader wondering what happens next. The love story between Gabriella and Leo is slow to begin with but is as it should be. After all, we all know that mad, passionate love is something that takes time to build. They are a typical couple with all the ups and downs that come with a relationship.
They are very well written with no grammar or spelling issues. An excellent series!
I really enjoyed these stories. One big plus was the period dialogue. The language used is one you can imagine pirates of olden days in the Caribbean might have used. From start to finish, these are stories the reader will find difficult to put down as the story telling is fast paced and leaves the reader wondering what happens next. The love story between Gabriella and Leo is slow to begin with but is as it should be. After all, we all know that mad, passionate love is something that takes time to build. They are a typical couple with all the ups and downs that come with a relationship.
They are very well written with no grammar or spelling issues. An excellent series!
Read
November 7, 2012The first book in the Valkyrie Series by Karen Perkins, 'Ill Wind' introduces us to one of the main characters in 'Dead Reckoning' - Gabriella Berryngton - as she is forced into marriage in seventeenth century colonial America. Initially relieved to be escaping an unhappy childhood home, her new life quickly descends into horror.
Available to download as an ebook from Goodreads, discover a riveting story exploring the powerlessness of women at that time - even in 'The New World' - where most people emigrated to find freedom. Gabriella finds some friendship though, with a slave girl and a pirate, and looks to find the positives in a dire situation. Yet things get worse, and she struggles to find a way to cope...
Available to download as an ebook from Goodreads, discover a riveting story exploring the powerlessness of women at that time - even in 'The New World' - where most people emigrated to find freedom. Gabriella finds some friendship though, with a slave girl and a pirate, and looks to find the positives in a dire situation. Yet things get worse, and she struggles to find a way to cope...
March 9, 2014
A nice and easy read. The characters are believable. I will be on the look out for the next book to find out what happens to the main characters.
July 29, 2014
Note: Review is for the entire Valkyrie Series
Well written historical fiction should cause the reader to wonder what really happened - to ask what in the story is fact and what is not. If the story is well executed it should be told without anachronism or other annoying flaws, accurately depicting the period in question. Ultimately it should be the kind of story that leaves the reader thinking that if things didn't happen exactly this way, perhaps they should have. Karen Perkins has delivered such an achievement.
The Valkyrie Series is a pirate tale with a love story or two thrown in to the mix. In the background it also points out some of the more glaring social issues of the period such as colonial exploitation, slavery and greed along with the institutionalized oppression of women and man's inhumanity as contrasted to the desire for freedom of choice.
Karen Perkins begins her tale with Ill Wind, a novella length story that introduces us to 14-year-old Gabriella Berryngton. Set in the late 17th Century we are transported back to a time with very different rules. Although her story begins in colonial Massachusetts Bay her father arranges for her marriage of convenience to Erik the son of a wealthy Dutch businessman named Jan van Ecken. Against her will she is taken aboard a ship to the Caribbean island of Sayba. On the way she learns that van Ecken's business associations are at least questionable and, as the story progresses, she learns that she is aboard a pirate ship. Her adventure as well as a great deal of suffering at the hand of overbearing and oppressive men is just beginning.
Gabriella begins as an innocent girl but rapidly becomes experienced in the darker aspects of the real world into which her father is forced her, a dangerous existence defined by wealth, slavery and nefarious dealings with some unsavory characters.
The second book of the series, Dead Reckoning is a true novel in length and in structure. It is told from the perspective of two character, Leo Santiago who we met briefly in Ill Wind and Gabriella van Ecken. The former is bent on revenge against the pirates that tortured and raped his mother before killing her and the latter seeks escape and freedom from her imprisonment as the nominal wife of Erik.
Dead Reckoning has the feel of a epic journey into the world of privateers marauding the Caribbean. Again the attention to detail in the descriptions of the ships and the character’s clothing is second to none. The level of accuracy makes it easy to lose oneself in the adventure, getting so involved in the story that you continue to think about the characters and wonder at the outcome of their stories long after you set the books aside. Karen Perkins is herself an accomplished competition sailor, so it comes as little surprise that the nautical terms and descriptions of the ships, their rigging and the basics of how to sail such marvels of construction is meticulously factual, leaving the reader feeling as if he or she has learned something and might even be able to survive aboard such ships.
The third installment of the Valkyre series is Look Sharpe! Having read the books in the numerical order as perhaps intended is not necessary, though. Since Karen Perkins structured the story from the perspectives of its several main characters the reader might actually start by reading Look Sharpe! and gain a different perspective on the characters and their stories. Though I found Dead Reckoning to be the most complete novel in a traditional sense, each of the three installments has its strengths as a story.
The risk of telling a story from multiple perspectives is that the story gets lost in all the background details and the reader gets bored with hearing the same bits told over and over, albeit from differing perspectives. But here Perkins takes care to avoid redundancies. Although there is some overlap in the details, having each character's unique point of view is actually enlightening. The way Perkins presents the material is effective instead of distracting. However, there is a huge problem in structuring a story as multiple character profiles and the Valkyrie Series story arc suffers in the process.
There is a different way of presenting the story using a mixture of character point of view and chronological order. In order to create the story in such a manner the entire story must be drafted first then arranged into a logical flow. The difficulty in this method is that it is time consuming and requires an author to extend work on an epic scale to span years instead of the usual few months it takes to draft a novel.
My problem with giving any of the books in this series a complete endorsement is that two of the books feel incomplete as novels and the one that merit the title, Dead Reckoning, leaves many questions unanswered. Look Sharpe! answers the questions of who is Henry Sharpe and why does he act as he does in assisting the events in Dead Reckoning. I can assume that the soon to be released Ready About and the short story Where Away also serve to fill in backstory's details. As I am a fan of the series, I will read both as soon as they are made available.
Structural problems aside, the Valkyrie Series has a lot to offer for those who love historical pieces about pirates and high seas adventures. The character-based story telling delivered in first person lends intimacy in the connection between the reader and the characters making for a enjoyable experience. Had the story arc of the entire series been used as an overall structure for telling the series from the perspectives of Gabriella, Leo and Sharpe (and perhaps Magdalena) I believe the books could have made a stronger impact as works of epic adventure literature. Perhaps, once the story is completely told, the author might reorganize the various parts and tell the story chronologically through each character’s perspectives. As it is, once the reader has consumed the tales from the differing points of view the whole of the story feels finished.
The quality of writing is first rate with only a few minor editing errors. Some of the spellings are peculiar to the period and the fact that the author is British. Single quotes are used in dialogue, which is not a big deal to American readers who have read some British authors in the past. Because of the manner of telling through the eyes of multiple characters there are jumps in time and a few instances of overlapping events seen from different points of view but as kt is presented it is not confusing.
Regardless of the structural shortcomings I highly recommend these books. Perkins is a gifted writer. Her characters live and breathe for the reader.
Well written historical fiction should cause the reader to wonder what really happened - to ask what in the story is fact and what is not. If the story is well executed it should be told without anachronism or other annoying flaws, accurately depicting the period in question. Ultimately it should be the kind of story that leaves the reader thinking that if things didn't happen exactly this way, perhaps they should have. Karen Perkins has delivered such an achievement.
The Valkyrie Series is a pirate tale with a love story or two thrown in to the mix. In the background it also points out some of the more glaring social issues of the period such as colonial exploitation, slavery and greed along with the institutionalized oppression of women and man's inhumanity as contrasted to the desire for freedom of choice.
Karen Perkins begins her tale with Ill Wind, a novella length story that introduces us to 14-year-old Gabriella Berryngton. Set in the late 17th Century we are transported back to a time with very different rules. Although her story begins in colonial Massachusetts Bay her father arranges for her marriage of convenience to Erik the son of a wealthy Dutch businessman named Jan van Ecken. Against her will she is taken aboard a ship to the Caribbean island of Sayba. On the way she learns that van Ecken's business associations are at least questionable and, as the story progresses, she learns that she is aboard a pirate ship. Her adventure as well as a great deal of suffering at the hand of overbearing and oppressive men is just beginning.
Gabriella begins as an innocent girl but rapidly becomes experienced in the darker aspects of the real world into which her father is forced her, a dangerous existence defined by wealth, slavery and nefarious dealings with some unsavory characters.
The second book of the series, Dead Reckoning is a true novel in length and in structure. It is told from the perspective of two character, Leo Santiago who we met briefly in Ill Wind and Gabriella van Ecken. The former is bent on revenge against the pirates that tortured and raped his mother before killing her and the latter seeks escape and freedom from her imprisonment as the nominal wife of Erik.
Dead Reckoning has the feel of a epic journey into the world of privateers marauding the Caribbean. Again the attention to detail in the descriptions of the ships and the character’s clothing is second to none. The level of accuracy makes it easy to lose oneself in the adventure, getting so involved in the story that you continue to think about the characters and wonder at the outcome of their stories long after you set the books aside. Karen Perkins is herself an accomplished competition sailor, so it comes as little surprise that the nautical terms and descriptions of the ships, their rigging and the basics of how to sail such marvels of construction is meticulously factual, leaving the reader feeling as if he or she has learned something and might even be able to survive aboard such ships.
The third installment of the Valkyre series is Look Sharpe! Having read the books in the numerical order as perhaps intended is not necessary, though. Since Karen Perkins structured the story from the perspectives of its several main characters the reader might actually start by reading Look Sharpe! and gain a different perspective on the characters and their stories. Though I found Dead Reckoning to be the most complete novel in a traditional sense, each of the three installments has its strengths as a story.
The risk of telling a story from multiple perspectives is that the story gets lost in all the background details and the reader gets bored with hearing the same bits told over and over, albeit from differing perspectives. But here Perkins takes care to avoid redundancies. Although there is some overlap in the details, having each character's unique point of view is actually enlightening. The way Perkins presents the material is effective instead of distracting. However, there is a huge problem in structuring a story as multiple character profiles and the Valkyrie Series story arc suffers in the process.
There is a different way of presenting the story using a mixture of character point of view and chronological order. In order to create the story in such a manner the entire story must be drafted first then arranged into a logical flow. The difficulty in this method is that it is time consuming and requires an author to extend work on an epic scale to span years instead of the usual few months it takes to draft a novel.
My problem with giving any of the books in this series a complete endorsement is that two of the books feel incomplete as novels and the one that merit the title, Dead Reckoning, leaves many questions unanswered. Look Sharpe! answers the questions of who is Henry Sharpe and why does he act as he does in assisting the events in Dead Reckoning. I can assume that the soon to be released Ready About and the short story Where Away also serve to fill in backstory's details. As I am a fan of the series, I will read both as soon as they are made available.
Structural problems aside, the Valkyrie Series has a lot to offer for those who love historical pieces about pirates and high seas adventures. The character-based story telling delivered in first person lends intimacy in the connection between the reader and the characters making for a enjoyable experience. Had the story arc of the entire series been used as an overall structure for telling the series from the perspectives of Gabriella, Leo and Sharpe (and perhaps Magdalena) I believe the books could have made a stronger impact as works of epic adventure literature. Perhaps, once the story is completely told, the author might reorganize the various parts and tell the story chronologically through each character’s perspectives. As it is, once the reader has consumed the tales from the differing points of view the whole of the story feels finished.
The quality of writing is first rate with only a few minor editing errors. Some of the spellings are peculiar to the period and the fact that the author is British. Single quotes are used in dialogue, which is not a big deal to American readers who have read some British authors in the past. Because of the manner of telling through the eyes of multiple characters there are jumps in time and a few instances of overlapping events seen from different points of view but as kt is presented it is not confusing.
Regardless of the structural shortcomings I highly recommend these books. Perkins is a gifted writer. Her characters live and breathe for the reader.
July 2, 2015
The story begins in Massachusetts in 1683. Gabriella Berryngton is a stepdaughter of the chief customs officer of Massachusetts Bay. Her stepfather is heavy-handed, and does not care for Gabriella. So, when the opportunity comes up to arrange a marriage for Gabriella, he takes it, despite the fact she is only 14 and the fiance lives on an island called Sayba in the Caribbean. Gabriella meets her soon-to-be Dutch-speaking father-in-law, Jan van Ecken, and is given only a few hours to pack a say goodbye to her mother before she is put on a ship headed for Sayba.
While on the ship, Gabriella is given a black slave, Klara, to be her handmaid. While their relationship begins roughly, it soon blooms. Gabriella is shocked to learn that Klara is mistreated in ways she never would have imagined, and tries to do what she can to keep Klara from harm.
Gabriella also learns that her in-laws are pirates when the ship attacks another on the high seas. Now she is sure she is in trouble.
Once Gabriella arrives at Sayba, she meets, Erik van Ecken, her fiance. Erik barely acknowledges her. Poor Gabriella must adjust to a new life on Sayba with cruel in-laws and a way of life she is unaccustomed to.
Over-all, I liked the story. I love adventure stories, and Gabriella has quite an adventure. Although the story ends kind of abruptly, Gabriella's story continues in the next book in the series, so I plan to check it out to find out what ultimately happens to Gabriella.
While on the ship, Gabriella is given a black slave, Klara, to be her handmaid. While their relationship begins roughly, it soon blooms. Gabriella is shocked to learn that Klara is mistreated in ways she never would have imagined, and tries to do what she can to keep Klara from harm.
Gabriella also learns that her in-laws are pirates when the ship attacks another on the high seas. Now she is sure she is in trouble.
Once Gabriella arrives at Sayba, she meets, Erik van Ecken, her fiance. Erik barely acknowledges her. Poor Gabriella must adjust to a new life on Sayba with cruel in-laws and a way of life she is unaccustomed to.
Over-all, I liked the story. I love adventure stories, and Gabriella has quite an adventure. Although the story ends kind of abruptly, Gabriella's story continues in the next book in the series, so I plan to check it out to find out what ultimately happens to Gabriella.
February 2, 2015
I really loved the historical details in this book, they made it all the more interesting. I have issues with -- well -- the age of the protagonist and what happens to her, I know such things happened but I don't have to like it and I wish the author had given the poor girl at least a couple more years of age before sending her off to her fate. It's for the sake of my own sensibility I know, and I know that's ridiculous, but there it is. I'm uncomfortable with that whole aspect.
The book is engaging and interesting, it really kept me sucked in and reading when I should have been sleeping (oops). The villains are easy to hate and the good guys are easy to like.
The book is engaging and interesting, it really kept me sucked in and reading when I should have been sleeping (oops). The villains are easy to hate and the good guys are easy to like.
August 12, 2014
Great Novella!
Ill Wind is a short novella that serves as an intro to the Valkyrie series. The reader gets introduced to the heroine Gabriella, her back story, and the sad tale of how her father sells her to the Van Ecken family to become Erik’s bride. She is only fourteen and has known nothing other than hardship, but through this short story she finds her courage and learns how to endure abuse while she waits for her chance to escape. This is a story of female friendship, bravery, and strength that will inspire everyone who reads it.
Ill Wind is a short novella that serves as an intro to the Valkyrie series. The reader gets introduced to the heroine Gabriella, her back story, and the sad tale of how her father sells her to the Van Ecken family to become Erik’s bride. She is only fourteen and has known nothing other than hardship, but through this short story she finds her courage and learns how to endure abuse while she waits for her chance to escape. This is a story of female friendship, bravery, and strength that will inspire everyone who reads it.
May 30, 2015
I thought this book was pretty good. It was nicely paced, and I loved how the chapters weren't super long. I flew through it, and the story line kept me interested. It's about a 14 year old girl, Gabriella who gets forced into a marriage with the son of this Dutch family, Erik van Ecken. Hopefully I got that last name right, lol...anywho, this first book is about her life with them, and they have dealings with pirates. Anywho, I'll def continue on with this series! It had a nice cliffhanger ending that made me want to find out what happens next!
January 9, 2015
Good story. I enjoyed it but did skim a lot about halfway through. Liked it enough to get the second one though. The ONLY thing I found that rang untrue is her age. She was 14 when she was given away by her "father" and married a stranger. Seems like even if she lived with her husband 3 years (and it may have been less), she was way too young to act as old as she did. I would have believed it more if she was 22 or 23.
July 23, 2014
I have no idea how to rate this novella since it was an extremely well-written story that goes nowhere, written as a prequel to the next two or possibly three books in the series. The characters were engaging and the story fascinating, but not worth your time unless you are going on to read Dead Reckoning.
August 19, 2014
This is a very believable tale. The author has brought to the minds eye a vision of life as a pirate in the Caribbean islands. Ms. Perkins knowledge and demonstrated skills as a sailor show in her scenes with accurate historical descriptions of life as a pirate and a woman in the 17th century. Very enjoyable read.
October 5, 2015
The writing in this is really blunt and events seem to just happen out of no where without any real development. This does however mean the story moves really quickly and makes for easy reading. Finished it without realising I was even near the end.
July 5, 2016
Pretty good
This is the backstory to the first book in the series as told by Gabriella. It describes her life and marriage to Erik. It goes into more detail onto the brutality of her life. I am on to book III.
This is the backstory to the first book in the series as told by Gabriella. It describes her life and marriage to Erik. It goes into more detail onto the brutality of her life. I am on to book III.
August 5, 2016
AN ILL WIND is engaging right from the beginning. The writing is crisp. I couldn't stop reading, chapter after chapter. I was immediately swept back in time, and I loved it.
May 29, 2015
3.75 Stars
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews