Bergthora's Saga: A Heathen Revenge in a Christian Iceland

by Reiner Prochaska

346 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2024

Reviews

[Deborah James · Rating 5 out of 5]

What stayed with me most was how revenge isn’t treated as victory, but as contamination. Bergthora’s pain doesn’t isolate itself it spreads through families, marriages, and friendships until the whole community feels fractured. The story asks an uncomfortable question: what happens when justice is driven by trauma instead of restraint?

[Alex Norgard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the tension between heathen honor and emerging Christian morality especially compelling. The characters are clearly caught between survival ethics and guilt-based faith, and that struggle feels lived-in rather than symbolic. The magic, faith, and shame coexist in a way that feels historically and emotionally honest.

[Jane Brind · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated how female power is portrayed without softening it. Bergthora, Engilborg, and Ægileif all exercise influence in different ways through will, desire, and belief but none of it is presented as harmless. Their choices carry real social and moral consequences, which makes the portrayal feel sharp and unsentimental.

[Brigitte Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way the story moves across decades and locations adds a sense of inevitability rather than spectacle. Iceland, Greenland, and the wider world don’t feel like backdrops they emphasize how far these characters carry their guilt, loyalties, and unfinished conflicts. Distance never really frees them.

[JulaPDX · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting! I enjoyed the time period and the characters. I was a bit disappointed at the end with how one character's story was wrapped up. But the book held my interest on every page and I wish it had been longer, actually!

[Leonard Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bergthora is fascinating because she isn’t written to be likable she’s written to be understandable. Her vengeance feels earned, but the damage she causes forces the reader to sit with discomfort rather than cheer. That refusal to romanticize revenge gave the story real weight.

[Christine Halvorson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What impressed me was how the story stretches beyond a single arc and shows how choices echo across decades. The consequences don’t end when one conflict is resolved they ripple through children, lovers, and reputations. It reads like a generational reckoning rather than a simple saga.

[Eugene Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kjartan’s struggle felt especially grounded to me. A man shaped by war abroad, returning to protect honor and land at home, only to face shame he can’t fight with a sword. His arc quietly exposes how fragile masculinity and reputation are in that world.

[Hannah Chriswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated how the seeress and witchcraft were handled not exaggerated, not decorative. Ægileif’s obsession and moral collapse make the magic feel like a reflection of inner decay rather than a power fantasy. It adds tension without breaking the realism of the setting.

[Cosima Fia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What struck me is how the community itself feels like a character. Gossip, loyalty, silence, and judgment all move the plot forward. No one acts in a vacuum, and every private decision becomes public currency in a small rural world.

[Mathew Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The emotional tone felt restrained but heavy, which made the betrayals and fractures hit harder. The story trusts the reader to feel the weight without being told what to feel, and that confidence shows in the pacing and character choices.

[Helena James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the ending thought-provoking rather than neat. Not every wound is healed, and not every moral thread is tied offand that felt honest to the world you built. It reinforced the idea that some consequences are meant to be lived with, not resolved.

[Jack Hassard · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, the book reads less like a traditional Viking saga and more like an examination of what happens when old codes stop working but new ones haven’t fully taken hold yet. Honor, faith, desire, and survival collide in ways that feel raw and human rather than heroic.