Seith and Sword

by Chris Challice

Revenge comes on the black wings of seith magic. Steinarr the Neibelung is killed, leaving the thralls Vanadis and Gamli as the sole survivors. When Steinarr's nephew, Hardegon the Trusted, stumbles upon his town's gruesome remains, when he discovers the thralls' Volsung roots, it rekindles an ancient feud. Vanadis and Gamli flee Hardegon's wrath, sailing on winds that take them from the shores of Pohjola to the Baltic sea. Their desperation mingles with Hardegon's fury and they cut a swath of chaos across the East. Banished from Alands, loathed in Kalevala, and feared in Skane, they make a legion of foes. Their path crosses the likes of Queen Louhi, Bjorn Eriksson and Gorm the Old. All the while Vargeisa the Fire Wolf uses them to her own ends. This is a tale of vengeance, justice, honor and family.The struggle of Gods and Jotun expressed in the mortal realm, during the last golden days of Harald Fair Hair's reign. The story of Vanadis the Cursed and Gamli the Serpent, a portent of darker things to come.

244 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2015

Reviews

[Stephen Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the long run, did I find the book entertaining? Yes. It started a bit slow for my taste and took a while to build the characters into interesting people. That said it got there and I did come to care for the primary characters.

Spoiler alert.

Spoiler removed at publisher’s request.

Spoiler Over.

The multiple intersecting storylines were interesting in the way they each pulled on the other.
If you like Norse fiction you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Stephen B. Pearl

[Daniel Ruffolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seith and Sword is the debut novel of Canadian author Chris Challice, and the first novel in the role-playing game setting Fate of the Norns. We follow the course of Vanadis and Gamli, Volsung thralls thrust into a panicked flight after their Neibelung captors are all killed under mysterious and arcane circumstances. As they travel around, they come into contact with a number of figures from Norse mythology and history, and come into their own powers as significant figures on this mythohistorical stage. While the novel suffers a little from some of the more common debut novel mistakes, those are forgiven since it is, in fact, a debut novel. Starting slowly, the story picks up and becomes increasingly engaging and interesting the further you read. An ambitious debut, and a great look into the myths, history and lore of a fascinating people that we nevertheless seem to unduly ignore in our Fantasy writing.

Read the full review at Strange Currencies
https://strangecurrencies.org/2016/01...