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Legends of the Ragnarok Era #1
Darkness Forged
***SPFBO 6 Award Finalist***Vengeance is wrought. Darkness is forged.
The greatest crafts on Midgard come from the dvergar realm of Nidavellir. Volund, a gifted smith and once apprentice to the dvergar, escaped their dark realm to find solace in the arms of a valkyrie.
Nine years of respite. And then she was gone.
But Volund’s reputation precedes him, and a cruel king knows the weapons Volund forges can win his wars. Imprisoned in the king’s forge, Volund’s only hope to escape is to find his wife. If he can’t, more than the forge’s darkness will overtake him.
The greatest crafts on Midgard come from the dvergar realm of Nidavellir. Volund, a gifted smith and once apprentice to the dvergar, escaped their dark realm to find solace in the arms of a valkyrie.
Nine years of respite. And then she was gone.
But Volund’s reputation precedes him, and a cruel king knows the weapons Volund forges can win his wars. Imprisoned in the king’s forge, Volund’s only hope to escape is to find his wife. If he can’t, more than the forge’s darkness will overtake him.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2017
65 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Matt Larkin
97 books174 followersAlong with his wife and daughter, Matt lives as a digital nomad, traveling the world while researching for his novels. He reads approximately a bazillion books a year, loves video games, and relaxes by binge watching Netflix with his wife.
Matt writes retellings of mythology as dark, gritty fantasy. His passions of myths, philosophy, and history inform his series. He strives to combine gut-wrenching action with thought-provoking ideas and culturally resonant stories.
As a child, Matt read The Lord of the Rings with his parents. This sparked a lifelong obsession with fantasy and started him on a path of discovering the roots of fantasy through mythology. In exploration of these ideas, the Eschaton Cycle was born—a universe of dark fantasy where all myths and legends play out.
Matt writes retellings of mythology as dark, gritty fantasy. His passions of myths, philosophy, and history inform his series. He strives to combine gut-wrenching action with thought-provoking ideas and culturally resonant stories.
As a child, Matt read The Lord of the Rings with his parents. This sparked a lifelong obsession with fantasy and started him on a path of discovering the roots of fantasy through mythology. In exploration of these ideas, the Eschaton Cycle was born—a universe of dark fantasy where all myths and legends play out.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 11, 2020
* I read this one as a judge for the #SPFBO *
* Trigger warnings: Mutilation, Rape *
This book is definitely dark and it's not going to be a story which works for everyone, but with that said if you can get past that it's a compelling tale drawn from Mythology and imagination and woven nicely together.
In many classic Norse stories we see a combination of three brothers, and this story the same, however they are all three married and have lovely wives at the start of this. They are happy and settled and one has a child with his wife. One day they return home to find the three wives have left across the world and they have gone to fulfill their oaths to their mistress, leaving the son and the three brothers behind with only a ring each as a clue.
Each brother sets off on their own adventure and we follow them all to some extent. Volund is the younger, he is the most mysterious and has the most twisted storyline. I enjoyed Volund's plot the most but also hated the way it concludes the most. It's a classic way to end things, but it's a bit of a sad one.
Volund's story felt most interesting to me as we have a lot of snapshots into the past for him and we see how he has trained with the dwarves of this world. We also see the tormented past and present and he has rather an endless battle with sanity and the light/darkness.
We also have Agilaz who is the brother with the son. He and his son end up enlisting to help a jarl and they live their lives there hut also hunting his wife.
Finally we have Slagfid who is washed ashore and saved by a lady who he swears and oath to. He ends up battling dark forces and sorcerers to do his best to fulfill his oath and then continue to find his wife.
This story and the writing reminded me at times of Tab Williams series (Dragonbone Chair) as it has some overlapping races and focuses. I do think this is a faster and better paced story which feels like a nicely completed tale, and I think this book works well as a standalone set up to Larkin's later works (I am pretty interested to read them at some point after having tried this one).
This book certainly kept me guessing as I've not read a whole lot of Norse mythology, despite liking myths a lot, and I ended up enjoying the very separate and distinct endings that each of the brothers has. I certainly think if you have an interest in Norse mythology you'll probably like trying this book, and it's an easy book to get into if you can stomach the darker elements.
4/5*s from me which is 8/10 for #SPFBO.
* Trigger warnings: Mutilation, Rape *
This book is definitely dark and it's not going to be a story which works for everyone, but with that said if you can get past that it's a compelling tale drawn from Mythology and imagination and woven nicely together.
In many classic Norse stories we see a combination of three brothers, and this story the same, however they are all three married and have lovely wives at the start of this. They are happy and settled and one has a child with his wife. One day they return home to find the three wives have left across the world and they have gone to fulfill their oaths to their mistress, leaving the son and the three brothers behind with only a ring each as a clue.
Each brother sets off on their own adventure and we follow them all to some extent. Volund is the younger, he is the most mysterious and has the most twisted storyline. I enjoyed Volund's plot the most but also hated the way it concludes the most. It's a classic way to end things, but it's a bit of a sad one.
Volund's story felt most interesting to me as we have a lot of snapshots into the past for him and we see how he has trained with the dwarves of this world. We also see the tormented past and present and he has rather an endless battle with sanity and the light/darkness.
We also have Agilaz who is the brother with the son. He and his son end up enlisting to help a jarl and they live their lives there hut also hunting his wife.
Finally we have Slagfid who is washed ashore and saved by a lady who he swears and oath to. He ends up battling dark forces and sorcerers to do his best to fulfill his oath and then continue to find his wife.
This story and the writing reminded me at times of Tab Williams series (Dragonbone Chair) as it has some overlapping races and focuses. I do think this is a faster and better paced story which feels like a nicely completed tale, and I think this book works well as a standalone set up to Larkin's later works (I am pretty interested to read them at some point after having tried this one).
This book certainly kept me guessing as I've not read a whole lot of Norse mythology, despite liking myths a lot, and I ended up enjoying the very separate and distinct endings that each of the brothers has. I certainly think if you have an interest in Norse mythology you'll probably like trying this book, and it's an easy book to get into if you can stomach the darker elements.
4/5*s from me which is 8/10 for #SPFBO.
September 26, 2018
You can find the full review with my choice of song on my blog
I’ve read this book first last year, and left a short and brief review of it, but looking back at it, it didn’t really give justice to the book. Since it’s pretty short and I happened to have some free time, I decided to reread and leave a much better deserved review. I was interested if I still loved it after all this time and how would I rate it now that I’m a bit harsher with my reviews/ratings.
Did you know that you can get this book free, if you join Matt Larkin’s mailing list? No? Then you are welcome. Also, the first book of the Gods of the Ragnarok Era series, The Apples of Idunn is an entrant in this years SPFBO, as well as the first book of the Runeblade Saga series, Days of Endless Night.
A classic Hungarian fairy tale usually features three brothers, who each goes on their own journeys to try and find their luck and a wife along the way. In these stories we always mostly follow the youngest brother, who ends up being the hero. Darkness Forged's setting reminded me a bit of this structure. Except this is no fairy tale, the brothers already have wives and have no desire to leave their home. This tale is dark and twisted and one is unable to stop reading it. Also, don't read this to any child, unless you want them to have nightmares.
Slagfid, Agilaz and Volund live in peace in the wilderness accompanied by their wives and Agilaz’s little son, Hermod. Until one day the three women goes missing, leaving behind only their rings. The brothers decide to follow the lead of their rings and try and take back their wives, no matter what it takes. To achieve that, they have to find battle and prove their worth, because this is the only way to attract the Valkyries’ attention.
“In the end, the bold might find early graves. But they alone took all the glory and all that was worth having in life, while those who cowered in fear languished in envy.”
Slagfid, the oldest of the three and the best swordsman joins to a town after swearing he’ll kill 8 enemies for princess Kelda. That part of the world is being attacked by the Niflung, an old race who want to regain their power and influence over the world and also to get their hands on the nine dvergar made swords owned by the kings of the Old Kingdoms. Agilaz, the middle brother, and probably the wisest of them all, is an exceptional bowman, as well as cunning. He arrives to Hadding jarl’s doorstep and circumstances make him stay longer than he anticipated. This is where he learns about the fate of his younger brother, Volund and sets out to meet him. But what he finds will haunt him for the rest of his life.
“Light was a temporary disturbance in the natural state of things. All fires would one day burn out, the last flames flicker to nothingness. Darkness was the truth.”
We learn the most about Volund, the youngest of the three brothers. As part of a bargain, he spends 2 years in Nidavellir learning the dvergar’s craft and become the best human smith. But this came with a price. When the only thing in his life giving him joy leaves him, he is determined to get her back. During his journey the news of his skills reaches King Nidud and in his hubris he forces Volund to become his servant. Little he knows what nightmare he woke up in Volund, a feat even his years in Nidavellir couldn’t accomplish. His love and need for his wife drives him to the edge, the cruelty of the world throws him over it. And he learns through a hard lesson what it means to make one’s own choices.
Darkness Forged is the entry to both the Gods of the Ragnarok Era and Runeblade Saga series by Matt Larkin, thus sets the tone of the world. It's brutal, ruthless, merciless and cold. Nevertheless, Larkin is able to picture this world in a way that keeps you totally engrossed. It's not a long book and you can finish it one sitting, but you won't be able to get it out of your head for a long time. It's been a year since I've read it first, and I still remembered vividly how I felt while reading it: fascination, dread, disgust, sorrow. Larkin can easily play with these emotions while balancing between the three main characters to give them more or less equal time to get their personalities and story arcs through. Admittedly, we get more of Volund, learning about his past with the dvergar which highlights how this experience changed him during his formative years. Also, this is a past he can't get away from. No matter how hard or how far you run, your past will catch up with you sooner or later. Just ask him. Anyway, I really can't criticise anything, maybe the only thing I can whine about is that this book is not at least twice as long and I have soooo many questions left. I sincerely hope the main series will give them to me. Then again, why the fuck didn't I read on last year??
In Darkness Forged you might find everything you’ve been looking for: heroic fights, vengeance, violence (in many forms), enveloped in norse mythology. This book has an oddly satisfying ending on the bittersweet side. If you are into grimdark, norse mythology, have a few hours to spare and don’t mind having a dark twist in your read, I definitely recommend this book!
I’ve read this book first last year, and left a short and brief review of it, but looking back at it, it didn’t really give justice to the book. Since it’s pretty short and I happened to have some free time, I decided to reread and leave a much better deserved review. I was interested if I still loved it after all this time and how would I rate it now that I’m a bit harsher with my reviews/ratings.
Did you know that you can get this book free, if you join Matt Larkin’s mailing list? No? Then you are welcome. Also, the first book of the Gods of the Ragnarok Era series, The Apples of Idunn is an entrant in this years SPFBO, as well as the first book of the Runeblade Saga series, Days of Endless Night.
A classic Hungarian fairy tale usually features three brothers, who each goes on their own journeys to try and find their luck and a wife along the way. In these stories we always mostly follow the youngest brother, who ends up being the hero. Darkness Forged's setting reminded me a bit of this structure. Except this is no fairy tale, the brothers already have wives and have no desire to leave their home. This tale is dark and twisted and one is unable to stop reading it. Also, don't read this to any child, unless you want them to have nightmares.
Slagfid, Agilaz and Volund live in peace in the wilderness accompanied by their wives and Agilaz’s little son, Hermod. Until one day the three women goes missing, leaving behind only their rings. The brothers decide to follow the lead of their rings and try and take back their wives, no matter what it takes. To achieve that, they have to find battle and prove their worth, because this is the only way to attract the Valkyries’ attention.
“In the end, the bold might find early graves. But they alone took all the glory and all that was worth having in life, while those who cowered in fear languished in envy.”
Slagfid, the oldest of the three and the best swordsman joins to a town after swearing he’ll kill 8 enemies for princess Kelda. That part of the world is being attacked by the Niflung, an old race who want to regain their power and influence over the world and also to get their hands on the nine dvergar made swords owned by the kings of the Old Kingdoms. Agilaz, the middle brother, and probably the wisest of them all, is an exceptional bowman, as well as cunning. He arrives to Hadding jarl’s doorstep and circumstances make him stay longer than he anticipated. This is where he learns about the fate of his younger brother, Volund and sets out to meet him. But what he finds will haunt him for the rest of his life.
“Light was a temporary disturbance in the natural state of things. All fires would one day burn out, the last flames flicker to nothingness. Darkness was the truth.”
We learn the most about Volund, the youngest of the three brothers. As part of a bargain, he spends 2 years in Nidavellir learning the dvergar’s craft and become the best human smith. But this came with a price. When the only thing in his life giving him joy leaves him, he is determined to get her back. During his journey the news of his skills reaches King Nidud and in his hubris he forces Volund to become his servant. Little he knows what nightmare he woke up in Volund, a feat even his years in Nidavellir couldn’t accomplish. His love and need for his wife drives him to the edge, the cruelty of the world throws him over it. And he learns through a hard lesson what it means to make one’s own choices.
Darkness Forged is the entry to both the Gods of the Ragnarok Era and Runeblade Saga series by Matt Larkin, thus sets the tone of the world. It's brutal, ruthless, merciless and cold. Nevertheless, Larkin is able to picture this world in a way that keeps you totally engrossed. It's not a long book and you can finish it one sitting, but you won't be able to get it out of your head for a long time. It's been a year since I've read it first, and I still remembered vividly how I felt while reading it: fascination, dread, disgust, sorrow. Larkin can easily play with these emotions while balancing between the three main characters to give them more or less equal time to get their personalities and story arcs through. Admittedly, we get more of Volund, learning about his past with the dvergar which highlights how this experience changed him during his formative years. Also, this is a past he can't get away from. No matter how hard or how far you run, your past will catch up with you sooner or later. Just ask him. Anyway, I really can't criticise anything, maybe the only thing I can whine about is that this book is not at least twice as long and I have soooo many questions left. I sincerely hope the main series will give them to me. Then again, why the fuck didn't I read on last year??
In Darkness Forged you might find everything you’ve been looking for: heroic fights, vengeance, violence (in many forms), enveloped in norse mythology. This book has an oddly satisfying ending on the bittersweet side. If you are into grimdark, norse mythology, have a few hours to spare and don’t mind having a dark twist in your read, I definitely recommend this book!
Read
June 8, 2021With DARKNESS FORGED, I'm back to reading my fellow SPFBO 6 finalists!
I've still got four books left to explore, but so far this one definitely gave me the strongest emotional reactions...both positive and negative.
To be completely honest, some of the things in this book squicked me out a bit. Being familiar with the source material that this story is retelling, I knew to expect rape, mutilation, and slavery; however Larkin delivered on that and much more. In the end, I wish that if the story was going to delve into topics of sexual violence and slavery, it would have given the victims, and the female characters in general, more agency and internality.
Your mileage may vary, however, and such a lot of this book worked for me so well.
Ever since I read the Poetic Edda the Volundarkvida has been stuck in my head, a dark and twisted tale of a gifted smith who suffers terribly and responds, tragically, with a brutal vengeance. I've wanted to retell it myself for years, and when I found out one of my fellow finalists had actually done it, this book became one of my most-anticipated reads of the contest. DARKNESS FORGED did not disappoint, taking the brief original and spinning it out into something breathtakingly dark and beautiful. I loved the thought with which Larkin incorporated so many of the fascinating aspects of the original. Who were the swan wives, and where did they vanish to? How did Volund learn his trade and become so twisted? Even: what's with the mortal Volund being referred to as an elf by the end of the story? On top of that, there were lines of dialogue and cinematic moments that took my breath away.
In the end, I'm actually relieved that I had reservations about this book, because otherwise this came so close to becoming my definitive Volundarkvida retelling. Thankfully, Larkin has left me *some* area to explore (Bodvild, my child, I'm coming for you). I'm sure this book is going to do brilliantly in the SPFBO finals!
I've still got four books left to explore, but so far this one definitely gave me the strongest emotional reactions...both positive and negative.
To be completely honest, some of the things in this book squicked me out a bit. Being familiar with the source material that this story is retelling, I knew to expect rape, mutilation, and slavery; however Larkin delivered on that and much more. In the end, I wish that if the story was going to delve into topics of sexual violence and slavery, it would have given the victims, and the female characters in general, more agency and internality.
Your mileage may vary, however, and such a lot of this book worked for me so well.
Ever since I read the Poetic Edda the Volundarkvida has been stuck in my head, a dark and twisted tale of a gifted smith who suffers terribly and responds, tragically, with a brutal vengeance. I've wanted to retell it myself for years, and when I found out one of my fellow finalists had actually done it, this book became one of my most-anticipated reads of the contest. DARKNESS FORGED did not disappoint, taking the brief original and spinning it out into something breathtakingly dark and beautiful. I loved the thought with which Larkin incorporated so many of the fascinating aspects of the original. Who were the swan wives, and where did they vanish to? How did Volund learn his trade and become so twisted? Even: what's with the mortal Volund being referred to as an elf by the end of the story? On top of that, there were lines of dialogue and cinematic moments that took my breath away.
In the end, I'm actually relieved that I had reservations about this book, because otherwise this came so close to becoming my definitive Volundarkvida retelling. Thankfully, Larkin has left me *some* area to explore (Bodvild, my child, I'm coming for you). I'm sure this book is going to do brilliantly in the SPFBO finals!
Read
May 18, 2021This is going to be a case of, "it's not you, it's me."
I'll start off by saying Larkin's prose is outstanding. The world is well-constructed and the amount of faithful detail to Norse mythology is staggering. As someone with a passing interest in the mythos, I appreciated the deep amount of lore present. Norse legends never were particularly joyful and that's the case here. Maiming, betrayal, and bloody death are all present and set the tone rather well. The world of Darkness Forges is not a cheery place, which was fine for me (as a grimdark fan). I will add that there is a ton of rape and sexual slavery (mostly referenced versus shown). It's consistent with the setting but if that's a trigger, it's something to be aware of.
The plot--three brothers trying to find their missing valkyrie wives--works well, and hops between their POVs. I felt one of the brothers got cheated on page time that may just be a function of the book's short length.
Sadly, I had a real hard time empathizing with any of the main characters. Only one of the three brothers is ultimately likable and one of the other two is the only one with a solid character arc. Again, maybe because of the book's brevity, I felt like I didn't get a chance to connect with any of them. When horrible things happened to the characters, it didn't feel as impactful because I wasn't invested in their fates ... which did lessen my enjoyment a fair bit. As I said above, that's me, not the book. Your mileage may vary.
I'd recommend this book to fans of Norse mythology, dark settings, and multi-POV quest lines.
I'll start off by saying Larkin's prose is outstanding. The world is well-constructed and the amount of faithful detail to Norse mythology is staggering. As someone with a passing interest in the mythos, I appreciated the deep amount of lore present. Norse legends never were particularly joyful and that's the case here. Maiming, betrayal, and bloody death are all present and set the tone rather well. The world of Darkness Forges is not a cheery place, which was fine for me (as a grimdark fan). I will add that there is a ton of rape and sexual slavery (mostly referenced versus shown). It's consistent with the setting but if that's a trigger, it's something to be aware of.
The plot--three brothers trying to find their missing valkyrie wives--works well, and hops between their POVs. I felt one of the brothers got cheated on page time that may just be a function of the book's short length.
Sadly, I had a real hard time empathizing with any of the main characters. Only one of the three brothers is ultimately likable and one of the other two is the only one with a solid character arc. Again, maybe because of the book's brevity, I felt like I didn't get a chance to connect with any of them. When horrible things happened to the characters, it didn't feel as impactful because I wasn't invested in their fates ... which did lessen my enjoyment a fair bit. As I said above, that's me, not the book. Your mileage may vary.
I'd recommend this book to fans of Norse mythology, dark settings, and multi-POV quest lines.
Read
October 28, 2020Review to come.
March 10, 2021
Read for SPFBO info about the contest and links at the bottom.
I was glad to see this author in the finals- not because I have read anything by him before but because I haven’t. I’ve been seeing his books around for awhile and have been curious about them.
***
I loved the writing style right off. I thought the narration was well-suited to the story that it was telling; it gave me the impression I was reading a very dark folktale before I even knew it was based off one.
This story itself did take awhile for me to settle in to. It seemed like I was kind of waiting to see where it was going to go because it felt like a bigger story than the page count was going to allow. Maybe familiarity with the source (or Norse legends in general) would have helped with that too, I don’t know. As the tale unfolded and we started seeing some of the past events- especially Volund’s time with the Dverg, the story got a lot more interesting to me and I was hooked.
I actually really enjoyed this, despite how dark it was in places. I think though, I do tend to give a little leeway in my likes, to myth/folk retellings just because they are usually rather bleak. There’s a lesson to be taught in them and rarely does the lesson-learned have a good outcome for the characters.
I don’t know if that was an author’s choice or if the tale was originally that way, but in true to folktale fashion, this story gave us a look at every outcome of the brother’ choices- which I thought was cool.
I did wish that the other brothers pov were expanded on just to fill/balance out their povs a little more-probably my only real gripe. Now I know this story was based on a folktale, I understand why they weren’t.
Great storytelling- really enjoyed this one.
SPFBO score- 7.2 or 4 stars
learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Finalist board is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Our team reviews and finalist board
https://starlitbook.com/spfbo-6-finals/
spfbo score
7.2-or 4 stars
I was glad to see this author in the finals- not because I have read anything by him before but because I haven’t. I’ve been seeing his books around for awhile and have been curious about them.
***
I loved the writing style right off. I thought the narration was well-suited to the story that it was telling; it gave me the impression I was reading a very dark folktale before I even knew it was based off one.
This story itself did take awhile for me to settle in to. It seemed like I was kind of waiting to see where it was going to go because it felt like a bigger story than the page count was going to allow. Maybe familiarity with the source (or Norse legends in general) would have helped with that too, I don’t know. As the tale unfolded and we started seeing some of the past events- especially Volund’s time with the Dverg, the story got a lot more interesting to me and I was hooked.
I actually really enjoyed this, despite how dark it was in places. I think though, I do tend to give a little leeway in my likes, to myth/folk retellings just because they are usually rather bleak. There’s a lesson to be taught in them and rarely does the lesson-learned have a good outcome for the characters.
I don’t know if that was an author’s choice or if the tale was originally that way, but in true to folktale fashion, this story gave us a look at every outcome of the brother’ choices- which I thought was cool.
I did wish that the other brothers pov were expanded on just to fill/balance out their povs a little more-probably my only real gripe. Now I know this story was based on a folktale, I understand why they weren’t.
Great storytelling- really enjoyed this one.
SPFBO score- 7.2 or 4 stars
learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Finalist board is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Our team reviews and finalist board
https://starlitbook.com/spfbo-6-finals/
spfbo score
7.2-or 4 stars
February 23, 2021
A good solid 3 star read, reminds me of the Elizabeth Boyer books from the mid 80s.
This is a finalist in the spfbo 6, I had just decided to read this one tonight as I am planning to read all 10 books.
I got 2 pages into it and relised it was very familiar with myself, I then relised I had this book before, so checked Goodreads and found my review from December 2018.
This is a finalist in the spfbo 6, I had just decided to read this one tonight as I am planning to read all 10 books.
I got 2 pages into it and relised it was very familiar with myself, I then relised I had this book before, so checked Goodreads and found my review from December 2018.
November 28, 2020
Review coming in February!
April 17, 2024
This book was quite surprising. Despite its very dark contents, I enjoyed reading it quite a lot. The stories of Volund and his brothers are taken from real myths, even though the author added a few things here and there. Goodreads says it's part of a duology, but I think it can be read as a standalone without any problems. The characters are if not likeable interesting enough that I cared about their story and what happened to them. Volund's pov was very dark, and sometimes made me feel uncomfortable, but by the end you understand why he was portrayed that way. Now, I do have one criticism. There was a point in the book where Volund recalled how he'd met his wife, and that whole part felt very much out of place. We were told of his love for his wife before, but they basically met and "decided" to get married in such a random way I was left a bit disappointed. It was very difficult for me to believe in their love afterwards. Nevertheless, this book was entertaining and quick to read and so I decided to still give it 5 stars.
Read
December 11, 2020RTC
Read
March 4, 2021SPFBO 6 review to come over at the Fantasy Hive at some point next month.
June 19, 2018
Matt Larkin kicks off his Eschaton Cycle with Darkness Forged, the story that sets the scene for the rest of his Norse epic.
The story revolves around three brothers, sons of a king. When Volund, the youngest, is sent to the Dverg (dwarves) to learn the ways of the forge, their lives began to spiral out of control. Volund's tenure with the Dverg ends badly, and the brothers go into hiding. In a brief moment of happiness, the brothers meet and marry a trio of Valkyries, but the women have a higher calling, and must return to their old ways. The brothers don't take it well, and set out to find their errant spouses, setting them, and Midgard, on a the path to its apparent doom.
I read some of the later novels first, and the author has maintained the tone and dark humour of the series, while remaining true to the source. This is easily one of the finest series out there, and if you like Norse mythology, this should be your first stop.
The story revolves around three brothers, sons of a king. When Volund, the youngest, is sent to the Dverg (dwarves) to learn the ways of the forge, their lives began to spiral out of control. Volund's tenure with the Dverg ends badly, and the brothers go into hiding. In a brief moment of happiness, the brothers meet and marry a trio of Valkyries, but the women have a higher calling, and must return to their old ways. The brothers don't take it well, and set out to find their errant spouses, setting them, and Midgard, on a the path to its apparent doom.
I read some of the later novels first, and the author has maintained the tone and dark humour of the series, while remaining true to the source. This is easily one of the finest series out there, and if you like Norse mythology, this should be your first stop.
November 19, 2020
3 husbands come back from a days hunting to find their wives have left; no signs of kidnap or assault & one even leaves her child behind. The only hint is 3 rings that their wives wore are in the house and each man gets a sense of direction of where is wife is.
Each man departs on the search for his wife and so we get the story of each brother's search. With the younger brother we also get the tale of his past; how he was "apprenticed" to the Dwarves to work in their Forge (& be warned, these are not the Dwarves like we see in LOTR or similar tales. These Dwarves are very dark indeed).
Each brother ends up in different parts of the country fighting battles for different Jarls or Kings which finally brings each brother to their respective wives with arraying outcomes.
This is a Norse tale so expect battles, blood, death and some moments that may be triggering to some. Lovers of grimdark, Norse sagas, love, betrayal and battle will enjoy this book
Each man departs on the search for his wife and so we get the story of each brother's search. With the younger brother we also get the tale of his past; how he was "apprenticed" to the Dwarves to work in their Forge (& be warned, these are not the Dwarves like we see in LOTR or similar tales. These Dwarves are very dark indeed).
Each brother ends up in different parts of the country fighting battles for different Jarls or Kings which finally brings each brother to their respective wives with arraying outcomes.
This is a Norse tale so expect battles, blood, death and some moments that may be triggering to some. Lovers of grimdark, Norse sagas, love, betrayal and battle will enjoy this book
May 7, 2021
Using a Norse setting, Matt Larkin give us the tale of three brother. Matt spins his tale in a non-linear fashion, going back and forth in time. Not my personal favorite style of writing but that has more to do with my head than anything else. A quest story at its heart, the three brother set off on different journeys. As the journey goes, we get the back story of the brothers and how the brothers gained the skills that will help them in their quest. If you are looking for Norse setting fantasy book, this is a nice one to put in your to be read file. One of the finalists for the 6th "Self Published Fantasy Blog Off" contest.
February 15, 2021
Brilliant! A great entry in to this years SPFBO and a welcome return to me to Norse inspired literature and what a book we have here! Hitting all the right dark tones about a brutal part of Norse Mythology! I loved this, my full review will be up for this soon.
February 2, 2021
I know this story, and I enjoyed reading it again.
A group of brothers marry Valkyrie and when they leave, the brothers go forth each to search for his wife.
Their trials are all different, testing them in different ways. Theirs is a harsh world and to find their Valkyrie wife they must not only survive unsurmountable hardship, but actually find their wife as well.
Not every ending is as one would hope and I did find it sorrowful even though I knew the story.
"There are worse things than murder. Do not turn away. Walk into darkness, or dwindle to naught in half-light."
I received a free copy of this novel from the author and I'm happy to offer my fair and honest review.
A group of brothers marry Valkyrie and when they leave, the brothers go forth each to search for his wife.
Their trials are all different, testing them in different ways. Theirs is a harsh world and to find their Valkyrie wife they must not only survive unsurmountable hardship, but actually find their wife as well.
Not every ending is as one would hope and I did find it sorrowful even though I knew the story.
"There are worse things than murder. Do not turn away. Walk into darkness, or dwindle to naught in half-light."
I received a free copy of this novel from the author and I'm happy to offer my fair and honest review.
March 26, 2021
Full SPFBO review on FBC on Mar 29
December 26, 2020
Light, darkness, revenge and tragedy
This book has it all and on a grand scale. A rollicking tale of family set in a world full of gods and demons. This is fantasy of the highest order. Strap yourself in!!!
This book has it all and on a grand scale. A rollicking tale of family set in a world full of gods and demons. This is fantasy of the highest order. Strap yourself in!!!
December 29, 2022
This is one of ten finalists in Mark Lawrence's Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off for 2020-21.
So, as one of the judges for the fantasy-hive, I have just finished reading it.
The team will be collating our thoughts and giving the book an overall rating and score in time for the April final of this year's contest. I will post a fuller review and a link to those deliberations at that time.
You can now see what the Hive team thought here
So, as one of the judges for the fantasy-hive, I have just finished reading it.
The team will be collating our thoughts and giving the book an overall rating and score in time for the April final of this year's contest. I will post a fuller review and a link to those deliberations at that time.
You can now see what the Hive team thought here
Read
May 1, 2021I won't rate this as I DNFed it. There's potential in the author, and the writing itself was well enough, it just wasn't my cup of tea at all.
While the prose was mostly fluent enough to allow a quick and easy read, I found things that got my hackles up pretty early on. While I have no problem reading grimmest Grimdark, with every topic that involves, the handling of these can be very different. And I didn’t think Darkness Forged handled two topics well at all: Rape and infertility.
Early in there’s plenty of male banter about swapping wives, getting between their legs and so on. As this was just the way the characters are, it didn’t stop me from reading, but it definitely annoyed me. Also if I have to read “ploughing the trench” one more time I’ll go bang my head against a wall.
Prose wise there was a ton of Midgard specific vocabulary that was thrown in without any explanation. This wasn’t a problem for me as I have read a lot of stories in the same setting, so I either knew it or could well guess what was talked about. But there’s a lot of specific names or races, which might make it hard going for someone new to it. Here’s a few examples – from just one page!
Berserkir, varulfur, Ás, Aujum, Sviarlanders, Aesir, vaettir, Nidavellir, dvergar
What also annoyed me were a few instances of very modern words, when the rest of the prose is the opposite, with a lot of nigh and naught.
Well, the world isn’t new at all obviously. Having read a lot of different styles and stories set in the same world, it was quite hard not to compare this with other books that draw on similar mythology. And I did think a lot of the other books I read handled it better than Darkness Forged. I think Darkness really works best if you are familiar with a lot of the terminology and world already, and if you aren’t, you have a whole wheelbarrow full of new words and names and can easily get lost between them. Authors like Harris and Whitecastle manage to put a lot more background information in there, which a lot less… let’s call it “name dropping”, and yet avoid infodumps, which will make it much easier to access.
I know this is supposed to be a redemption story, and I intellectually know the characters aren’t meant to be likable. That doesn’t change me hating them emotionally, and therefore not care one single iota about what would happen to them.
One felt so two dimensional I didn’t even know why he was in the story at all. One just seems to hit things. And the third is someone I’d rather see dead.
The rather constant small bits about slave girls or thinking about taking women, or even touching a wounded woman’s breast when you’re actually trying to help, that didn’t help at all. Even while this story is meant to show the slow succumbing to darkness, the first such instance happened before he even got to the place that “tortured him and made him into something dark”. And I just can’t feel sympathy for such characters. At times he disgusts himself, which doesn’t really change him one bit anyway. No, the only thing that keeps these men in working order is – their wives? Take their wives and there goes their whole morality and humanity right along with them? What sort of men are those?
I must confess in my 34 years of life, this is the third book I ever rage quit. Just 36 pages from the end, when it wasn’t about one more sex slave getting the protagonists attention, but the perfectly perfect and only thing that’s keeping him sane – wife. While this alone wouldn’t have been that bad, this on top of the whole rape stuff was the final straw for me.
Smallish spoiler ahead, as it happens earlier in the timeline, but late in the book:
When a usually exceptionally strong and stable woman, the one who is supposedly the light of your life, has tears in their eyes saying “Perhaps I am barren” and you then go and ask: “Is that the truth? Could you not conceive were you so inclined?” I just want to go and punch your teeth out.
Even if in this story that might be the case, then phrase that scene differently, having that information out before that specific dialogue would be nice. There’s a lot of couples out here in the real world, some might even read this book, that can’t conceive, and while that doesn’t mean a topic like that can’t be used in books, I wish it was handled with more sensibility than this. As I can’t set the character in fire, I was tempted to throw the ereader out the window…
The descent into darkness, just didn’t work for me. Look at our other books, like Black Stone Heart, with a similar theme. There we also have a character on the slippery slope, and going down, down, down into darkness. But there I felt it was well done, and I did care for the character(s), even if I was repulsed by their actions. In Darkness Forged I didn’t care either way. I didn’t even want for them to fail, I just wanted to be done with the story.
While I can absolutely see potential in the author, I couldn’t stand the characters at all. I didn’t care for any of them, and if halfway through they’d all have ended up on a stake, I’d probably have shrugged and read on without any emotion attached. Near the end I might have been happy to see at least the main protagonist on a pyre. So this one sadly wasn’t my cup of tea at all.
While the prose was mostly fluent enough to allow a quick and easy read, I found things that got my hackles up pretty early on. While I have no problem reading grimmest Grimdark, with every topic that involves, the handling of these can be very different. And I didn’t think Darkness Forged handled two topics well at all: Rape and infertility.
Early in there’s plenty of male banter about swapping wives, getting between their legs and so on. As this was just the way the characters are, it didn’t stop me from reading, but it definitely annoyed me. Also if I have to read “ploughing the trench” one more time I’ll go bang my head against a wall.
Prose wise there was a ton of Midgard specific vocabulary that was thrown in without any explanation. This wasn’t a problem for me as I have read a lot of stories in the same setting, so I either knew it or could well guess what was talked about. But there’s a lot of specific names or races, which might make it hard going for someone new to it. Here’s a few examples – from just one page!
Berserkir, varulfur, Ás, Aujum, Sviarlanders, Aesir, vaettir, Nidavellir, dvergar
What also annoyed me were a few instances of very modern words, when the rest of the prose is the opposite, with a lot of nigh and naught.
Well, the world isn’t new at all obviously. Having read a lot of different styles and stories set in the same world, it was quite hard not to compare this with other books that draw on similar mythology. And I did think a lot of the other books I read handled it better than Darkness Forged. I think Darkness really works best if you are familiar with a lot of the terminology and world already, and if you aren’t, you have a whole wheelbarrow full of new words and names and can easily get lost between them. Authors like Harris and Whitecastle manage to put a lot more background information in there, which a lot less… let’s call it “name dropping”, and yet avoid infodumps, which will make it much easier to access.
I know this is supposed to be a redemption story, and I intellectually know the characters aren’t meant to be likable. That doesn’t change me hating them emotionally, and therefore not care one single iota about what would happen to them.
One felt so two dimensional I didn’t even know why he was in the story at all. One just seems to hit things. And the third is someone I’d rather see dead.
The rather constant small bits about slave girls or thinking about taking women, or even touching a wounded woman’s breast when you’re actually trying to help, that didn’t help at all. Even while this story is meant to show the slow succumbing to darkness, the first such instance happened before he even got to the place that “tortured him and made him into something dark”. And I just can’t feel sympathy for such characters. At times he disgusts himself, which doesn’t really change him one bit anyway. No, the only thing that keeps these men in working order is – their wives? Take their wives and there goes their whole morality and humanity right along with them? What sort of men are those?
I must confess in my 34 years of life, this is the third book I ever rage quit. Just 36 pages from the end, when it wasn’t about one more sex slave getting the protagonists attention, but the perfectly perfect and only thing that’s keeping him sane – wife. While this alone wouldn’t have been that bad, this on top of the whole rape stuff was the final straw for me.
Smallish spoiler ahead, as it happens earlier in the timeline, but late in the book:
When a usually exceptionally strong and stable woman, the one who is supposedly the light of your life, has tears in their eyes saying “Perhaps I am barren” and you then go and ask: “Is that the truth? Could you not conceive were you so inclined?” I just want to go and punch your teeth out.
Even if in this story that might be the case, then phrase that scene differently, having that information out before that specific dialogue would be nice. There’s a lot of couples out here in the real world, some might even read this book, that can’t conceive, and while that doesn’t mean a topic like that can’t be used in books, I wish it was handled with more sensibility than this. As I can’t set the character in fire, I was tempted to throw the ereader out the window…
The descent into darkness, just didn’t work for me. Look at our other books, like Black Stone Heart, with a similar theme. There we also have a character on the slippery slope, and going down, down, down into darkness. But there I felt it was well done, and I did care for the character(s), even if I was repulsed by their actions. In Darkness Forged I didn’t care either way. I didn’t even want for them to fail, I just wanted to be done with the story.
While I can absolutely see potential in the author, I couldn’t stand the characters at all. I didn’t care for any of them, and if halfway through they’d all have ended up on a stake, I’d probably have shrugged and read on without any emotion attached. Near the end I might have been happy to see at least the main protagonist on a pyre. So this one sadly wasn’t my cup of tea at all.
December 31, 2019
A great story focusing on Norse mythology and the human realm of Midgard. Wade had three bastard sons, namely Volund, Agilaz and Slagfid and he decided to take Volund to apprentice in the Dvergar realm of Nidavellir, to become the best human craftsman in the realm, however Volund was tested and broken and re-made into the best artisan to work in a forge but also with the darkness of the dvergar inside him. The three brothers married Valkyrie women who they adored so when they returned from a hunt and found them gone and their rings in the hearth they knew they had to go out and get them back. A Valkyrie is bound to her mistress and her role is to deliver the souls of the dead into the realms beyond Midgard and it seemed as though they had flown away as swans to fulfill their obligations. Had they left their rings behind for the brothers to find them and get them back? The brothers felt the pull of the rings and knew the sisters had gone in separate directions so they agreed to follow them and meet up in a years' time. However none of them were prepared for the troubles they would encounter during that year and the tribulations they would face. This is the exciting story of the three brothers who went in search of their beautiful Valkyrie wives, it is a very dark story full of adventure, pain and loss, treachery and greed but also one of great loyalty and eternal love. I loved this first book in the Legends of the Ragnarok Era and hope to read more books about this time and place.
November 2, 2020
I heard about this because it was a finalist for the 2020 SPFBO. It is available now free for Kindle.
Very Nordic; throws out a lot of terms/places like Valkyrie, Jarl, varulf and Nidavellir with no explanation. This feels very much more like myth than fantasy. There is no exposition. If you're not familiar with these tropes I think you might be fairly lost or disinterested.
I liked that the story started right off and we didn't get bogged down; fantasy or sci-fi novels too often get lost telling every detail of the world before the story even starts. But, this is indicative of this book being mythology more than fantasy and I'm not a fan of mythology. Often, I find that mythological stories rely on tropes, do not significantly develop character and that characters act against their own nature in service to the myth. The former is definitely the case here; everything is underdeveloped including the characterization and basic plot elements. We randomly find out that they are princes. How old are they - how old is Agilaz's son? There's a lack of explanation, of connective tissue and the book speeds up throughout so that, by the end, this is almost disconnected vignettes. I think that this would have been better following one character or perhaps told chronologically. As it is, it needed to be much longer to tackle this much story.
This was a fast read, the writing was solid and if you like Norse mythology this is definitely something worth checking out.
**Warnings for rape (off page) - problematic handling
Very Nordic; throws out a lot of terms/places like Valkyrie, Jarl, varulf and Nidavellir with no explanation. This feels very much more like myth than fantasy. There is no exposition. If you're not familiar with these tropes I think you might be fairly lost or disinterested.
I liked that the story started right off and we didn't get bogged down; fantasy or sci-fi novels too often get lost telling every detail of the world before the story even starts. But, this is indicative of this book being mythology more than fantasy and I'm not a fan of mythology. Often, I find that mythological stories rely on tropes, do not significantly develop character and that characters act against their own nature in service to the myth. The former is definitely the case here; everything is underdeveloped including the characterization and basic plot elements. We randomly find out that they are princes. How old are they - how old is Agilaz's son? There's a lack of explanation, of connective tissue and the book speeds up throughout so that, by the end, this is almost disconnected vignettes. I think that this would have been better following one character or perhaps told chronologically. As it is, it needed to be much longer to tackle this much story.
This was a fast read, the writing was solid and if you like Norse mythology this is definitely something worth checking out.
**Warnings for rape (off page) - problematic handling
October 30, 2018
Darkness Forged
Following three brothers as they search for their Valkyrie wives, Darkness Forged takes us on many dark and disturbing turns. The story features travels of all three brothers, but a primary focus is on Volund who has a very dark, disturbing story. The good; I found the story to be attention getting, descriptive and interesting. It has a dark theme, so that might disturb some. The difficult; I am unfamiliar with Norse mythology and that’s what this story is based off. I found following it all a little challenging at times. Also, although it’s a relatively short read, it took longer than I expected, I think just trying to get everything. I rate the book 4 stars.
***Reviewer for Romance Authors that Rock. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*****
Following three brothers as they search for their Valkyrie wives, Darkness Forged takes us on many dark and disturbing turns. The story features travels of all three brothers, but a primary focus is on Volund who has a very dark, disturbing story. The good; I found the story to be attention getting, descriptive and interesting. It has a dark theme, so that might disturb some. The difficult; I am unfamiliar with Norse mythology and that’s what this story is based off. I found following it all a little challenging at times. Also, although it’s a relatively short read, it took longer than I expected, I think just trying to get everything. I rate the book 4 stars.
***Reviewer for Romance Authors that Rock. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*****
April 10, 2018
ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW ADVENTURE???
I have to I like his style. If you like deep meaning, action packed aventure, then you found it. The characters and scenes are so realistic I felt like I could smell the forges. Matt has a style that really brings his perspective home. Smooth flowing storyline that comes a live as you watch the characters and their personalities transform and blend to make a strong unit. With a rollercoaster of emotions that kept my attention on the pages and frozen to my seat. I couldn't put it down. When you grab your copy you better make sure your comfortable. You'll be there a while. Thanks for sharing this remarkable read with us.
I have to I like his style. If you like deep meaning, action packed aventure, then you found it. The characters and scenes are so realistic I felt like I could smell the forges. Matt has a style that really brings his perspective home. Smooth flowing storyline that comes a live as you watch the characters and their personalities transform and blend to make a strong unit. With a rollercoaster of emotions that kept my attention on the pages and frozen to my seat. I couldn't put it down. When you grab your copy you better make sure your comfortable. You'll be there a while. Thanks for sharing this remarkable read with us.
June 13, 2017
I liked Larkin's "Skyfall" series, but he really shines in this one. By his own admission this novel is dark, but despite the dark story, the author's passion for mythology really shows - it is a compelling, well-written story with interesting characters that run the gamut from greed to self-giving. It is filled with supernatural and mythological creatures that stir ancient echoes of time. This is a prequel to the Ragnarok series, and if this book is an indicator then I am certainly looking forward to it as well.
December 2, 2017
I picked this up as a freebie somewhere, not really knowing the author, or what is was about, but thought I would give it a go. And I really enjoyed it! Great writing, easy to read, good characters, and very well-plotted. The language and complicated names where a bit confusing at times, but otherwise, don't think I can fault this for style. Overall very enjoyable, and shall keep an eye out for more from Larkin.
January 4, 2020
Lesson learned from this book: A little communication can go along way. lol-kidding.
Darkness, blood and vengeance. The story is laid out in a fascinating present and past timeline, it gave time to take a breath between the nightmare of the present. Overall my heart ached after finishing this book, so many choices made, that could have led to different futures had the brothers only had a bit of trust and not make rash decisions.
Look forward to checking out more books by this author.
Darkness, blood and vengeance. The story is laid out in a fascinating present and past timeline, it gave time to take a breath between the nightmare of the present. Overall my heart ached after finishing this book, so many choices made, that could have led to different futures had the brothers only had a bit of trust and not make rash decisions.
Look forward to checking out more books by this author.
July 12, 2018
Fascinating
If you were wondering about some of the characters in the other books, this is some darned good background. Now I know where Agilaz and Olrun got Sigyn and who and what the dverger smith, Volund, actually is. The story moves back and forth from the present (for them) to the past though it mainly follows Volund. Definitely worth reading
If you were wondering about some of the characters in the other books, this is some darned good background. Now I know where Agilaz and Olrun got Sigyn and who and what the dverger smith, Volund, actually is. The story moves back and forth from the present (for them) to the past though it mainly follows Volund. Definitely worth reading
July 23, 2019
I found my progress through this book slow. I often found myself rereading the names. To make sure I knew whos story I was reading.
Aside from that this story was enjoyable, and I have already grabbed a box set of his, from amazon.
Aside from that this story was enjoyable, and I have already grabbed a box set of his, from amazon.
September 20, 2020
hree brothers caught up in the fight between the darkness and the light. Their journeys take them in different directions but they agree to meet again in one year. This is the story of struggle, survival, tragedy and triumph. Great characters and storyline.
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