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The Snow Queen Saga #1
Ravens' Will
A fairytale retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, reimagined as an epic Saga during the Viking age.
Old prophecies of the Norse say that, before Ragnarök, a great winter will fall upon the world.
The gods have been defeated and vanquished from the Nine Realms. Skaði, the Snow Queen, is the last line of defense. From the highest peaks of Ásgarð, she protects the Bifröst Bridge and wards off the trolls and giants that try to conquer Miðgarð.
But dark omens run freely. There is word of two ravens that fly once again over the world, and fishermen have seen the scales of a giant serpent slithering under the waves of the sea. The song of winter that Skaði sings every night is slowly dying away into nothingness. And when the Snow Queen’s power finally falters, the winter will end and Ragnarök will begin.
Meanwhile, Gerda has been living in the small village of Veraheim for all her life. The daughter of a swineherd who loves to drink and tell tall tales, Gerda dreams of traveling far away and performing mighty feats, together with her friends Kairan, Runa and Alarr.
She has always thought this was an impossible dream... until she finds the giant trapped under the ice of the frozen lake.
Old prophecies of the Norse say that, before Ragnarök, a great winter will fall upon the world.
The gods have been defeated and vanquished from the Nine Realms. Skaði, the Snow Queen, is the last line of defense. From the highest peaks of Ásgarð, she protects the Bifröst Bridge and wards off the trolls and giants that try to conquer Miðgarð.
But dark omens run freely. There is word of two ravens that fly once again over the world, and fishermen have seen the scales of a giant serpent slithering under the waves of the sea. The song of winter that Skaði sings every night is slowly dying away into nothingness. And when the Snow Queen’s power finally falters, the winter will end and Ragnarök will begin.
Meanwhile, Gerda has been living in the small village of Veraheim for all her life. The daughter of a swineherd who loves to drink and tell tall tales, Gerda dreams of traveling far away and performing mighty feats, together with her friends Kairan, Runa and Alarr.
She has always thought this was an impossible dream... until she finds the giant trapped under the ice of the frozen lake.
452 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2019
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Terry Graves
4 books1 followerTerry Graves is a pen name for Victor Selles, a Spanish writer. He has served coffees for a living and cleaned and prepared dinosaur fossil bones just for fun.
Under his real name, he has published a dozen short stories in different Spanish anthologies and magazines, together with writers such as Mike Resnick, Caroline M. Yoachim, Aliette de Bodard and Lavie Tidhar. He has translated Lucy Clifford’s The New Mother into Spanish, has written scripts for two short films and has won a couple of literary competitions. He is proud to say that some of his work has been rejected by both Granta and 2000 AD magazines.
Victor Selles mostly writes slipstream and literary fiction, and the Terry Graves pseudonym is his way to play with a more straightforward approach to the fantasy genre and to explore the possibilities of self-publishing and the English language.
Under his real name, he has published a dozen short stories in different Spanish anthologies and magazines, together with writers such as Mike Resnick, Caroline M. Yoachim, Aliette de Bodard and Lavie Tidhar. He has translated Lucy Clifford’s The New Mother into Spanish, has written scripts for two short films and has won a couple of literary competitions. He is proud to say that some of his work has been rejected by both Granta and 2000 AD magazines.
Victor Selles mostly writes slipstream and literary fiction, and the Terry Graves pseudonym is his way to play with a more straightforward approach to the fantasy genre and to explore the possibilities of self-publishing and the English language.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 11, 2019
Full review is here, on my blog~
This is, as the blurb suggests, a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen with a very heavy Norse mythology/folklore twist to it. It is still very much the story of Kai and Gerda, and how one ends up with the Snow Queen and the other goes searching for him.
In this story, The Snow Queen is actually Skaði, a jötnar, one of the frost giants, who is more or less the last line of defense between the Bifröst Bridge which connects Ásgarð and Miðgarð, and a horde of angry Jötunn. If they get past her defenses, the long winter that she has blanketed the lands with will end, then Ragnarök will begin. And we all know what that means…. *Cue Immigrant Song*
So, if you read that last paragraph and were annoyed by the accents, eths and what have you, this book is not going to be for you. It is full of Norse mythology that is spelled, as far as I can tell, mostly as it was in actual Norse mythology, or at least closely to that. So, it’s got that going for it, which is nice. But, I know that some people may trip over words with unfamiliar letters, and it breaks their flow. That’s understandable too. So be forewarned, there are a lot of eths (ð), and Æshs and so on.
I thought that it was quite well put together, as a fairytale retelling that also brings a good deal of Norse mythos into the mix. I love mythology in general, and so this was a sure way to keep me invested in the story. I’m also a fan of the story of The Snow Queen, so I figured that this one would go well for me.
I thought the prose was really strong, for the most part (more on that in a sec), and it gave me a real sort of epic-viking-shenanigans vibe. The world was appropriately frigid sounding, and I found that I could imagine it quite well. Skaði’s castle especially, and all of the rooms within that Kai went exploring. The walls of Ásgarð, and the great hall. But the wintery lands of Veraheim where Kai and Gerda live was also easy for me to imagine. A little village, struggling to stay fed as the winter rages on and on.
It does need another pass of edits to really bring it together and make it more cohesive. There were sometimes words that would be used that just seemed very out of place, and I think an editor would do a world of good for this story. I would be immersed in this old frigid-wintery-viking-town sort of setting, then all of a sudden it would be like ‘he fell on his butt’ which would completely break my flow. This might be a huge nitpick on my part but a sprawling viking epic comes to a screeching halt when ‘she peed’ gets thrown into the mix with rather archaic words like ‘ells’ for measurement which were doing a decent job of making it feel old and vikingy. It would sound suddenly and jarringly juvenile, where I don’t think it was intended to. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this one as YA, though the MCs are teenagers, but it drops a couple f-bombs here and there and doesn’t try to avoid difficult themes and just generally felt more like an adult viking epic rather than a YA Snow Queen retelling. This only happened a few times but the few times it did really stood out to me as something that could be improved to make the whole thing a smoother read.
It also slowed down in the middle quite a bit as our characters all went their separate ways. Mainly it became traveling, but from several points of view, and I have to admit that I sometimes found myself struggling to keep my attention on it. Never fear though, it picked back up before long, and I managed to finish the last third or so in one sitting. All together, it read easily and pretty quickly, and I didn’t find myself setting it aside for anything else even when the plot slowed down a bit.
So, all told, I quite enjoyed it! It had little issues that could easily be addressed with a pass of edits, but nonetheless, I think it was a really interesting mixture of The Snow Queen and the Ragnarök myth. I had a total of 7.25/10 stars of fun with this one.
This is, as the blurb suggests, a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen with a very heavy Norse mythology/folklore twist to it. It is still very much the story of Kai and Gerda, and how one ends up with the Snow Queen and the other goes searching for him.
In this story, The Snow Queen is actually Skaði, a jötnar, one of the frost giants, who is more or less the last line of defense between the Bifröst Bridge which connects Ásgarð and Miðgarð, and a horde of angry Jötunn. If they get past her defenses, the long winter that she has blanketed the lands with will end, then Ragnarök will begin. And we all know what that means…. *Cue Immigrant Song*
So, if you read that last paragraph and were annoyed by the accents, eths and what have you, this book is not going to be for you. It is full of Norse mythology that is spelled, as far as I can tell, mostly as it was in actual Norse mythology, or at least closely to that. So, it’s got that going for it, which is nice. But, I know that some people may trip over words with unfamiliar letters, and it breaks their flow. That’s understandable too. So be forewarned, there are a lot of eths (ð), and Æshs and so on.
I thought that it was quite well put together, as a fairytale retelling that also brings a good deal of Norse mythos into the mix. I love mythology in general, and so this was a sure way to keep me invested in the story. I’m also a fan of the story of The Snow Queen, so I figured that this one would go well for me.
I thought the prose was really strong, for the most part (more on that in a sec), and it gave me a real sort of epic-viking-shenanigans vibe. The world was appropriately frigid sounding, and I found that I could imagine it quite well. Skaði’s castle especially, and all of the rooms within that Kai went exploring. The walls of Ásgarð, and the great hall. But the wintery lands of Veraheim where Kai and Gerda live was also easy for me to imagine. A little village, struggling to stay fed as the winter rages on and on.
It does need another pass of edits to really bring it together and make it more cohesive. There were sometimes words that would be used that just seemed very out of place, and I think an editor would do a world of good for this story. I would be immersed in this old frigid-wintery-viking-town sort of setting, then all of a sudden it would be like ‘he fell on his butt’ which would completely break my flow. This might be a huge nitpick on my part but a sprawling viking epic comes to a screeching halt when ‘she peed’ gets thrown into the mix with rather archaic words like ‘ells’ for measurement which were doing a decent job of making it feel old and vikingy. It would sound suddenly and jarringly juvenile, where I don’t think it was intended to. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this one as YA, though the MCs are teenagers, but it drops a couple f-bombs here and there and doesn’t try to avoid difficult themes and just generally felt more like an adult viking epic rather than a YA Snow Queen retelling. This only happened a few times but the few times it did really stood out to me as something that could be improved to make the whole thing a smoother read.
It also slowed down in the middle quite a bit as our characters all went their separate ways. Mainly it became traveling, but from several points of view, and I have to admit that I sometimes found myself struggling to keep my attention on it. Never fear though, it picked back up before long, and I managed to finish the last third or so in one sitting. All together, it read easily and pretty quickly, and I didn’t find myself setting it aside for anything else even when the plot slowed down a bit.
So, all told, I quite enjoyed it! It had little issues that could easily be addressed with a pass of edits, but nonetheless, I think it was a really interesting mixture of The Snow Queen and the Ragnarök myth. I had a total of 7.25/10 stars of fun with this one.
June 21, 2019
Raven’s will is a children’s folk tale about a Snow Queen called Skadi. The story is like a fairytale retelling and is set in the Viking Age. The Queen’s main job is to protect the Bifrost Bridge from the trolls and giants. Her job as a protector is not so easy, and an old Prophecy meaning a great winter is to come before Ragnarok does not seem to be so far-fetched from happening.
The story also has an interesting character named Gerda. She has always wanted to have life larger than the one she lives in. Gerda happens to find a giant trapped under the ice and by saving the giant, her life changes, and a journey begins with her friends that were interesting to read.
The literature and descriptive nature are what caught my eye. Of course, this being a fairytale retelling, I was expecting the same fantasy style writing, but due to it being a sequel I was presuming a well-built backstory and foundation for the future stories. In this matter, the author manages to provide enough material to cover both delightfully.
Another thing that caught my attention was the setting of the story. The author has taken delightful care in making sure that everything matched the Viking era. I appreciated that.
I believe fairytale readers and fantasy fans would enjoy this tale.
The story also has an interesting character named Gerda. She has always wanted to have life larger than the one she lives in. Gerda happens to find a giant trapped under the ice and by saving the giant, her life changes, and a journey begins with her friends that were interesting to read.
The literature and descriptive nature are what caught my eye. Of course, this being a fairytale retelling, I was expecting the same fantasy style writing, but due to it being a sequel I was presuming a well-built backstory and foundation for the future stories. In this matter, the author manages to provide enough material to cover both delightfully.
Another thing that caught my attention was the setting of the story. The author has taken delightful care in making sure that everything matched the Viking era. I appreciated that.
I believe fairytale readers and fantasy fans would enjoy this tale.
April 8, 2020
Ravens’ Will by Terry Graves
“Ravens’ Will” begins with a prologue to set the stage for the story proper. It’s full of Old Norse terminology, and names that made my head spin. Luckily there is a detailed glossary at the end of the book. The prologue seamlessly turns into a bedtime story being told by a grandmother to her two young grandchildren.
The story centers around four loyal twenty something friends who have grown up together in the small village of Veraheim. Gerda, Runa, Kairan, and Alarr have diverse family histories and distinct personalities. When Gerda discovers a giant frozen under the ice in a local lake not too far from their village … well, you have to put on your fairytale hats here. The giant was just discovered in a lake they ice skated on as kids year after year. Not only that, but the giant has been frozen there since the war between the Gods and the Giants, which happened hundreds if not thousands of years ago. At any rate let’s say it was time for him to be discovered and so he appeared there. That works for me in a fairytale.
So now the tale takes off, following a few poor decisions made by the group. Or let’s say by Gerda, okay? As a result the giant is awakened and then set free. Now the quest begins to free Kai from the Snow Queen’s fortress in the far north across the Bifröst Bridge.
The plot is detailed and as twisty and turny as a roller-coaster ride. There are treacheries and conspiracies afoot, along with witches, magic, giants, and trolls. The winter travel is grueling with poor provisions. Runa has to make a difficult decision and Gerda feels betrayed.
As this story comes to a close there is word of two ravens that fly once again over the world. All four of the friends are scattered around the countryside. Kai may be mostly dead, but not dead dead. Gerda is trying to survive in the company of trolls. Runa has run off with the witch to learn her craft. Alarr seems to be a pawn in a conspiracy to overthrow the king.
Old prophecies state when the Snow Queen’s power finally falters, the winter will end and Ragnarök will begin. The author does a good job weaving together five story arcs in this epic saga. Now the stage is set for more story as winter seems to be coming to an end.
FYI: “Ravens’ Will” is book 1 in Mr. Graves, The Snow Queen Saga. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** March 27, 2020.
Format/Typo Issues: A small number of proofing misses such as missing or wrong words. Nothing that threw me out of the story.
“Ravens’ Will” begins with a prologue to set the stage for the story proper. It’s full of Old Norse terminology, and names that made my head spin. Luckily there is a detailed glossary at the end of the book. The prologue seamlessly turns into a bedtime story being told by a grandmother to her two young grandchildren.
The story centers around four loyal twenty something friends who have grown up together in the small village of Veraheim. Gerda, Runa, Kairan, and Alarr have diverse family histories and distinct personalities. When Gerda discovers a giant frozen under the ice in a local lake not too far from their village … well, you have to put on your fairytale hats here. The giant was just discovered in a lake they ice skated on as kids year after year. Not only that, but the giant has been frozen there since the war between the Gods and the Giants, which happened hundreds if not thousands of years ago. At any rate let’s say it was time for him to be discovered and so he appeared there. That works for me in a fairytale.
So now the tale takes off, following a few poor decisions made by the group. Or let’s say by Gerda, okay? As a result the giant is awakened and then set free. Now the quest begins to free Kai from the Snow Queen’s fortress in the far north across the Bifröst Bridge.
The plot is detailed and as twisty and turny as a roller-coaster ride. There are treacheries and conspiracies afoot, along with witches, magic, giants, and trolls. The winter travel is grueling with poor provisions. Runa has to make a difficult decision and Gerda feels betrayed.
As this story comes to a close there is word of two ravens that fly once again over the world. All four of the friends are scattered around the countryside. Kai may be mostly dead, but not dead dead. Gerda is trying to survive in the company of trolls. Runa has run off with the witch to learn her craft. Alarr seems to be a pawn in a conspiracy to overthrow the king.
Old prophecies state when the Snow Queen’s power finally falters, the winter will end and Ragnarök will begin. The author does a good job weaving together five story arcs in this epic saga. Now the stage is set for more story as winter seems to be coming to an end.
FYI: “Ravens’ Will” is book 1 in Mr. Graves, The Snow Queen Saga. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** March 27, 2020.
Format/Typo Issues: A small number of proofing misses such as missing or wrong words. Nothing that threw me out of the story.
December 17, 2020
I've been tracking down adaptations of HCA's fairy tale for years, and I can say this is the first that seems a bit more original to me. I don't know anything about Norse mythology, so I found the added elements really fresh. Perhaps someone better versed than I coming for the opposite direction would feel differently, but the book ended and I found myself wishing for the second part.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews