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The Edda of Burdens #2
By the Mountain Bound
For five hundred years the immortal Children of the Light, einherjar and valkyrie, have lived together in the North of Valdyrgard. They were born out of the Sea, each with a shining crystal sword in his or her hand; they are Angels of Light created in the formation of a new world. But three have come before them, from the death-throes of the old world, the world-girdling Serpent, Bearer of Burdens; the Wolf Fenris, eater of the Sun, who now takes the form of an einherjar; and his demon sister, stealer of souls.
The Children spend their days feasting, fighting, hunting, and guarding their human charges. But one dreadful day a woman is washed up from the sea, a Lady who is no mortal, though she is not valkyrie either. Thus begins the breaking of the Children of the Light, the tarnishing of their power, and the death of Valdyrgard.
By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to Elizabeth Bear’s highly acclaimed All the Windwracked Stars , and tells the painful tale of love and betrayal, sorcery and battle, that led up to the day when Muire was left alone in the snow at the end of the world.
The Children spend their days feasting, fighting, hunting, and guarding their human charges. But one dreadful day a woman is washed up from the sea, a Lady who is no mortal, though she is not valkyrie either. Thus begins the breaking of the Children of the Light, the tarnishing of their power, and the death of Valdyrgard.
By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to Elizabeth Bear’s highly acclaimed All the Windwracked Stars , and tells the painful tale of love and betrayal, sorcery and battle, that led up to the day when Muire was left alone in the snow at the end of the world.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 27, 2009
12 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
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Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
December 29, 2014
This book is 2nd in a series....so those of you who read it first, well, you arent supposed to get it, it is 2nd in a series! What part of that is so hard to understand?? The world-building already happened! If you decided to skip it, that is on you, not the book! (One of my rants is people who rate books they don't get, when there is a clear reason they dont get it)
Anyway, to my review.... I really enjoyed this! Having read (and loved) All the Windwracked Stars, I had to read this one, and was so immersed I couldnt put it down.
A big premise from the first book is how the Children of Light were betrayed and killed in a huge battle, leaving one one surviving Valykyrie. Here, we go in depth into the actual betrayal, which of course is a lot more complicated than you (or the actual characters) would think! The heartbreaking truth plays out well, and Bear's gorgeous writing style does it justice.
This take solidifies the events of the first book, making them even more poignant. A great addition to the series.
Anyway, to my review.... I really enjoyed this! Having read (and loved) All the Windwracked Stars, I had to read this one, and was so immersed I couldnt put it down.
A big premise from the first book is how the Children of Light were betrayed and killed in a huge battle, leaving one one surviving Valykyrie. Here, we go in depth into the actual betrayal, which of course is a lot more complicated than you (or the actual characters) would think! The heartbreaking truth plays out well, and Bear's gorgeous writing style does it justice.
This take solidifies the events of the first book, making them even more poignant. A great addition to the series.
September 22, 2017
When I first read All the Windwracked Stars, I liked it quite a lot, but I never felt quite like I entirely understood the world or what was going on. In that book, Elizabeth Bear throws you in at the deep end, and I was always working to try to put together how the world had gotten to the place it was, and what the intense backstory of the characters was.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
November 11, 2017
Like, not so much drowning in feelings, more like losing a pitched battle with feelings by the edge of an ocean in winter, and the battered corpse of my feelings being gently covered in silent, smothering snow*. Either way my feelings are disappearing under a lot of water but there's an important technical and visual difference. Probably. I'm going to have a little afternoon tea break now and then get on to book 3.
* Not a spoiler because it's literally the start of book 1.
* Not a spoiler because it's literally the start of book 1.
January 3, 2015
"I really liked it."
Wow, this was brutal.
By the Mountain Bound is a sequel/prequel to All the Wind-Wracked Stars. Prequel in that it all happens chronologically earlier, prequel in that it was published second and assumes knowledge of the first. It assumes a lot of knowledge of the first. See, this book is a tragedy. In fact, calling it a tragedy seems too light. This book is a car crash in slow motion, where we know exactly what position the cars all end up in and who was ruled culpable and how much the insurance paid out. The very first chapter of All the Wind-Wracked Stars tell us that the Children of Light were sundered by the machinations of the goddess Heythe into the Bright and the Tarnished, who clashed in a great war that Heythe had engineered and killed each other en masse, leaving only Muire the Historian and Mingan the Grey Wolf, both who survived because they didn't have the courage to stand by their choices. The second chapter gives us all the dirty details about how Strifbjorn, the leader of the Children of Light, had been loved by Muire but lover of Mingan and ultimately had been betrayed by both of them to die alone on the battlefield. When you're reading By the Mountain Bound, you know from the first word on the first page that this is going to end just about as horribly as it possibly can ...
And it still managed to shatter my heart into pieces.
It was Mingan. It was all Mingan. He deserved everything that he got ... or did he? Heythe engineered his downfall and broke him over her knee intentionally, over and over. But Mingan still made the decisions that lead to him becoming Tarnished. Or did he? He's as much Fenris as he is Mingan or the Grey Wolf and how responsible does that make him for his actions? How much cavernous unhappiness does he deserve? Well, a lot, especially for what he did to Runnveig. But did he deserve what he got? Seeing Mingan lose everything, and then lose everything again, and then lose even more, and then lose even the ability to mourn for all that he'd lost -- god. And how close he came to taking back all of his pain and love and living with it, and then the opportunity just slipping through his fingers ...
But let me back up.
This is a very good book. It splits its POV between Muire and Mingan, who were both main characters in the first book, and Strifbjorn, who was both a huge part of the first book and barely present for it. Bear uses three different POV types for each of the main characters -- first person present tense for Mingan, first person past tense for Muire, and third person past tense for Strifbjorn. It suits each of them tremendously, with Muire's reading like a history, Mingan's reading like a train of thought and Strifbjorn as someone more distant from the reader. As a result each of the characters provide a really different view into what's going on apart from just their characters.
By the Mountain Bound is a much more traditional sort of fantasy novel than its predecessor. I can actually explain it in less than a paragraph. Valkyries go to war with each other in the supposedly peaceful aftermath of the Norse Ragnarok and everyone dies, bam. It is also much more clear and much less challenging and ambitious than the first book and clarifies a lot of the dizzying whirl of worldbuilding from the first. But it should absolutely be read second, despite this. Its main flaw is that the pacing is very fast and things happen much too quickly for if this book was supposed to stand on its own. But thanks to the first book already laying out an outline for us, Bear could safely skip a lot of the more boring sections without them feeling like holes that we need filled in. It let her focus a lot more on the relationships between the characters and the demons they're all struggling with ...
Especially Mingan.
I could go on about him for ages but I'm tired and it's late and that was extremely emotionally draining. I deeply hope that the third book in this series has a very satisfying payoff for Mingan's suffering because good god.
This was brutal.
Wow, this was brutal.
By the Mountain Bound is a sequel/prequel to All the Wind-Wracked Stars. Prequel in that it all happens chronologically earlier, prequel in that it was published second and assumes knowledge of the first. It assumes a lot of knowledge of the first. See, this book is a tragedy. In fact, calling it a tragedy seems too light. This book is a car crash in slow motion, where we know exactly what position the cars all end up in and who was ruled culpable and how much the insurance paid out. The very first chapter of All the Wind-Wracked Stars tell us that the Children of Light were sundered by the machinations of the goddess Heythe into the Bright and the Tarnished, who clashed in a great war that Heythe had engineered and killed each other en masse, leaving only Muire the Historian and Mingan the Grey Wolf, both who survived because they didn't have the courage to stand by their choices. The second chapter gives us all the dirty details about how Strifbjorn, the leader of the Children of Light, had been loved by Muire but lover of Mingan and ultimately had been betrayed by both of them to die alone on the battlefield. When you're reading By the Mountain Bound, you know from the first word on the first page that this is going to end just about as horribly as it possibly can ...
And it still managed to shatter my heart into pieces.
It was Mingan. It was all Mingan. He deserved everything that he got ... or did he? Heythe engineered his downfall and broke him over her knee intentionally, over and over. But Mingan still made the decisions that lead to him becoming Tarnished. Or did he? He's as much Fenris as he is Mingan or the Grey Wolf and how responsible does that make him for his actions? How much cavernous unhappiness does he deserve? Well, a lot, especially for what he did to Runnveig. But did he deserve what he got? Seeing Mingan lose everything, and then lose everything again, and then lose even more, and then lose even the ability to mourn for all that he'd lost -- god. And how close he came to taking back all of his pain and love and living with it, and then the opportunity just slipping through his fingers ...
But let me back up.
This is a very good book. It splits its POV between Muire and Mingan, who were both main characters in the first book, and Strifbjorn, who was both a huge part of the first book and barely present for it. Bear uses three different POV types for each of the main characters -- first person present tense for Mingan, first person past tense for Muire, and third person past tense for Strifbjorn. It suits each of them tremendously, with Muire's reading like a history, Mingan's reading like a train of thought and Strifbjorn as someone more distant from the reader. As a result each of the characters provide a really different view into what's going on apart from just their characters.
By the Mountain Bound is a much more traditional sort of fantasy novel than its predecessor. I can actually explain it in less than a paragraph. Valkyries go to war with each other in the supposedly peaceful aftermath of the Norse Ragnarok and everyone dies, bam. It is also much more clear and much less challenging and ambitious than the first book and clarifies a lot of the dizzying whirl of worldbuilding from the first. But it should absolutely be read second, despite this. Its main flaw is that the pacing is very fast and things happen much too quickly for if this book was supposed to stand on its own. But thanks to the first book already laying out an outline for us, Bear could safely skip a lot of the more boring sections without them feeling like holes that we need filled in. It let her focus a lot more on the relationships between the characters and the demons they're all struggling with ...
Especially Mingan.
I could go on about him for ages but I'm tired and it's late and that was extremely emotionally draining. I deeply hope that the third book in this series has a very satisfying payoff for Mingan's suffering because good god.
This was brutal.
November 22, 2022
A epic tale told from the perspective of the Wolf (Mingan), the Historian (Muire), and the Warrior (Strifbjorn). How the Wolf and the Historian once loved the Warrior, the Warrior loved the Wolf enough to surrender his power for him. How the Wolf was corrupted and seduced into betraying the waelcryge angels, tarnishing them, leading to the tragic battle that would signal the beginning of the end in All the Windwracked Stars. How magnificent Mingan’s descent was. How magnificent Muire was in her unrequited passion, her unwillingness to let it tarnish her scruples or her sense, allowing her to salvage what life and Light she could. How exquisitely, beautifully tragic Strifbjorn was in his loyal heart and his doom. One can see why meeting his reincarnation was so complicated for both Mingan and Muire in All the Windracked Stars, seeing how alike yet different Cathoair was, how much he’d fallen and yet had gained. Considering how devoted he was to the Wolf, the irony of his reincarnation being a whore is felt in all its force by the reader. This is what Mingan lost. This is what Mingan betrayed. The Wolf had to do something truly too terrible to forgive, yet Strifbjorn couldn’t stop loving him. The irony of the fate of these sword-bearing angels seemed too cruel, the way they were tricked and betrayed, yet their tragedy did leave behind a spark of hope, even if it took centuries to kindle.
Seldom have I read anything as powrful as this. It’s unforgettable among my best reads.
Seldom have I read anything as powrful as this. It’s unforgettable among my best reads.
March 1, 2018
I've read a few Elizabeth Bear books before and, I'll be honest, I've always struggled with them, finding them dense, complex and occasionally surreal.
This is all those things, and I loved it. I don't think it's because the book is different, but because I'm a different reader compared with some years ago.
While I didn't know all of the myths and Eddas alluded to in this book, there was enough cleverly-inserted exposition for me to understand all the but most obscure Norse references.
The language is lyrical and spare and achingly beautiful in places, and the story drips with myth and the sense of another world, another time.
Though this is billed as book 2 of the Edda of Burdens, it's actually a prequel, and so I've read it before All the Windwracked Stars, which is definitely next on my list.
This is all those things, and I loved it. I don't think it's because the book is different, but because I'm a different reader compared with some years ago.
While I didn't know all of the myths and Eddas alluded to in this book, there was enough cleverly-inserted exposition for me to understand all the but most obscure Norse references.
The language is lyrical and spare and achingly beautiful in places, and the story drips with myth and the sense of another world, another time.
Though this is billed as book 2 of the Edda of Burdens, it's actually a prequel, and so I've read it before All the Windwracked Stars, which is definitely next on my list.
July 23, 2021
'By the Mountain Bound' is a prequel to 'All the Windwracked Stars' to which I gave a fairly bad review a while back. The main issue with that book was that I wasn't quite sure what was going on, though it all seemed very interesting. This prequel makes it a bit clearer what was going on. Perhaps there is a certain mystique in releasing books in the wrong order to confuse the reader. Perhaps it's art. In any case, I recommend you read this prequel before the sequel. You will then enjoy the sequel more than I did.
There is much to enjoy in both, to be fair. Elizabeth Bear is an excellent writer. Her prose style seems a bit choppy to start with but you soon get used to it and she certainly gets under your skin. The book stayed with me overnight during the reading and I dreamt of Norse Gods, Wyrrms and wolves. Happily, I did not dream of love between two men.
Yes, love between two men - or gods - is at the heart of this story. When the old gods died there arose new gods, formed from starlight they arose from the sea, each with a crystal sword in his or her hand and they lived for battle, which was fun because they were practically immortal and very hard to kill. Mingan is a wolfish warrior who does not fit in that well with his fellow einherjar and waelcyrge, boys and girls, except for their leader Strifbjorn with whom he fits in rather more intimately than is usual between men. Love between warriors is certainly not unknown in martial cultures as the Spartans were famous for it but I haven't come across it in Norsemen before. Mingan is Fenris the wolf re-incarnated, he who ate the sun and the All-father at Ragnarok but the new gods' memories are vague about the past so they don't know this. Yet they are generally uneasy in his company, even Muir, the quiet rather weedy historian waelcyrge who quite likes him and simply adores Strifbjorn.
At the start of the book, everything is hunky-dory with this happy breed. The humans respect them and mostly leave them alone. Sometimes they punish human criminals with a kiss, by which means they suck a lot of life-force out of them, though never all of it. The gods only kiss each other when they get married because by kissing they share their souls. Then Strifbjorn finds a lady washed up on the beach. Heythe is so powerful she can even whip the formidable Mingan in a fight. She tells the gods that the giants also survived Ragnarok and are massing an army to attack. She suggests that they start kissing humans and take all their life-force to get more strength for the humans are only sheep. Strifbjorn, noble chap, is against this. The Einherjar and Waelcyrge split into two factions. Cue conflict.
'By the Mountain Bound' and 'All the Windwracked Stars' are both memorable and interesting books that linger in the mind. Elizabeth Bear is indubitably a talented writer. I would like to recommend both heartily but hesitate because I'm not sure they would suit everyone. Obviously, any chaps made uncomfortable by 'the love that dare not speak its name' might not like this one. Moreover, there is an air of artiness about the work, a bit of vagueness. Things are hinted at. Not everything is set out absolutely clearly and the ending of both books leaves you wondering a bit what exactly happened. Many readers - and in general I count myself among them - like things set out plain and these novels might annoy such. I think the stories and the prose and the overall pleasure derived compensates for this 'flaw' but not everyone will agree.
There is much to enjoy in both, to be fair. Elizabeth Bear is an excellent writer. Her prose style seems a bit choppy to start with but you soon get used to it and she certainly gets under your skin. The book stayed with me overnight during the reading and I dreamt of Norse Gods, Wyrrms and wolves. Happily, I did not dream of love between two men.
Yes, love between two men - or gods - is at the heart of this story. When the old gods died there arose new gods, formed from starlight they arose from the sea, each with a crystal sword in his or her hand and they lived for battle, which was fun because they were practically immortal and very hard to kill. Mingan is a wolfish warrior who does not fit in that well with his fellow einherjar and waelcyrge, boys and girls, except for their leader Strifbjorn with whom he fits in rather more intimately than is usual between men. Love between warriors is certainly not unknown in martial cultures as the Spartans were famous for it but I haven't come across it in Norsemen before. Mingan is Fenris the wolf re-incarnated, he who ate the sun and the All-father at Ragnarok but the new gods' memories are vague about the past so they don't know this. Yet they are generally uneasy in his company, even Muir, the quiet rather weedy historian waelcyrge who quite likes him and simply adores Strifbjorn.
At the start of the book, everything is hunky-dory with this happy breed. The humans respect them and mostly leave them alone. Sometimes they punish human criminals with a kiss, by which means they suck a lot of life-force out of them, though never all of it. The gods only kiss each other when they get married because by kissing they share their souls. Then Strifbjorn finds a lady washed up on the beach. Heythe is so powerful she can even whip the formidable Mingan in a fight. She tells the gods that the giants also survived Ragnarok and are massing an army to attack. She suggests that they start kissing humans and take all their life-force to get more strength for the humans are only sheep. Strifbjorn, noble chap, is against this. The Einherjar and Waelcyrge split into two factions. Cue conflict.
'By the Mountain Bound' and 'All the Windwracked Stars' are both memorable and interesting books that linger in the mind. Elizabeth Bear is indubitably a talented writer. I would like to recommend both heartily but hesitate because I'm not sure they would suit everyone. Obviously, any chaps made uncomfortable by 'the love that dare not speak its name' might not like this one. Moreover, there is an air of artiness about the work, a bit of vagueness. Things are hinted at. Not everything is set out absolutely clearly and the ending of both books leaves you wondering a bit what exactly happened. Many readers - and in general I count myself among them - like things set out plain and these novels might annoy such. I think the stories and the prose and the overall pleasure derived compensates for this 'flaw' but not everyone will agree.
April 8, 2021
First, a confession. I read "All the Windwracked Stars," the first book in this series, many years ago -- and completely forgot that I had reviewed it. It did seem familiar as I re-read it, but really, this time it was like opening a completely new book.
"By the Mountain Bound," however, was virgin territory -- and the "virgin" is not accidental, as this is far from a virginal book, or series. In fact, it might be one of the most erotic efforts (outside of Laurel Hamilton and those like her) in mainstream scifi, which one would not expect from a trilogy drawn from Norse mythology (thus the "Edda" reference).
Oddly, however, Elizabeth Bear chose to essentially write a prequel to "All the Windwracked Stars," as "By the Mountain Bound?" traces how the main characters arrived at page one of the first book. But, like most second volumes, it is dark -- this one is full of betrayal, thwarted love and powerful evil bent on destruction, which of course makes sense as Ragnarok is the inevitable conclusion.
At some level, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue, because another like "By the Mountain Bound," no matter how technically adept and well-written, would be difficult to swallow. Luckily, however, I did, so even if you find these first two books somewhat too gloomy and depressing for your taste, the finale is not quite as bleak.
"By the Mountain Bound," however, was virgin territory -- and the "virgin" is not accidental, as this is far from a virginal book, or series. In fact, it might be one of the most erotic efforts (outside of Laurel Hamilton and those like her) in mainstream scifi, which one would not expect from a trilogy drawn from Norse mythology (thus the "Edda" reference).
Oddly, however, Elizabeth Bear chose to essentially write a prequel to "All the Windwracked Stars," as "By the Mountain Bound?" traces how the main characters arrived at page one of the first book. But, like most second volumes, it is dark -- this one is full of betrayal, thwarted love and powerful evil bent on destruction, which of course makes sense as Ragnarok is the inevitable conclusion.
At some level, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue, because another like "By the Mountain Bound," no matter how technically adept and well-written, would be difficult to swallow. Luckily, however, I did, so even if you find these first two books somewhat too gloomy and depressing for your taste, the finale is not quite as bleak.
April 16, 2025
I’m not too keen on this book and I ended up skimming the last half… the world was a little lacklustre and unsure of itself but the characters were decent. I liked the queer representation but felt that the character development was insufficient and did not make quite enough sense to me. I found the changing perspective a little hard to follow and thought that the narrative could have been simplified a bit. However, I did like the mythology so not all is lost
Read
April 14, 2025Not entirely sure how to rate this one. Bear's writing definitely paints the atmosphere and the scene of this story well, but in its strangeness, I had a hard time understanding it, as well as how much I enjoyed reading it.
July 25, 2017
I didn't like this one very much. To hard to figure out who was who at first.
February 15, 2020
Could have been better? Very 80s soap.
December 3, 2020
I absolutely loved the narrative structure on this. I'm going to read the first one again while I wait to get the third book from the library!
August 4, 2023
Oh my god, this book absolutely broke my heart. Girl stop I’m dead already
September 28, 2016
I still don't know what I think of this series!
On one hand, this book and its sequel are just gorgeous. The setting is fascinating, this mix of Norse mythology in a fantasy world, gorgeously sad in the inevitable tragedy and yet hopeful in all the characters' loss, sacrifices and will to survive. I became truly invested in Strifbjorn, Muire and Mingan, in all their incarnations. I find tragedy is an inevitable result of a character's habits, upbringing or personality to be really affecting, so reading Strifbjorn and Mingan's doomed romance was really lovely, in an odd way.
But it just wasn't done well enough, I think. Poetic, evocative prose, consciously beautiful or not, can only carry it so far. The plots in both were interesting and exciting but delivered oddly, lacking a sense of building urgency for the climax, and absolutely lacked context or meaning in half of the events. I didn't really have a solid grasp on what was happening sometimes. I think maybe a few hundred more pages in this book to really dwell on events would have helped - all I can think is that I wanted more of Muire's life before Heythe, to really hammer home the tragedy.
I don't think I'll read the sequel, despite how invested I became in Cathoair and Mingan. Apparently Bear paints the events of this book as 'Mingan always wanted Muire instead actually the whole time' when all I got out of these 200+ pages was that he was absolutely consumed by his love for Strifbjorn. And also that Muire and Cathoair had an epic love story when I never read such thing. like lol, nice try straights, I'm not falling for it!!!
On one hand, this book and its sequel are just gorgeous. The setting is fascinating, this mix of Norse mythology in a fantasy world, gorgeously sad in the inevitable tragedy and yet hopeful in all the characters' loss, sacrifices and will to survive. I became truly invested in Strifbjorn, Muire and Mingan, in all their incarnations. I find tragedy is an inevitable result of a character's habits, upbringing or personality to be really affecting, so reading Strifbjorn and Mingan's doomed romance was really lovely, in an odd way.
But it just wasn't done well enough, I think. Poetic, evocative prose, consciously beautiful or not, can only carry it so far. The plots in both were interesting and exciting but delivered oddly, lacking a sense of building urgency for the climax, and absolutely lacked context or meaning in half of the events. I didn't really have a solid grasp on what was happening sometimes. I think maybe a few hundred more pages in this book to really dwell on events would have helped - all I can think is that I wanted more of Muire's life before Heythe, to really hammer home the tragedy.
I don't think I'll read the sequel, despite how invested I became in Cathoair and Mingan. Apparently Bear paints the events of this book as 'Mingan always wanted Muire instead actually the whole time' when all I got out of these 200+ pages was that he was absolutely consumed by his love for Strifbjorn. And also that Muire and Cathoair had an epic love story when I never read such thing. like lol, nice try straights, I'm not falling for it!!!
January 8, 2012
By The Mountain Bound is the second volume of Elizabeth Bear's Edda of Burdens series.
This is the prequel to All the Windwracked Stars, and explains how the terrible battle in which the children of the light and the tainted destroyed each other. In the beginning, the waelcyrge and their chosen einherjar live in barbarian happiness in their halls with lots of mead, and keep justice in the mortal towns around.
One day, they find an almost-drowned young woman on the beach. She turns out to be a formidable warrior who can even best the Wolf, Mingan. She claims to be the Lady, the prophesied warleader that the waelcyrge have been waiting for, and also that the frostgiants are coming to attack them. In order to be able to vanquish them, she proposes that the waelcyrge, who can take the energy of a dying person's last breath in order to avenge them, should take the energy of healthy people, killing them. This leads to a rift between her loyal followers, and those who consider this abomination...
Really loved this one, it is just as good as the first volume. The story is much more straightforward and easy to follow, even if you know where it's going, and it is everything but cheerful, inexorably steering towards disaster.
This series is set in Valdyrgard, a world created after Ragnarok on Midgard (which is our world if I got my norse mythology straight), and some characters have been reincarnated: Mingan is Fenris, the wolf who swallowed the sun. There is a creature he calls his sister, called the Imogen, a black, winged creature eternally hungry. It is unclear who she was, possibly Hel.
The antagonist Heythe was known as Gullveig, a witch who caused the first war by creating lust and jealousy between the vanir and the aesir.
I liked the imaginative use of the tropes of Norse mythology. (it's a bit of Edda fanfic, to be honest. Every history-geek's dream ;) )
(She's a bit anvilicious though, as her real intentions become clear to the reader quite quickly)
The book is told from three points of view, Mingan, the Wolf; Muire, the Historian, and Strifbjorn, the Warrior. The first two are in first person, the latter in third person. Thus, we see how Muire and Strifbjorn fight to save their world and the souls of their brethren, while Mingan finds himself overwhelmed by the base instincts of his lupine past, and drawn towards Heythe.
The world is described vividly, although there's not much of it, but especially the cold winter which seems to mirror the evolution of the plot is so impressive that you'll find yourself shivering.
This is the prequel to All the Windwracked Stars, and explains how the terrible battle in which the children of the light and the tainted destroyed each other. In the beginning, the waelcyrge and their chosen einherjar live in barbarian happiness in their halls with lots of mead, and keep justice in the mortal towns around.
One day, they find an almost-drowned young woman on the beach. She turns out to be a formidable warrior who can even best the Wolf, Mingan. She claims to be the Lady, the prophesied warleader that the waelcyrge have been waiting for, and also that the frostgiants are coming to attack them. In order to be able to vanquish them, she proposes that the waelcyrge, who can take the energy of a dying person's last breath in order to avenge them, should take the energy of healthy people, killing them. This leads to a rift between her loyal followers, and those who consider this abomination...
Really loved this one, it is just as good as the first volume. The story is much more straightforward and easy to follow, even if you know where it's going, and it is everything but cheerful, inexorably steering towards disaster.
This series is set in Valdyrgard, a world created after Ragnarok on Midgard (which is our world if I got my norse mythology straight), and some characters have been reincarnated: Mingan is Fenris, the wolf who swallowed the sun. There is a creature he calls his sister, called the Imogen, a black, winged creature eternally hungry. It is unclear who she was, possibly Hel.
The antagonist Heythe was known as Gullveig, a witch who caused the first war by creating lust and jealousy between the vanir and the aesir.
I liked the imaginative use of the tropes of Norse mythology. (it's a bit of Edda fanfic, to be honest. Every history-geek's dream ;) )
(She's a bit anvilicious though, as her real intentions become clear to the reader quite quickly)
The book is told from three points of view, Mingan, the Wolf; Muire, the Historian, and Strifbjorn, the Warrior. The first two are in first person, the latter in third person. Thus, we see how Muire and Strifbjorn fight to save their world and the souls of their brethren, while Mingan finds himself overwhelmed by the base instincts of his lupine past, and drawn towards Heythe.
The world is described vividly, although there's not much of it, but especially the cold winter which seems to mirror the evolution of the plot is so impressive that you'll find yourself shivering.
April 21, 2019
Original 2011 review:
Gorgeous and tragic, as most of Bear's best work is. ATWS takes place before the previous book in the series, chronologically speaking. This adds a lot of depth and meaning to the events of All The Windwracked Stars, giving both the mythological and human reasons for things being as they are. Bear has mentioned that the trilogy (collectively, the Edda of Burdens) can be read in either publishing order, chronological order, or the remaining option. After book two here, I am finding that the published order is more powerful.
The structure of the book follows three protagonists: Mingan the Grey Wolf, Strifbjorn, leader of the Einherjar, and Muire the Waelcyrge. This results in a more intimate feel than the first book had. Bear's characters tend to be defined by their trauma, so the closer the reader feels to them, the more impact the events have.
Finally, I'm loving what Bear has done with Norse myth here; it feels mythic and right, but she's changed enough details that I can't take anything for granted.
This book has bumped The Edda of Burdens up a couple notches in my list of favourite Bear books (The Stratford Man duology still holds the number one spot.)
*****
Audiobook review
I definitely know more Norse myth than I did in 2011 - I picked up on a lot of the Freyja stuff beyond the casual feather cloak and fancy necklace bits. I hadn't realized the first time through how much of a solid take on the Freyja of myth it is; last time, I still wasn't sure if Heythe was the "real" Freyja or someone else faking it. This time around, I am pretty clear on it.
On the other hand, I am a lot less sympathetic to Mingan this time around. His fuckups are understandable, but godsdamnit, kid.
The readers are decent, but have a few pronunciations that irked me - rimed, as in frost-rimed, doesn't rhyme with rimmed, does it?
Gorgeous and tragic, as most of Bear's best work is. ATWS takes place before the previous book in the series, chronologically speaking. This adds a lot of depth and meaning to the events of All The Windwracked Stars, giving both the mythological and human reasons for things being as they are. Bear has mentioned that the trilogy (collectively, the Edda of Burdens) can be read in either publishing order, chronological order, or the remaining option. After book two here, I am finding that the published order is more powerful.
The structure of the book follows three protagonists: Mingan the Grey Wolf, Strifbjorn, leader of the Einherjar, and Muire the Waelcyrge. This results in a more intimate feel than the first book had. Bear's characters tend to be defined by their trauma, so the closer the reader feels to them, the more impact the events have.
Finally, I'm loving what Bear has done with Norse myth here; it feels mythic and right, but she's changed enough details that I can't take anything for granted.
This book has bumped The Edda of Burdens up a couple notches in my list of favourite Bear books (The Stratford Man duology still holds the number one spot.)
*****
Audiobook review
I definitely know more Norse myth than I did in 2011 - I picked up on a lot of the Freyja stuff beyond the casual feather cloak and fancy necklace bits. I hadn't realized the first time through how much of a solid take on the Freyja of myth it is; last time, I still wasn't sure if Heythe was the "real" Freyja or someone else faking it. This time around, I am pretty clear on it.
On the other hand, I am a lot less sympathetic to Mingan this time around. His fuckups are understandable, but godsdamnit, kid.
The readers are decent, but have a few pronunciations that irked me - rimed, as in frost-rimed, doesn't rhyme with rimmed, does it?
August 16, 2011
By the Mountain Bound - Elizabeth Bear
As a gamer I was intrigued by the cover art. The beautiful armor and magnificent sword grabbed my attention and I HAD to
start reading it.
A few pages in, I grew very unsure about the book however. The character's were not described and I barely knew who was
narrating the chapters. I feel like the characters did not have personality as I'm used to by many authors and it struck me
so strangely it became a chore to read. When it's so tough to try and figure out who is talking to who.. well, it is not as
enjoyable as you hope, and the way it should be.
I stuck with with to read the whole book, with bitter disappointment. Nothing got terribly interesting, no moment of pleasure
in reading it, nothing.
This is only one book of three novels in this series, but it's quite unlikely I'll read the others.
I have done research about the author and have found she is quite beloved by fantasy novel fans. I shall look into her other
books with no expectations in either way.
As a gamer I was intrigued by the cover art. The beautiful armor and magnificent sword grabbed my attention and I HAD to
start reading it.
A few pages in, I grew very unsure about the book however. The character's were not described and I barely knew who was
narrating the chapters. I feel like the characters did not have personality as I'm used to by many authors and it struck me
so strangely it became a chore to read. When it's so tough to try and figure out who is talking to who.. well, it is not as
enjoyable as you hope, and the way it should be.
I stuck with with to read the whole book, with bitter disappointment. Nothing got terribly interesting, no moment of pleasure
in reading it, nothing.
This is only one book of three novels in this series, but it's quite unlikely I'll read the others.
I have done research about the author and have found she is quite beloved by fantasy novel fans. I shall look into her other
books with no expectations in either way.
January 2, 2012
There's of course a sense of inevitability that hangs over prequels. If you've read All the Windwracked Stars* then you know from the get go that this is story will be a tragedy. The book moves inevitably towards the Ragnarok, almost everyone will die. Muire will flee. Mingan will betray Strifbjorn.
I found this almost too painful to read.
The characters are wonderfully realized with the possible exception of Strifbjorn, who is thinly sketched, warrior, leader, clandestine lover, rebel but I never really felt l got a real sense of. It's significant that Muire and Mingan's pov sections are in the first person, while Strifbjorn's in the third person. I wonder if this is purely a stylistic choice or if Bear herself was unable to get inside his head.
*And as with Bear's other series, The Promethean Age, I might come down on the side of recommending you read in story order rather than publication order,
I found this almost too painful to read.
The characters are wonderfully realized with the possible exception of Strifbjorn, who is thinly sketched, warrior, leader, clandestine lover, rebel but I never really felt l got a real sense of. It's significant that Muire and Mingan's pov sections are in the first person, while Strifbjorn's in the third person. I wonder if this is purely a stylistic choice or if Bear herself was unable to get inside his head.
*And as with Bear's other series, The Promethean Age, I might come down on the side of recommending you read in story order rather than publication order,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2011
Not the book I expected from when I leafed through it in the bookstore. I have a habit of avoiding the book back synopses in favor of opening to a random page 50-60 pages in, and from that deciding if I want to see how the author gets there and if I like her style. But I happened into one of Muire's chapters, and she seems like a kickass arbiter of justice, and she turns out to be one of the minor characters (although she's probably the main character in the sequel). The first half of the book is around the forbidden homosexual love and how being in the closet sucks, then everything goes to Hel and there's some interesting stuff about predestination and grace and self-sacrifice and self-loathing and standing up for what's right. It all moves at an odd pace. It's a post-Ragnarok world that I'm not familiar with and strange side creatures. I've already got the sequel (written first) so maybe I'll get to see some more good Muire action.
October 13, 2011
While this book is listed as second in the Edda of Burdens series, it's actually a prequel to the first novel in the series. I found this book to be much more concrete than the first book in the series. I'm not sure if that's because I had a concept of the characters/world or if the story is easier to follow. I would be curious to reread the first book with the knowledge gained from this second book. That being said, I would definitely read this book second in the series. I think the first book is so beautiful and interesting is because of it's mystery. I think this book is so successful because it takes all of those questions and half-illustrated images from the first book and fills in the blanks. Muire before she was the last one of the Valkerie. The Wolf before he was the betrayer. And the true villan of the tale and the sacrificed gods in her wake. This continues to be my favorite series by Elizabeth Bear to date.
June 23, 2010
Make it 2.5 stars, maybe? I liked some of this quite a bit and was very eh on other things - especially the batshit decisions to DIE HORRIBLY everyone kept making, rather than using a modicum of sense and thinking of a solution. Like invoking some help from a being who could give it before it was all too late!
Granted, this was a prequel to a book I haven't read yet, and I think she wrote that one before this one, so it makes sense that it would feel like a prequel, but on the last page I'm still left with the feeling of, "Okay...and?" which is a TERRIBLE thing to feel at the end of a book. *sigh*
Again, not awful. Just disappointing because her Elizabethan stuff is so much better - I hope she'll do more in that era soon.
Granted, this was a prequel to a book I haven't read yet, and I think she wrote that one before this one, so it makes sense that it would feel like a prequel, but on the last page I'm still left with the feeling of, "Okay...and?" which is a TERRIBLE thing to feel at the end of a book. *sigh*
Again, not awful. Just disappointing because her Elizabethan stuff is so much better - I hope she'll do more in that era soon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2011
This is apparently the middle book of a trilogy, but it stands on its own.
After the Norse Ragnarok, the world is recovering. Mortals live in towns on the coast, while immortals fight mock battles. one of them is Mingan, the Wolf, who was once Fenris, the sun-eater.
Then a goddess, Heythe, arrives, and ends up dividing up the immortals and creating a war intended to wipe them all out. Maybe I would understand better if I'd read the first book.
It took a while to get used to the way Ms Bear uses language in the book, and while the plot is pretty minimal, by the end I was completely immersed.
I plan to read the other two books in the series, and I would recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of Norse mythology.
After the Norse Ragnarok, the world is recovering. Mortals live in towns on the coast, while immortals fight mock battles. one of them is Mingan, the Wolf, who was once Fenris, the sun-eater.
Then a goddess, Heythe, arrives, and ends up dividing up the immortals and creating a war intended to wipe them all out. Maybe I would understand better if I'd read the first book.
It took a while to get used to the way Ms Bear uses language in the book, and while the plot is pretty minimal, by the end I was completely immersed.
I plan to read the other two books in the series, and I would recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of Norse mythology.
March 29, 2010
...I must admit that without the steampunk and post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the previous book, By the Mountain Bound did not appeal to me quite as much as All the Windwracked Stars. That being said, it is, certainly in a stylistic sense, a very good book. One I plan on giving my undivided attention sometime before the third book, The Sea thy Mistress, is released next year. If you enjoyed All the Windwracked Stars you'll want to read this.
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
February 23, 2011
Ok, to be honest I didn't compeltely finish it, so take that as affecting the rating for what it's worth. It's a strange story, the love affair between the two male leads, while compelling, did not appeal to me in the least (it was necessarily graphic--if she had been more subtle about it I probably wouldn't have been bothered as much). I already know how it ends, since I've read the 'sequel', and wasn't looking forward to it. The setting/mythology is interesting, as is the magic. The characterization, prose, was all fine. The plot advancement was a bit frustrating. Her strength here is characterization, then setting, with plot a more distant third.
February 26, 2013
Enjoyable prequel to All the Windwracked Stars. The novel deals with the events leading up to the confrontation between the Children of the Light and the Tainted Ones. By the Mountain Bound is a more straightforward read than All the Windwracked Stars, perhaps an easier read as well, but I believe this is a product of the reader understanding the elements at play. Things that were hinted at, or however briefly explained in All the Windwracked Stars are better showcased in this book, and this provides a richer reading experience overall. Looking forward to reading the final volume in this series.
July 9, 2010
Not a book for the faint of heart. It's full of problems with no good solutions and characters who are traumatized, damaged, lost, trapped, heartbroken... some of them all of the above. I ached all the way through it.
Thing is, that ache was exquisite. I don't think I've enjoyed crying over a book this much since Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Blood Games. Mingan, especially, got under my skin. He's a deliciously broken character, and I felt like I understood him on a visceral level, even when he did terrible things.
Plus, it's post-Ragnarok Norse mythology. Who doesn't love that?
Thing is, that ache was exquisite. I don't think I've enjoyed crying over a book this much since Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Blood Games. Mingan, especially, got under my skin. He's a deliciously broken character, and I felt like I understood him on a visceral level, even when he did terrible things.
Plus, it's post-Ragnarok Norse mythology. Who doesn't love that?
February 26, 2011
This story is the prequel to "All the Windwracked Stars" and it was interesting to see how things came to be in the state they were at the start of that book. In fact, after I was done reading this, I then reread "All the Windwracked Stars" just to pick up on the various things that have a different meaning now that I had the background from "By the Mountain Bound". If you liked "All the Windwracked Stars", you'll like this book as well.
December 5, 2009
I had very mixed feelings about this book. It is a prequel to "All the Windracked Stars", which I had already read and loved. So the prose was glorious, but the story line was tragic. Having read Windracked Stars, I already knew how this one was going to end. And I wasn't sure I wanted to put myself through that.
This was be a great intro for those who have yet to read Windracked Stars, but a bit of a downer for those who have read it.
This was be a great intro for those who have yet to read Windracked Stars, but a bit of a downer for those who have read it.
May 15, 2011
By the mountain Bound is Elizabeth Bear's prequel to "The windwracked Stars". It explains the origins of the children of the light, their life and their internal strife. I really liked how Elizabeth gets under the skin of her characters and fleshes them out. I think it is much more readable than windwracked stars and if you are looking for a fantasy fiction with a bit of dark psychology thrown in do pick this one up.
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