Smorgasbord Fantasia

Hall of Smoke by HM Long has been on my most-anticipated books for 2021 first quarter for multiple reasons. A comparison to the Brian Staveley 's first series ( Unhewn Throne , one of my all time favourite debut author series!) and the fact that this one's based off the Viking Sagas was enough reason to convince me to dive into this.  After having finished this book now, I can firmly say this is a great start to my reading for this year. Hall of Smoke lives up to the hype and expectations, delivering a solid epic fantasy tale of conflicts between Gods and mortals set in a refreshingly original world, inspired by the Viking tales. Stunning world building, frenetic action and wholly unexpected thrills and twists kept me hooked onto this wonderful tale.  At the centre of the conflict is Hessa, a young warrior-priest dedicated to Goddess Eang, the Goddess of war and one of the most powerful of the faction of New Gods who have overthrown the 'Old Gods'. the tribe of Eang h...

Jo Fletcher books from Quercus Publishing has always come out with great books in the speculative fiction genre - unearthing gems like Aidan Harte, Sarah Pinborough, Mazarkis Williams to name a few. They can proudly count Iceland-born London based Snorri Kritjansson in that rank. A find, a very fine one at that. Swords of Good Men is Snorri's debut and an accomplished piece of writing that firmly catapults him to the A-list of Fantasy writers. Set in the land of the fierce Vikings - Scandinava is brought to life adeptly by Snorri in the Valhalla Saga # 1 - featuring one too many bloodthirsty warriors caught in the middle of a huge melee. Huge burly bearded fellows swinging a mean double bladed axe, longships plowing through crashing waves, unbreachable tall garrison walls, blonde-haired goddesses. You name it, the book's nailed it dead right in terms bringing Viking folklore alive. Swords of Good Men is ultimately a big long drawn out bloody battle between three differen...