As the ways of the old gods fades to twilight and the religion of the White Christ sweeps Britain, we are brought into the dark cold world of A Gathering of Ravens, a beautiful compilation of both historical fiction and fantasy genres. Scott Oden’s writing is easily readable, yet hauntingly poetic and evocative in style of the Eddas or even the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf itself. The author gives us a theme with characters sharing a little of each side of the yawning chasm of morality with themselves and the readers. Ultimately, morality is defined for us as honor, to oneself and to those to whom one has sworn allegiance, a basic and ancient code integral to the Norse culture.
We follow a young Christian Anglo-Saxon monastic Etain who travels in the company of a Christian Dane, Njall. After the apparent death of Njall, she becomes the unwilling travel companion of the monstrous Grimnir, a creature who can best be described as kinsman to Grendel an orcneas, or orc. Grimnir is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. Like his namesake the Norse god Odin, Grimnir comes with many names, is complex, not always easily understandable and hardly predictable. Bent on cold revenge for an ancient slight, Grimnir is an unlikely protagonist, not at all likable, yet we are always rooting for him. His reasons for doing things are not always clear, perhaps not even to himself. He is a faithful follower of Odin, while spewing contempt on the humans, particularly any who follow the White Christ. Etain must walk in his world while remaining true to her own beliefs. While doing so, it gives her an opportunity to feel compassion and loyalty for the prickly-natured Grimnir.
Their journey takes us from Anglo Saxon England and culminates in Ireland with a lineup of Irish kings and sorcerers, Norse warlords and Danish refugees who clash outside the walls of Norse-occupied Dubhlinn. They become separated, face many dangers, together and apart, yet curiously, Etain continues to be loyal to her captor, to see something in him others cannot.
Some readers more used to a modern writing style may find the Edda-like poetic passages that the author interspersed into the main body of the narrative, off-putting. I thoroughly enjoyed them for the authentic mood they conveyed. It may also be an easier read to those who more familiar with the historical period and the manner of speaking. He includes many italicized words perhaps not familiar to the average reader, though this is not meant to be a criticism as I felt he placed them in enough context, which the “uninitiated” as it were, could keep up. That said, this is not “fluff” fiction.
The only thing that confused me and took me out of the story was the strange time travel via the World Tree Yggdrasil.
Ultimately, A Gathering of Ravens will have you turning the pages, surprised by the twists and captivated by the moving quality of the author’s use of language. His characters are neither flat, nor one-dimensional, but will stay with you long after you have reached the end, hungering for more.
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