Marie Brennan: The Waking of Angantyr

Hi everyone

The Waking of Angantyr is a standalone novel written by Marie Brennan.
I read this on my e-reader. 

" The bondmaid Hervor is used to dead men whispering in her sleep. They’ve been doing it for as long as she can remember; it’s the living she has to watch out for. And when a new arrival at her holding triggers her into a berserker fury, she’s forced to flee the contract that enslaves her and into the arms of an uncertain future.
Unchained from the living, Hervor goes in search of a way to silence the dead, but it will take much more than grit and determination to make that happen. She’ll need the help of a ruthless Viking, an ailing jarl, a mad witch, and more―for the treachery that killed her ghosts isn’t nearly as dead as they are, and the path to peace must first traverse a river of blood."

This book had its moments, but mostly left me disappointed.

The pacing was definitely off. The story started slow and, while it picked up eventually, the plot felt scattered and all over the place. Brennan skipped months at a time, and every jump felt jarring. I often found myself lost, struggling to reconnect with the story after these abrupt transitions. It felt like she was trying to do too much, and the narrative suffered for it.

The characters were mediocre, too. Hervor was strong and determined, but there wasn’t much else to her. The other characters were one-dimensional, and by the time I was two-thirds through the book, I didn’t care about any of them. They all died, so why should I be invested?

The book never really gripped me. I never felt the urge to pick it up or keep reading. Once I started, it wasn’t terrible, but I got distracted easily; and that’s not a good sign. For a book filled with fighting and gore, it was surprisingly boring.

While The Waking of Angantyr had a lot of potential with its Viking lore and fierce protagonist, it ultimately fell short in pacing and character depth. It’s a shame, because the premise was so intriguing.
Have you read The Waking of Angantyr or any other books by Marie Brennan? What did you think of the story? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena