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grassangelSo. This book. Somewhat infamous, mostly because if you read ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
truepenny talking about it at all you will come across her referring to some of the events that happen as ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’.
And although only applicable once, maybe twice, that description is quite apt.
However, for the other two hundred and ninety pages, it isn’t.
Anyway, I should begin this (somewhat) properly.
It’s very bildungsroman, a very Nordic genre for a very Nordic inspired story. (Okay, the term is German, but close enough.) Isolfr (Njall at the beginning) grows and matures along the course of the story and it pretty much reads like many a shonen manga that way. Except then you have the whole ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’ part and the fact he ends up with two guys. So it’s kind of shonen mixed up with a lot of BL.
Which leads to my next point. Kind of.
My mental image of Isolfr is some weird combination of Kurogane, Fai and Watanuki. Kurogane because Isolfr is a big, brawny warrior type but is also rather aware of the reactions of people around him. And because he’s caring in that gruff way of his. Fai is because Isolfr is blonde and grey-eyed and because Isolfr is bonded to an alpha-female (konigenwolf) he’s basically the pack’s MOTHER.
And Watanuki because there’s several moments when he’s witty, confused at ending up with two guys (and that they like him) and reflective of his situation. Okay, so not an exact match, but Watanuki sometimes seems as if he can’t get his head around the fact that people like him and well… DouWataHima is pretty much canon.
So that should give you a picture of Isolfr. Brawny, pale and fun to read about. (Interesting Norse fact #1: ‘Is’ is also a rune, meaning ‘ice’.)
At this point I should mention Viradechtis, the second main character and my absolute favourite. She’s a wolf. She’s bonded to Isolfr. She’s pretty much the reason why he has to go through those ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’. She is an example of why bonded partnerships should never be between opposite genders. Isolfr has to put up with being screwed by other men whenever she gets into heat and she suffers whenever he decides he’d like to have sex with a woman. They love each other though, in a fluffy, she’s the reason why he stays at the wolfheall.
I absolutely adore Viradechtis as a character though. She’s very… Izzy-like. Knows what she wants, headstrong personality, smart, is absolutely shameless and fun.
Gunnar, Isolfr’s father, is an interesting character too. He’s dead set against his eldest son going to the wolfheall and we learn later it’s because his elder brother was tithed to a wolfheall and he had to step up and become the responsible jarl and look after the lands instead of going off on Viking raids.
There were a couple of moments that I particularly liked…
Isolfr being courted with gifts of troll-ring curios and trying to imagine his mother or sister being courted in a similar fashion. Alfgyfa, Isolfr’s daughter and all the discussions about her with his uncle and father. (Her name translates as ‘elf-gift’, if you really needed someone else to figure that out for you.) (Interesting Norse fact #2: ‘Gifu’ is another rune, meaning ‘gift’)
In one of the battles with the trolls, Grimolfr, the leader/wolfjarl of the wolfheall Isolfr belongs to, throws him at his father to save him from being killed by the trolls. It’s a really interesting fragment of a scene, mostly because Gunnar hasn’t quite forgiven his eldest son becoming and staying a wolfjarl/bonded wolf warrior. For reasons stated above.
The moment when Isolfr goes “No. No more death” right in the middle of Viradechtis’ mating and kind of makes her decision for her about whether she should have Mar or Kjaran. That thought, I believe, is squarely why he’s stuck with Skaldwulf and Vethulf. Never mind Viradechtis ensuring she gets constant attention, it was THAT that was the cause of the little threesome.
Hrafn, a wild wolf bonded to Kari (who is male, despite the name), spitting out a duck egg unharmed and acting as if it was a tremendous favour.
The welcome home hug Isolfr gets from his wolfjarls. Yeah, just that.
And, finally, the “you’re pretty, even if you had a face full of scars” moment that again occurs between Isolfr, Vethulf and Skaldwulf. (#3 + bonus Chloe-fact: ‘Wynn’ means ‘happiness’ and, along with the other two runes mentioned, are three of my favourite runes.)
Yeah, I do ship the unlikely threesome that Isolfr gets himself into, although I am aware that they don’t necessarily all love each other and it is more of a bureaucratic relationship than anything else. Though both of them, Vethulf and Skjaldwulf, are rather fond of Isolfr. I’m an OT3 kind of girl and I can’t pass up a canon one.
(Yeah, I know DouWataHima is more or less canon by now and there was an OT3-y hug in Gundam Seed but canon OT3s are still hard to come by.)
The battle sequences are… brief. They’re not full of gory details but they are there and quite good.
Passage of time isn’t very easy to tell, especially as there’s tracts of time where Isolfr and Viradechtis sitting around because she’s with pups or there’s other background stuff going on like harvesting that’s only mentioned in one sentence before you realise that three months and several miles have passed in two pages.
My verdict on this is that it’s a great read is you like any of the following: shonen manga, yaoi/BL, threesomes, shameless female characters and Viking fantasy.
You won’t be distracted by secondary characters too much, if at all. I didn’t feel guilty about liking Viradechtis more than Isolfr, because she IS the second main character, even if she isn’t human. And well, if you really do find yourself distracted by Tin and the other svartalfar, there’s four? three? other books forthcoming, the first of which is seems to be about them, if the title is anything to go by.
So, definitely recommended.
truepenny talking about it at all you will come across her referring to some of the events that happen as ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’.And although only applicable once, maybe twice, that description is quite apt.
However, for the other two hundred and ninety pages, it isn’t.
Anyway, I should begin this (somewhat) properly.
It’s very bildungsroman, a very Nordic genre for a very Nordic inspired story. (Okay, the term is German, but close enough.) Isolfr (Njall at the beginning) grows and matures along the course of the story and it pretty much reads like many a shonen manga that way. Except then you have the whole ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’ part and the fact he ends up with two guys. So it’s kind of shonen mixed up with a lot of BL.
Which leads to my next point. Kind of.
My mental image of Isolfr is some weird combination of Kurogane, Fai and Watanuki. Kurogane because Isolfr is a big, brawny warrior type but is also rather aware of the reactions of people around him. And because he’s caring in that gruff way of his. Fai is because Isolfr is blonde and grey-eyed and because Isolfr is bonded to an alpha-female (konigenwolf) he’s basically the pack’s MOTHER.
And Watanuki because there’s several moments when he’s witty, confused at ending up with two guys (and that they like him) and reflective of his situation. Okay, so not an exact match, but Watanuki sometimes seems as if he can’t get his head around the fact that people like him and well… DouWataHima is pretty much canon.
So that should give you a picture of Isolfr. Brawny, pale and fun to read about. (Interesting Norse fact #1: ‘Is’ is also a rune, meaning ‘ice’.)
At this point I should mention Viradechtis, the second main character and my absolute favourite. She’s a wolf. She’s bonded to Isolfr. She’s pretty much the reason why he has to go through those ‘semi-consensual homosexual gangbangs’. She is an example of why bonded partnerships should never be between opposite genders. Isolfr has to put up with being screwed by other men whenever she gets into heat and she suffers whenever he decides he’d like to have sex with a woman. They love each other though, in a fluffy, she’s the reason why he stays at the wolfheall.
I absolutely adore Viradechtis as a character though. She’s very… Izzy-like. Knows what she wants, headstrong personality, smart, is absolutely shameless and fun.
Gunnar, Isolfr’s father, is an interesting character too. He’s dead set against his eldest son going to the wolfheall and we learn later it’s because his elder brother was tithed to a wolfheall and he had to step up and become the responsible jarl and look after the lands instead of going off on Viking raids.
There were a couple of moments that I particularly liked…
Isolfr being courted with gifts of troll-ring curios and trying to imagine his mother or sister being courted in a similar fashion. Alfgyfa, Isolfr’s daughter and all the discussions about her with his uncle and father. (Her name translates as ‘elf-gift’, if you really needed someone else to figure that out for you.) (Interesting Norse fact #2: ‘Gifu’ is another rune, meaning ‘gift’)
In one of the battles with the trolls, Grimolfr, the leader/wolfjarl of the wolfheall Isolfr belongs to, throws him at his father to save him from being killed by the trolls. It’s a really interesting fragment of a scene, mostly because Gunnar hasn’t quite forgiven his eldest son becoming and staying a wolfjarl/bonded wolf warrior. For reasons stated above.
The moment when Isolfr goes “No. No more death” right in the middle of Viradechtis’ mating and kind of makes her decision for her about whether she should have Mar or Kjaran. That thought, I believe, is squarely why he’s stuck with Skaldwulf and Vethulf. Never mind Viradechtis ensuring she gets constant attention, it was THAT that was the cause of the little threesome.
Hrafn, a wild wolf bonded to Kari (who is male, despite the name), spitting out a duck egg unharmed and acting as if it was a tremendous favour.
The welcome home hug Isolfr gets from his wolfjarls. Yeah, just that.
And, finally, the “you’re pretty, even if you had a face full of scars” moment that again occurs between Isolfr, Vethulf and Skaldwulf. (#3 + bonus Chloe-fact: ‘Wynn’ means ‘happiness’ and, along with the other two runes mentioned, are three of my favourite runes.)
Yeah, I do ship the unlikely threesome that Isolfr gets himself into, although I am aware that they don’t necessarily all love each other and it is more of a bureaucratic relationship than anything else. Though both of them, Vethulf and Skjaldwulf, are rather fond of Isolfr. I’m an OT3 kind of girl and I can’t pass up a canon one.
(Yeah, I know DouWataHima is more or less canon by now and there was an OT3-y hug in Gundam Seed but canon OT3s are still hard to come by.)
The battle sequences are… brief. They’re not full of gory details but they are there and quite good.
Passage of time isn’t very easy to tell, especially as there’s tracts of time where Isolfr and Viradechtis sitting around because she’s with pups or there’s other background stuff going on like harvesting that’s only mentioned in one sentence before you realise that three months and several miles have passed in two pages.
My verdict on this is that it’s a great read is you like any of the following: shonen manga, yaoi/BL, threesomes, shameless female characters and Viking fantasy.
You won’t be distracted by secondary characters too much, if at all. I didn’t feel guilty about liking Viradechtis more than Isolfr, because she IS the second main character, even if she isn’t human. And well, if you really do find yourself distracted by Tin and the other svartalfar, there’s four? three? other books forthcoming, the first of which is seems to be about them, if the title is anything to go by.
So, definitely recommended.
