I was very fortunate, lucky if not blessed to be granted an Advanced Reader Copy of this title, and I was also loosely familiar with the talent of stoI was very fortunate, lucky if not blessed to be granted an Advanced Reader Copy of this title, and I was also loosely familiar with the talent of storytelling Kaitlin had as I had read The Crescent and The Northern Star anthology which featured a short story that ultimately acts as a prequel, stage setting, for the world contained within Ran's Daughters.
I started it one evening and then by the 3rd evening I'd finished it.
It was incredibly immersive, it grips you from the start, grabbing your hair, your head and your heart so you have to cling to the edge of your seat as an exhilerating rollercoaster of events, drama and intrigue begin, echoing a feeling of very much riding the ever rising waves of a storm.
Gyda, the heroine of this book, is as strong in mind and body, as any other male viking hero of historical fiction. She stands superbly well alongside Uhtred of Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series or Hrafn/Sigurd of Giles Kristian's trilogies. She faces a great deal of loss, heartbreak, betrayal and numerous near death experiences and yet she digs deep, adapts and rises again, and again, and again, learning to fight for more than her own reputation and livelihood and ship, but for those she loves - her crew of women, her daughters by bond if not by blood.
Yet there is equally a stunning cast of male characters from Kings to Jarls to oathmen, fathers and sons and foster-sons, friends, allies and enemies, that all play their part in Gyda's remarkable adventure, but she remains the centre of the tale, not once ever being shadowed by others.
The time period Kaitlin covers is a fascinating one, where the Viking kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England are falternig if not falling, for only Jorvik remained free of the rule of Wessex's King Edward, where Dublin is dominantly norse with it's Jarl Olavi and is a key port for trade, slaves and silver. Kaitlin explores with both sides of the British Isles magnificently well with an immersive eye, capturing details and elements for the senses. Most significantly she showcases a world view of the Norse as traders, deal makers, explorers, - she never once depicts the women crew as a battalion of female warriors, they are Traders first in their own independent right as free women, albeit widowed and so have the right to use their silver to build and sale a knarr ship if they wanted. The reader will soon learn the many ways that women in Norse society could express themselves, their will and make choices regarding their lives. Not entirely free of men, but more often with support than not.
The last line of the book blurb really sums up how good this book is and how it is a very special book in breaking the mold and model of Viking Age Historical Fiction by featuring female characters prominently, intelligently and respectfully.
A saga of seasalt, blood, and gold, Ran's Daughters is a female-driven Viking epic like no other....more
Loading...
