Book Review: ICE LAND by Betsy Tobin

I found this book at one of my local thrift shops, and when I opened it was thrilled to see some familiar names. Freya, Fulla, Dvalin. This area is a very strange place to find fiction relating to the Norse gods, so I decided to pay my dollar and have a read. To be honest I wasn't expecting much, as the majority of most lore based fiction has left me yawning. It just seems so lifeless and repetitive. There is a fiction book simply titled LOKI I tried to read not long ago, and it would be the typical unimpressive attempt at Norse fiction.

I ended up reading this book in a few hours over the night and at an early morning appointment. I was definitely impressed by the book, and find myself wishing there was more to come, hopefully there is as I have not looked into the author or any other works she may have written. The book was published in 2009 so there may be more by now if she intends to continue, though the story had a bit of a wrapped up ending it may not be likely.

PLOT OVERVIEW

The book is written from the perspective of three main characters. A young Icelandic woman named Fulla, the goddess Freya, and the dwarf Dvalin, one of four creators of the Brisingamen. The story begin with Fulla,  a young women coming into the age of marriage who lives in the wilds of 9th century Iceland with her grandfather, Hogni. Fulla's parents are both long dead, her mother dying shortly after her birth and her father being murdered by a neighboring family. There is much bad blood between the families, not least of which is the issue of faith. With Christian conversion swiftly approaching the country, the unapologetic pagan Hogni and his neighboring converts have only yet another reason to hate each other.

As the book opens, Hogni and Fulla are greeted from an envoy from the their neighbors telling them that the patriarch of the opposing clan, Skallagrim, has died. This causes some minor conflicts in which Fulla meets a young man name Vili, the youngest grandson of the late Skallagrim. For a time the conflict is quashed as all of the people travel to the Althing, to hear the law makers pronouncement on conversion and more importantly to find a groom for young Fulla.

During the course of these events, we are also introduced to the Goddess Freya, who speaks about her youth and her early life before she takes a journey to visit Skuld. One of the three Norns, Skuld is a friend to Freya. When Freya visits she tells her of the magnificent Brisingamen and urges her to search out the necklace in Nidavellir, the caves inhabited by dwarves. It is worth noting that in this tale, Asgard, Jotunheim, and other mythic abodes are actually presented as real places in Iceland, rather than otherworldy realms. Sessrumir, Freya's home, resides on a mountainside near Mt. Hekla.

Freya uses her falcon cloak to search out the dwarves and soon meets Berling, the youngest and admittedly innocent youngest brother of four who created the necklace. Taken by Freya's charm and his own curiosity of the outside world,he shows her the necklace. Much like another famous mythical piece of jewelry, Freya is incensed with desire for the necklace and its unearthly power. She meets three of the dwarven makers of the necklace and after much grumbling agrees to share a night with each in order to obtain it, though one brother, Dvalin, is absent at the time. She fulfills her obligations and waits in Nidavellir for the return of Dvalin so that she might finish the deal and obtain the coveted Brisingamen.

We learn more about Dvalin during this time. It seems he has been called away to visit his sister, given a message that she has taken ill and may die. He quickly travels to her side, where we find out that Dvalin is only half dwarven, and passes for a normal man among society. He and his sister were actually the products of a relationship between dwarf and a swan maid of the Aesir. He happened to have been a great friend of Fulla's deceased father and has promised to ensure she makes a marriage by her own choice. He visits Hogni for a night on his way and they quarrel about her future, before he leaves again in the morning.

Dvalin travels on to Bragi's abode, where we find the sister in question is actually the goddess Idun. He learns quickly that she has not taken ill but rather attempted suicide by jumping into an ice crevasse. She wakes from her coma when Dvalin arrives and implores him to travel to Jotunheim in order to see if Menglod, a former friend and renowned healing woman, can somehow help her. She has no desire to live after several failed attempts to conceive a child, and hopes Menglod may have a cure. Dvalin must travel quickly or risk the death of his sister, Idun.

He begins his journey and stops along the way at his home in Nidavellir. He learns about the arrangement with Freya and is none too happy. He makes a deal with her that instead of the night of sex, he will give her the necklace if she will only travel to him with Jotunheim to see Menglad. It seems the giants are no friend of Dvalin, and he needs Freya with him as a guarantee of passage, as he believes that the giants would be too afraid to attack him in the company of one of the Aesir. As a friend of Odin, Dvalin believes none would dare attack him in her company.

As the story progresses, our three main characters will find their fates increasingly intertwined alongside the growing shadow of Mt. Hekla, who growing rumblings threaten to consume the land in fire and bring about the end of the reign of the Aesir and the land which supports them.

REVIEW

If you want a book that is completely true to the lore (and perhaps a little boring) this book is not for you. There is a section in which the author discusses the fact that the story is only loosely based on the myths, and she has taken the liberty of making some changes. I would agree that there are many changes made, yet there are also many areas in which she sticks to the lore as well, particularly in character detail. Here are a couple of changes I noticed, for example

• Freyr resides in Norway rather than Asgard, and is married to Sif. There is little mention of Thor in the book outside if some references to giving him offerings from Hogni.
• Gerd is actually the mother of Berling and the mother in law of Dvalin, being married to his late father. She is a dwarf rather than a giant.
• Menglod and Freya are two separate characters, though some believe them to be one in the same in the lore. Menglod also owns a necklace, though hers was made especially for her by Dvalin alone in his youth. 

Outside of the minor changes, and perhaps because of them, I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the writing style and voice of this author. Her description of the landscape and atmosphere of Iceland were majestic and mythical, without seeming lost in fantasy land. Her characters were amazingly written, and I particularly enjoyed her portrayal of Freya and Dvalin. She gave Freya a forcefulness coupled with a bit of sorrow that I really enjoyed. There was a certain vulnerability to each of these characters that gave them a life beyond the often cookie cutter portrayal of them. Each had regrets and a recognition of their personal failings that you don't often see in mythic fiction. 

If I could change anything, it would be to simply add more! I was very much lost in the story and was a bit sad to see it over so quickly. There was a definite hint of the sort of tidy Hollywood ending, where I felt the story would have been better served if the characters were allowed to develop further, perhaps in more stories and books. 

Here are my "grades" for the novel

• LENGTH: B-
• STYLE: A
• PLOT: A-
• CHARACTERS: A
• DESCRIPTIVENESS: B+
• WOULD I READ MORE FROM THE AUTHOR? A+

        TOTAL GRADE: SOLID A

I encourage you to look into this book and its wonderful story, though I expect it may end all to soon for you as it did for me!

In frith

Cena