38. Ice Land by Betsy Tobin

Category: 50 Books

38. Ice Land by Betsy Tobin

This is the best fiction book I’ve read all year. I loved the Freya character, as well as Fulla and all the rest. Usually I’m not good at reading fantasy fiction, there’s always too many characters and too many things to remember, but this book was written very well, and the author totally sucks you in. You care about the characters and what’s happening to them. you even care about the landscape in this book. It’s amazing how Ms. Tobin uses the landscape in this book. It becomes a character too. Wonderful!

If I try to describe this book I’ll just screw it up. It takes place in Iceland in 1000AD. Some of the characters are human, dwarves, the Aesir (Norse gods), and giants. There are several story lines but they all connect together. Here’s the description from the back of the book:

Iceland, AD 1000
Freya knows that her people are doomed. Warned by the Fates of an impending disaster, she must embark on a journey to find a magnificent gold necklace, one said to possess the power to alter the course of history. But even as Freya travels deep into the mountains of Iceland, the country is on the brink of war. The new world order of Christianity is threatening the old ways of Iceland-s people, and tangled amidst it all are two star-crossed lovers who destiny draws them together-even as their families are determined to tear them apart

Infused with the rich history and mythology of Iceland, Betsy Tobin-s sweeping novel is an epic adventure of forbidden love, lust, jealousy, faith and magical wonder set under the shadow of a smoldering volcano.

I know, even that makes it sound lame. There’s no way to describe how awesome this book is.

While reading it I kept thinking of Nicola Griffith’s Aud character. I’m not sure why though, because Aud is very kickass and take-charge while Freya is not as kickass and not as self-assured. But somehow there seemed to be some similarities. Perhaps it was the voice of the character.

Anyway, great book.

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