by Harmony Kent
Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected. The lives of many are drawn inexorably together in a fight against all odds, as energy companies & evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which protects not just this land but all worlds.
There is a World not too Far Away ... Here there be Dragons, and all manner of Creatures
Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected.
The lives of many are drawn inexorably closer together in a race against time, as both energy companies and evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which protects not just this land but all worlds.
The unwitting protagonists have no idea of how suddenly and irrevocably their lives are about to change.
It's a desperate bid to beat the countdown and recover the lost necklace, Brisingamen, which holds the ancient power of the Goddess Freya, and to prevent the undersea drilling from taking place.
Are Aart, Matthias, Gemma and Dirck up to the challenges they now must face?
I LOVE A GOOD FANTASY BOOK I love a good fantasy book, especially one that contains: elves, dwarves, vampires, werewolves and dragons like this one does. “The Battle for Brisingamen” starts with two main characters and what I thought was a love story. It quickly went from that to an adventure that never lets up. Ms. Kent takes us into a magical world that is hidden from most humans or Doggerland. The story line draws us into a battle while questing for Brisingamen through several points of view. I really had to focus to keep track of everything going on, but it was worth the effort. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.
ACTION-PACKED FANTASY This book was very complex, which isn't surprising for the first book of a new series. The story keeps jumping from time and place to other times and places. After some time, it all came together and became a mad dash toward the final struggle to save Brisingamen and Fyinta. The story is very engaging and you'll find yourself drawn to each of the main characters. It's a good read and well worth the experience. I'm ready for book 2 now!
THE BATTLE IS ON! As with most of my recent reads, I found some buzz about this on social media. I did a little research on Brisingamen (and found it was part of Norse mythology), and I had to read it! Synopsis (from the author): There is a World not too Far Away ... Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected. The lives of many are drawn inexorably closer together in a race against time, as both energy companies and evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which is protecting not just this land but all worlds. The unwitting protagonists have no idea of how suddenly and irrevocably their lives are about to change. It is a race against time to try and recover the lost necklace, Brisingamen, which holds the ancient power of the Goddess Freya, and to prevent the undersea drilling from taking place. Are Aart, Matthias, Gemma and Dirck up to the challenges they now must face?
STUNNING FUSION OF MYTHOLOGY AND PALEOGEOLOGY Coming at this from a different tack because of the Doggerland connection and a devastating geological event that saw the fracture and sinking of a huge portion of the north-western European landmass between the British Isles from the English Channel/La Manche up to Scandinavia over 6000 years ago (the Storegga Slide). Although the sinking probably happened over hundreds of years, the Slide did cause a massive and widespread tsunami and it's this that most likely gave rise to the oral traditions for Atlantis and Lyonnesse in the Arthurian myths, which also had echoes in Norse mythology as well. So this all works in very plausibly with Harmony Kent's wonderful weaving on the legends of Freyja's Brisingamen Necklace and the various realms of Dwarves, Elves and other mystical races co-existing still into modern times under the aegis of Yggdrasil the World Tree. I adore interpretative writing that can reinvent and invigorate our creative heritage and gives us tantalising glimpses of the reality behind the legends and 'fairy tales' that fuel our human need for dreaming and fantasy. I couldn't quite give 5 stars because some of the passages came a little too fast and furious at times - even in the heat of battle sometimes you get a fracture of calm than can inform the action, even if it takes a split second in reality. A little less haste might have helped keep the progression of, for instance, the various facets of the advance of the Dwarf armies a little clearer, but really this is minor carping, especially for a debut novel. Personal preference also insists that I mention, whilst applauding the non-shrinking of violets, that the sex scenes were probably over-stated and kind of jarred with the narrative a bit and were, arguably, superfluous to the story arc for being so full-on. So far as I was concerned these more or less went under the radar thereafter having served their purpose. Less is more as they say and if it wasn't important to the overall story then perhaps a more seasoned writer would have kept things romantic more muted, to keep to the overall tone of the whole? Overall I liked this book very much indeed and would thoroughly recommend it to all Norse myth nuts! :)
THE MAGIC KINGDOM Under the Great North Sea is a land of magic. Kent writes of this land. She is a master of her craft. There is magic in her writing. Bravo!
