Review: Blood of Midgard by Baptiste Pinson Wu

Blurb:

The end is near. The war is just beginning.

Ragnarök’s shadow looms over Asgard. The gods grow fearful, and Odin, in a desperate attempt to fill the benches of Valhöll with more slain heroes, sends his elite warriors to Midgard to spark conflicts. Drake, their leader, would rather fight to prevent the end of the world before it began, for Muninn, Odin’s daughter, is fated to die during the last great battle.

But as Drake and his brothers strive to accomplish Odin’s will on Midgard, a plan born in the darkness of Loki’s cell—and acted upon by someone close to Drake—is set in motion. The snare tightens around Drake, and every step the warrior takes toward the woman he loves in secret brings Ragnarök closer.

Review:

The Blood of Midgard caught my attention for a variety of different reasons. The first, the obvious Norse references that are the base of the story. It takes all of the familiar items that we have all heard of and twists them on their head. I found this to be refreshing and a lot of interesting story points are developed because of this. I will avoid spoilers, but it takes a lot of the familiar and twists them in ways that make sense but also are a fresh take on what has become commonplace. The second, I am always a sucker for a fantastic cover and this definitely has that. The raven is beautiful and I definitely find that it is a great use of foreshadowing for the overall story. The more I read, the more beautiful and meaningful it became. The last point that brought me to this story is the author himself, always writing interesting historical fiction that makes a splash. To find that he wrote one in one of my favorite histories led to it being a no brainer that I would pick it up. It most definitely was one that packed a punch and led to me enjoying it a lot.

Now to break down the overall story, the strength was the main character of the Drake. It showed how he was tired of the immortality of what he lived and yet still had the feeling of being a normal human being with a lot of different emotions. I found him interesting and wanted to know more about his history and desires. I liked how he could not remember his name from his normal life and really personified the champion of Odin, leading the legendary Wolves in battle and all sorts of different obstacles. The other side characters were also interesting, especially those who belonged to the Wolves. I can almost guarantee that some readers will find these characters worming their way into their hearts and will be a gut punch as the ordeals they all have to face come to light as they prepare for Ragnarok. The one thing that really pulled me out of the story was some of the pacing. The beginning was a little slower and took me a bit to be absorbed into the story. That being said, it was necessary for a lot of this as it introduces the changes that the author had made to the different lore that is relevant to Norse mythology. It all comes together after the first third, and the pace really finds itself at this point. 

This is a story that will live in the minds of readers long after they finish it. It has a lot of twists and turns that will lead to questions and desires to discover more of what is going on in this interesting world of the Norse. Baptiste Pinson Wu is an author who knows his craft and has a definite place among the great authors of historical fantasy. The twists, turns, and mysteries that are introduced are excellent for the genre and make it more fun to read. I recommend this to the fans of the genre as well as to anyone who just enjoys a great story. There is a lot to love.The positive thing is that this is the first book in a completed trilogy so we as readers have only to pick up the next book and launch ourselves into the continuation of the story. I can’t think of anything better than that. Join me in immersing yourself in the Bifrost and find out why I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!