Review: Great writing style in this Norse epic
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2012
Mande Matthews's writing is characterized by a smooth, capable writing style that ranges from matter-of-fact to lyrical as required by the situation. Her strong and complex characters are fun to journey with as they traverse Matthews' own variant of ancient Scandinavia, meeting "real life" versions of many of its beings, such as Valkyries and Dwarfs and Elves. Both high drama and comedy alternate -- and we all know that the former without the latter is hard to take. The two parallel plotlines -- Hallad's struggle to care for his mute sister Swan (shown on the cover), and Erik's quest with his brother Rolf the Skald to regain his true love Emma (Hallad's sister, who can talk to animals), both kept me clicking the "next page" button on my Kindle 2. Lord Lothar is the kind of villain you love to hate.Certain stylistic decisions, such as substituting "Nei" for "No," and using Norse-sounding versions of certain words (Vestr for West, etc.) were particularly charming and gave the book a distinct feel that I enjoyed. Norse mythology made a nice change of pace.The metaphysical aspects of this book, regarding the gods good and bad, the Shadow, Bonding, and dimensional travel, are highly complex, and I will need to read the book a second time to understand as well as I like. Suffice to say that Mande Matthews has created a complex magic system suited to development the multiple volumes the ShadowLight Saga will eventually contain.I have heard rumors that the next book in this series is close to completion. I can't wait to get it on my Kindle.