Sunday, May 27, 2018

Sky in the Deep

Sky in the Deep

 Sky in the Deep is a book I have mixed feelings about. Taken as it is it's a fine book, a standalone about Eelyn, a warrior in a vaguely Viking-esque world. I thought it might be set in our world initially, and you can certainly read it that way, but it could just as easily be another world as well. Doesn't really matter for purposes of the story. Eelyn and her shield mate Myra fight alongside the men of their clan, the Aska, and from what I can tell their lives pretty much revolve around fighting and training to fight. Sure they grow crops and stuff too, but mainly they live to fight the Riki, their ancestral enemies. 

It's a mostly realistic story, with only a smattering of mystical elements that may or may not mean anything, and concerns Eelyn's relationship with her brother Iri above all else. Iri was believed killed years ago in battle, yet Eelyn finds him alive on the battlefield- and fighting with the Riki- against his own clan! How could this be? Well, Eelyn's going to find out, because she's captured by a Riki warrior named Fiske, who happens to fight alongside her long- lost brother. Eelyn is gobsmacked by this, and finds herself trying to understand it even as she has the unenviable distinction of being a Riki prisoner. 

Complicating matters is the arrival of the Herja, another clan that is feared by both Aska and Riki. Like the synopsis says, the two rival clans may have to join together to withstand the onslaught, but how can generations of distrust be overcome so quickly? That's the heart of the story, along with the family drama between Eelyn and Iri. It's mostly done well, and I liked Eelyn- she has a lot to overcome here, and very tangled loyalties- I could almost feel her anguish, and that's a testament to the writing. The clans are drawn well and the battle scenes are fairly visceral without being too bloody, and I really don't have any complaints. I enjoyed the story, although it started a bit slow for me- I needed several chapters to get into it- but overall it was good. 

I also like that it's a standalone. The story is wrapped up, there's nice tension at the end, and the romance that does occur is slow burn. It feels like a YA Viking story, which is not a criticism, just an observation. It wasn't a spectacular read, but it was solid and I'd give it three stars, bordering on four. I liked the imagery of the snowy forests, the cold fjords and the pebbly beaches- the author did a nice job evoking the world. And the themes of acceptance, regret and trust are explored well. All in all, a solid book. 


Spoilers/ Discussion

I have a few additional thoughts. As mentioned above I thought the battle scenes were done well, for the most part, but I was a little surprised that Eelyn never really showed fear. She's a seventeen year old woman who fights alongside the men and takes on warriors much stronger than her, so she must be a skilled fighter, and I don't want to sound sexist but a teen woman fighting grown men is going to be at a disadvantage no matter how you look at it. I would have liked to  see that explored more- how exactly are Eelyn and company cutting a swath through more experienced warriors? Also, I think it would have been more realistic, and Eelyn more relatable, if she had some pre-battle jitters, which I think most people would. Instead she's like a fighting machine. 

Dovetailing with this a bit is the fact that she fights through broken or at least severely bruised ribs and other injuries, and again she's seventeen. Pretty tough. Which is great but it could have used a little more realism. It can hurt to breathe with broken ribs, let alone running and throwing axes and whatnot. Also she's been fighting for a while, so she must have started even younger- why exactly does her father put her in the front lines? Sounds like a good way to lose a daughter!

The other issue I had was the final battle. The Aska and Riki set a trap for the Herja, which involves running over a drop-off into a fjord, where the Herja that follow will be massacred. Why exactly would the Herja follow their enemies over a cliff? Wouldn't they stop and say, wait a minute, maybe something's odd here? I didn't get that. Other than that, I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and it does a lot of things right, but these issues took me out of the book a bit. 

21 comments:

  1. Haha, I've had cracked/bruised ribs before and it bloody hurts! No way you're running full tilt into battle like that. I find few that authors actually portray injury realistically, but I guess our stories and heroes would be a lot less impressive if they did :P Anyway, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the book despite these realism hiccups that took you out a bit!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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    1. Yes it does! I found that a bit unrealistic, but other than some stuff like that I mostly liked it?

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  2. My dad could barely move or breathe when he broke his ribs so I'm always scathing of people in battles being able to continue at full tilt!

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    1. Yeah that was iffy but otherwise it was good.

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  3. I've heard about this book before and it's on my TBR list. It looks good-- not ground shaking amazing-- but good.

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    1. That's exactly it- it's very "good" but not, you know, earth shattering or anything. A solid read.

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  4. I think I’d be rolling my eyes too much in this one.

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  5. I also had issues with this book - mainly that I found it hard to connect to or care for the characters. But agreed, the action and battles were brilliantly written. I loved those!

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    1. The battles were pretty good! But yeah it was hard to connect with some of the characters, and for me partly because of the unrealism of some of it- she never really felt fear, or jitters before battle, or whatever- all stuff that would have made her seem more real.

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  6. Totally agree with your critique here. I enjoyed the story, but it has some shortcomings. I wish it was a bit more descriptive.

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    1. Yeah I could have used a little more world building- was it our world, a different world, why EXACTLY do the two clans/ gods have this blood feud, etc.

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  7. Standalones are nice. There are way too many series nowadays. I might read it just for the sheer fact that it's a standalone, lol.

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  8. I enjoyed this book overall too, but I do agree with you about that final battle scene. I was just like whaaaaa?

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  9. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I don't do Viking-esque. 😊

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  10. I agree with you on the shortcomings, although they detracted from the reading experience much more for me than they did you it sounds like! It was also kind of strange that this amazing warrior who can fight through broken ribs is actually pretty docile during her captivity? That really took me out of the story compared to a decent beginning and end section.

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  11. This one has gotten so much buzz that I was expecting it to be an A+ read! Sounds like the hype's gone a little overboard? The book still sounds good to me, so I'll probably give it a go, but I'm not rushing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  12. I wondered about the book. Not fond of Vikings per se, but the woman warrior aspect was interesting. Thanks for the honest review!

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  13. I really loved this book, I didn't really care about the parts that didn't seem realistic, this is fantasy fiction after all! What made it good for me was the emotional tension between all the characters.

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  14. I've seen this book about and loved the cover but I admit I had no clue what the story was about. It sounds interesting but from your review it sounds like it was lacking a little something something. Like, it's not bad, but I think from the way people were talking I expected a rave review so maybe I'll wait a little while to read this one. I do like the sounds of the tension and overcoming prejudices held about the clans to work together, though.

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