Lord of a Shattered Land and The Doom of Odin: Howard Andrew Jones and Scott Oden deliver high-octane, anti-Roman Adventure
I just finished two Euro-Mediterranean-inspired fantasy novels, and, bychance, both feature dragons on their beautiful covers. This post showcasesboth. Scott Oden's The Doom of Oden wraps up a trilogy (GrimnirSeries) and Howard Andrew Jones' Lord of a Shattered Land beginsa five-book series (Hanuvar Chronicles). Each offer anti-Romanmyths/legends, Oden's Grimnir overtly calls out Rome (and then introduces loadsof Nordic fantasy) and HAJ's Hanuvar's primary antagonist is the Dervan Empire(obviously inspired by the Roman Empire). In the spirit of Robert E. Howard'sConan, who roamed the Euro-Mediterranan continue of Hyboria, these bothcontinue a tradition with a unique flair. These series are not to be missed!
Both are veteran authors with respect for history and historical fiction(HAJ is known for his Harold Lamb series editing and Odenfor his bibliography that includes The White Lion, The Lion ofCairo, Men of Bronze, and Memnon). Here they write sagasabout veteran protagonists. Don't expect coming-of-age stories or epic fantasy,five-character parties either. These provide the classic Sword & Sorceryapproach: the protagonists may have sidekicks, but they operate primarily ontheir own, and they are already equipped with experience/skills/power frompage-one. So the pace is fast and focused.
Both Lord of a Shattered Land and The Doom ofOdin blend history with fantasy but each provides significant doses ofmyth/sorcery, so these are not alternate history novels. Eachprotagonist is motivated by their respective family too: HAJ's Hanuvar ishuman, and since he is a displaced general managing to survive as his societyis destroyed by Derva (Rome), he operates like a secret agent going roguebehind enemy lines to rescue other stragglers and family members. Oden'sGrimnir is inhuman, more of a manifestation of Beowulf's Grendel's kin, andwhereas the first two books had Grimnir apart from his estranged family, thislast installment showcases loads of family drama (i.e., think family reunion onthe scale of Ragnarok, aka, the end of the world, with Rome hosting part of thepicnic).
This post providesbrief reviews, book blurbs, and excerpts. Read on and battle Rome and ancientGods!
Hanuvar is a fictionalized general (an incarnation of Hannibal ofCarthage) who tangles with the Roman-like Dervani who have invaded hishomeland. Expect espionage thriller sorties, gladiator battles, andsorcery-saturated climaxes in each chapter to balance all the melee. Lord ofa Shattered Land (Aug 2023) kicks off a 5 book series from Baen, followedby City of Marble and Blood (Oct 2023), and Shadow of theSmoking Mountain (Oct 2024), (#4 and #5 to be revealed later).
Hanuvar is Conan possessed by James Bond!Lord of a Shattered Land Cover Blurb
When their walls were breached at last, the people of Volanus foughtblock by block, house by house, until most fell with sword in hand. Less than athousand survivors were led away in chains.
The city’s treasuries were looted, its temples defiled, and then, to satetheir emperor’s thirst for vengeance, the mages of the Dervan Empire cursedVolanus and sowed its fields with salt. They committed only one error: thegreatest Volani general yet lived.
Against the might of a vast empire, Hanuvar had only an aging sword arm,a lifetime of wisdom… and the greatest military mind in the world, set upon asingle goal. No matter where they’d been sent, from the festering capital tothe furthest outpost of the Dervan Empire, Hanuvar would find his people. Everylast one of them. And he would set them free.
Worst of all, a magical attack had left Hanuvar with a lingering cursethat might change him forever, or lead him to an early grave…
Lord of a Shattered features fourteen episodes chronicling Hanuvar'sundercover investigations and travels. The settings and delivery arereminiscent of Richard L Tierney's Simon of Gitta (Black Gate review) whowas posed as an enemy of sorcerous Rome (the character Simon was looselymodeled after the biblical magus, and was motivated by vengeance.) Hanuvar is driven more to save his people than to cause further harm, butbloodshed follows him everywhere. HAJ's delivery is splendidly smooth, whether he is describing body horror or humorous situations--at times evoking Leiber's Lanhmar ambiance. Youlikely have seen some of his stories, since seven of the fourteenepisodes/chapters were published in similar form by reappearing here withslight editing to close out a story arc:
“The Way of Serpents,” first published in the Goodman Games Gen Con 2016 Program Guide and then reprinted in Issue "zero" of Tales From the Magician’s Skull, 2018. “Crypt of Stars,” printed in Tales From the Magician’s Skull, Issue 1, 2018. “The Second Death of Hanuvar,” printed in Tales From the Magician’s Skull, Issue 3, 2019. “A Stone’s Throw,” printed in Heroic Fiction Quarterly #40, 2019. “Course of Blood,” printed in the anthology Galactic Stew. “From the Darkness Beneath” in Terra Incognita “Shroud of Feathers” appeared in issue 6 of Tales From the Magician’s Skull.Excerpt: Vivid, clever,James-Bond-Like Melee
"His opponents were spread out, and while the circumstance was farfrom ideal, it might not get better. Hanuvar dashed from the brush and slammedthe antlered man’s head with his spear haft. This knocked his foe’s deer-hoodaskew and set him reeling drunkenly. Hanuvar closed and struck him across thethroat with the heel of his hand.
Antler-head sank to his knees, gasping for breath.
Hanuvar grasped his cheeks, pushed the severed finger through his teeth,and clamped the man’s jaw shut. “Swallow,” he ordered into his ear, the spearblade against his neck.
The man’s throat moved, he pushed at Hanuvar’s arm with shakingfingers . . . then swallowed as the spear blade pricked him."
Excerpt: Weird, Sorcerous,X-Files-Like Predicaments
"Arcella lay there, at least what was left of her. Her dress hadbeen rent down the front, and her skinless, hairless body lay wet andglistening, the lidless eyes rendered enormous. Unlike the other bodies, herinternal organs still lay in their places. The reek was overwhelming.
Even Hanuvar was stunned by the scene, for he could think of no ordinarymeans by which the woman could have screamed and then been rendered skinless inthe scant moment since they had raced to find her."
The City of Marble and Blood (already out) continues Hanuvar'sgrand adventures!
Ymir’s balls! Oden's trilogy comes to an end. This was initiated with A Gatheringof Ravens (reviewed by Flecther Vredenburgh on Black Gate)to be followed by Twilight ofthe Gods. Read those first to become a cheerleader ofGrimnir. The milieu is reminiscent of Poul Anderson’s VikingAge The Broken Sword, being full of Dane’s and Celtic faeries andNorse myths. Oden's style is more readable than that classic, but is stillsaturated with just the right amount of call-outs to geographies and history toblur the lines between fantasy and history. This is no historical fantasy, butthe foundation of history is so well played the fantasy feels “real.” Equallybalanced are the sorceries of Celtic witches, Norse deities, and Christianbeliefs. All supernatural “sides” of faith conflict here. All are presented as real,though some are being superseded. So who is the orc protagonistemployed by Scott Oden to redeem the Orc culture? He is Grimnir...Grendel’sbrother, as named by some. The lady Étaín, a servant of the Christian God, theNailed One, and unlikely companion of him describes him:
“He is called Grimnir… the last of his kind, one of the kaunar—known toyour people as fomóraig, to mine as orcnéas, and to the Northmen as skrælingar.In the time I’ve known him, he has been ever a fomenter of trouble, a murderer,and as cruel a bastard… I can vouch neither for his honesty nor his morals, ashe is bereft of both. And while he did kidnap me, threaten me with death, mockmy faith, and expose me to the hates of a forgotten world, he also saved mylife …” from A Gathering of RavensGrimnir is a monstrous, brutal bastard!
His name suits him since he might as well becarrying a flagstaff with the contemporary “Grimdark subgenre” splayed upon it.Yet his predicament and motivations are as compelling as any vigilante hero.How best to end the series other than (a) meeting Grimnir's estranged family[i.e., the paternal Bálegyr] while (b) ushering in Ragnarok? This lastinstallment takes us to mindbending travel between ancient Rome andNastrond/Yggdrasil (i.e. Nordic Otherworlds that Oden can explain better thanme). Granted Rome is only part of the landscape here; readers should expectmore time in the Nordic realms.
The Doom of Odin: A Novel (GrimnirSeries Book 3) Blurb:
To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas;to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher,the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He isGrimnir, and he is the last of his kind—the last in a long line of monsters whohave plagued humanity since the Elder Days.
Drawn from his lair by a thirst for vengeance against the Dane who slewhis brother, Grimnir emerges into a world that’s changed. A new faith hasarisen. The Old Ways are dying, and their followers retreating into theshadows; even still, Grimnir’s vengeance cannot be denied.
Taking a young Christian hostage to be his guide, Grimnir embarks on ajourney that takes him from the hinterlands of Denmark, where the wisdom of theancient dwarves has given way to madness, to the war-torn heart of southernEngland, where the spirits of the land make violence on one another. And thenceto the green shores of Ireland and the Viking stronghold of Dubhlinn, where hisenemy awaits.
But, unless Grimnir can set aside his hatreds, his dream of retributionwill come to nothing. For Dubhlinn is set to be the site of a reckoning—the OldWays versus the New—and Grimnir, the last of his kind left to plague mankind,must choose: stand with the Christian King of Ireland and see his vengeancedone or stand against him and see it slip away?
Grimdark Battles Infused with NorseMythology
Excerpt 1:
Grimnir hacked slivers from the skrælingr’s club; over his shoulder, hesaw the shuffling kaunr—that straight-legged bastard with a beard like tarryweeds—moving into his blind side. Snarling, Grimnir deflected another blow fromthe skrælingr’s knotty club, then drove the hilt of his long-seax into theidiot’s teeth. Once. Twice. Blood spurted from the wreckage of his nose andmouth. A third blow snapped the skrælingr’s head back. The club slipped fromhis nerveless fingers. A fourth crushing blow sent him crumpling to the groundwith a broken neck.
Excerpt 2:
Grimnir never let him finish...With a serpentine hiss, the son of Bálegyrsnapped his arm forward, driving the blade of his spear into the point of thekaunr’s bearded chin. His drawn breath, meant for the boastful recitation ofhis deeds, turned into a death-rattle as the spearhead plowed through bone andteeth; it cut through the muscle of his tongue and the soft flesh of hispalate, splitting his face from jaw to brow. Blood spewed from the spear-cleftruin.
