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Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker
A hive-like race of brutal abominations. A single warrior who wants nothing more than to become a legendary berserker. Can Orsin survive the brutal, solo Trial, kill one of the greatest threats his people have ever known, and emerge as the favoured warrior of his god?
Orsin wants nothing more than to pass The Trial and become a berserker. But to do that he must travel into the wilderness, completely alone, and do battle with the abominations that live in the tundra—a strange, constantly mutating species known only as the Herd. But when Orsin makes his way into that icy desert not everything is as he has been told it would be.
The Herd beasts don’t all act as he expects. Something strange is going on. The ancient enemy of his people is changing, evolving in new and dangerous ways. They are growing more canny and more deadly. But why?
As Orsin delves deeper and deeper into enemy territory, he slowly begins to discover new facets to old dangers, challenges that will threaten not only his life but also his sanity and possibly, his very soul. Can he slaughter enough enemies to pass his Trial, make it back alive, and become the legendary warrior he knows he can be?
Trial of the Berserker is the first book in the Primal Fury epic fantasy series.
If you like brutal and bloody action, feats of great personal strength and fortitude, and high-stakes combat, then you’ll love this debut page-turner!
Orsin wants nothing more than to pass The Trial and become a berserker. But to do that he must travel into the wilderness, completely alone, and do battle with the abominations that live in the tundra—a strange, constantly mutating species known only as the Herd. But when Orsin makes his way into that icy desert not everything is as he has been told it would be.
The Herd beasts don’t all act as he expects. Something strange is going on. The ancient enemy of his people is changing, evolving in new and dangerous ways. They are growing more canny and more deadly. But why?
As Orsin delves deeper and deeper into enemy territory, he slowly begins to discover new facets to old dangers, challenges that will threaten not only his life but also his sanity and possibly, his very soul. Can he slaughter enough enemies to pass his Trial, make it back alive, and become the legendary warrior he knows he can be?
Trial of the Berserker is the first book in the Primal Fury epic fantasy series.
If you like brutal and bloody action, feats of great personal strength and fortitude, and high-stakes combat, then you’ll love this debut page-turner!
- GenresFantasy
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2023
6 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 13, 2024
Review originally on
JamReads
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a quite unique dark fantasy novel (I would say in the frontier with grimdark) written by Nöel Traver. A fast-paced book which follows the story of Orsin and his adopter brother Torben, part of a race of humanoid bears whose passage rite to the adulthood is done by a trial in the outside lands, fighting and testing their strength against the Herd, creatures that are plaguing the lands of the Fursja.
After some initial chapters that act as an introduction to the Fursja and their culture that seems inspired by the Nordic traditions, a cozier part that also includes the forge of their weapons, we are directly thrown into the trial of Orsin, and how he will have to survive in order to earn his spot as Berserker, fighting against the Herd. Shadowing him, and trying to protect him from the background is his brother Torben; still working on his own trial but always with an eye put on Orsin.
And it's on those encounters against the Herd creatures where Primal Fury shines the most. Creatures that are part horror and abominations, which try to kill the Fursja; each combat is absolutely stunning to read, told from a more visceral perspective, gory, with fury many times taking over the rationality from Orsin. A quest that escalates as Orsin gets possessed by the bloodlust.
A book that gives a lot of space to character development as the premise is relatively simple; however, the payoff is worth. Despite only having two characters in the spotlight, the bond that is formed between Orsin and Torben is well explored, the type of relationship you get with your closest friend; one that will take you to risk all for the other person.
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a great novel, which can be enjoyed if you are looking for something different, with non-anthropocentric characters, and which leaves many questions about the Herd open. It's brutal and gory, and I definitely recommend reading it if you like dark fantasy.
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a quite unique dark fantasy novel (I would say in the frontier with grimdark) written by Nöel Traver. A fast-paced book which follows the story of Orsin and his adopter brother Torben, part of a race of humanoid bears whose passage rite to the adulthood is done by a trial in the outside lands, fighting and testing their strength against the Herd, creatures that are plaguing the lands of the Fursja.
After some initial chapters that act as an introduction to the Fursja and their culture that seems inspired by the Nordic traditions, a cozier part that also includes the forge of their weapons, we are directly thrown into the trial of Orsin, and how he will have to survive in order to earn his spot as Berserker, fighting against the Herd. Shadowing him, and trying to protect him from the background is his brother Torben; still working on his own trial but always with an eye put on Orsin.
And it's on those encounters against the Herd creatures where Primal Fury shines the most. Creatures that are part horror and abominations, which try to kill the Fursja; each combat is absolutely stunning to read, told from a more visceral perspective, gory, with fury many times taking over the rationality from Orsin. A quest that escalates as Orsin gets possessed by the bloodlust.
A book that gives a lot of space to character development as the premise is relatively simple; however, the payoff is worth. Despite only having two characters in the spotlight, the bond that is formed between Orsin and Torben is well explored, the type of relationship you get with your closest friend; one that will take you to risk all for the other person.
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a great novel, which can be enjoyed if you are looking for something different, with non-anthropocentric characters, and which leaves many questions about the Herd open. It's brutal and gory, and I definitely recommend reading it if you like dark fantasy.
January 12, 2024
one badass bear
An ancestral trial taken. Face an abhorrent enemy which has been the death of so many. Failure is not an option.
Had an absolute blast with this! Epic confrontation & creepy enemies! Real Norse feel. Exciting badass & fun!
An ancestral trial taken. Face an abhorrent enemy which has been the death of so many. Failure is not an option.
Had an absolute blast with this! Epic confrontation & creepy enemies! Real Norse feel. Exciting badass & fun!
May 30, 2023
I would like to thank the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a character driven book. We get to follow Orsin and Torben, who are part of a bear clan. They are preparing for a journey, a test to their clan that they can become great warrior. Such test consists of going out into the wild towards The Herd and slay as many monsters as they can. Once they’ve done so, without dying obviously, they can claim glory and be revered as great warriors.
The story itself is straightforward. Both Orsin and Torben dream of becoming legends of their clan and slay the most powerful creatures The Herd can throw at them. So, at the beginning we spend some time getting to know them, the clan and how they are preparing to make the journey and complete the Berserker trial. I honestly felt a little bored with this, I felt like the characters needed a little more motivation than just to be the greatest.
What captivated me the most was what happens after they leave the clan. This is where everything goes bonkers. Horrifying creatures begin to show up and test their strength. What the author managed to do with The Herd is unbelievable, creepy, horrifying but awesome. Very awesome indeed. These creatures are fuel for nightmares, and I love it.
By the end of the book, I was invested in the story and characters. But most of all, I want to know more about these creatures, The Herd. This is what captivated me the most. What are they and where did they come from?
The writing itself was simple, but very well done. Straight to the point and not wasting time with unnecessary words to fill the page. I found typos and errors, but this was an early ARC, I expected that to happen, so I won’t lower my rating because of it. I’m sure the book will be just fine when it releases. Very promising start to a series and solid debut novel for Noël.
Did I mention that the main character is a huge battle-scarred bear? That alone got me into this. And that cover! Beautiful and manages to deliver in giving you a taste of the story inside.
This is a character driven book. We get to follow Orsin and Torben, who are part of a bear clan. They are preparing for a journey, a test to their clan that they can become great warrior. Such test consists of going out into the wild towards The Herd and slay as many monsters as they can. Once they’ve done so, without dying obviously, they can claim glory and be revered as great warriors.
The story itself is straightforward. Both Orsin and Torben dream of becoming legends of their clan and slay the most powerful creatures The Herd can throw at them. So, at the beginning we spend some time getting to know them, the clan and how they are preparing to make the journey and complete the Berserker trial. I honestly felt a little bored with this, I felt like the characters needed a little more motivation than just to be the greatest.
What captivated me the most was what happens after they leave the clan. This is where everything goes bonkers. Horrifying creatures begin to show up and test their strength. What the author managed to do with The Herd is unbelievable, creepy, horrifying but awesome. Very awesome indeed. These creatures are fuel for nightmares, and I love it.
By the end of the book, I was invested in the story and characters. But most of all, I want to know more about these creatures, The Herd. This is what captivated me the most. What are they and where did they come from?
The writing itself was simple, but very well done. Straight to the point and not wasting time with unnecessary words to fill the page. I found typos and errors, but this was an early ARC, I expected that to happen, so I won’t lower my rating because of it. I’m sure the book will be just fine when it releases. Very promising start to a series and solid debut novel for Noël.
Did I mention that the main character is a huge battle-scarred bear? That alone got me into this. And that cover! Beautiful and manages to deliver in giving you a taste of the story inside.
May 25, 2023
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was first intrigued by this story because of the cover (although I think the author missed out on not calling it Bearserker). The story was good, and the herd creatures were grotesque and terrifying. It reminded me of Annihilation and Stand Still, Stay Silent. I loved all the tension and Orsin's journey. There were some sections that felt repetitive, and I wanted to get some more background on the different races and creatures in the world. I didn't find this as grimdark as I thought it would be, but still a really fun fantasy book to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2023
Disclaimer: Noël Traver provided me with an eARC, but this does not affect my opinion of this book.
Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars (Rounded up to 4 Stars)
This book caught my attention when I saw the cover art on Twitter a while back, and after reading a tweet from Noël asking if reviewers wanted to get an ARC, I was all in.
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a fast paced book with a lot and I mean a lot of brutality in it, but don't be fooled, even though it is gory and gut punching it also has good character development and great world building to it.
But let me start at the beginning. We follow Orsin and his adopted brother Torben as they prepare for their journey. A trail that will test their strength and will, their ability to survive in the fight against the herd, a virus-like infection that is overtaking the wildlife surrounding their village, a barren tundra filled with dangerous mutations infected by the herd.
At first this book feels kind of cozy as we follow Orsin and Troben through their village, forging their weapons for their upcoming trial, attending a feast, etc. but as soon as you get to chapter 5 and Orsin and Torben are separated, the brutality begins and won't stop until you finish the book. There are a lot of fight scenes and Noël has a talent to make you feel like you are right in the middle of it, every encounter feels new and it never gets old fighting alongside Orsin. But even though fighting the herd is a big part of the story, it never gets boring and is necessary to progress in the story.
As the days pass and we venture deeper into the tundra, we delve deeper into the herd territory and the mystery of the herd virus begins to grow. What is this virus, where does it come from, is it really just a virus or is there something bigger?
Now let me talk about the world building. Noël has created a vast world, even if it is “just” a tundra ;). You can feel that something is lurking in the depths of this world and the mystery that is slowly unraveling makes his world even more interesting.
I am not really a visual reader but he describes the world in such a detail that even I have pictures in my head while wandering through the lands.
All in all it is a pretty brutal, fast paced book with a good amount of character development and a pretty interesting mystery that will be fully revealed in future books (hopefully). But to be honest, this book felt a little too fast and rushed at times for me to give it a rating higher than 3.5. If some parts and even some characters had gotten a little more "screen time" and on the other hand the parts where Orsin fell asleep had been a little less, I might have given this book 4+ stars. But don't get me wrong, even 3 stars is an "I LIKE THIS BOOK" rating.
So if you like brutal fight scenes and a mystery with something otherworldly involved, do me a favor and get this book.
Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars (Rounded up to 4 Stars)
This book caught my attention when I saw the cover art on Twitter a while back, and after reading a tweet from Noël asking if reviewers wanted to get an ARC, I was all in.
Primal Fury: Trial of the Berserker is a fast paced book with a lot and I mean a lot of brutality in it, but don't be fooled, even though it is gory and gut punching it also has good character development and great world building to it.
But let me start at the beginning. We follow Orsin and his adopted brother Torben as they prepare for their journey. A trail that will test their strength and will, their ability to survive in the fight against the herd, a virus-like infection that is overtaking the wildlife surrounding their village, a barren tundra filled with dangerous mutations infected by the herd.
At first this book feels kind of cozy as we follow Orsin and Troben through their village, forging their weapons for their upcoming trial, attending a feast, etc. but as soon as you get to chapter 5 and Orsin and Torben are separated, the brutality begins and won't stop until you finish the book. There are a lot of fight scenes and Noël has a talent to make you feel like you are right in the middle of it, every encounter feels new and it never gets old fighting alongside Orsin. But even though fighting the herd is a big part of the story, it never gets boring and is necessary to progress in the story.
As the days pass and we venture deeper into the tundra, we delve deeper into the herd territory and the mystery of the herd virus begins to grow. What is this virus, where does it come from, is it really just a virus or is there something bigger?
Now let me talk about the world building. Noël has created a vast world, even if it is “just” a tundra ;). You can feel that something is lurking in the depths of this world and the mystery that is slowly unraveling makes his world even more interesting.
I am not really a visual reader but he describes the world in such a detail that even I have pictures in my head while wandering through the lands.
All in all it is a pretty brutal, fast paced book with a good amount of character development and a pretty interesting mystery that will be fully revealed in future books (hopefully). But to be honest, this book felt a little too fast and rushed at times for me to give it a rating higher than 3.5. If some parts and even some characters had gotten a little more "screen time" and on the other hand the parts where Orsin fell asleep had been a little less, I might have given this book 4+ stars. But don't get me wrong, even 3 stars is an "I LIKE THIS BOOK" rating.
So if you like brutal fight scenes and a mystery with something otherworldly involved, do me a favor and get this book.
August 16, 2023
This is a book about an anthropomorphic warrior bear slaying countless mutated abominations.
Read that sentence again. That IS the book. If you are looking for more than that you won't find it.
There isn't much space at all given to world-building. The character development is fairly shallow. The dialogue reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and I love the turtles).
The book needs a pass by an editor, as there are several instances of incorrect words being used. One instead of on, Her instead of His, etc.
Now, all that being said let me remind you that this is a book about an anthropomorphic warrior bear slaying countless mutated abominations, and at that the author excels. He really knows how to describe these horribly mutated Herd creatures, and the action flows super well. Considering that this is probably 90% of the novel that's a good thing.
This is a book about an anthropomorphic warrior bear slaying countless mutated abominations.
My 13 year old self probably would have loved reading this.
All in all, it's not a bad effort for a self published novel and I liked it enough I'll probably give book two a chance to see if the author can branch out a bit more and refine some of the things I think were missing. At the worst though, I know I'll be getting some hardcore berserker bear slaying action.
Read that sentence again. That IS the book. If you are looking for more than that you won't find it.
There isn't much space at all given to world-building. The character development is fairly shallow. The dialogue reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and I love the turtles).
The book needs a pass by an editor, as there are several instances of incorrect words being used. One instead of on, Her instead of His, etc.
Now, all that being said let me remind you that this is a book about an anthropomorphic warrior bear slaying countless mutated abominations, and at that the author excels. He really knows how to describe these horribly mutated Herd creatures, and the action flows super well. Considering that this is probably 90% of the novel that's a good thing.
This is a book about an anthropomorphic warrior bear slaying countless mutated abominations.
My 13 year old self probably would have loved reading this.
All in all, it's not a bad effort for a self published novel and I liked it enough I'll probably give book two a chance to see if the author can branch out a bit more and refine some of the things I think were missing. At the worst though, I know I'll be getting some hardcore berserker bear slaying action.
March 9, 2024
Lo leí por furro y no me decepciono
March 11, 2024
Very fun and satisfying but
Orsin makes for a fun protag and I enjoyed his trial immensely. There are some typos here and there (enough to be noticeable but not distracting). Lots of good action.
Orsin makes for a fun protag and I enjoyed his trial immensely. There are some typos here and there (enough to be noticeable but not distracting). Lots of good action.
April 9, 2024
This isn't the typical fantasy book I read but my husband bought it and seeing it was about a bear berserker caught my fancy.
To start off I'm not familiar with Scandinavian language so trying to pronounce some of the names and words in my head took a bit to familiarize. I still liked it because it felt more authentic like you were immersed in the world.
Orsin story is pretty much entirely his journey and doing his trial to becoming a warrior. It has detailed action scenes throughout and his thoughts along the way. I enjoyed it but I would have liked more to the story from others perspective like his brother Torben. Even with the story following only three main character I loved how the bond was built up between the main and supporting character.
The pacing for this built up so it made me look forward to what's to come in the next book.
To start off I'm not familiar with Scandinavian language so trying to pronounce some of the names and words in my head took a bit to familiarize. I still liked it because it felt more authentic like you were immersed in the world.
Orsin story is pretty much entirely his journey and doing his trial to becoming a warrior. It has detailed action scenes throughout and his thoughts along the way. I enjoyed it but I would have liked more to the story from others perspective like his brother Torben. Even with the story following only three main character I loved how the bond was built up between the main and supporting character.
The pacing for this built up so it made me look forward to what's to come in the next book.
July 2, 2023
Primal 4 Sure
So first off let me say LOOK at that cover isn't it Beautiful and that Bear on the cover is the protagonist(called Fursja basically a race of giant bears that are Warriors the whole world is centered around this group WHAT more could you ask for. The name of the book Primal Fury says it all also, this book has brutal intense fighting from beginning to end.
Our main protagonist Orsin is about to take his trial to become a Berserker and it's a Wild Ride, he is very honorable wants to become the strongest and most powerful Berserker ever and man oh man,the fighting and everything that he has to do.
The world is also very brutal during their trial they go out into the land and fight preachers called The Herd but when it comes to the herd it's explained like it's a virus that gets into creatures and manipulate them and mutates them it's very interesting and it's one part of the book that kept me reading because I wanted to know more about this The Herd and I will also say this book has tons of horror elements because of these creatures he has created some very scary nasty looking creatures that can fight and are set on infecting everything so it's very gory not for the faint of heart
This book was tons of fun and I can't wait to read book two only thing that I didn't like would be I would say the length I really wish there was more we could have had another two three hundred Pages added to it but I understand it's hard out there for independent authors more pages is definitely harder to get published can't wait to read more from this new independent author more people definitely need to be reading this book I mean it's less than 300 Pages anybody that reads on the regular can wipe that kind of book out within a couple days and you won't be disappointed
So first off let me say LOOK at that cover isn't it Beautiful and that Bear on the cover is the protagonist(called Fursja basically a race of giant bears that are Warriors the whole world is centered around this group WHAT more could you ask for. The name of the book Primal Fury says it all also, this book has brutal intense fighting from beginning to end.
Our main protagonist Orsin is about to take his trial to become a Berserker and it's a Wild Ride, he is very honorable wants to become the strongest and most powerful Berserker ever and man oh man,the fighting and everything that he has to do.
The world is also very brutal during their trial they go out into the land and fight preachers called The Herd but when it comes to the herd it's explained like it's a virus that gets into creatures and manipulate them and mutates them it's very interesting and it's one part of the book that kept me reading because I wanted to know more about this The Herd and I will also say this book has tons of horror elements because of these creatures he has created some very scary nasty looking creatures that can fight and are set on infecting everything so it's very gory not for the faint of heart
This book was tons of fun and I can't wait to read book two only thing that I didn't like would be I would say the length I really wish there was more we could have had another two three hundred Pages added to it but I understand it's hard out there for independent authors more pages is definitely harder to get published can't wait to read more from this new independent author more people definitely need to be reading this book I mean it's less than 300 Pages anybody that reads on the regular can wipe that kind of book out within a couple days and you won't be disappointed
April 18, 2023
I received an ARC from the author for an honest review. First off, look at the cover art! That's what initially drew me to this book. As soon as I saw that, I knew I had to read this. I will say that I really enjoyed this book. From the get go, I was pulled in by the familiarity of the world that is built. It reminded me of a Viking type story from the beginning. The world building is well done and when the story picks up and gets going the action sequences are probably the best part of this whole book. The author writes brutal in your face action scenes that leave you craving for more. The only downside to this book in my opinion was in the middle like right at 50 percent, a big even happens and then it feels like the book lulls or should end there. It took me forcing myself to keep going and I am very glad that I did. The remainder of the book is just as good as the first half and wraps up very nicely with a ton of room for more stories of Orsin the Fursja. Overall I was very pleased with this book and can't wait to see what is to come.
February 3, 2024
As a whole, I enjoyed the book, the 5/5 rating is more so due to the ending climax. That I personally loved. It’s been a long while since a book got me emotional and this one pulled it off. I won’t spoil it for obvious reasons. Personal love aside, realistically the book is more of a middle-ground type of story. It’s interesting and has tons of character and intense action scenes but the trial being a solo endeavour does mean we don’t encounter many others also running the gauntlet. It does make me look forward to a sequel where we can hopefully see even more of the Fursja culture and possibly even be introduced to the humans that were supposedly responsible for the Herd being released in the first place. If you want a story heavy on action and Berserker shenanigans you will thoroughly enjoy this.
October 20, 2023
A book about a battle-scarred, axe-wielding bear on an epic quest to prove himself in battle against a terrifying, shape-changing breed of monsters. If that doesn't sound good to you, we can't be friends. Awesome badass book. Buy it.
August 19, 2023
I thought this book was a bit unusual with the main characters being actual Berserkers but couldn't put it down and easily finished and enjoyed the storyline. Now looking forward to the sequel.
October 17, 2023
This review is long overdue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Unique characters, brutal action and combat, and a compelling, unique story.
August 3, 2025
fun book
Big bear kills shit. Big fun. Just the villains dialogue was a bit cheesy. But orsins internal dialogue was great
Big bear kills shit. Big fun. Just the villains dialogue was a bit cheesy. But orsins internal dialogue was great
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews