The Valkyrie by Kate Heartfield
I would like to thank HarperVoyager for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - HarperVoyager
Published - Out Now
Price - £16.99 Hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook
Brynhild is a Valkyrie: shieldmaiden of the Allfather, chooser of the slain. But now she too has fallen, flightless in her exile.
Gudrun is a princess of Burgundy, a daughter of the Rhine, a prize for an invading king – a king whose brother Attila has other plans, and a dragon to call upon.
And in the songs to be sung, there is another hero: Sigurd, a warrior with a sword sharper than the new moon.
As the legends tell, these names are destined to be lovers, fated as enemies. But here on Midgard, legends can be lies…
For not all heroes are heroic, nor all monsters monstrous. And a shieldmaiden may yet find that love is the greatest weapon of all.
Something quite important in this era of retold myths. Sometimes the reader may be completely unaware of the source material. The story we need to remember always has to work on its own and not simply rely on a reader’s own knowledge. I am so pleased though in the more than capable hands of Kate Heartfield with their new novel The Valkyrie to be sucked into a story that mixes myths, history and delivers a captivating story.
Brynhild crashes to earth having been cast out of Valhalla by Odin; who objected to her defiance over who should stay alive after a battle. The Valkyries are Odin’s shield maidens sent to aid warriors to Valhalla and keep certain people alive. But now after three hundred years Brynhild is mortal but still a skilled warrior. She soon finds herself companioned with young Sigurd with a point to prove.
Elsewhere on the remote dying edges of the Roman Empire is the territory of Burgandy which has attracted the attention of the Huns led by Attila. To bring about a peace it has been agreed that Gudrun, sister to King Gunnar will marry him but Attila has other plans in the form of Fafnir a huge beast that can read minds and spew poisonous gases that kill armies. Soon Brynhild and Sigurd are brought into battle and Empires, Gods and the spirits of the dead will battle for the future of the world while Brynhild and Gudrun bond and realise they deeply love each other.
So I raise my hand and must confess this was not a myth I’m that familiar with. I know Odin; have heard of Valkyries but otherwise this is a story I’m coming cold to and so it’s a testament to Heartfield how engrossed I became with a tale of great subtle character work and also a story that morphs into an unexpected direction heading from what seems standard fantasy fare to something much more numinous.
We have as a structure Brynhild and Gudrun swapping their tales of how they met and what happened next (for reasons that remain unclear until the very end). Heartfield then has within that format a take that starts with Bryhhild’s literal fall from grace and soon is battling fearsome beasts but that is only the first third of the book. This story has a lot more to tell us.
What unfolds is an unexpected set of dominoes where Heartfield mixes the Norse Gods with the political tensions of the fracturing Holy Roman Empire. I have not checked to see if this was the source material but it makes for a story that crosses between epic and historical fantasy and our two leading characters align with both. Brynhild a fierce warrior and former servant of the Gods seamlessly fits with the monsters, fierce battles and use of magic. But Gudrun I found the interesting human character as she is a woman navigating political intrigues in a world that tends to still think only men can rule. While she too has magic she is also thinking about consequences and coming up with plans to pick Kings and most of all protect her people. Heartfield gives each a nuanced voice that fits their personality and also we get the growing realisation that these two women who end up married to warriors and Kings actually love each other more. In this period marriage is for alliances and image so actual loving relationships for both characters is something they face into for the first time. My only gripe is they rarely have time together after finally admitting their feelings.
The story has an impressive middle act where magic takes a back seat to the politics of Burgundy. After a monster is slain there is still aftermath and multiple parties grasping for power which leads to the arranged marriages and Brynhild being betrayed by them all. It’s a very intimate set of scenes focused on characters and being lying or honest to one another.
But it’s the final acts and the last third of the book that for me where standout. It’s where all the careful plotting allows the books to soar and we get not only battles with Huns and Roman Empires but armies of the dead; mysterious spirits and then a trip to the underworld. Finally we find why Odin is so keen on choosing who goes to Valhalla. This is a story that feels at this point mythic and a trip to meet Hel and a character trying to outwit Attila the Hun all feel perfectly balanced. It’s a great reading experience.
For me The Valkyrie was a great telling of a story I had no idea where it was going and I was very glad to explore this period and not again have the usual Norse myths retold. Heartfield with this book cements their reputation as a fantasy writer who can meld the real history of a place with the older stories and created something fresh and new. Highly recommended!
