A FLAME IN THE NORTH

An epic fantasy with echoes of Tolkien and Norse myth.

Young Solveig is a weirdling, and a rare one born with enough elemental magic to work with all of the elements and even summon flame from nothing. On the night of the Long Dark festival, the only worry on her mind is whether she’ll succeed in relighting the bonfire, since it’s her first year doing it alone as a fully trained volva. But even before her long night’s vigil is over, Solveig gets the grim news that her brother has killed a visitor from a great House in the north. Worse, the price the Northerners demand is a child for a child—and they want her to travel north with them as weregild for a year and a day. Accompanied only by her trusted shieldmaid, Arneoir, Solveig rides north. But they seem to travel faster than they should; one of their party has an uncanniness about him; and her companions speak as if the Great Enemy still lived and plotted in the north. Slowly, Solveig will learn the true purpose of her journey, and she and Arn will both be tested as they are drawn deeper and deeper into the Northerners' great war against evil. This is a compelling world of quasi-Vikings, near-immortal Elders, and misshapen, evil orukhar. Tolkien fans will enjoy the many echoes of his work, including the orc-like orukhar and the great spiders of Mistwood. But this is more than just a remix of familiar epic fantasy tropes—it’s a fresh and compelling quest story in its own right, suffused with the bitter cold of a winter journey and the fear and wonder of stepping into a legend and doubting you can hold your own. 

A thoroughly satisfying tale for fantasy fans to sink their teeth into.