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| Like the song says, "hide your wife, hide your kids, and hide your husband too" |
If you (or the person you're buying this for) are not keen on graphic violence, sex, nudity, revenge stories, sexual violence, misogyny vikings, or a good story, I'm going to tell you just this once: DO NOT READ NORTHLANDERS.
And now that you've been warned, what's the book like, and what's it about. The book deals with the story of Sven of Orkney who is returning home to claim his family's fortune after decades of service in the Byzantine Varangian Guard. On his return home Sven finds that his Uncle Gorm has claimed control of Sven's village and run it (more or less) into the ground. What Sven had thought a quick grab for cash turns into a prolonged campaign of revenge on Gorm to not only get the money, but also free his people.
Gianfelice's pencils suit the piece well by giving an initial appearance of simplicity that fades on closer inspection. The detail is there, but subtly masked by David McCaig's colours. And really that mask of simplicity is something that this whole book has, whether it's the simple focus of the story compared to the actions of characters, the seemingly simple choices to be made from complex situations, or even the possible responses to the question "who is this book for?"
So far it sounds like I really enjoy this book on every level, but let me be honest for a moment: there are some problems. There's a problem with the underlying premise of the story and how it fits the characters as initially presented, there's a problem with some of the pacing, and there's a problem with just how smart Sven is meant to be.
The first of these problems is that Sven is presented as going back to Orkney to reclaim his family's fortune. At first that seems fine, until it's later explained that this would mean he'd be considered a traitor in the Varangian Guard, and that he'd have to spend some of the fortune he'd be claiming to bribe his way into being reinstated. What makes it worse is that his longtime lover has enough money for both of them, and enough that he could have bribed his way to a higher office (had he desired it). That poses the question of why Sven is really going home when he repeatedly states that he has no intention of staying.
The second problem is evidenced in the level of set-up. There's a lot of set-up that is common to the revenge genre, but it's over the top, and the pay-off is short-lived. The flashbacks of issue 6 could easily have been removed. It didn't really add to the characters, and didn't advance the plot. The final problem I have can be summarised with this question: once Sven has decided he needs to kill Gorm at all costs, why did he continue to use very passive guerilla tactics? He's not Batman, his character as established early on is that he's capable of setting up the entire village to panic and leave Gorm by himself so that he can extract revenge, but that never happens.
Now I know there's a fair level of criticism to be made of the treatment of women in this book. It's justified. The women are treated as barely better than cattle, though they are portrayed as strong women. However, at that time in history it's likely an accurate representation of attitudes. The nudity seems to be somewhat gratuitous (I'm not complaining, this book wasn't kid friendly to begin with), and I'm ultimately thankful that the sexual violence is kept off page.
Overall this is a great read, and if you like the revenge genre (or even mob style gangster movies) this is likely a great book for you. Added to that, it costs less than a movie ticket, and likely takes as long to read. That's value. Some might have preferred to pay a bit more for glossy pages, but I'm perfectly happy with the paper stock as is.
Next week I'll jump into some Batman, the way I like my Batman.
Hmmm......worth a look then. I think you've sold me on a perusal. Shall have a look at the LCS next time I'm there. Good stuff Westy.
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