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Northlanders, Vol. 5: Metal And Other Stories (2011)

by Brian Wood(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1401231608 (ISBN13: 9781401231606)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Vertigo

series

Northlanders

review 1: Yet another strong entry in the Series by Brian Wood, who's obviously immensely talented. 3 stories in the 5th Volume, Girl in the Ice - about just that, a girl in the ice, and the old man who finds her; The Sea Road - about a ship captain who decides to strike out Westward into the open sea where none have ventured before, and what that brings him and his crew; and Metal, a 5 parter about a young Blacksmith and girl who find themselves together and pillaging/destroying all the Christianity that has crept into the Northlands.Girl in the Ice is simple in the beauty of a solitary man at the end of his days who fishes and finds the body of a young girl, becomes fixated on discovering how she ended up there, which puts his own life at risk. I really enjoyed this one for the so... morert of stoic dignity it gave the old man in the later years of his life, strong in ways younger people could never imagine.The Sea Road was an interesting take on the ship captain who said Fuck this, I'm going to do something bigger than haul cargo, and headed West into the unknown world. Along the way, he runs afoul of his crew, and they all come across strange creatures, feelings, and places until they reach the end of their journey in a final way.Metal is a good solid one, but the main character, Erik, is so dumb and high on mushrooms half the time, it did take away some of the dignity and grace I've felt from other characters. However I did really enjoy Wood's examination of Christianity in Norway in 1000AD era, and how corrupt and evil it was in exterminating the Old Ways from the Viking world. I also liked how Wood didn't let the Old Ways get off without a bit of a look at their downsides too. There's a bit more mysticism here, but that's OK for the mostpart until the end when it kind of goes off the rails.All in all a strong collection just like the rest. I'm sad that I'm nearing the end of this Series. It's been solid gold really. But I look forward to the last few Volumes, and then getting to read them all over again!
review 2: First book read in the Northlanders series. Everything about it reeks of Scandinavian storytelling. Things get ugly and the endings aren't clearly defined. It is possible to look at this book and write it off as being cynical or purposely depressing, but it's so much more than that. It is just life as it truly is, neither good nor bad. Things happen, messes get made, and people move on. It's amazing. less

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