Member Reviews
My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
As a sixty six year old grumpy Yorkshireman I do not think I maybe target audience for this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it.Well written and researched with a clever mix of fictional and real life historical characters this is an entertaining start to this series. A poignant touching coming of age forbidden love story. Atmospheric descriptive intelligent and engaging from first to last page. Not the amount of action I am used to in this genre but thoroughly recommended.
An excellent historical fiction book set during the Viking Age! You follow Skarfr and Hild in 11th century Orkney and I thought the historical aspects here were great. The prose was really good and the characters were interesting. Skarfr is a great protagonist.
An immersive coming of age tale set in Viking Age Orkney filled with court intrigue, sea voyages, and a society where two belief systems battle. The historic details are accurate but lightly woven... I was so intrigued by the premise of this book and it honestly was so much better than I expected it to be it is an incredible read.
This book feels like looking into the past through a window; the story is so richly detailed that you can't help but get pulled in. Add to that elements of mystery and magic and you've got a wonderful, atmospheric tale.
A Viking epic, perfect for fans of The Last Kingdom and Vikings. This story follows a family who discovers their fates.
Many thanks to The 13th Sign and Jean Gill for the advanced copy of The Ring Breaker via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.
This title is definitely much more Historical Fiction than Sci Fi & Fantasy.
The prose is also really quite dry. It is very well researched and the author obviously has a passion and great insight into this period of time. However, for me, this did not make up for the fact that the main bulk of the story, especially as the book developed, was really just quite dry.
Moods: adventurous
Pace: slow
Character development: weak
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: low
Rating 3/5
The Ring Breaker is a deeply researched, richly textured historical fiction set in the Viking culture, with a story that combines coming-of-age and romance plots. I enjoyed the author's lyrical prose, poetic elements, and allusions to Norse mythology. A good read for fans of fantasy and historical fiction who enjoy detailed world-building, myths reimagined, and ancient worlds.
This is an excellent example of well-researched and fully immersive Historical Fiction! Gill certainly did her homework on the Viking age and it absolutely shows. It's grounded in truth, but it still gives us wonderfully impactful story-telling and elements of the fantastical. It's epic and thought-provoking and contains that incredibly adventurous Viking spirit, while not being too gory or violent, which I appreciated.
One very unique aspect to this book that I absolutely LOVED, was it's parallel to the structure of the Norse Epics and Sagas! I've read a handful of them and this was such a wonderful tribute to that form of storytelling. I especially loved Gill's use of poetry, reflective of the use of poetry in the great Epics. As a fan of the genre and a scholar of history, that was a nice treat!
The scope of this book is massive, the only thing that threw me a bit was the time jumps towards the end, but other than that it was relatively easy to follow. There's a lot of place names, and characters with similar names; but that's to be expected in this genre, and with the Vikings especially.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in the Viking Age or in Historical Fiction, and I cannot wait for the next one!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC to review!
This book tells the story of Skarfr, a boy forged in the cruelty of his foster father, and Hlif, a young girl forever marked by her father’s actions. Both of them will fight to leave behind their past and shape a new future, one without their fathers' shadows that are constantly haunting them.
I really loved the story, the strength of the characters, how they fight to change what’s written. Totally recommend!!
Thank you to NetGalley and The 13th Sign for the advance reader copy.
Beautifully written and engaging. A fantastic take on the viking lore of the Orkneys. Really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
3.5 stars!
The writing style of this book reminded me of G. A. Henty's historical fiction books, but slightly more modern. It's told in third person point of view with glimpses into Skarfr's thoughts, but there is an essence of detachment as well, like the reader is floating above all of the scenes rather than standing nearby. However, I found it fitting for the story!
One of my favorite things about this book is that there were lots of facts and true-to-the-time elements. Many modern historical fiction books tend to keep a lot of 21st century attitudes and lifestyle elements. The Ring Breaker felt like I was stepping right into the time of the Vikings in 1139 in an accessible way! (I especially loved the author's note at the end explaining where some of the storyline came from.)
Skarfr was a strong character, and he definitely grew by the end of the book. It was interesting watching his opinion of women formulate over time due to his own experiences rather than what others say. I really liked Hlif as a character, but she was not in focus for a lot of the later portions of the book, which made it harder to see much growth on her end. Also, I'm going to be honest, it took me a while to finally solidify the difference between Thorbjorn, Rognvald, and Sweyn in my mind.
There was a lot of time-jumping, where years would go by. The only time it felt a little odd was near the end, when it just felt like a lot was happening all at once, but we were also skipping several months at a time.
I also appreciated how generally clean this book was, especially since it was told in the time of the Vikings who were notoriously nasty. However, there was one scene near the beginning (that a lot of the book is hinged on), and I felt like it could have been slightly more vague and the readers would have understood what was happening.
Overall, this is a grand adventure type of book, where the reader follows Skarfr as he grows into a man over many years. I never felt the story lag and I always felt compelled to read more. I feel like I stepped into one of the saga's that the skalds talked about!
The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, so I would be interested to read the next book and see more of Skarfr and Hlif's lives!
Jean Gill’s ‘The Ring breaker’ explores Viking sagas in a human way.
A boy rejected by his father and left to die as a baby and a girl cursed because of the sins of her father meet on a beach, neither one knowing their fates would become so entwined. The Ring Breaker follows the story of real life Jarl Rognvald from the perspective of fictional Skafr. Loyalties are made and questioned, respect earned and thwarted. There is so much about this book to love. The confusion and growth of young love. The learning of what it means to be a man by a boy we watch grow up.
Jean Gill weaves the story together as if it were itself an epic saga. Reading it felt as though going out to sea with gentle waves and calm breeze leading to dangerous storms and calm once more. I look forward to the next book and to learn what more the gods have in store for Skafr and Hlif.
biggest thanks to netgalley for the ARC!
okay... i feel like an uncultured jerk for seeing such a disconnect between the glowing reviews and my own. this is by no means a bad book, and the author is clearly immensely skilled—the prose is elegant, the historical basis is well-researched, and in particular, i (as a fan/translator of epic poetry) really appreciated the emphasis on the craft of creating epics! all that's to say that it's abundantly clear that a LOT of good work went into this novel. it has all the elements of an instant favorite for me.
it was just. so... boring.
the start was STRONG. i was instantly hooked and super excited to learn more, especially since i know vvery little about vikings/norse mythology. i was prepared to go along for a ride. then about a quarter through, the momentum slowed to a plod, and i waited for it to return. it never really did. i could not tell you much of what happens in this book and i feel /terrible/ for it.
after some consideration, i think my main issue is the protagonist. i don't really have any sense of his goals, desires, flaws (besides being a boring doormat), or... anything, really. i don't think he has much of a personality. i wish hlif or inge or even that annoying kid could've had a voice, since i can recall more about them. i had similar issues with the jasmine throne and the traitor baru cormorant; the former, at least, had chapters focused on the more interesting side characters, while baru benefited from having a slightly more compelling plot. i don't feel that from skarfr here.
i was grateful to learn more about this area in history, and as i said, the writing is pretty solid. the only flaw is the terribly boring protagonist... that just happens to be a big flaw for me to get past. i'll probably still check out the upcoming books in this series, because i do really like this world and the level of attention put into this.
3.5 stars
The Ring Breaker by Jean Gill is a well-crafted historical story that evokes the brutal but rich Viking world. It is based during a time when there was a great deal of tension between the fading religion of the old gods and the growing Christian faith, as well as the uneasy alliance between the ruling Jarls of Orkney.
Against this backdrop, we are introduced to Skarfr, an orphan who is initially placed in the care of a Skald (like a Bard) until he is introduced to the intrigue of the Jarl Court. There he meets another orphan, Hlif and they forge a bond, determined to step out of the shadows of the sins of their fathers.
I made the decision this year to read more historical novels and I am pleased to say, I very much enjoyed this book. I think it helped that I knew very little about the Vikings and the history going into this story. It is beautifully written, immersive and manages to capture the dramatic and stunning landscape of Orkney well. I found myself completely lost in the story and adored the character development of Hlif with her quiet intelligence and perseverance.
The story weaves historical fact and fiction seamlessly, and I really appreciated how much research has gone into this novel. Although, it uses old place names and language from the time, I didn’t particularly find this off putting.
I would caution any reader who is expecting a typical blood thirsty Viking fantasy (this is not it). Any fantasy elements are intertwined with the cultural and political beliefs of the time, providing a richness to story.
I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital arc to review.
"In the twilight of the old gods, when the last Vikings rule the seas, two cursed orphans meet on an Orkney beach and their fates collide."
The Ring Breaker is the first book of the new series by Jean Gill. This story has the vibes of a historical novel, the setting is in detail described and overall well-built. The narration is for my taste slow, I did not cling to the main character. As a non-native speaker, I strugled sometimes with language. The author has ornate storytelling skills. I like the usage of nordic mythology and I can recommend this book to anyone who loves a slow epic story with Viking vibes.
ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and I am really grateful for this opportunity.
This review will be posted on my Goodreads account on Monday the 3rd of October 2022.
The story is set in Orkney during the 1100s. And that’s about it. I did read it all, but I can’t remember anything. I was so very confused during this whole story. I read the same chapters a few times but couldn’t make sense of it. It wasn’t the names of the characters or locations that threw me off… I can’t put my finger on what it was I didn’t connect to.
I did appreciate the tone, I guess, how Jean Gill writes, that was pretty nice.
honestly, this one is on me i didn't read the copy as closely as i should have so i managed to convince myself it was more fantasy than historical fiction. four stars because i can't fault it for THAT but i do fault it for really hard to follow dialogue shifts.
The Ring Breaker by Jean Hill
In the twilight of the old gods, when the last Vikings rule the seas, two cursed orphans meet on an Orkney beach and their fates collide.
Stripped of honour, facing bleak loneliness ahead, Skarfr and Hlif forge an unbreakable bond as they come of age in the savage Viking culture of blood debts and vengeance. To be accepted as adults, Skarfr must prove himself a warrior and Hlif must learn to use women’s weapons. Can they clear their names and choose their destiny? Or are they doomed by their fathers’ acts?
I really enjoyed this book , great characters and descriptions of their way of living.
I am always conscious when reading books set in times so far back that authors give the demeanour / personality / voice of their characters using their own interpretation of how life may have been and therefore how the character would have gone through life .
I read about the first quarter of this book and decided it wasn’t for me. I usually love historical fiction, but perhaps this place in time is not for me. While I appreciate the hard work and effort the author put into the research of this book, I was turned off my the usage of old English. Maybe its because I don’t read much of this, but I was unfamiliar with so many terms, and I couldn’t even figure out what they were by using the context. No way would I be able to become engaged with a story like this. However, if you are into deeply researched and thought out Viking historical fiction books then I recommend you pick this one up.
Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an early sneak peak into these works in return for an honest opinion.