Shackled Fates

The world-building is what I would describe as lush. I know that word is usually used to describe worlds in books, but I seldom disagree.
However, the worldbuilding in Northern Wrath is accurate. It made me feel like I was coming home again.
The tribe of Ash-Hill and Ash-Hill itself are definitely culturally accurate (which is a thing that tends to be a hit and miss with authors who try their hand at writing about Norse culture).
The worldbuilding has space for all the customs and the culture that people seem to forget Norsemen had, and it distinguishes between the Vikings (the warriors who would go on raids in the summer) and the farmers, who usually stayed and took care of their settlement.
People, in my experience, often reduce Norse culture to raiding Vikings which puts the culture as a whole into a very bad light.
Shackled Fates expands on the worldbuilding set in Northern Wrath by introducing Asgard, with the various halls of the gods and Ida’s plain, the battlegrounds that the Ragnarok will take place on.
It also introduces a number of new mythological figures and the like.
Once again, I loved everything about this book, because, like Northern Wrath, reading Shackled Fates reminded me of why I feel so at home in Norse mythology.
And I also liked how one of the underlying themes of the book is the conversion to Christianity.
As a pagan, this was very refreshing for me to read because the Christians – the southerners and Harald, the King of the Danes – were the antagonists for once.
Hilda, my poor, poor girl, remains my favorite character, and, having to witness her character arc change once again, I am excited to see where her path will take her in the next book.
I enjoyed Kold Holdt’s take on Loki. I have read multiple interpretations of his character, and it was interesting to be able to compare yet another, new version to the rest of them!
I take back what I said about Ragnar in my review of Northern Wrath. As I suspected, his character arc was only in the beginning stages, and now that the poor man has finally been told what his purpose is, I found his chapters to be quite comforting in the (albeit also very comforting) whirlwind that is Shackled Fates.

Shackled Fates is the second book in the Hanged God Trilogy and the sequel to Northern Wrath. As Ragnarok looms, the trickster Loki breaks free from his chains.

All of the main characters from the first book continue in Shackled Fates. Einer continues to scour the nine worlds for Hilda, who walks among gods and goddesses, searching for the truth of the Runes. We gradually see how their fates are shackled and entwined together, even in the afterlife. All these events are tied up to what I think will eventually lead to Ragnarok.

The worldbuilding continues to be beautiful with imagery and depth that is superb. I felt swept along and immersed within the world, the myths, the Viking lore and the characters, just like the first book. If you love your Norse god's, oh boy, are you in for a treat. In Shackled Fates, there are more gods and giants in this instalment than I could ever hope for.

The characters are so well written and diverse. As with the first book, It is the dialogue between characters that brings them to life. You can see how each character affects someone else with their words or actions. The battle and fight scenes are vivid and well handled.

Shackled Fates was a brilliant book and sequel. I want to say a massive thank you to Rebellion publishing for allowing me to read this epic story.


Thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion for the e-arc