Stormcrow
Ireland, AD 995, and Finn Thorgilsson, son of a Norse settler, goes to move cattle to the summer pasture. When he returns home, his father is dead, murdered. Finn swears vengeance, gets aboard a longship, and launches on a saga-like series of adventures.
Two things lift this story from the run-of-the-mill Viking adventure: the quality of the writing, and Finn’s friend. The story is written in Finn’s voice, but the star is his friend, Vekel. Vekel is different. Vekel is a seiðr: a prophet, a sorcerer – and a cross-dresser. He goes to sea wearing a dress, make-up, and necklace.
This is not something that Kane made up in order to be fashionable now. Evidence shows that prophecy in the Viking world was women’s province. A man pursuing this calling was expected to be effeminate. Many stories feature encounters with a prophet, but they are enigmatic ciphers, rarely explored in themselves. While Vekel commands this ‘otherness’ of a seer, he is also Finn’s childhood friend, and Finn’s close-up view makes him human. Vekel is refreshingly different – and very entertaining. Otherwise, Stormcrow delivers the expectations of a Viking warrior story. Ireland’s many small kingdoms, with Norse enclaves, provide opportunities for lots of fighting.
I thought the fight scenes well-written. I confess to skimming overly drawn-out fights in other books, but the ones here kept me focussed with a variety of fast, sharp – and very believable – action. It would be a spoiler to reveal too much, but I thought the motivations in Finn’s romance were insufficiently justified. I also felt the ending had too little closure: it was clearly a set-up for a sequel. But I would read it – especially if Vekel remains onboard.
