In an alternate world where magic works, the Holy Roman Empire still rules Europe, the time of the Renaissance has come, with very different results. Norway is still pagan, and a sacred relic, the Armring of Telemark, has been stolen from Odin's temple. Without it, truce-oaths cannot be renewed and bloody war with the Empire will follow. Signy, the older stepsister to the King Vortenbras is accused. When she disappears, most think it proof of her gult. Her only partisan, the Corsair-Captain Cair, knows that she had been carried off and is determined to find and rescue her. Cair is an educated man, and a hardened skeptic, thinking that all talk of magic is nonsense. As he and Prince Manfred of Brittany set out to rescue Signy, following her trail into the Underworld, battling trolls and other deadly supernatural creatures every step of the way, he will not only find that magic is very real, and dangerously so, but that he himself has a natural talent for it. A new novel set in the universe of the top-selling novels The Shadow of the Lion and This Rough Magic.
A Mankind Witch (Heirs of Alexandria)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Fulby
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The feel of A Mankind Witch very much matched the other books in the series, so if you enjoyed them I recommend this one.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
21 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Bunch
30 Jun 2005
By Walt Boyes
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are now three volumes in the Heirs of Alexandria Series, beginning with Shadow of the Lion. Unlike the first two, A Mankind Witch is not written jointly by David Freer and his two jolly collaborators, Eric Flint and Mercedes Lackey. This actually makes for a better book, since Freer is well known for tightly plotted, spare writing while the first two volumes were classic BFF (big fat fantasy).
What is very cool about this book is the way Freer simply drops us into the Milieu, without any explanation and avoids almost all infodumping throughout the book.
Like the first two novels, it is interesting on a different level if you know enough Original Time Line history to figure out who some of the characters are, like Loyola and his original band of Jesuits in the first two books, or Khaireddin Barbarossa in this one.
Even if you don't know any history, and are reading this book on the level of fantasy, rather than alternate history (both of which it supports famously well) you'll find lots of depth. Freer weaves both the Beowulf and Hamlet stories together to make a real adventure that races like the rapids in a river to its startling conclusion.
Read this book. This is Dave Freer's real breakout solo novel, and he deserves a much wider following.
Walt Boyes
The Bananaslug. at Baen's Bar
What is very cool about this book is the way Freer simply drops us into the Milieu, without any explanation and avoids almost all infodumping throughout the book.
Like the first two novels, it is interesting on a different level if you know enough Original Time Line history to figure out who some of the characters are, like Loyola and his original band of Jesuits in the first two books, or Khaireddin Barbarossa in this one.
Even if you don't know any history, and are reading this book on the level of fantasy, rather than alternate history (both of which it supports famously well) you'll find lots of depth. Freer weaves both the Beowulf and Hamlet stories together to make a real adventure that races like the rapids in a river to its startling conclusion.
Read this book. This is Dave Freer's real breakout solo novel, and he deserves a much wider following.
Walt Boyes
The Bananaslug. at Baen's Bar
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that works on many levels, and fun to boot!
3 July 2005
By L. Runkle
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
What happens when a skeptical Barbary corsair, a man of science and astronomy, is captured and made a thrall in Norway? What happens when a people who live life full of mythology are confronted with someone who's not afraid of spirits, curses, and otherworldly things, for he doesn't believe in them? What happens when uncanny plots are then put into motion?
A Mankind Witch is about the clash of worlds and cultures on many levels, and it's a fun read on many levels.
A Mankind Witch is part of the Heirs of Alexandria series, a fantastical alternate history in which magic works, and the famed Library of Alexandria never burned. But don't despair if you haven't read the other very good books in this series, _This Rough Magic_, and _The Shadow of the Lion_. A Mankind Witch stands very well on its own.
This book reads very well as a fantastical look at Norse Mythology, complete with Odin, trolls, dwarves, kobolds, elves, and witches. You can't go wrong putting Grieg on the soundtrack and settling in for a good read. Readers who have little or no acquaintance with Norse Mythology will very much enjoy this book without needing any deeper knowledge of the history behind it.
The book also reads very well as a satirical alternate history. As you recognize different people, you may find yourself snickering uncontrollably, and then reading to find how these people end up working together.
If you read it on both levels, and add in a further level of song and story, this is so very much fun. I'd swear that Mr. Freer used Grieg's _Hall of the Mountain King_ to help him pace the book - it starts quickly, and maintains the tension clear to the finale. I highly recommend this book.
A Mankind Witch is about the clash of worlds and cultures on many levels, and it's a fun read on many levels.
A Mankind Witch is part of the Heirs of Alexandria series, a fantastical alternate history in which magic works, and the famed Library of Alexandria never burned. But don't despair if you haven't read the other very good books in this series, _This Rough Magic_, and _The Shadow of the Lion_. A Mankind Witch stands very well on its own.
This book reads very well as a fantastical look at Norse Mythology, complete with Odin, trolls, dwarves, kobolds, elves, and witches. You can't go wrong putting Grieg on the soundtrack and settling in for a good read. Readers who have little or no acquaintance with Norse Mythology will very much enjoy this book without needing any deeper knowledge of the history behind it.
The book also reads very well as a satirical alternate history. As you recognize different people, you may find yourself snickering uncontrollably, and then reading to find how these people end up working together.
If you read it on both levels, and add in a further level of song and story, this is so very much fun. I'd swear that Mr. Freer used Grieg's _Hall of the Mountain King_ to help him pace the book - it starts quickly, and maintains the tension clear to the finale. I highly recommend this book.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
More please
1 July 2005
By H. Sowle
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In the third book in the Heirs of Alexandria series Dave Freer goes out on his own and does an outstanding job with it. He introduces a new protagonist, Cair, whose jaundiced view of everything magic is at odds with everything going on around him in the world that he has just been made a Thrall (slave) in. The book takes place in the cold Norse lands and for those with no knowledge of the mythology or the places it is weaved into the plot so you discover it with Cair as he goes along.
An incredible solo novel in the midst of collaborations with powerhouses Eric Flint and Mercedes Lackey, it is a must read for those who have enjoyed the first two novels in the series as well as for those who haven't but are fans of mythology and/or alternate history.
The only thing wrong with the book is that it ended, which just leaves me wanting more.
An incredible solo novel in the midst of collaborations with powerhouses Eric Flint and Mercedes Lackey, it is a must read for those who have enjoyed the first two novels in the series as well as for those who haven't but are fans of mythology and/or alternate history.
The only thing wrong with the book is that it ended, which just leaves me wanting more.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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