Johanne Hildebrandt

The Unbroken Line of the Moon tells roughly the tale of the first dynasty of Sweden from the point of view of Queen Sigrid the Haughty (who may or may not have been real). It is very loosely based on history, but the history is so debated and mixed with myth that it is hard to tell what really happened anyway.

There are aspects of the book that will make it a love it or hate it read- it is unflinchingly brutal in its depiction of Viking battles and culture, it can easily be read as show more anti-Christian, and the protagonist is rather un-likable. Stick with me though, because you are going to think I didn't like the book, when I really thought it was excellent and challenging.

The book is brutal. It should probably have all sorts of content warnings- rape, incest, extreme violence, slavery, human sacrifice. Pretty much if humans do something terrible, it is in this book. I actually started reading it twice. The first time I put it down because the brutality was just too much, but upon revisiting it, I found the story worth pursuing in spite of it all. The author is a well-known and award winning Swedish war correspondent. She covered the wars in Iraq and Bosnia, and I feel like this has given her a critical eye to the horrors of war especially as they are wrought upon women. Definitely not for everyone, but if you give it a chance there is much to learn. I think that there is an argument to be made that not enough books are available by women with an intimate knowledge of war and that tell stories of the impact of war on women. This book is one of these rare cases, and it is fascinating because of that.

The book can be read as anti-Christian because it is told from the point of view of the Norse people as they fight for their culture against Christianity. The protagonist is an extremely devout worshiper of Freya and this propels the plot. A second important character is possessed by a lesser Norse deity and is driven to pursue violent revenge on the Christian priests who wronged her. The characters hate the Christians and the Christians are portrayed as demon-possessed worshipers of evil. Many are brutally murdered without remorse. But you know what- so what? Christianity has indeed wrought many horrific things throughout history, including on the Norse, so it is kind of refreshing to hear history told from the point of view of those who were on the non-Christian side. As far as the way that the Norse pantheon is treated I found it to be a very compelling way to treat religion in fiction. You never doubt that the characters have devout and unwavering faith in the Norse gods, and believe their actions to be guided by Freya and the Norns. Nevertheless, in every situation there is a way to read the story so that all of the supposedly supernatural events can be explained by human action. I think writers who want to know how to weave the supernatural into their stories could take a masterclass from Hildebrandt.

Finally, the protagonist is not very likable. She is based on a historical/mythological figure named Sigrid the Haughty, and she lives up to the name. She is proud, she is vain, she is insufferably self-righteous, she commits heinous crimes to protect herself and her children. And she is fascinating. You want to find out how she climbs from a farm girl to a powerful queen. Sometimes folks complain that there aren't enough good female antiheroes because people don't like to read books about unlikable women. Well, if you are one of those critics and want to read a book about an unlikable woman, this is a good one.

In the end it is absolutely amazing how these parts that could be so off-putting are woven together into a story that is compelling, thoughtful, and you want to read more of. In the end, I liked it, and I would read the next book (which comes in English in October 2017), but I would only recommend it to people who I thought would appreciate it in spite of the rough parts. show less

As others have noted, this book has a fair amount of sex and violence, including rape. Some of the violence is graphic enough that it made me cringe. That said, it didn't feel gratuitous. It made sense in the context of the world and was not trivialized. With that disclaimer, on to the rest of my review.

I really enjoyed this book. Sigrid has the fate of her people in her hands as well as a fate given by the gods. She has to navigate the conflicting claims of family, faith, politics, and love show more in a world where violence is the primary source of power.

One thing I particularly appreciated was that Sigrid was not modernized for the sake of the reader. Hildebrandt wrote unapologetically about a heroine and a society that had many horrible traits, including slavery and human sacrifice. Avoiding romanticizing Sigrid or her world contributed significantly to the quality of the narrative. show less

The Unbroken Line of the Moon There was a lot to love here, but also some places that require trigger warnings. Those would be for rape, gang rape, sex, and violence. The violence probably seems obvious because Vikings, the rape and gang rape weren't entirely expected for me. Despite the stories about the women enjoying a higher level of equality than most of their contemporaries, it will put you on edge about the treatment of their women even when they aren't being raped. Even with all show more that, though, it's pretty masterful.
There's a lot to love and gush about. The storytelling in general was great, with the inner lives of both men and women of the ruling class well balanced. The characters are three dimensional and I felt like a good understanding of their intentions and  reasoning was given at every turn. The plot moves beautifully at a steady and fast pace. Each character has their own interests and the way those interests intersect or run in contrast to each other brings a great amount of tension to the story and moves the plot along.
Then there's the actual Viking stuff. I'm not well read or researched in Norse mythology, legend, or history, so it all read to me the same as the world building of say, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Here's the thing, even when tapping into existing mythology, legend and history of an area, an author can still royally mess up transferring the feeling of it all onto the page. Hildebrandt does the world building beautifully, though. The writing gave a good understanding of the mythology and the associated mysticism that the story was dealing with without it feeling like writing. The rituals and sacrifices and such were interesting and different, though I have no idea how faithful they are to the actual religion of the time. I looked through some other reviews and others on Goodreads did say that the overall representation of the Vikings was accurate.
The religion was woven well into the story and done in a way that makes it seem like religion was central to this people and this conflict. It was interesting to see the way Christians were viewed in the story. Referring to them as "cross worshippers" gave away the derogatory feelings the main characters had toward Christianity and the Christians of the story better than simply talking about not liking them. It relates well how the Vikings of the "old religion" felt about this new religion that was spreading in their ranks. The religion of the main characters was a central part of the motivation for them and their actions, which isn't something I see a lot in my reading.
As mentioned above, there were also several places where they talk about the accuracy of the historical nature of the story. Rape and gang rape do happen within the story and in realistic ways. The women involved are then denounced in realistic ways. These are still things that happen and that are still reputed to happen in much this same way. While a part of me wants to say to not be surprised, I also get that much of our historical fiction glosses over these parts of our histories, makes them seem like they weren't a thing, or skips the scene and goes more into the aftermath. Some even like to give consequences for perpetrating such a crime that are still not all that common or, worse, excuse the perpetrators by writing it so that the victim has blame in some part of it. Hildebrandt does none of that.
I get why it can be surprising to find it here. Honestly, a part of me was surprised to find the rape and gang rape and accounts of forced prostitution in a fictional book too but then again, Game of Thrones. The realistic nature of the lives of the women is what is preserved by including these tragic pieces of life. It's not enjoyable to read about, but I think it's necessary to include in something like this where it seems that the realistic lives of women was a focus the story specifically meant to highlight, so I do appreciate it in the same way that I appreciate it when some those ghastly scenes are in Game of Thrones. Contrary to some of the more memorable scenes of rape in Game of Thrones (Sansa on her wedding night), the emphasis is on the victim and some of what she goes through. These authors aren't doing these things to women, they just aren't going to let it get swept under the rug that they still happen in wartime and that they happened then. They aren't going to ignore this was and is a thing and a problematic one.
Overall, it's an outstanding book, especially if appreciate when the women in any given conflict are not overlooked or erased from whatever part of the story they were in. To infer that half the population of any group didn't have anything at all to do with something happening on their land is ridiculous. Women are affected by war too, especially when it happens in our backyards. We may not have always been in the battlefield, but that doesn't mean that we had nothing to do with any of it. And if you think we weren't on the battlefield at all, try checking out Corsets to Camouflage after this just to get started.
You may notice that this is a series and it is the first to be translated into English. It is the fourth book in the series in it's original language and I didn't see an explanation for why they were translated out of order, but there was a hypothesis somewhere that it is being translated in chronological order of the events rather than publish order or perhaps by which is the most interesting. I'm not sure. I hope they translate the others, though, because this was amazing and I want to see what happens with Estrid. show less

I came across this novel while looking for Norse mythology inspired fiction. Though there is a supernatural aspect to the story, seeresses and divine protection, the gods do not physically appear or take a role. This falls more firmly into historical fiction than fantasy, which is an advantage here.

Though the synopsis implies a love triangle storyline, I was glad that was not the case. Sigrid is initially torn between her duty and her heart, but her choice is made quickly and the show more consequences of it are only one aspect of the narrative. The worldbuilding is very strong. I was immediately immersed in the period, witnessing the "war" between Christianity and Norse Paganism through the eyes of Sigrid. Sigrid is a devotee of the goddess Freya, with a destiny to match her faith. She is an excellent protagonist, strong but flawed - a complex and fully developed character. Though no other characters are as fully realized, most have some depth and the potential for more.

Overall, this was an excellent novel and I have already ordered the sequel, Etrid. Highly recommended to fans of Norse mythology, but also historical fiction fans. show less