Ulfhildr

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Ulfhildr' by Mary Thaler. I enjoyed epics like Beowulf when I read them in college, but honestly never sought them out afterward. This is a refreshing take as I've never read one with a woman as the protagonist before. The meter makes it feel like one of the ancient works it's stylized from. I think there's a very nice balance here between the epic story having depth, but also being accessible. It doesn't feel like I need a professor helping me figure out what something means. The context is enough to fill gaps and keep this a 'light' read.

I would definitely welcome more modern epics like 'Ulfhildr'. It was fun to read something in a completely different vein than I've seen for a long time.

I enjoyed this short book of poetry. The author did a very good job of capturing the meter and emotion of the Anglo-Saxon style. Having read Beowulf several times, I felt the similarities. An engaging and complex heroine is presented through the work, and we see how a female leader might have acted in such a difficult time. An enjoyable thought experiment told through a challenging historic style.

The author has done an outstanding job of writing a faux Norse epic in Anglo-Saxon meter. A fantasy, set in a Nordic country, the ballad tells of a queen, Ulfhildr, who, after her husband, the king, is killed, seeks revenge but dies herself. I only caught one or two kennings [poetic expressions for certain nouns] which were a hallmark of these epics. She is called a "shield-maiden", which I always thought was a term used ONLY for Valkyries, divine women who carried dead warriors to Valhalla. In this case, maybe the author meant woman warrior? I give kudos to Ms. Thayer for her effort.

Excellent read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Anglo-Saxon meter and style are bang on and the tale it tells is interesting and captivating. Put me in the mood to reread Beowulf. Great work!