Blood in the snow
The main character of this story is engaged in hunting wolves, the most magical and dangerous creatures in her world. Their blood fuels Naklav’s economy, is addictive, causes madness. Without it, the island’s northern city would not be an important transportation hub and a center for fortune telling.
The name Juva comes from the Norwegian word for emptiness, and this metaphor describes very well the situation of a girl whose life is based on hunting and cutting off from her family, destiny, “natural talents” that her mother tries to convince her of. From meaningless family secrets, a painful childhood, the eternal coldness of a noble home where she feels more like a prisoner than a daughter. As you can see, the dark cover of this volume perfectly reflects its interior – the scarred heroine will have to fight, during which all of them will open again, until the air around her is obscured by a red mist. Iron Wolf is a bloody and sad story. Real dark fantasy .
Reading blood
If you have already had contact with the world of Pettersen, you know that blood has a special meaning in it. It is a source of magic, an elixir of eternal life, a sign of belonging, and the basis of rituals. You just need to know who to play it with and how to use it, without losing your freedom or your head. In Naklava, a lot of what I mentioned is about wolf gosh.
It is used by fortune-tellers and fairies who read from blood, surrounded by a halo of mystery and the fear of the population, as well as property appropriate to the social position. Together with the priests and the city council, they determine local politics. They keep up the rituals. They advise on how to live. It is to them that the inhabitants of all Svartna make pilgrimages.
The secrets and darkness of the family home are just what Juva does not want, although he has an abundance. She does not want a power based, in her opinion, on lies and a theatrical nativity scene for the naive. Unfortunately, as a result of various dramatic events, she will have to return to the diligently abandoned care and deal with the matters that she has been pushing away for so long that it gave her classic PTSD. But after all, she is a tough girl with faithful, resourceful friends – somehow she will manage.
Iron cage
The title Iron Wolf does not refer to a Russian fairy tale, it does not come from a legend … although it has a lot to do with the secrets that read from blood. Juva calls that someone who scared her a lot in her childhood and then (probably) killed her father – the only warm person close to her. The only “but” is that the murderer existed … only in her imagination. When he returns to his family home, he lets memories and fear crawl out of the darkness of his mind, analyzes them, tries to confront them – so much so that in the end he will turn his whole world upside down.
I am telling you about the first volume of Vardari as enigmatic as possible – everything matters here, as in a detective novel. Sometimes a long-established meaning turns out to be completely misunderstood, irrational inventions can lead to drastic errors, but also reveal the truth. Together with Juva, you will get lost and find in this thicket, networks of understatements and lies, carefully and for centuries woven by the hands of blood readers and eternal. After all, where blood flows, immortality is possible.
I am very pleased with Siri Pettersen’s return to the world of Raven Rings . Vardari is on the one hand a natural extension (or rather a look from the other side) to that universe, on the other – a completely new thing. The writer said in interviews that from the point of view of chronology we are dealing with an almost direct continuation of the first story – but we are in a completely different place, with heroes who have no idea what happened before. Therefore, wherever you start, you will fall into a complicated, terribly old mystery, a world hidden under the appearance of everyday life, from which the main character suddenly has to shake off. This time without any gentle introduction – Iron Wolf is a leap into deep, dark and frighteningly cold water.
