Time for another book, guys! This time we’re going for something a little shorter than usual: a novella. In this case it’s a thriller with a strong vein of real-world legend and mythology from history. But let’s be clear here: This is no Born of Shadow. You’ll see what I mean soon enough.
I’ve been a fan of author Joanna Penn’s nonfiction work for some time now. Her site, newsletter, & podcast are rich with resources for those of us in the writing field. But I decided that it was about time to check out some of her fiction work. After all, when someone’s giving out writing advice, one thing I do want to do is whether or not their own work is up to par. And yes, I definitely have seen at least once instance where I ended up finding it very questionable that someone would be giving such scathing criticism, especially comparing their own work to what they were criticizing.)
But enough of that. While a Viking-related title honestly wasn’t something that really drew me, since I wanted to check out her work and it was free the lead magnet for her fiction mailing list, Day of the Vikings: An Arkane Thriller was the natural choice as my first J. F. Penn book.
The story features as it leads Dr. Morgan Sierra and museum researcher Blake Daniel. It’s a clever move, as each of those characters is also featured in a series of their own. So rather than this being an introduction to one series, it’s actually an introduction to two different ones, and you have a choice of which character you would like to see more of, as well as which genre or subgenre, as the featured series seem to differ in focus and content, based on the info I have so far.
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Meet The Stars, Meet the Story
Our leading lady is Dr. Morgan Sierra, an expert on religious psychology who currently works for the Arcane Religious Knowledge And Numinous Experience Institute—also known simple as the ARKANE Institute, or simply ARKANE, for short. The organization’s public face is as a collection of academic minds whose work centers around things like religious artifacts.
But behind the scenes they’re up to grittier matters, working to solve supernatural mysteries and crimes whilst keeping the general public blissfully unaware of the same.
(There’s a gif I’m very tempted to pull out right about now…..)
And then there’s Blake Daniel. He’s a charming researcher who spends his days locked away in his studies and his nights making “very poor decisions,” to use the sugarcoated version. Why the schizoid flip-flopping? It might have something to do with the small matter of being a psychometric—he can read the history of objects by touching them. And hint-hint—historical artifacts often come with some gnarly memories and emotions attached. Hope the guy doesn’t happen to start specializing in the study of ritual knives.
Ah, and speaking of those…we get to see plenty use of them in the story. A gang of Neo-Vikings is set upon bringing down Ragnarok—essentially a form of the Apocalypse. (Because we all know how well that would go!) And besides the spectacularly daring thefts they’re committing, they’re also slashing a bloody trail of human sacrifices as part of the prep work. This has gotta be some of the most unappetizing mis en place ever.
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I've been a fan of author Joanna Penn's nonfiction work for some time now. Her site, newsletter, & podcast are rich with resources for those of us in the writing field. But I decided that it was about time to check out some of her fiction work.Click To Tweet===
It’s already a shortish story—novella, remember—and I don’t want to spoil it, so that’s all you’ll get to know about the plot.
So let’s talk about the execution instead.
I’d actually like to start with the negatives and save the brighter aspects for last.
The Challenges
Negative Number One:
Sierra’s temper. I don’t mind a fiery lady. Bloody heck, I AM an extremely fiery and passionate lady myself.
But…the way her anger was described in the book often didn’t connect with me. It ended up feeling forced and repetitive, and like I was simply being told that she was upset but couldn’t really feel it crossing over from her to myself. I was definitely angry in my own right at the villains, but I didn’t have that experience the author shoots for of actually absorbing the protagonist’s feelings in a way.
Negative Number One & a Half:
I’m not making this a full negative because it’s more a matter of personal taste and expectation. Blake ended up not being featured in the story for as long a duration as I’d expected. Given what training and clearance he did and didn’t have, it does make sense in the context of the story, and realistically the more logical choice was made here by the author. So I can’t really fault her for that.
The issue is more that I’d gotten the impression that he’d stick around longer, and was thus thrown by the solo parts.
So I think you’ll be happier if you go into the story not taking for granted how long you’ll get to watch these two interact. It’s not that the author was stingy about it; it’s just that it won’t be a continuous thing.
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The Good Stuff
So, with those two caveats, now we can get to the list of the good stuff.
A. The character balance.
Our two leads are each distinct and have their own set of skills and their own role to play in the story. Each is very much needed and there for a reason. (I think that’s one thing Joanna and others have noted about shorter fiction—it really forces you to cut out the extraneous stuff and really make sure that each part of the story justifies its existence.) The characters are also different psychologically (though they also have similarities), which gives them another layer of both interest and variation within the confines of a short work of fiction.
I did mention before that I had issues with the attempts to convey Morgan’s anger, and that holds true. However, that also melded into another topic—her coming to terms with some of the darker elements of her mind—and I felt like that was rather intriguing, added a sense of thematic depth, and was also executed more successfully than just the ordinary anger.
And I also very much appreciated the much-needed—and skillfully and subtly executed—flashes of character growth and realization that Blake ended up showing.
B. The fighting.
Though at times I was surprised by the restraint shown, I also felt that it made the story seem very grounded and much truer to how things would probably play out in real life, in terms of the limitations you’d have working more or less solo against numerous armed and much larger assailants, especially the more skilled ones. And of course the male-female strength difference is also a factor (one that neither whining nor denial will change, any more than it would change the speed difference that exists between a human and a whippet).
I do understand fantasy and artistic license, and I don’t expect every story to be very realistic. Heck, for all the touches of realism, this story is also a pretty fantastical one at its core! But I also do respect it when stories remain more grounded. So even though I was admittedly chomping at the bit some, I was also able to accept it when Morgan didn’t really have the option to go for it.
And here’s the cool thing: When she does fight, it’s great. I really enjoyed both the overall fight choreography and the situational awareness that our Krav-Maga-trained leading lady showed in navigating both the fights and other elements like the chases and even captivity moments. @thecreativepenn #ARKANE #fiction #novella #novellas #history #historical #thriller #thrillers
C. The gripping story.
I feel like this came primarily from a trio of factors. Listed in no particular order:
1. The description was detailed and immersive.
2. The story moved forward at a constant clip.
Even during the quieter moments or flashbacks, something was always happening or being revealed. I’ve of course heard it said before that this is the purpose of a scene. To move the story forward either through either actions/events or revelations. Either an action happens that leads to the next part of the story, or information is revealed that also leads to the next part of the story. For example, discovering that someone is a double agent means that decisions will have to be made about how to handle the situation (and whether or not to even believe the revelation in the first place). Either way there will need to be consequences in the story.
This point also feeds into the third factor.
3. Fascinating information.
Aided by the notes you’ll find at the end of the story, there’s a lot of mention of real-life locations and also of the myths and legends that belong to the mentioned cultures and groups. While it is fictionalized, it’s also downright fascinating and had me wanting to look up a number of things for myself.
Amongst other things, I now know why Odin only has one eye. Who knew I'd be getting major Naruto vibes from Thor's world? Click To Tweet=
I feel that those three factors really combined to make for an engaging story that holds your focus throughout. (Though I will say as a very minor caveat that starting with a description of the surroundings didn’t actually connect with me. It also made me actively want to avoid doing that myself, unless I make it very striking right from the first line. The descriptions in the opening lines (not counting the quote, which was great!) were pretty, but didn’t really hook me. Think it may have been better to move them slightly further along in the prologue.
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I very much appreciated the much-needed—and skillfully and subtly executed—flashes of character growth and realization that Blake ended up showing. Click To Tweet I really enjoyed both the overall fight choreography & the situational awareness that the Krav-Maga-trained Sierra showed in navigating both the fights and the other situations. Click To Tweet===
Target Audience
Those of you who’ve read my review for Born of Shadow may have noticed similar elements between the books. True, both stories incorporate legends and actual historical events that both hail from real life, as well as creating fictionalized concepts and events centering around the real events and people. They’re both packed chock-full of intriguing tidbits and I joyfully immersed myself in those details and tipped my hat at the very evident and considerable research and study that each author had put into their respective book.
But let me make this clear. Day of the Vikings is NOT Born of Shadow, and I cannot make the same audience recommendations. Why? That can mainly be summed up in two words: BLOOD EAGLE.
To expand on the point, while Shadow definitely has some substantial violence and disturbing moments, Vikings is considerably darker and more graphic. The level of gory, cruel, vividly described violence means that I wouldn’t consider this suitable for as large an age range. I’d only recommend Day of the Vikings for adults and perhaps mid-to-late teens. (Probably 15 as a bare minimum, though the older the better.)
And of course everyone doesn’t have the same stomach for this kind of content…hence my content warnings! Being an adult doesn’t automatically mean you’ll care to “watch” all of this stuff go down.
And I’d also like to say that with the kind of words and behaviors I’ve seen from youngsters, I’m especially aware that premature exposure and desensitization to violence is not something I’m keen on. The current culture is already extremely screwed up, ignorant, illogical, and out of touch with reality from a sexual standpoint and the children and teens these days show that especially clearly (though I’m aware not all are like this, of course). We don’t need to add increased brutality to the mix as well, especially when there are already the present elements of glamorizing, encouraging, and defending sexual behavior that is violent, selfish, cruel, aggressive, and/or injurious, despite all the pretty lip service to the contrary.
(Though sexual violence itself isn’t really a factor in this particular story, to be clear. There are a few brief mentions of the Vikings’ sex crimes against the pillaged populations, but nothing gone into in detail or enough of a concern to merit trigger concerns. Heck, this is pretty much the opposite of a trigger warning; I didn’t want people to misconstrue what I was saying here on the broader topic of violence and how it connects to other matters.)
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So, with those caveats in mind, I’d very much recommend Day of the Vikings, which I ended up finding far more enjoyable and absorbing than the title had given me expectation of, and I’m also looking forward to checking out more of Joanna’s fiction work in the future.
If you’d like to receive a free copy of the novella, you can do so by joining her mailing list.
And don’t forget about checking out her writing site & podcast, both named The Creative Penn.
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