Depths of Vanalf

Grimnir Chronicles, Book 1

De: Brady Hunsaker

Narrado por: Marisa Calin, Raphael Corkhill, Matthew Lloyd Davies, James Meunier, Shakira Shute

The first book of an epic progression fantasy series inspired by Scandinavian folklore, The Witcher, and Dungeons & Dragons, where a young man named Hallik has been training his whole life to become a magic-wielder, or Grimnir, to keep his island safe. But when monsters breach the shield protecting his realm, Hallik must venture into the mystical cave of Vanalf to hone his skills to protect everything he holds dear.

Hallik has been training his whole life to become a Grimnir, a magic-wielder who can aid in keeping their island safe from the monster hordes outside the shield protecting them. Hundreds of years ago, Grimnirs created a shield around their island. Hallik has waited his whole life to become one of the elite Grimnir who can keep their enemies at bay.

But when monsters start showing up on the island, it appears they aren’t as safe as they thought. They’ll need more Grimnirs to ensure their safety, but to become a magic-wielder, they’ll need to traverse the depths of Vanalf, a cave system that connects the realms, making it the most dangerous place imaginable. Fortunately, there’s one ragtag crew that’s up to the task.

An epic progression fantasy inspired by Scandinavian folklore, The Witcher, and Dungeons & Dragons, The Depths of Vanalf is the first in an epic series that will leave you spellbound.

©2025 Brady Hunsaker (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great epic fantasy story!

I saw on social media that the author was channeling D&D for this story and I definitely feel like he nailed the vibes! The narrators were incredible, I could tell every character separately. I also thought the world building and storyline were well done. It took some time to get momentum in the story due to the world building but once it was built, hold onto your seat because you're in for a ride!
I tried to guess what characters would come out of Vanalf with what magic and I was nearly spot on. It was fun to try to make the guess and helped me better immerse myself in the story as many characters were doing the same thing.

The story is as cool as the book cover

what I loved… Very inventive reimagining of Scandinavian folklore with a obvious nod and homage to DND

what I didn’t like…
This might seem nitpicky, because it is, but some of the spells that a couple of the protagonist used were a little on the nose “detect magic.” it kind of forced me out of the immersion for a minute, but that’s super minor compared to the collective hole of the narrative, which was scintillating and gripping from start to finish.

Fantastic Fantasy Novel

I must say that I’m disappointed to read the other reviews of this book. I find this book to be very engaging and find myself picturing the scenes in my head while listening. I’m a fan of this genre and am looking forward to the next books in the grimnir chronicles. The narration is also top notch!

Awesome world

I liked the deep lore and the pacing with gradual introductions to the characters. I thought the multiple narrators was really cool (just wanted some volume balancing a little bit more with a couple of the chapters, but it wasn’t too bad).

The story is awesome. I feel like I just wanted more information. I need a background story on Jaysen Bjorn. Can’t wait for the next book!

Perfect Fantasy Story

Listened to this audiobook in 3 days and am anxiously waiting for the next to be released. Absolutely fantastic book, amazing job!

Sorry progress

Has a overall great experience and listen! Story progression is consistent does not drag out scenes and keeps a good progress!!!

It was a different style of writing with a wonderful world building experience.

The story was well written and the voice acting was on point for each character!

Great readers and a fun story to follow

Great readers and a fun story to follow..story doesn’t drag on to long getting to anything interesting

Fast paced and full of myth references

Just finished and it did not disappoint. If you're like me and dont like slow start books and love a myth theme and a ton of action this is for you.

The fantastic world building and descriptive science between action and exposition moments.

Great title waiting for the next! This title did great in building the world inside and out, and never a dull scene the book had life in everything it took to explore. So far wonderful book story and performance. Can't wait to see whats next for our Grimnirs!