Runestone Saga: Children of Ragnarok

De: Cinda Williams Chima

Narrado por: Jennifer Jill Araya

Sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based in Norse mythology are woven into this first volume of the Runestone Saga, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Realms and Shattered Realms series.

Since Ragnarok—the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos—the human realm of the Midlands has become a desperate and dangerous place, bereft of magic.

Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones—his family has remained prosperous. But he stands to lose everything when he’s wrongly convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is Eiric’s half-systir, Liv, who’s under suspicion for her interest in seidr, or magic. Then a powerful jarl steps in: He will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Grove—the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery.

Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reginn Eiklund has spent her life performing at alehouses for the benefit of her master, Asger, a fire demon she is desperate to escape. After one performance that amazes even herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make Reginn an irresistible offer: return with them to the Temple to be trained in seidr, forever free of Asger.

Eiric’s, Liv’s, and Reginn’s journeys converge in New Jotunheim, a paradise fueled by magic and the site of the Temple. They soon realize that a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface and that old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

©2022 Cinda Williams Chima (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

good

it was another excellent book by cinda though it did have what felt like a slow start I early wait for book 2

ABSOLUTLY amazing

CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!
I cannot wait until the next book in the series comes out

not bad follow-up suggestion by audible

This was a good listen. I was suggested this book after listening to The Witch's Heart. I so hope The Witch's Heart has a part two.

This book was good because it created (from my knowledge) a totally invented story and society centuries after ragnarok. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I had hoped for in terms of continuing the story of The Witch's Heart. That would be my fault because how can a separate author continue a story if they don't have guidance from the author of the first book?

Overall, I liked the vision it gave the listener.

The narrorator also did a nice job, I did need to push through some of the voice acting for certain characters, but I've found that with A LOT of audio novels. I think it's hard to hear a narrorator's voice for a certain character that is not the voice the listener would've imagined.

Awesome

Never boring and kept a good pace. I enjoyed and cannot wait for next book in the series.

Ending

An absolutely non-ending. After such a well crafted story to be that much left hanging did not help the story.

We love this author

Bummed that this is a new release, I’m ready for book 2! I’ve read everything else from this author as have my kids, she is incredible and captivating.

A delightful story

I feel the reader was the wrong choice for the book. But she wasn’t terrible in a way that ruined the beauty and fun of the story. It was a great layered story and I look forward to the other books.

I only have 1 regret

And that regret is that I didn’t look when this book was released. My least favorite thing is falling in love with a book in a series that recently came out, because that means I’m going to have to wait forever for the next book! With that being said, hopefully it is obvious that I enjoyed the book. Narrator performance was excellent and the book was something I didn’t want to stop listening to. So, so good.

Amazing plot twists

I like how the characters are interwoven. The language (non English words) were bit of a detraction.

Norse Mythos / Viking Type Tale

I have been a huge fan of Cinda Williams Chima since I took my very first journey though the Seven Realms series. She has a way of building great epic stories that span multiple books and just get stronger as the series progresses. At least in my experience. If that holds true for the Runestone Saga, well we will be in for an epic ride.

Our story is centered around three character PoVs: Eiric a strapping young hero and son to a line of men that seem to be descended from a line of warriors that go back to the times of Ragnarok. Liv, half sister to Eiric, brought to live with them when she was a child. Liv's name was different then and she was made to give up an amulet in order to stay. And finally Reggin, she might be a slave travelling town to town to sing and run small cons, but there is something magical about her too.

“The web is not off the loom yet,” Liv insisted. “What if you could unravel bits of it and reweave it? What if you could add a bit of lace or a new color? What if you could take something drab and make it beautiful? What if you could see the future and avoid trouble that is coming your way?”

Wow...well this story. The cover made it seem like it was going to be a middle grade type book. It is not we are well into new adult territory I believe, completely bypassing YA. There isn't sex or anything like that but there are some truly horrendous moments that are both psychologically and physically brutal.

Eiric and Liv have lived with an abusive stepfather for years. After he is killed they are subject to a land grab as some in the town want to find them guilty of murder and take the family farm. They have a chance to save it if they can come back with an artifact the new Lord of the city is looking for. Off on an adventure they will meet unusual people and end up in New Jotenheim, a land with a lot of secrets and dangers.

Reggin also will find her way to New Jotenheim, where the magical community is hiding. She will make a few friends but find many more dangers. The secrets there abound and Reggin has stumbled into a tumultuous time as the magical community is preparing for war against the rest of Midgard. She will have to tap into her magic and tread very carefully.

This ended with a bang and a slaughter or two. I was so sad to have come to the end of this journey. The worldbuilding was beginning to open up more and the revelations about New Jotunheim were staggering in a lot of ways. Just wow to where the story left off. I couldn't wait to jump into the next book, but alas I have a few more months to wait for it.

I loved this new Norse Mythology Viking Type tale and can't wait to see where our CWC takes our characters in the future and if we get to see any of the other nine-realms.

Narration

Jennifer Jill Araya did so well with this. I loved that I chose to listened to the story. Because of the Norse/Viking mythos used a lot of the names are strange looking. It was great to have a narrator really capture the accent and feel of the story. For me that added to the overall enjoyment as some of the names, places and words could have tripped me up while reading. She embodied the characters and their arcs really well and all PoVs sounded distinct from one another. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.

Performance: ★★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★★
Diction: ★★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★★
Sound Effects: none