Varanger by Cecelia Holland

A book review

Set in the tenth-century world of the Vikings, Varanger is the fourth book in Holland’s Soul Thief series, but can easily be read as a standalone. The first three novels centered on the exploits of Corban Loosestrife. Varanger shifts to the next generation: Corban's son Conn and nephew Raef, particularly the thoughtful, psychically gifted Raef. When the two set off with a war party in dragon ships, Raef can feel the water's direction, and "at the very edge of that knowledge he was beginning to sense something else, a fiery city, smoke, and blood."

The novel opens, though, with the cousins preparing to hunker down for the winter in Holmgard, a frozen crossroads in what is now northwestern Russia. "Within the crescent of the earthworks, most of the buildings were sunk down into the ground, the ridgelines of their roofs coated with a filthy glaze of old snow.... The hazy sky was colorless as iron, the sun used up burning a hole through the middle, so it gave no warmth and little light. Conn felt the coming of the winter like a roof shutting down over him; in a few days getting out of here at all would be hard." Other travelers than the cousins are in Holmgard waiting out the winter or pursuing their own purposes. Its pagan ruler, Dobrynya, contemplating the possible benefits of a religious conversion, is hosting a Muslim guest from Constantinople; Christianity is another alternative.

Conn and Raef become targets for Dobrynya's violent enforcer, who seems determined to pick a fight with them. As the weather warms and the ice thins, they must decide where to go next and with whom. Dobrynya offers a tempting proposal, but it would mean fighting alongside a man who wants them dead. Varanger takes its time reaching the battle story at its heart and a climax in which Raef and Conn learn hard truths about politics and the expendability of fighting men. Meanwhile, the setting and characters are depicted with vivid authenticity. (2008; 303 pages)