Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan)
ISBN: 9780374307066
Length: 352 pages
Obtained: Download from Edelweiss+
Comments:
I just signed up for Edelweiss and was whitelisted for all Macmillan titles. I was picking my first book and wanted to make sure it would be one I would definitely read... the right one. When I saw this one includes girls in "the death trade" and was a standalone, I just had to read it. My interest in assassin-type books is apparently never ending.
The Boneless Mercies are girls and women trained in the art of the "mercy killing." For those who are frail and dying, they can seek a quick death by inviting these girls, marked by their cloaks, to finish their lives - for a price. Ever since the Mercy that trained them passed, Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa have been growing weary of their work in the death trade. But they've recently heard of a beast that remains undefeated despite many warriors fighting to stop it. This is their chance to change their futures. Meeting with cruel men, Sea Witches, and others along the way, they will fight for what might be.
I liked Frey and her fellow traveling companions. Each of the girls and Trigve, the young man they had added to their group along the way, reveal their different characters and (mostly tragic) backgrounds as the story progresses.
I also appreciated the bits about Norse culture and mythology that was interspersed throughout the story, including their attitudes toward death and strong oral history. The Boneless Mercies are quiet and not mentioned in the tales, but Frey wants to make an impression that will be passed down like the other sagas and chronicles that the Norse share.
While not necessarily what I might have expected, I enjoyed the story and finished it quickly.
Sounds interesting and not like your typical topic!
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting. I think even if people have read more fiction based around Norse mythology, it wasn't likely to have been from this particular perspective.
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