Ice Land by Betsy Tobin

Betsy Tobin’s second novel, set in Iceland, A.D. 1000, takes a journey into the ancient past and myths of the gods.  Tobin relies upon variations of Norse mythology to recreate a past age where the gods were not so distantly perceived.  The main character is Freya, an Aesir (god) and the Norse goddess of love, but the mortal characters also play key roles in this entertaining tale.  Christianity has just begun to introduce its “authority” into the lives of the rugged Icelanders.  Amid the untamed beauty of the Iceland’s landscape, the rumblings of Hekla the volcano are becoming edgy and irritable.  There’s sex, love, blood and passion, and the story is both sensual and violent.  Complete with dwarves, the god Odin and a dangerous band of giants, one reviewer writes that Tobin “aimed squarely at the Mists of Avalon audience and hits it big.”

Jennifer L. – York                          ISBN  9781906021344