All the Windwracked Stars: Norse mythology + apocalyptic SF

All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear

All the Windwracked Stars is the first book in the EDDA OF BURDENS trilogy by fantasy and SF author Elizabeth Bear. The novel is a very original blend of fantasy, science fiction, steampunk and mythology, and while it has some weaknesses, its originality sets it apart in a genre that’s all too often filled with cookie-cutter material.

Surprisingly, All the Windwracked Stars actually begins with Ragnarok, the final battle between the Children of the Light and the Tarnished. Muire, a waelcyrge (valkyrie) is one of the only survivors, together with Kasimir, another valkyrie’s wounded valraven, who (in a sign of things to come) is transformed from his old two-headed, winged horse form into a more steampunk-ish guise.

Fast forward more than two millennia, to a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity only has one semi-viable city left. Eiledon is ruled by the Technomancer, who lives in a university/fortress floating above the city, and enforces her rule over the general population with a force of “unmans” (animal/human hybrids). Early in the novel, Muire learns that Mingan the Wolf is still stalking the world, and that the Technomancer’s goals may not be entirely benevolent.

All the Windwracked Stars is a challenging but ultimately rewarding novel — challenging, because it takes a good 200 pages before the plot really emerges. Until that happens, you’re reading a novel set in a world that’s so unique it can be confusing, populated by characters that are extremely hard to connect with, especially in the first handful of chapters. The original setting, combined with Elizabeth Bear‘s beautiful prose, will carry patient readers to the point where the story really takes off, but it’s hard not to feel that this novel could have been more accessible.

Regardless of this, All the Windwracked Stars is amazingly successful at combining mythology and science fiction in an intriguing and unique way. If you are interested in Norse mythology, and your tolerance for challenging reads is high, this book will deliver for you in spades.

~Stefan Raets

When the battle (Ragnarok) is over, only three immortals are left alive: Muire, the smallest waelcyrge, the valraven, Kasmir, a two-headed, winged war-mount, and the one whose betrayal damned them all. Together they live through the coming ages to play their roles in the very last days of the world.

I needed something really different and All the Windwracked Stars was just what the doctor ordered and more. Elizabeth Bear combines Norse mythology and apocalyptic science fiction to create a dark dreamscape, and also invents a very intriguing concept: angels whose god is either dead or has gone missing.

The desperately savage combat at the beginning of All the Windwracked Stars drew me right in and I soon found myself liking characters that I normally would not. The prose is somewhat surreal, and this story has a rather strange flow which, at times, made it a little difficult for me to follow. Usually I’d find that a little irritating, but for the Edda of Burdens series, this wistful style works perfectly because the characters themselves are lost souls struggling to understand their own destinies.

I was once a big fan of Apocalyptic Sci-fi, so it was a refreshing thrill to lose myself in Elizabeth Bear’s dying world. The outcome of doomsday comes down to a handful of unique misfits in a truly original story. I especially liked the conclusion and I was so gloomily fascinated that I immediately downloaded the Kindle version of the next book, By the Mountain Bound.

I almost never jump into the next book in a series without a break between, but By the Mountain Bound is the story leading up to the battle of Ragnarok — the beginning of All the Windwracked Stars — and I just had to know the answers to some of the wonderfully tantalizing mysteries left unexplained in this book.

~Greg Hersom