And the same thing happened with many of the other characters. I expected Hessa to do one thing, but she ended up doing something completely different. In fact, one of the things that most surprised me about Hall of Smoke was how unpredictable it was. And don’t worry too much about Hessa, because she turns things around to her advantage and gains a great deal of power during these scenes. Hessa finds herself captured and drugged at one point in the story and is able to visit the High Hall in a fugue state. One of my favorite world building elements was the High Hall, a heaven-like place where only gods and the dead are welcome. Long has a talent for description and bringing her setting to life, and I could easily picture Hessa’s arduous journey through the chilly winter landscape, climbing mountains, sheltering in caves and traversing rivers. There is a lot of movement in this story, as Hessa leaves home and travels to different parts of the Empire. There are dead gods, waking gods, gods disguised as humans or animals, and gods who have been bound in trees. Long has created an intricate and exciting world full of gods, priestesses, monsters and more. This life changing event sets Hessa on a fantastical and dangerous journey where truths will be revealed and her beliefs will be shattered and rebuilt. Hoping to save her family and friends, especially her beloved husband Eidr, Hessa rushes back to help fight, but she’s horrified to find the Hall of Smoke burned to the ground and everyone dead. But before Eang can answer her desperate pleas, a battle cry from below alerts Hessa that someone is attacking her village.
Hessa has gone high into the mountains to atone for her sin and to see if Eang will give her a second chance at redemption. Now she’s been banished from the Hall of Smoke, the sacred hall where Eang’s followers worship. When she was only fifteen, Eang commanded Hessa to kill a man named Omaskat, but instead, when Omaskat came to her village and asked for shelter, Hessa was moved by his kindness and respect and decided to let him go. Hessa is an Eangi, a follower and priestess of the god Eang. The story takes place in a large territory known as the Arpa Empire. I’m so glad I took a chance on this book, especially since epic fantasy isn’t my “go to” genre these days! Even better, Long’s writing is top notch and suggests she’s been writing for a very long time.
Hall of Smoke was such a nice surprise, an epic fantasy with Norse mythology and Viking influences that captured my attention and never let go. Wow, that was a debut? I couldn’t be more impressed. The nitty-gritty: An outstanding epic fantasy debut, Hall of Smoke surprised me at every turn.
Published by Titan Books on January 19 2021 This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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