I wont go into detail about the story as i dont want to spoil the book, but i will say that I wouldn't normally read this kind of book but I fancied a change of genre and i can honastly say this surprised me. I enjoyed the story and i felt connected with the characters. Pleaseantly surprised and brilliantly written, a must read for sure.

I love anything cold and icelandic. I sat down on a cold wet weekend and read this from cover to cover. I enjoyed every page. I’m looking forward to more. A great read.

Back in 2013, I read – and very much enjoyed – Tim Leach’s first book, The Last King of Lydia, which tells the story of King Croesus and his eventual vanquisher, Cyrus. In my review on Goodreads (as my reading the book pre-dated this blog), I commented how much I enjoyed the author’s prose style and looked forward to reading whatever he produces next. Well, it’s been quite a long wait but I’ve finally got to read another of Tim’s books and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Rather than 6th century Babylon, Smile of the Wolf transports the reader to 10th century Iceland. What immediately struck me was how the author evoked the stark beauty of the Icelandic landscape with its fleeting green summers and long, harsh winters when the Icelanders retreat into the safety and warmth of their longhouses. ‘The taste of those nights is icy water and salted fish, the sound of the burning of the fire and the whistling of the wind, the smell is smoke and sweat and ash and earth.’

The book’s narrator is Kjaran, a skald or travelling poet, who earns his food and shelter by singing songs, reciting poems and telling stories to his hosts. The role of poet is one of prestige in this society where the telling of stories is valued as a repository of cultural history. ‘But there is only one true art that matters to the Northmen and that is poetry… we know what beauty is and it is the voice that sings in the night.’ In fact, there will be occasions when the ability to tell stories will be a literal lifesaver for Kjaran and others.

Kjaran recounts his story to the reader as if we too are gathered around the peat fire. Occasionally the narrative is interrupted by sections in which Kjaran speaks directly to an initially unidentified listener, one whose identity the reader will only learn at the end of the book. With a poet’s keen eye, Kjaran often uses analogies with the natural world to illustrate the events he describes. For example, observing how the children of the family have been unsettled by the atmosphere between the adults present: ‘They always feel discord most keenly, like those birds who will swarm in the sky hours before an earthquake, shaken from their roosts by tremors too soft for us to feel.’

Soon it is Kjaran himself who is shaken from his roost, when he and his friend, Gunnar, kill a man in strange circumstances. This sets in motion a blood feud that will last for years and involve Kjaran in a desperate struggle to stay ahead of his relentless pursuers, battling through snow, ice and cold, and bringing him into contact with strange bedfellows.

Smile of the Wolf depicts a violent society in which honour is everything, exile or death awaits those who breach its unwritten laws, and the quest for revenge can last a lifetime. It’s a male-dominated society in which women have no legal status although, to my mind, some of the female characters in the book are just as terrifying as the male characters, if not more so!

Smile of the Wolf is a compelling story of friendship, love and betrayal and I thought it was brilliant. In its depiction of a quest for revenge that becomes a sort of madness until ended by an act of mercy, I was reminded of John Ford’s great Western The Searchers but played out against a backdrop of ice and snow rather than prairie.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Head of Zeus, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This is not a soft and fluffy book, but it is still deeply moving. This book has all the ingredients of an epic saga: betrayal, exile, feuds, fights, honour-killings and love. The book is set in Iceland during the 11th century. Tim dramatically creates the diverse landscapes of this island and its reliant and proud people. Eleventh-century Iceland is a harsh, unforgiving place and the Viking age has come to an end.

This book pays homage to the Historical Fiction genre with excellent results. It shows the beauty of Iceland, the culture and convictions of a bygone era that still continues to fascinate us, providing an endless source of inspiration for stories like the one Tim Leach created.

Gunnar, a warrior and a family man, has had to adjust to the conditions of an uninviting but magnificent land. Kjaran, a poet, a bard that lives on the hospitality of others, is his loyal friend Kjaran is the narrator, using his story-telling skills to bring people to life and describe events and surroundings. When the two men find themselves in a web of treachery that has nothing to do with them. Tim tells the tale of his two heroes placing their profound friendship at the novel’s emotional core.

One night, in the gloom of Iceland’s winter two men: Kjaran a poet, singer (or skald), who sings in exchange for food and shelter, and Gunnar, an ex-warrior, now a father and farmer. One night the pair set out to hunt a ghost as they believe that ghosts are not shadow and air but walking flesh. Instead, they kill a farmer. Kjaran and Gunnar were outlawed by the people after choosing between hiding their deeds or confessing their crimes to the family and paying for them. Under Icelandic law, they should pay the man’s family a blood-price, but instead, they try to hide the murder, but their decision leads to a brutal feud. One of the men is outlawed, the other can be legally hunted down by the victim’s family to avenge the man’s death.

This is a novel where the atmosphere of the book is significant, it’s part of appreciating the difficulty of surviving in a hostile environment. Who will survive, and at what cost? I loved every minute of this book and it honestly made me want to jump on a plane and visit Iceland and jump into the books world.

The feud began in winter, when a dead man rose from the earth.

3.5 stars. I loved the writing in this book, poetic but not flowery at all. The descriptions were all perfect for 10th century Iceland, almost brutal in its beauty.
"Frozen water does not lie silent. It moans like a dying man. It barks like a mad dog. And when the wind runs across it, one can hear the sound of scratching fingers, of all the dead men that the waters has swallowed, begging to be let out."

Inspired by the world of the Icelandic sagas, the story is about the recently arrived ex-Vikings in this beautiful but harsh country and their customs and beliefs. It definitely has that epic feel to it, and I was swept away by the vivid depictions of the setting as much as the individual characters and their trials.

The only reason that I'm not giving it a higher rating is because it had too much fighting for my taste. I do however highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys atmospheric, action-packed stories about friendship, feuds and injustice set in fascinating times and places.

Hot feud in cold and isolated island

Kjaran was the poet who sang for food and his friend, Gunnar, was the warrior. They lived in Iceland in the tenth century. They believed that the ghosts were not shadow and air but walking flesh like the zombies! Kjaran heard about Christ who was not the dangerous ghost! They thought a farmer was the horrible ghost and killed him. Some people called Kjaran the Landless or the Luckless because his father was a slave.

Kjaran and Gunnar were outlawed by the people after choosing between hiding their deeds (killing the farmer) or confessing their crimes to the family and paying for them. There was also a feud between the two men and the widow of Hrapp (the horrible farming ghost). The island (Iceland) was cold and lifeless during the long dark winter nights.

It was interesting to read about the code (or the law among the people) being honoured by both sides. It is like the modern cartels (in Mexico) complying with the rules to avoid killing each other. I recommend this book.

Caesar 13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Oh, this book was a joy to read. It was set in Iceland and features the Vikings, which I enjoyed a lot. It is one of my favourite books with Vikings now, and I would recommend it to people who like that period of time...or good historical books.

A well told story of a blood-feud in Iceland, written in the stylings of the medieval Icelandic Sagas.

Our narrator, Kjaran the Landless, a poet, a skald, a wandering minstrel, does what he does best, he tells us - the reader - the story of how he became involved in a bitter feud, and the fatal consequences of all those touched by it. To tell you more, would be to spoil the story, and like all good Viking-age poets, Kjaran must weave his tale at his own pace, revealing little by little, but never out-staying his welcome.

A limited review only until the week before publication (1st Sept 2018) at the publisher’s request. Suffice to say that I loved this. It’s exactly this sort of book that can evoke a longing in me for a place I’ve never seen – in this case, Iceland. Historically rich & emotionally satisfying, with more than a hint of the mindset behind Norse myths and legends, this is a Viking novel to treasure. Highly recommend.

11th Century, early days of Iceland; only 100 years after the first Althing. A travelling poet and his host for the winter kill a ghost to find out the ghost was a man. This starts a feud, the poet spends three years in exile and the blood letting continues. This is a book that is part Icelandic saga and part wild wild West but with ice.
The plot is relatively simple so for the book to be enjoyable it has to be able to paint a realistic environment. For most of the book I was looking for a blanket and beanie as the author did provide a feeling of cold, deep cold. The main characters all have interesting stories, there are men and real men, the women are wise or wicked and life is really, really tough.

I absolutely loved this! I am a big fan of Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback and this book conjured a similar atmosphere. I was initially worried that because the book focuses on blood feuds that it may be too male centric for my liking but the author captured my attention so fully I finished this book in two sittings.

He created strong vivid characters, complex relationships and a constant eerie atmosphere.

I will publish my full review at the beginning of July as per publisher request and will actively recommend this to other readers.

‘There is no place that is so lifeless, so isolated, as our island in the depths of a winter’s night.’

One night, in the darkness of Iceland’s winter, two friends set out to hunt down a ghost. They ended up killing a man. Kjaran, a travelling poet (a skald) who trades songs for food and shelter and his friend Gunnar, a feared warrior, choose to conceal the killing instead of confessing the crime and paying the blood price to the dead’s man family. They make this choice for what they consider to be good reasons, but their decision leads to a brutal feud. One of the men is outlawed, the other is hunted by the dead man’s family. Eleventh-century Iceland is a harsh, unforgiving place – especially in winter.

This novel has all the ingredients of a saga: betrayal, exile, feuds, fights, honour-killings and love. Kjaran is the narrator, using his story-telling skills to bring people to life and describe events and surroundings. This is not a novel to read quickly. This is a novel in which the atmosphere is important, it’s part of appreciating the difficulty of surviving in a hostile environment. Who will survive, and at what cost? I read the story and shivered.

‘We are the last links of the feud, you and I.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I'm part way through this book, and every time I read it I have Liam Neeson's voice in my head reading it. I don't know what to do about it other than continue in this fashion.

Great book.

Provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Tim Leach’s impressive debut novel, [book:The Last King of Lydia|18778298], had me excited about him as an author. I was less impressed by the sequel, [book:The King and the Slave|23911099], although I enjoyed reading it. Authors who write such excellent first novels give themselves a hard act to follow. Tim Leach writes well and his stories are gripping but I feel the same way about Smile of the Wolf as I did about The King and the Slave. I enjoyed it but feel mildly disappointed.

This saga-style tale is narrated by Kjaran, a wandering poet, a skald. It has all the content of a saga - love, feuds, honour killings and battles, the supernatural, outlaws -and is based at a time when Christianity was known in Iceland but hadn’t yet made an impact. It might sound strange but this isn’t a book that can be read quickly. I was surprised at how long it took me despite being only 200 pages or so. The sentences are carefully constructed and the dialogue stilted. It’s very atmospheric and full of suspense-laden episodes. It’s a good story which I enjoyed without being bowled over but I still hope that Leach will give us another masterpiece like his first book.

With thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for a free review copy. The publisher asks for reviews not to be published until a week before publication on 1st September so if you want to read my review before then, it’s only on NetGalley.