“Odin's Child” is written by the Norwegian author Siri Petterson. Originally written in Norwegian and published in 2013, it has now been translated and the English version will be published in March 2021. It is the first book to the “Raven Rings” trilogy, a series that will no doubt be highly anticipated due to its unique blend of mythology, science fiction, folklore, and fantastical creatures.

“Odin's Child” is a novel that reimagines Norse mythology and offers a unique perspective of what it means to be different, to rebel against the higher orders, and to question the rules and beliefs that govern one’s society. It’s a powerful story that stands out amongst others inspired by mythology as it doesn’t follow a predictable arc of teenage angst with a single hero rising against the impossible. Instead, Petterson focuses on developing the world of Ym and its people so wholly to create an authentic and unforgettable story readers will easily be drawn into.

Hirka is fifteen and on the verge of womanhood, which means in a few months’ time she will participate in The Rite, a ritual all children coming of age must pass by demonstrating their ability in the Might. Though she has no tail and shows no sign of being able to wield The Might, Hirka is determined to prove she is no different than any other child of Ym. Her illusions are shattered when her father reveals a secret that will get her killed should anyone find out.

She is a child of Odin. Something not of this realm that is meant to be feared, hunted down, and destroyed.
Going through with The Rite may lead to her death, but to hide is to go against the council and put her life at risk. With this revelation, Hirka desires to know more about who she is and where she has come from, especially when it becomes clear staying in the realm of Ym is not safe. For as long as Hirka remains in Ym, the passageway between realms remains open and creatures are slipping through, attacking anyone on impulse.

As Hirka learns more about who she is, the Council governing Ym is falling apart, a rebellion is starting, and the lives of everyone are at stake.

This is a fascinating novel that takes mythology and fantasy to a whole other level with characters that are extremely likable and realistic. Hirka has similar characteristics to a lot of fifteen-year-olds. She’s adventurous, wild, outspoken, and unabashedly enters into playful—yet dangerous—duals with her friend Rime. And yet there’s a wisdom to her in the bravery, courage, determination, and resilience she demonstrates to friends and foes that speak to her maturity. Hirka is the kind of fiery young woman people are easily drawn to, especially Rime who is an incredible friend with battles of his own he must endure and fight against. Petterson’s characters have diverse voices and complex histories that add to the uniqueness of this story and its plot.

“Odin's Child” is thrilling, horrifying, and full of non-stop adventure. The long wait for a translation was worth it, and I hope it won’t be long before the second and third novels are translated. I cannot wait to continue the addictive journey this trilogy will bring.

Thank you to Netgalley and Arctis Books for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel for an honest review. Anticipate the release of “Odin's Child” on March 23rd, 2021 because this is the start of a series you don’t want to miss out on!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I'd be intrigued to see where the rest of the trilogy goes. It's always interesting to read translated works and I'm glad I picked this one up.

A young adult/teen fiction mythology story based around Hirka the tailless, Rime who is the strongest in Might, and Urd the villian. As the Rite comes near, Hirka discovers her true origins: she’s not from their world. When Hirka was a baby she was brought to their world through an ancient stone passage. As long as Hirka is in their world, the passage remains open. How will Hirka survive on her own? How she pass the Rite without any Might herself? Hirka must hide her secret from everyone. Rime is her best friend though and soon everyone’s secrets become hard to hide. Rime returned home to escort his grandmother back to the council but really he came to say goodbye to all he’s ever known....yet it’s a secret he has to protect.

This book sounded amazing. I think for me though, something was lost in translation. There weren’t any chapters and it was hard to follow. Some sections were full of detail while others just left you confused. The idea behind the story was great. I think others that don’t get hung up on writing style and like mythology will LOVE this story. Give it a try. The style wasn’t for me but the story line was great.

This is a YA fantasy story loosely based on Norse Mythology. The story combines fantasy with a young adult love story in the classic hero’s quest. The protagonist is Hirka, a fifteen-year-old girl who is different from everyone else she knows. She was born without a tail. As a baby she was left out in the snow and found and raised by a kind man. She faces the coming-of-age ritual all teens in the country face, but she is unable to bind, the critical requirement of the test. She runs away to avoid the test, and thus begins her adventures. Evil lurks everywhere as do challenges.

The world building is stupendous. The fantasy vocabulary is not so extensive that you need to speak Norwegian to “get” it. The characters are unique. An enjoyable read.

First, thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows a young woman named Hirka. She has grown up her whole life believing her tail was taken by wolves when she was a baby. One day, her father reveals that her life is not as it seems. In a world run by a Council who work for the Seer, and where ravens are holy symbols, Hirka must discover who she is and what she can do to stop the coming war.

The premise of this book was unique and interesting. It set a very dark tone from the beginning. However, I think the pacing was off throughout a lot of the book. There were multiple times where I would get confused about what was going on because I felt like we had time jumped without any preamble or explanation. I am still confused on a lot of the magic system. It's never fully explained what the Might is or how it's used. I was waiting for something to happen that would make it make sense, but it never came. I'm not sure if these problems are because this book wasn't originally written in English, so things might have been lost in translation, but it made some of my reading experience jarring at times. This made the middle of the book feel very boring at times. The beginning drew me in, and then it felt like it took a long time for me to get interested again.

I really enjoy Hirka and Rime as characters. I especially enjoyed their character development throughout the novel. They both started as naïve children who were forced to grow up pretty quickly. Their ending was a HUGE cliffhanger, and this alone is making me want to read the sequel.

Overall, the premise of this book is strong, and the characters are complex and interesting. However, the pacing is very weird and can definitely draw you out of the story for a bit.

TW: sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, drug use, suicide

What a unique novel (first in a series, originally written in Norwegian)

There are several things that make the book so good and one of them is the characters. The plot is told by Hirka, Rime and Urd, and all three have distinct personalities and goals. I usually do not usually think of external / internal conflicts of the characters when I read, but here it was noticed so clearly in a very good way. There was never any doubt about what they were fighting for and how they felt.

Language is something I had a hard time with at first but 50 pages later I was completely in love with the author's way of writing. It fits so perfectly with the environment and the atmosphere. The plot is also very good with some disputes and unexpected events. Then I have to praise the romance as well. I think it fits into the story well, it's not a skyrocketing instalove where the characters' IQ suddenly becomes zero, but here the characters are still themselves. Like!

If I am now going to highlight something negative, it is probably that there is almost too much action in the book, at least at the end. There are so many exciting things happening that in the end you get a little overwhelmed.

In a nutshell, a very good book, especially for someone who enjoys reading fantasy books with elements of Nordic mythology. Recommended!

First of all I want to say that I'm not going to say anything about the writing itself because I read a translation and I don't know how true the translation is to the Norwegian original.
Odin's Child has been on my radar for a while. I really liked the Norse inspired fantasy set up (at least that's what I got from the synopsis) so I was really curios.

I do like the main character Hirka but I never fully connected with her, in fact I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters in this book. They just all felt a little flat to me, even by the end of the book. I liked some of the character growths we got (although I think there wasn't too much of it) but I never really felt too passionate about any of the characters.
I think the book has an overall really great premise with a lot of potential but I felt that the execution just wasn't perfect. I wish we would have gotten a more comprehensable world building because even by the end I didn't really understand many of the things going on in the book. We learn superficially about the people of this world, their customs, religions and political spiels but not enough to fully understand all of it.

In the end it wasn't a bad read and there were definitely some good parts that I enjoyed but I also found myself being bored at times.

I can understand why this book is so hyped. It's an interesting story, but I do wish that the pace were quicker. It took a while for me to get into because of it, but overall I did enjoy it.

I do not read a lot of books based on Norse mythology, so I went into this book pretty blind.

This book was perfect fantasy for me.
Characters: I loved them all and they all had conflict and goals which made them feel so real. Even the antagonist who I fully hated, still had enough meat to them that I could see what drove them.

It was a good fantasy world without being overwhelming. There was enough history to see the different class of people and to make it seem extremely rich without being to bloated.

The plot had me guessing. I never knew what was going happen next or where it was going.

My only negative is I wish I understood the magic system a bit more and a bit earlier on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I absolutely loved this and cannot wait for the other two to be translated and published here. It has a slower set-up/beginning, but it’s filled with enough interesting moments to keep it flowing. The Urd chapters slowed me down at first, but I soon enjoyed them as well. I absolutely love Hirka and Rime. I can’t get enough and most definitely cried at the end. I’m dying to know what happens next. Such a good read.

This was an interesting read. Different then I thought it was going to be. The backdrop is in Norse mythology which has become popular recently. The word is amazing and beautiful (more than just ice and snow). The magic system was intricate and I enjoyed the characters. The pacing was a little slow at times. I enjoyed this read and I am very glad it was translated into English!

I had to DNF this book om sorry I just did not find it interesting at all I tried multiple different times to read it and couldn't ever get past a few pages at a time. I apologize I'm sure others will enjoy it but unfortunately it wasn't for me

This book was received as an ARC from Arctis Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Being a huge fan of mythology with both Greek and Norse, I was excited to hear about Odin's Child. I was expecting a heart racing story and I got it and more. Imagine being Hirka and thinking that you live this life and finding out you were meant for another life and you are being hunted and you don't know why? I admire her courage and her determination of breaking through and the story got even more exciting. This book is a pure reflection on why I enjoy all of the mythology. Full of adventure, drama, conflict and inspiration. I can't wait to put this as a future contender for our book club.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book is everything and definitely lives up to the hype!!!
I had previously heard so much about this from a blogger friend from Norway, who praised it like the next Tolkien.
So I was obviously a bit hesitant going into it with such high expectations! I shouldn't habe been!

Yeah, so you can read about the plot everywhere else, I won't just repeat it here.

Characters? Pure magic..Hirka is likeable, and all other protagonists are very well "fleshed out".

The world-building is fascinating and very rich in details..

Some might say the book is slow, but I'd have to disagree. The pacing fits wonderfully to the plot and story.

I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Today I am reviewing Odin’s Child by Siri Pettersen

Odin’s Child is a Norse mythology book by Pettersen that truly captivates the reader. The main character Hirka is unique and intriguing, with no tail in a world where everyone without one is rot and hunted.

This book contains a different writing style in contrast to other mythology books and I found this to be highly amusing.
The first 100 pages of the book I truly spent trying to understand the terminology and wrap my head around names and places(I learned a good bit of Norse Mythology I didn’t know before!)
Hirka struggles to hide and conceal her identity from others but it is intense to see the relationships struggle between Hirka and other characters as she tries to hide her true nature from them.

The only critique I would have is that Odin’s Child reads as a new adult book with teenage characters more than as a young adult book. TW: There is a scene of sexual assault but in general, the book was a good read.

Overall, I would recommend Odin’s Child to others. Not the book I expected but enjoyed none the less!

Loosely based on Norse mythology, this fantasy novel takes the reader on a mesmerizing journey through the eleven Kingdoms, run by a Council of twelve, mastered by the Seer.
We follow the lives of Hikra, an outsider, and Rime, a blueblooded warrior on his way to the highest rank.
Odin's Child is a heartfelt story filled with human emotion, friendship, loss, domination and life's cycles. Sublime writing moving at a fast pace through vivid scenery and magical moments. I'm absolutely blown away by this beauty!

Thank you Netgalley and Arctis Books for the ARC.

What a fantastic book! Someone recommended this on their blog, and I will be forever thankful for it. I was hooked from page 1 and was quite sad when I finished reading.

I don't even know where to start to tell you how much I loved this book, so I will try to follow a plan.
First off, let's talk about the world building. This is the most important element for me in a book. If I can't picture the scenes in my head, I usually have a hard time connecting to the story. Here, the world building is fabulous! Thanks to the author's description, I could picture perfectly everywhere the characters were, I could imagine the weather, the landscape, etc. I can promise you will be immersed in the envrionment as soon as you pick up the book. We have the forest, mountains, rock-climbing, villages, big towns, etc. It's all perfectly written.

Yet, the world building is not the author's biggest force. I thought the way she brings the characters to life is even better. Hirka, the main character is born tailless, and is not able to use the Might, the power everyone else can master. She was adopted by her single dad when she was a baby after he found her in the snowy mountain. She grows to be a strong independant woman, who enjoys being outside and loves her dad. Rime is one of her closest friends, even though he left three years for some mysterious reasons. This is the starting point. From then on, the author gifts us fantastic character development! Hirka turns her weaknesses in strengths, all while remaining humble and true to herself. Rime's evolution surprised me the most. You would never know all the secrets he hides, the pressure he's under, and the importance he gains in the book.

I was wowed by those two characters, even if, of course, the side characters are also incredibly well-written. Siri Pettersen's writing is like magic, capable of transporting us to other worlds. I don't know how she does it, but I can't wait to read the sequels of this book. My only regret is not being able to read norse very well so I can't read the other books already out in that language!

“Her forehead fell against his chin. He put his arms around her close. ‘I’m Rime An-Elderin.’ he mumbled into the top of her head. ‘Strength matters. Love matters. Truth and justice.’”

Odin’s Child by Siri Petterson, is set in a fantasy world where everyone has a tail and a special ability to use a power called the might. Just before her time to be tested on her abilities, Hirka learns that the reason she can’t feel the might is because she was born tailless from another world. She had always believed her tail had been taken from her by wolves as an infant. As she has learned this her childhood friend Rime has returned to town, and she feels an ever bigger pull to him than ever. Rime has secrets of his own, including a secret mission no one knows about.

There were many things I liked about this story. It was very original and interesting. It was easy to root for both Hirka and Rime, and fun to delve deeper into their stories. I did have trouble with parts of the story and how it would drag for a bit and then suddenly shift very quickly. I sometimes got characters a bit mixed-up and had trouble keeping some of the fantasy elements straight. And truthfully I really didn’t like the ending. I give this one 3 stars.

review has been posted to Goodreads and will be posted to amazon and Barne's and Noble when released

This book is one I’d been interested in reading for some time, but it had yet to be translated into English until recently from its original Norwegian; it was certainly worth the wait!
Odin’s Child is chock full of Norse Mythology and just enough Romance to make things interesting. I loved the extensive world building and intricate detail, and never found myself bored for a moment. This one is an easy 4 ⭐️!

This book is very different from what I have read before. I decided to take a chance on it and I am so glad I did. At first I was a little unsure but once I got in to the story I could not put it down. The main characters were very relatable and I really enjoyed the story. Great book!