Wrap up warm, you could get frostbite just reading this!
Giles Kristian is a well-established and very talented author of historical fiction. Here he scratches an itch to present a thriller set in modern day Norway. Mainly this is a chase thriller in snow covered Norwegian desolation but there is far more depth to it than that, it’s also a story about family, loss, bonding and….survival.
When Erik and his teenage daughter witness a murder, they take to their skis to escape but the wilderness is no barrier to their pursuers who will stop at nothing to kill them. The cold of Norway will seep into your bones as you discover that this was no simple murder, the snow holds many dangerous secrets.
Well, I think Giles Kristian can add another string to his bow, this is excellent. Really enjoyed it but also the author’s notes at the end were very enlightening.

Giles Kristian’s first foray into thriller writing is an interesting, enjoyable, if not fully successful venture.

I’m a huge fan of Giles’ viking and civil war books, but felt like his books about Arthur were less successful. Where Blood Runs Cold falls into this latter category sadly. The writing itself is exceptional. It’s beautifully written, and perfectly captures the stark nothingness of the wintery Norwegian landscape. The father and daughter story itself its gripping and powerful, and helps propel the book along at what is a very fast pace.

However I feel like the story itself is a tad on the weak side, and finishes rather abruptly and in my view, unsatisfactory. All in all it was still a fun read, and as it’s a shortish book, makes for the perfect cold Sunday afternoon binge.

A desperate chase through the blistering blizzards of Norway built on a foundation of family love and human endeavour.

Giles Kristian presents to us his first thriller book after taking the historical fiction genre by storm with classics such as the ‘Raven’ series and the Arthurian legends, Lancelot and Camelot. I was curious to see how this would play out, especially as Lancelot and Camelot are 2 of my favourite books of all time. After reading them, Giles very quickly became one of my favourite authors.

Where Blood Runs Cold is an absolute thrill ride that I couldn't put down. It literally took me only 4 sittings to read, I couldn’t leave Erik and Sofia out in the cold and forget about them! Giles Kristian has a distinct ability to force you into attachments to his characters and this adds to the experience when reading his works. Erik has a deep, troubled man haunted by nightmares and visions but a profound devotion to his daughters. Sofia is a hurting child who feels that she has so much to prove to herself and her pappa.

The flow of the story is superb, even though the majority of the story involves just 2 characters, Giles manages to keep the story fresh and entertaining whilst constantly harbouring a sense of dread and anxiousness. Giles storytelling ability is always laced with heartfelt emotion between characters that spreads like wildfire into the very being of the reader. There hasn’t been a novel of his that I have read where I haven't developed a very close connection to at least one character. This happened once again in Where Blood Runs Cold as I felt a deep connection with Erik specifically. I am a father to 2 girls myself and it was this I think, that cemented that connection. I felt every fear in Erik, every anger induced outburst and every incredibly hard decision made.

With each passing page, Giles increases the intensity and anxiety. Whilst doing this, he always maintains the family values between the characters. Just when you think the story has a single path, a single point of truth, right when things are finally on the up. Bam. Curveball. That happened in this story and I was not ready for it. I have always thought of myself very handy at spotting twists on the way but Giles truly had me believing that for just once, this could be a happy moment. But as you will see … things go sideways. Fast.

Where Blood Runs Cold is a new direction for Giles Kristian and it is a direction I cannot wait to see more of. From the Norse mythology ties and family focus to the modern machinery chase and fight scenes, Giles Kristian delivers a phenomenal novel which pulls at your heartstrings, stokes a protective fire in your belly and has you willing the characters on.

A modern classic from one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

The book begins well. A family bereft of a daughter. Seeking solace in the hinterlands of Norway. A husband and wife drifting apart because of their loss. It had a hint of The Shining about it. A really good premise for an exciting story to unfold into. Tension was building from the first page on.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

I really wanted to like this book. I enjoyed earlier works by the author. The quality was awful: typos, no formatting, author’s name appearing in the middle of the text. Anachronisms, such as feet and inches rather than metric. It came across as a first draft and not something an author would consider showing to the public, even as a beta. That said, it is a beta and so a certain amount of leeway is owed.

I enjoyed the first 10% or so, but the heavy-handed use of adjectives and similes began to take their toll. When I read about a hedgehog wrapping itself in paper, I groaned aloud. It was as though there was an instruction to include a simile in every sentence. I felt like an English teacher marking a high-school creative writing task.

The real problems, however, came around the 20% mark, consisting of a need to stretch credulity to breaking point: eyes locking over great distance in the middle of the night; skiing escapes through dense forest in the middle of the night. Escapes that would have been incredible (if not impossible) in broad daylight. Room to ski while pulling a pulk, but not enough room for a snowmobile.

The tension might still have been there, but for me, it was obscured by the flowery text and fantastical nature of the escape.

It is a beta, and not due for release for a while, so maybe the issues can be fixed.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot...just note down my own impressions of the book.

After a slightly slow start (IMHO), I was gripped by this book! The initial premise - a father and teenage daughter cross-country skiing trip across the chilly Norwegian landscape - didn't sound too demanding a read. However, events took one dramatic turn after another, and their journey became a fight for survival.

The descriptions of the landscape and weather, and their effects on the human body, were so well written that I had to put on more layers (even though I was reading it indoors, albeit on a snowy day!)

This was a very different offering from Giles Kristian (I've read his Lancelot and Camelot books) but I felt that he did a great job - weaving together strands of family loss, spirituality (not the official, obvious kind) and a heartfelt sense of sadness at the loss of precious landscapes and ways of life at the hands of ruthless and seemingly unstoppable forces.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I've been a fan of Giles other books, both Viking and his take on Lancelot\Arthurian legends. This is his first "modern" period novel. The book is engaging from the off, well written and immersive. From about 3 or 4 chapters in, it grabs you by the scruff of the neck and moves at breakneck pace, totally engrossing, kept me up well into the night.

A Scandi Crime that gets under your skin
The book takes you to the northern part of Norway where a man has taken his surviving daughter to bond. There has been a tragedy and only the two of them remain. I did find it a bit hard to understand why he would have taken her to such a remote and chilling place but never mind. I realise it was for the ski trip but that soon turns into something else. When the chill gets even chillier and the land darker and more dangerous, the tension ramps up. .
I did find the two parts of the story didn't really gel for me. the father daughter storyline was interesting and so was the dangerous hunt for that man but together it didn't hold together. Two good separate stories though!

This is a change from Giles Kristian's usual stories. I have loved all his viking saga/stories. I still enjoyed it but not as much as those. This is modern day and modern problems of our world - meaning pollution of a pristine environment, and more. The relationship between father and son I loved but I would have loved to hear it from the other point of view too - daughter to father. Nonetheless I loved reading it.

Years ago, in novels like The Doomed Oasis, The Angry Mountain and The Land God Gave To Cain, the survival thriller technique was mastered by Hammond Innes. Now, Giles Kristian flexes his creative muscles to revive the genre with the same passion and excitement as his excellent historical novels.
The beauty of the Koppansbreen glacier is turned into a sinister backdrop for a taut narrative that is gripping and intense and full of surprises. Eric Amdahl and his daughter, Sofia, fight for their lives in a clever plot that is engrossing and all too believed, aided by a reindeer herder, the spirit of a dead girl and an old Viking god.
This is Giles Kristian at his very best. An absolute tour de force.

Where Blood Runs Cold is a thrilling, snow-bound adventure set in northern Norway by Giles Kristian, an author I last encountered offering a retelling of some Arthurian Legends. Quite a sea-change to modern-day Norway,

I confess, the book starts a little awkwardly as there's quite a bit going on for the main character, Erik, but I sat and read the first 25% in one setting, and the tension quickly ramps up and I was entirely hooked. It's one of those books that draws you in and you're immediately expecting all sorts of bad things to happen, and the author toys with the reader a little; some of your fears come true, and some of them don't. But the reader is quickly rooting for the main character, and wondering how on earth anyone can survive outside when it's so bitterly cold.

I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of the Sami into the narrative, and also the slightly otherworldly element. The brief discourses into how climate change is affecting the area are a sad reflection on how far it's gone, and the effect it's having on the local population, The story built to an intriguing grand finale which was satisfying to the reader who'd been swept along, quite literally, by the raging winter storms and the compelling narrative.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a change to my normal read, just as it's a change for the author, but it's excellent. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.