Berserker (Berserker, #1)

by Emmy Laybourne

The highly anticipated historical fantasy from Emmy Laybourne, author of the internationally-bestselling Monument 14 trilogy.

Ancient powers. Strong love. Desperate times.

1883. Hanne would give anything to be free of the ancestral Viking curse that overcomes her when she or anyone she loves is in danger. She becomes a Berserker―an elegant, graceful and shameless killer.

When she kills three men attacking their father, Hanne and her siblings must flee Norway and head to the American frontier, on a desperate search for their uncle, the one man who can help Hanne learn to control her powers.

Aided by a young cowboy who agrees to be their guide, Hanne and her siblings use their ancient powers to survive the perilous trail, where blizzards, wild animals, and vicious bounty hunters await.

A gripping and emotional story filled with adventure, destruction, longing and redemption.

• ISBN13: 9781250055200
• Publish Date: 10 October 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 23 January 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

When I read the blurb for Berserker, I was immediately intrigued. Norse mythology and Vikings have always been subjects that I have been interested in. I thought (actually still think) that the Viking society was fascinating. I also think that Norse mythology is fascinating too. When I saw that the different powers that Hanne has are a gift to from the gods, I needed to read this book. I am glad I did because Berserker is a book that was well worth my time reading.

Berserker starts off in Norway. Hanne is a simple farm girl who has a horrible secret. If she sees anyone that she loves harmed in any way, she flies into a killing state. That state is called a Berserker and the Vikings from which Hanne is descended from made the term famous. Hanne is able to keep her gift a secret until she witnesses her father being murdered. It is then that she flies into Berserker mode and kills the men who murdered her father. With her mother long gone, it is up to Hanne’s older brother to keep the family together. When Hanne’s younger brother is accused of the murders, Hanne decides that traveling to America is the only way to keep him out of jail. It is also the only way to keep their powers secret. But, there are outside forces who are searching for the siblings. And they have the means to capture the kids and return them to Norway. The question is, will they? Or will Hanne and her siblings be able to settle in America and live out their lives in peace?

I felt awful for Hanne for about 90% of the book. Her family feared and loathed her. Which was not right. She had no control over what powers she would get. It was an unlucky roll of the dice that she got Berserker. Hanne needed reassurance from her parents, not for both of them to turn their backs on her. Even her siblings feared her. They also blamed her for their mother leaving. I wanted to reach through the book and hug her, I felt that bad for her. But, once she got to America, she started to change. She started coming out of her shell and started realizing that she could learn to control her powers. It was a very powerful thing to read.

I loved how the author wove the fantasy and historical elements of this book together. It made the book so very interesting to read. I could picture myself on the train with the Norse immigrants. I could see them being treated as 2nd hand citizens because of how they were dressed. I could see myself with them as they crossed the Atlantic on a ship. And when they had to go through Ellis Island to be allowed into the country.

I do have a gripe with Berserker. It was the storyline with Rolf, Ketil and their mission for the Baron to gather more Nytteson. The Nytteson were people who had powers like Hanne and her brothers. It as not resolved and that bugged me. The author did attempt to end it with Rolf but I was left very dissatisfied.

The end of the book was fantastic. Actually, the word I am thinking of here is wild. Everything that transpired in the ending was intense. I did think what happened to Ketil was very fitting. I also had my reservations about Rolf. With the way the book ended, I am hoping that a book 2 is in the works. I would love to read it.

Berserker is an intense fantasy, historical fiction, young adult book. It had a great plot. It also had great characters. This is a book that I could see myself reading over and over.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Violence. Other than some graphic scenes of people being killed, the book is very clean.

I would like to thank Emmy Laybourne, Macmillian Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Berserker.

All opinions expressed in this review of Berserker are mine

I received no compensation for this review

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Warning this book does contain violence toward both humans and some animals.

"All the gifts besides mine make something... A Berserker kills. A Berserker takes life and crushes it out."


I'm also a part of the street team for this book so make sure to check out my other social media as well to see some exclusives.

Hanne along with her siblings (Sissel, Knut, Stieg) are Nyette meaning they have a gift or a curse that was given to their ancestors by the Norse Gods in Viking times. Hanne is known as a Berserker meaning that she will do anything to protect those she loves if she thinks they are being attacked. We have older brother Stieg who can control the weather. Younger brother Knut who is super strong and then baby sister Sissel who has yet to have the Nyette gift.
Their father also has the gift and made beautiful ships before his gift turned into a curse the older he got. As for their mother she had no idea about it until they started showing that they had gifts, and then after a horrible tragedy happened to Sissel she left because she just couldn't handle it.
This left them to fend for themselves due to their father having a drinking problem. Stieg and Hanne had to handle all of the responsibilities and tried to care for their younger siblings as best as they could. But it's now time for Stieg to go to America and he'll send for them when he has enough money to.

It all changes one night though when Hanne goes Berserker and they all must flee. This is when things got good. Not only did we see the siblings work together from this point on we also get to know more about why their ancestors were given these gifts and how they were supposed to be used.
Once they make it to America it's time to find an uncle who is supposed to be able to help them. But getting to him might just lead them all to their deaths.

"You got family and they love you,... You belong to them, and them to you. That's something worth defending, Hanne."

I have nothing but good things to say about this book. It held my interest from start to finish. By the end of it I loved all of the siblings and Owen who I was a little unsure of at first.

I'll be the first to admit I don't really know much about Mythology or anything like that. I know the basics of Olympus, etc but anything outside of that I am completely clueless on. So this book while not only really interesting because of learning about the Norse gods and the gifts they gave their people to help them thrive. It was also interesting how it was worked into the old west and how now maybe even people here were going to start having it as well because of them immigrating away from where they were originally from.

Four siblings trying to start a new life in America.Three of them with super abilities. Two people hunting them, and one helpful cowboy this book was packed full of history and adventure.

I already want to read the next one in this series!

"It was a life so simple and so lovely she could have dreamed it for herself. Hanne would fight for it, for she meant now to live and live fully."

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

I was very excited to get to this book, because did you read the synopsis? Sounds amazing, right? And yay, it really was! I am quite a fan of historical fiction, and I think you probably need to at least like it to enjoy this book, because it definitely fits that genre. But there's a lot more to it, of course! So, let's get to it.

What I Enjoyed:

• Oooh, this book is dark. I really didn't expect to go to some of the places that it did. It was pretty rough at times, but not unnecessarily so. What I mean is, the harshness was a great parallel to the world around the characters. It made the tension of the book at a constantly heightened state, and made the stakes feel very high.


• The family connections were great. I loved that this group of siblings wanted to keep each other safe no matter what. Admittedly, they had a lot of troubling relationship dynamics throughout the book, but that too seemed quite realistic, especially in the situation.


• I liked the magic aspect. Magic and powers can be very hit or miss for me. But in this case, I thought they worked well. The way they were integrated into the world worked for me, and I liked that it was something they tried to keep under wraps. It just felt, to me, as believable as magic can.


• The settings were amazing! While we didn't spend a ton of time in Norway, I was happy that we got a glimpse of it. And of course, the uncharted American west was awesome. Not only that, it worked well in the context of the story.

There was only one real thing that was lacking a bit for me, and that was that I didn't feel quite the emotional connection to the characters that I would have liked. I mean, I cared about the outcome and their fates, but sometimes I just felt a bit distant from them.

Will I Read the Sequel? I'd literally read it this second if someone handed it to me!

Bottom Line: Historical fiction that is often quite dark, and includes elements of magic? Oh so much yes. Need the next book, because obviously.

*Copy provided for review