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Northworld #2
Vengeance
Nils Hansen, Commissioner of Security Forces, must venture into the forbidding environs of Northworld, where previous explorations have mysteriously vanished.
330 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1991
About the author
David Drake
426 books866 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 7, 2022
I liked this book but like a lot of other readers had a hard time really seeing the point. I did like that the stories were like rehashes from the old Viking tales. I just didn't feel for any of the characters at all and I really didn't seem to care if any of them died. I still enjoyed it but felt like a lot was missing. I will eventually read the last one at some point.
May 16, 2014
Some reviewers seem to question what this book is about. Well, it is not hard. It is about vengeance. Bloody, grisly, heartless, vengeance. Viking Vengeance. It is also about respect, love, and enduring friendship. Turning your enemy's greed to your advantage. A few other emotions and moral lessons that you can decide for yourself, just as all ancient tales of the gods were. Because that is what this is. A rewriting of the Norse tales, Valkyries included. Personally, I found this one even better then the first.
January 29, 2014
This is the first sequel to 'Northworld', a series of books written by David Drake based upon the old Viking epics. I had forgotten how much this book jumps around; it involves three 'major' story lines and some 'minor' lines [I guess].
We find life has really not improved much in Northworld [at least, the Western Kingdom] after Hansen helped establish 'peace' in the first book. Rovers travel the region, acting as super-powered bullies and killing anyone who looks at them twice. When Hansen visits Northworld to observe his the fruits of his labors, many years have passed. He is not happy with what he finds. He ends up getting into an argument with North and states he will have his way in the Western Kingdom regardless of what North wishes. North says that if Hansen interferes, it will have to be as a human, which means Hansen can die. Hansen agrees and sets off to 'make things right' by might. But to do so, he must acquire the help of a master smith to make the devices necessary to win the battle[s] he will be facing.
The story involves traveling through various dimensions, super [royal] battlesuits powered by the Matrix, Valkyries . . . I mean, Searchers, being taken captive by three brothers and 'forced' to become their wives, revenge upon a king and his family after he steals from and then tortures another master smith, and dinosaurs, and lizard men, and violence [but not nearly as graphic or gritty as the first book], and some sex [as well as murder and rape].
It's quite a mishmash of stories, but I think I got a better idea of why these 'new gods' are always talking about how there is no duration for them. I think that is why the stories jump around like they do. Time is thrown out of sequence, maybe, as Hansen sets about trying to accomplish his tasks.
Walker/North is obviously Odin. I think Hansen is supposed to be Thor, because in the Norse myths I have read it seemed like Thor was always cleaning up after and fixing the mistakes made by the other Norse gods. Fortin is Loki [even though he does not appear in this book]. I assume Penny is the Enchantress? [but maybe I am mixing up a character from Marvel Comics with the Norse myths; it's been a while since I read any of them]. I assume Krita is Sif, but I could be wrong.
Anyway. In one storyline Hansen is trying to help a new king maintain peace in the region Hansel helped carve out in the first book. In another story line, he enlists the help of a master smith to build a 'dragonfly' which will allow Hansen to travel easier between dimensions in order to facilitate his task in the 'first' storyline. In the third storyline, another master smith is taken captive by a rival lord attempting to overthrow Hansen's 'peace' and forced to make royal suits and other baubles for the captor.
I actually cared for Ritter; he was an intriguing character filled with personal honor.
Sparrow was vicious and not to be trifled with. He was responsible for building the super suits for Hermann [I assume]. He also had the ability to create other marvelous devices that Hermann wanted for his own. What Hermann did not realize was the depth of the darkness inside Sparrow. Prior to being taken captive by Hermann, Sparrow had lived with his three brothers in a forest, making wonderful trinkets and battle suits as suited their fancy. They would use the trinkets to buy supplies or time with women as needed. Sparrow also had a mirror by which he and his brothers were able to take the three Searchers as their wives . Sparrow was the most talented of the three and he chose to remain behind in the cabin while his brothers sought out their former wives.
It was an okay book; not nearly as graphic as the first book in terms of violent descriptions. It also jumped around more, making it hard to follow at times as there was no 'linear progression' to the story. Which makes me wonder if it tied back to the 'original gods' and their discussions about 'duration having no meaning for them.' Of course, if that is the case, one wonders .
One last note - about the cover. The cover's a hokey joke. They don't have shields; they don't use shields. And the energy coming from the gauntlets is described more as 'an arc' than a laser beam. Don't be fooled by the cover!
We find life has really not improved much in Northworld [at least, the Western Kingdom] after Hansen helped establish 'peace' in the first book. Rovers travel the region, acting as super-powered bullies and killing anyone who looks at them twice. When Hansen visits Northworld to observe his the fruits of his labors, many years have passed. He is not happy with what he finds. He ends up getting into an argument with North and states he will have his way in the Western Kingdom regardless of what North wishes. North says that if Hansen interferes, it will have to be as a human, which means Hansen can die. Hansen agrees and sets off to 'make things right' by might. But to do so, he must acquire the help of a master smith to make the devices necessary to win the battle[s] he will be facing.
The story involves traveling through various dimensions, super [royal] battlesuits powered by the Matrix, Valkyries . . . I mean, Searchers, being taken captive by three brothers and 'forced' to become their wives, revenge upon a king and his family after he steals from and then tortures another master smith, and dinosaurs, and lizard men, and violence [but not nearly as graphic or gritty as the first book], and some sex [as well as murder and rape].
It's quite a mishmash of stories, but I think I got a better idea of why these 'new gods' are always talking about how there is no duration for them. I think that is why the stories jump around like they do. Time is thrown out of sequence, maybe, as Hansen sets about trying to accomplish his tasks.
Walker/North is obviously Odin. I think Hansen is supposed to be Thor, because in the Norse myths I have read it seemed like Thor was always cleaning up after and fixing the mistakes made by the other Norse gods. Fortin is Loki [even though he does not appear in this book]. I assume Penny is the Enchantress? [but maybe I am mixing up a character from Marvel Comics with the Norse myths; it's been a while since I read any of them]. I assume Krita is Sif, but I could be wrong.
Anyway. In one storyline Hansen is trying to help a new king maintain peace in the region Hansel helped carve out in the first book. In another story line, he enlists the help of a master smith to build a 'dragonfly' which will allow Hansen to travel easier between dimensions in order to facilitate his task in the 'first' storyline. In the third storyline, another master smith is taken captive by a rival lord attempting to overthrow Hansen's 'peace' and forced to make royal suits and other baubles for the captor.
I actually cared for Ritter; he was an intriguing character filled with personal honor.
Sparrow was vicious and not to be trifled with. He was responsible for building the super suits for Hermann [I assume]. He also had the ability to create other marvelous devices that Hermann wanted for his own. What Hermann did not realize was the depth of the darkness inside Sparrow. Prior to being taken captive by Hermann, Sparrow had lived with his three brothers in a forest, making wonderful trinkets and battle suits as suited their fancy. They would use the trinkets to buy supplies or time with women as needed. Sparrow also had a mirror by which he and his brothers were able to take the three Searchers as their wives . Sparrow was the most talented of the three and he chose to remain behind in the cabin while his brothers sought out their former wives.
It was an okay book; not nearly as graphic as the first book in terms of violent descriptions. It also jumped around more, making it hard to follow at times as there was no 'linear progression' to the story. Which makes me wonder if it tied back to the 'original gods' and their discussions about 'duration having no meaning for them.' Of course, if that is the case, one wonders .
One last note - about the cover. The cover's a hokey joke. They don't have shields; they don't use shields. And the energy coming from the gauntlets is described more as 'an arc' than a laser beam. Don't be fooled by the cover!
September 26, 2020
David Drake's Vengeance is the tale of... erm... it's a story about... there's a guy, and another guy, and a magic mirror...
Quite frankly, it's hard to say what Vengeance is about, if it's about anything. As I expected, it's a tapestry of sweeping landscapes and quirky homesteads littered with unnecessary violence, obscure genetic variations, exciting technology, and effects and explosions that would make Michael Bay weep. They don't have horses or pigs and cows but they have onions and squirrels and something that makes wool, and apparently they know Wagner was.
The closest thing to a plot is our supposedly main guy's attempts to stop peace by going to war. Or stop war by going to a bigger war. Or spend 350 pages missing his one true love while sleeping with someone who can look like her at whim, before settling down with someone he's never mentioned before, and only met through a magic mirror.
Any links between the three divergent and weak narratives are not particular obvious either, and there is no sense as the pages turn that the story is rushing towards any kind of climax, with the final coming together (for a bloody and unnecessary battle, of course) feeling like an arbitrary after thought, all that keeps three lacklustre short stories together long enough to pass them off as a complete novel.
Nick
xx
Quite frankly, it's hard to say what Vengeance is about, if it's about anything. As I expected, it's a tapestry of sweeping landscapes and quirky homesteads littered with unnecessary violence, obscure genetic variations, exciting technology, and effects and explosions that would make Michael Bay weep. They don't have horses or pigs and cows but they have onions and squirrels and something that makes wool, and apparently they know Wagner was.
The closest thing to a plot is our supposedly main guy's attempts to stop peace by going to war. Or stop war by going to a bigger war. Or spend 350 pages missing his one true love while sleeping with someone who can look like her at whim, before settling down with someone he's never mentioned before, and only met through a magic mirror.
Any links between the three divergent and weak narratives are not particular obvious either, and there is no sense as the pages turn that the story is rushing towards any kind of climax, with the final coming together (for a bloody and unnecessary battle, of course) feeling like an arbitrary after thought, all that keeps three lacklustre short stories together long enough to pass them off as a complete novel.
Nick
xx
October 21, 2023
It's never a good thing when the authors has to tell you what he's doing, and you can't just tell. I had no idea the first Northworld book was telling the Edda. I've read a fair amount of different versions of quite a few of those stories, and neither the first book of this one really jump out with what stories he's telling. Sure, he's got gods and 9 planes (actually, maybe there's only 8?), but who are the analogues for who and where and not clear to me at all, except North, who seems to have lost an eye between books to make it clear.
As a result, it's kinda hard to get behind anything that's going on... Nils Hansen is supposed to be the hero, but it's not clear what he's trying to accomplish, and he's so self pitying he's annoying. That said, the setting is interesting, and I keep waiting for the point, but it's just not here yet. Sparrow's story here is good, and not one I've read before (the notes mention he is Wayland the Smith, who I have heard of but never read about), but it didn't do much for the overall narrative.
As a result, it's kinda hard to get behind anything that's going on... Nils Hansen is supposed to be the hero, but it's not clear what he's trying to accomplish, and he's so self pitying he's annoying. That said, the setting is interesting, and I keep waiting for the point, but it's just not here yet. Sparrow's story here is good, and not one I've read before (the notes mention he is Wayland the Smith, who I have heard of but never read about), but it didn't do much for the overall narrative.
June 21, 2022
After reading the first book, I expected something different from this book. It is not so much a second part but a whole new story with the same main characters and set into the same framework. I would have liked it better as a real trilogy with a continuity of the plot.
June 1, 2021
It was hard to separate from the first book, however was the same pace of action. Looking forward to completing the trilogy!
July 6, 2021
I liked this better than the first book so I've given it an extra star. More battles, of course, but also some new characters and some unexpectedly poignant scenes.
April 6, 2014
A science-fiction retelling of parts of the Norse Eddas (primarily the Volundarkvida from Elder Edda).
Like the first book in this series, it's full of gratuitous violence and sex (and women who are easily manipulated simply by having sex with them). But that's the way the Eddas rock…
I'd give this one 2½ stars if I could.
Like the first book in this series, it's full of gratuitous violence and sex (and women who are easily manipulated simply by having sex with them). But that's the way the Eddas rock…
I'd give this one 2½ stars if I could.
March 19, 2008
Even at 16 I was unimpressed by the sequels.
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August 22, 2008Northworld: Vengeance by David Drake (2000)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews