Book Review: WOLFSANGEL by M.D. Lachlan

Wolfsangel is the first book in the Claw Trilogy. Penned by M.D. Lachlan, an alias of Mark Barrowcliffe, Wolfsangel is a novel about the Norse mythos and werewolves during the Viking age. In this book, creatures of legend and gods of myth retake their place as world-shapers and destroyers, playing with the fates of human kind.  In a time when bookstores have become chock-full of mythological monsters reimagined, Wolfsangel is as refreshing as a dip in a rime rimmed lake following the sauna that is Urban Fantasy. The werewolves, witches, magic and even the Norse gods that Lachlan uses are classic yet timeless without ever becoming tropes – a bracing  change from what so many seem to treat so trivially. Magic, for instance, does not rely on a system, but is the incomprehensible that requires madness, devotion, sacrifice and is often beyond the domains of most humans.

The gods Odin and Loki transverse many realms, interacting with the main characters throughout the books, but only to play out their pre-ordained roles locked as they are by the fates to be both the downfall and the key to freedom for one another. Their iterant nature is reminiscent of the very sagas from which we know them, yet Lachlan has masterfully balanced those stories, the expectations and understanding of how gods are supposed to persist with the needs of his saga. Time and nature do not constrain them, Loki is and is not bound to a rock with poison dripping on him, Odin is alive and dead and Fenris the wolf who eats the moon is loose and yet to be set free. All of the characters in this book are of two natures, neither dominant over the other, which creates an ethereal feel to the entire endeavor as the earth that Lachlan shows us is still one inhabited by magic.

Lachlan, even with the restraints of the Norse mythos and the Viking age, is masterful enough to use the room he’s given to pen a brilliant fantasy novel that is never boring, but thrills and leaves you wondering when and how things are going to end – even when we know the end of the world is near – as Ragnarok begins once Fenris is loosed. For the main characters, Vali, Feileg and Adisla, the age of Vikings is never pretty and the Fates (in Norse mythology known as the Norns) are harsh mistresses. They spin the yarn of destiny that Lachlan turns into a wonderful tapestry that balances coming-of-age, desire and destiny in equal measures in a world that is never as straight forward as anyone would like it to be.

Vali and Feileg are both unique warriors, but are not typical Vikings, the first relies on strategy and forethought rather than brute strength and the other, raised by wolves, fights like one with his hands and teeth. The time in which they inhabit is one of change and both of them will suffer the trials and tribulations set before them by their destinies. Adisla, like all of the women in this book, is just as strong as any of the men and battles the fates just as much. In fact, every woman in the book has more power than the men, possessing magic as many do.

Magic permeates the novel as a sublime force that is never overt. The practitioners, mainly the women of the book, never cast a spell. Instead they attempt to manipulate and cajole the world and people to bend to their will. Runes, of which Wolfsangel is one, are gifts and curses from Odin himself that act more like chess pieces than real weapons. Battles with magic involve wits and attempts at out maneuvering opponents, which balances nicely with the straight forward savagery of the fights with swords and shields.

For those that love the Norse myths, Vikings, or both, then this is a book you should not pass up, as Wolfsangel checks every one of those boxes. For fantasy lovers out there looking for something different, this is it. Wolfsangel a brilliantly crafted novel that could stand the test of time as genre fiction suffers the turning tides of trends.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Review by: Gregory Pellechi