Of Ice & Magic by Hugh B. Long

Epic Fantasy
From a land of ice and fire comes a tale of Vikings and Magic
Magic still lurks in the dark corners of the world. At the ends of the Earth in an ancient land of ice and fire, the last remaining life-forger plies his trade, crafting legendary living-blades for those few Viking nobles who can afford them.

Betrayed and on the run, Fornulf and his family must enlist forgotten allies and forge new alliances to rid their homeland of evil. To defeat the usurper king and save his people, Fornulf is forced to make a choice no man should have to.

- Filled with magic, betrayal, heartache, and courage, "Of Ice & Magic" defines Epic Fantasy. * A Novella (19,300 words)


Although Of Ice & Magic is Fantasy, the tale is firmly rooted in history and combines a detailed historical setting--medieval Iceland--with Norse Mythology and Viking supernatural beliefs.


In this epic tale you'll find examples of Magic which the Vikings believed in and practiced:

Seith - spirit walking among the nine worlds
Galdr - chanting the runes to cast spells
Runic Divination - using the runes to divine possible future outcomes, predating Tarot by many centuries.@goodreads 

MY REVIEW:

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1372688251         5 STARS

The old gods died. Magic died. I wept to see them gone.

Wow! Who knew that a novella of an epic fantasy could be so freaking good! I totally loved this book.

What do I say without giving out spoilers :) I just want to talk about the whole thing.

Okay so you have have Fornulf (which means ancient wolf), he is the last living-sword, life-forger. Although, his son, Karl is his apprentice and has been for four years, so hopefully this will continue on in the family.

Fornulf forges a sword for the evil Lord Torgny, but at the time he didn't know Torgny was evil.

When Fornulf forges a sword, not only does it take a lot of materials, it takes a willing sacrifice that say the words to the sword that they give their soul willingly. Well... when I say life-sword, I mean LIFE SWORD.

Fornulf also has a daughter named Brynn that is very good with weapons, better than her brother even.

When Fornulf and Karl go to the towns for a couple of days to buy supplies and nice things for Brynn and their mom Hilde with the large bag of money they got for the sword the jerk Torgny comes back to their home attempting to kill them all. Some did get killed but I won't say who.

This leads to an alliance with Torgny's nephew Gunner and brings the townsfolk together to help forge another sword for Gunner. They also have magic and sorcery that help in this endeavor. What occurs is just so awesome and sad that I'm holding back from telling everything what happened. OH and the end is so good I can't hardly stand it. Talk about getting revenge!

I recommend to all high fantasy book lovers!