By the Mountain Bound [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Bear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

For five hundred years the immortal Children of the Light, einherjar and valkyrie, have lived together in the North of Valdyrgard. They were born out of the Sea, each with a shining crystal sword in his or her hand; they are Angels of Light created in the formation of a new world.  But three have come before them, from the death-throes of the old world, Midgard: the world-girdling Serpent, Bearer of Burdens;  the Wolf Fenris, eater of the Sun, who now takes the form of an einherjar; and his demon sister, stealer of souls.

The Children spend their days feasting, fighting, hunting, and guarding their human charges. But one dreadful day a woman is washed up from the sea, a Lady who is no mortal, though she is not valkyrie either. Thus begins the breaking of the Children of the Light, the tarnishing of their power, and the death of Valdyrgard.

By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to Elizabeth Bear’s highly acclaimed All the Windwracked Stars, and tells the painful tale of love and betrayal, sorcery and battle, that led up to the day when Muire was left alone in the snow at the end of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this complex prequel to Hugo-winner Bear's All the Windwracked Stars (2008), Ragnarok has already occurred, but the world must still be cleansed of the residue of the former realm. When immortal einherjar war-leader Strifbjorn rescues a strange woman from drowning, she claims to be the Lady, a long-awaited deity, and defeats Strifbjorn's champion and lover, Mingan the Gray Wolf, to take command. The ensuing internal power struggles set the einherjar at odds while the Lady attempts to rally the community against a supposedly imminent attack by giants. Numerous fantasy authors adopt the tropes of Norse mythology, but Bear actively pursues them, channeling those myths directly rather than overlaying them on more familiar ones. The result demands much from readers, but repays it in vivid, sensual imagery of a wholly different world. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

The prequel to All the Windwracked Stars (2008) details events leading up to that book’s opening, with the heroine, Muire, standing on a snowy field at Ragnarok, the end of the world. To backtrack: a mysterious woman washes ashore, and Strifbjorn brings her to his hall. No waelcyrge (Valkyrie) and no mortal, she will set the Children of the Light against one another until battle destroys them all. Bear weaves together the threads of a story of the old world and the three who came from it to the new one, of great loves requited and not, and of subtle battles of wits, sorcery, and swords. Employing three viewpoints, those of the wolf Mingan, the historian Muire, and the warrior Strifbjorn, the novel is a multifaceted, epical story of how the world ends, whose atmosphere is entirely different from that of All the Windwracked Stars but which shares with that book a similar depth of wonder and brilliant realization of the world both inhabit. Another beautiful, awe-inspiring, quite glorious read from Bear. --Regina Schroeder

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765318830
• ISBN-13: 978-0765318831
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I tell stories. I prefer the mountains to the desert, and rain to sun. My eyes are blue. I like flying on airplanes, but they keep making the seats smaller.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very original and engrossing plot., March 12, 2010

By 

Greg "Reviewer for fantasyliterature com" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: By the Mountain Bound (Kindle Edition)

The Einherjar and the Waelcyge are the immortal Children of the Light that were born of the sea when the world was created. For five hundred years, they were charged with protecting the human race and preparing for the war that would one day come. As they anticipated the glory of fighting with honor, it never occurred to them that the final battle would be with each other.

This series, the EDDA OF BURDENS, seems to have gotten somewhat mixed reviews. Some readers don't like the order of the books. By the Mountain Bound is the second book, which is the story that leads up to the last battle at the beginning of the first book, All the Windwracked Stars. Personally, I love it and wouldn't change a thing.

I do have to admit that I had a hard time getting through one of the early chapters (I started to wonder if the title should be By the "Broke-back" Mountain Bound and yeah, I admit, the "rated R" sexual content wouldn't have bothered me as much if it was heterosexual -- Sorry, I'm old and don't know better.) But once past those few pages, I realized this was an important element in the story, and I still grew to like both characters very much.

In fact, even though Elizabeth Bear has created a very original and engrossing plot, it's the terrific characters that make this story work.

Anyone who read the first book or has a vague knowledge of Norse mythology already has a good idea of how this ends. Knowing the conclusion does not lessen its impact -- and there are still a few surprises.

I've always had a place in my heart for the "few stood against many/ no hope of winning" stories, but to make that that theme to work, the reader really has to be able to empathize with the characters. I found that my admiration for the courage of Einherjar, the Waelcyrge, and the Valraven -- the Waelcyrges' war-mounts -- was equaled by my regret for those that dishonored themselves to become "tarnished." Even when one of my favorite characters commits a horrific act, my remorse for him outweighed the outrage that demanded justice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Greek tragedy, September 2, 2010

By 

J. C. D. Boot (The Hague the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: By the Mountain Bound (Hardcover)

By the mountain bound has the inevitability of a Greek Tragedy without however the the moral. Unless the moral is that "the history of man is the histroy of War". Being an old heterosexual male I did not care much about the homosexual love affair of the two protagonists, but that's maybe because I just can't understand homosexual love. I loved the windwrecked stars. Had I read this first I might not have gone on, but now I want to back to the windwrecked stars.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite so far, January 25, 2010

By 

Anastasia (Staten Island, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: By the Mountain Bound (Hardcover)

This book is part of the Edda of Burdens trilogy, the first chronologically, but second in publishing order after All the Windwracked Stars. It works well as a standalone, and I think it's a better place to start reading, as it's more linear and less confusing than All the Windwracked Stars. Each book really enhances the reading of the other, filling in details and resolving mysteries.

The Plot: Einherjar and waelcyrge (angels and valkyrie) are Children of the Light, charged with protecting humans under the guidance of the Light. The 3 main characters (in this book as well as the trilogy) are Stifbjorn - the leader, Mingan - the Wolf, older and more powerful than the rest, survivor of the previous world's end, given new shape in this one, and Muire - smaller of the valkyrie, historian and poet rather than warrior, hopelessly in love with Stifbjorn, who shares a secret and forbidden relationship with Mingan the Wolf.

Everything is upended when a mysterious stranger, Heythe, appears, claiming to be their foretold Lady and challenging Stibjorn for leadership. Yet there are hints of darkness about her, and she may destroy the Children instead of saving them.

The writing is achingly beautiful, and the focus is on the characters' emotional journey (angst! love, betrayal, loyalty, sacrifice). I absolutely loved it. I liked all the characters, and Mingan's POV was particularly compelling. There's pieces of Norse mythology woven through. This is a book to read and re-read.