Customer Reviews

Northworld Trilogy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've read just about everything that Mr. Drake has written,
at least twice, and I think this may possibly be his best work.

It's definitely not normal SF, like "Killer" nor alternate-
history SF, like "Ranks of Bronze", nor yet sword-and-sorcery
fantasy like "the Lord of the Isles" books.

It's mythology. He wrote it after spending time in Iceland
reading the Prose Edda, and he accomplished exceptionally
well exactly what he wanted to do. He translated the Norse
Myths into what we call "Science" Fiction, so that people
who are able to enjoy SF can experience those myths the way
the original creators of those stories *meant* them to be
experienced.

This is a level of translation that's an awful lot more
valuable, and a lot harder, than casting it into modern
English. But with Drake's classical and historical training,
this is the story he was born to write. (Well, this and
"Ranks of Bronze.")

These stories contain the best Odin, and best Thor, the
best Loki -- and all the rest of the crowd -- that have
been written in seven hundred years. Once long ago I
enjoyed comic books with the blond guy with the big hammer
who talked funny. Drake has given me a Thor that I can
understand, enjoy, and re-read three times -- as an adult.
They don't have form-fitting green costumes. They do have
armor, and guns, and attitudes. These are the real ones.

Some people aren't going to get it. OK. But if you happen
to be a person who *can* get it -- YOU NEED THESE BOOKS.
If I lost mine, I would go without food for three days to
get them back.


I'm writing this because I didn't pay enough for these books
compared to what I got out of them. And because, in a few
hours, I'm going to finish my current re-reading, which means
I won't be able to go back to Northworld for several years.
If you haven't read them yet, and if you're a person to whom
these myths will speak, you're lucky.

Try to get an edition that will last a very long time.

I'm from Iceland and know the myths that Drake bases this book on quite well and I must say he does a very good job. The story is well writin and manages to bring the feeling of the viking sagas into a great sci-fi book. Strongly recommand this book for all Drake fans

Northworld is one of my favorite books. I've owned my copy of it for about two years, and am now reading it for the fourth time. This book is complex at times, so you have to put some effort into keeping up with it. David Drake did a good job combining sci fi and nordic mythology. The combinations of futuristic technology with a feudal society in the Peace Rock sections is especially interesting. And in response to those who say the ending is predictable, yes it is. And I would have been disappointed with any other ending.

The Northworld Trilogy, based on Norse tales, is not a light, airy read. Many of the characters are less than likeable, and blood and gore are easy to find (not a problem here, but some are more squeamish). That said, this is a good series. One reviewer complained that some of the characters were two-dimensional. Doesn't everyone know a few people who seem the same? Not everyone in this world or any other has varied and complex reasons for their actions, or lack thereof. The characters have their reasons, and one of the driving forces for many of them (as was true in many Norse stories) is revenge. Mr. Drake has a way with imagery, especially when dealing with combat that makes it seem as if you are in the fight, and you care about the characters involved. All in all, a good series by an author with many good series such as Hammer's Slammer's; the Igniting the Reaches trilogy; and his new series, with Eric Flint, (An Oblique Approach, and In the Heart of Darkness).Also HIGHLY recommended is his book, Patriots.

Okay I will keep it short, although there have been criticisms of the ending, I don't agree with them, predictable yes but I don't see how that is automatically negative. But the true strong point of this work is how the author blends craft and wonderful ideas. I do like Simon R. Green and an earlier review had mentioned him as a better alternative, but Green does not have the craft or skill to his writing that Drake does. He has great ideas though. Basically what I am attempting to say is this, Northworld is a wonderfully written series that you can easily lose yourself in.

This is another classic trilogy from David Drake, who forged "Hammers' Slammers" and also (with Steve Stirling, another fine wordsmith) gave us "The General" series. Drake is particularly adept and both using and acknowledging the sources of myth and legend while striding boldly outside what we used to think were the limitations and cliches of those genres.

Nils Hansen is a tough, brutal man but no more so than is necessary to get the job done; and as in all of Drake's so-called military science fiction (which category does his work a descriptive disservice) here is a series hero who, like most people who work at 'the sharp end', understands all too well that - Nietzsche to the contrary - that which does not kill us does not make us stronger; it usually leaves us crippled in mind or in body and wired and plumbed with tubes and monitors and pain snaking around under the sheets.

As Drake himself has said (and I have poorly paraphrased); if you choose to deploy men of violence then you owe it to them, yourself and the rest of society to not be ashamed, surprised or ignorant of the results. Not that Drake uses his books to expound philosophy; this is an excellent read on many levels.

Drake tells strong stories strongly. And in a field where all too many authors over-indulge in the presentation of motivations and personal psychology to the detriment of action and passion, Drake is an outstanding craftsman of damn good books.

Even without the Norse mythos tie-in, the Northworld Trilogy is an enjoyable read in its own right. David Drake paints an unusual 'mini-verse' involving multiple worlds / planes of existence, with the ability for his gods to travel between them. The creation of the lightning battle armor is very inventive, and the reader can easily imagine the fight scenes as if in a movie. Character development is always interesting in a David Drake novel, and he gives the full treatment to his lead character here.

Enjoyable, creative, and fun to read. Recommended.

LOVED the first book. Enjoyed the character Hansen.

Not happy with the turn Penny took in book 2. There was also how Hansen seemed to have been in love with Queen Unn from book 1.

Not at all consistant with the first time line.

Like his work, but wish there was more continuity.

This review is for the whole trilogy and not just the first book.

David Drake's best stories create characters and environments (such as soldiers in a theater of combat) which seem straightforward but are actually quite alien to those of us who live in modern, civilian settings.

Northworld transports a character from a futuristic civilization into a barbaric, violent world, where life is short and (for the majority) unpleasent.

A lot of authors spend page after page describing rustic sunsets and muddy roads and leave me feeling like they're imagining everything happening in a 'holodeck' with low-tech scenery but modern behavior and motives.

David Drake tells this story through his characters' actions rather then through extensive description or tortured internal monologues, and Northworld takes us with the main character to an alien world based loosely on Drake's intepretation of Norse Eddas.

I love it, and keep my copy around for re-reading, but it is a story that I have to be in the mood for due to its grim environment.

Although this story starts off a little slowly, it is defiantly one of the better Science Fiction trilogies i have ever read. The average reader will not have a problem getting into the plot of this story as it is very easy to understand. Captain North was sent to survey a new planet and he and his crew both disappeared. Three more fleets of ships were sent to learn what happened to them and neither soul nor message returned. The forth time, the rulers of the galaxy sent a single man: Nils Hansen. The story starts out with Hansen as the leader of a Special Units team keeping his planet safe from some of the most violent and intelligent criminals in the galaxy. He doesn't stay there long however. The plot of this story is so original that you can't help but be drawn in by it. The characters are great and you really get to know Hansen and love to see him win. The battle parts are great and the weapons used are nothing short of awe inspiring. It gives a whole new definition to the word armor. The only bad thing i have to say about this book and the only thing that keeps it from receiving 5 stars is the fact that is is NOT complete by any stretch of the imagination. You are left wondering what happens next at the end of the book. Many of the sub plots are left the same way with the main characters just dropped someplace. It is very frustrating as you grow to like all of them in different ways through the course of the book. As a whole i would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who likes Sci-fi but i hope you have a good imagination because your gonna have to make up the endings yourself.