The Soul Thief

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: "You can't judge a book by its cover" as the saying goes. Once again, I've made that fatal error. I'm an avid reader of historical fiction, particularly of stories set in ancient times. While Ms. Holland is apparently a prominant figure in this genre, I had never read any of her novels. But this tale of Vikings and adventure sure sounded interesting.

And it was, at least during the first few chapters. Corban is a young man in an Irish village and witnesses the brutal murder of his family and the sacking of his town by Vikings. In the aftermath, however, he cannot find the body of his twin sister and through their psychic connection, he knows she is alive and sets out on a quest to find her, swearing that he would succeed or die trying.

And so we have a set-up for an awesome adventure story. But once Corban's journey actually begins, the story becomes increasingly [weak]. A few examples:

--Our hero supposedly embarks on a 'do-or-die' mission to locate his lost sister, to whom he is connected at the soul He vows to never rest until he learns of her fate. But within the first day, Corban is only a few miles outside of his village and he contemplates THREE TIMES about just giving up because she is probably dead anyway.
--Once he gets his act together, we witness an early scene in the book where Corban recieves a purse full of money as a reward for helping a mighty warrior. A local man named Grod sees this and offers to help Corban find his sister if Corban pays him upon arrival to the Viking lands, while his motive is actually to steal the money. Corban accepts and they set out on their adventure, later developing a friendship. But wouldn't it have been easier if Grod had simply killed Corban--or at least clocked him on the head with a stick--and stolen his money?
--During his relentless and devoted search for his lost sister, Corban takes several weeks to flirt with a girl in an impoverished village.

Yawn.

The story is also full of historical fiction cliches. Before the massacre, Corban lived in the shadow of his father, trying in vain to earn his respect and trust and love (the "Gladiator" movie, and pretty much any novel about Alexander the Great). The idea of twins conjoined at the soul with the ability to read the other's thoughts is present in countless fantasy novels (of which "The Soul Thief" inexplicably becomes about halfway through...suddenly, we have spells, potions, and magic cloaks). We also see the supposed transition of a simple country boy into a brave and noble man as the result of a horrific experience (a-la "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield). Corban's girlfriend, although impoverished and weak, has a knack for painting...but feels guilty about her "art" and struggles to supress her artistic urges, not unlike Chaim Potok's masterpeice "My Name is Asher Lev". And in the tradition of "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Bradley and the "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV series, Holland tries to give us the female slant on historical events; in this case, she builds up the status of Viking warlords (the 'bad guys' of the novel) only to reveal that they are actually under the influence and mind-control of their sorceress wives, but still take credit for everything. Yeah, I know that "behind every great man is a greater woman" but geez, enough already.

And in some cases, we can see right through the details. Corban witnesses a dogfight, and Holland describes the dogs' fur as matted with sweat. But dogs, of course, cannot sweat. In the author's view of 8th century Norse history, corn is a readily cultivated resource, whereas in reality, it was not seen in Europe until the Spanish brought it back from the Americas in the 1500s. And speaking of the Americas--yes, it's now common knowledge that Vikings were probably the first Europeans to visit the American continent, several centuries before Columbus. Holland tries to work this into her story, but in an almost comical fashon: at one point in Corban's journey, he boards a sailing vessel to travel from modern-day England to the Norse territory, a trip of 300+ miles. But the ship get caught in a wicked storm and is blown off course the entire width of the Atlantic to a strange land inhabitted by large rodents covered with spines (porcupines) and dark-skinned people. Man, that was one massive storm...!

But above all, Holland's text itself is laughable. The dialogue is cheesy and thin and the descriptions are straight out of a comic book. Later, she builds up characters with the utmost attention only to have them never appear elsewhere in the novel. I guess the ending was supposed to be an unexpected twist and the identity of the killer of Corban's family was supposed to be a surprise...but it's not. The whole 'feel' of the story resembles something out of a high school creative writing exercise.

So why did I give this atrocity TWO stars? Surprisingly, I found Holland's descriptions of Corban's sea adventures quite entertaining. After her excrutiatingly boring account of our hero's travels by foot, he takes a couple of sea expeditions. During these rare occasions, we can actually taste the mouthfuls of saltwater and feel the pains in our shoulders from weeks of rowing. Surely these scenes were lifted from another story, seeing how the writing quality appears nowhere else and the scenes themselves are of little relevance to the story.

Overall, I'm going against the grain by saying that this book is boring, [weak], and poorly written. The adventure is lacking and our hero is bratty and unlikable. This review may not do justice to Holland's other novels, but "The Soul Thief" is definitely NOT one of the better novels in the historical fiction genre.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth finishing...
Review: ...for many reasons. Please refer to Caesar's review for details. For me, I have a strong aversion to books in which characters shudder and shiver everytime they see or think of something frightening or repulsive. It's cartoonish.

Rating:
Summary: A story of courage, faith, love, strategy
Review: Corban is banished from his family when his father disowns him while cursing him as a coward. The story of Corban's quest to find out what he's made of - and how he draws on reserves of strategy, strength, and courage that he never knew he had along the way - begins the day after his father disowns him, when almost all of his family is viciously slaughtered by the Vikings. Only his sister, Mav, has survived, and the Vikings have taken her as a slave. Corban begins a long journey to find Mav and rescue her from the Lady of Hedeby, a witch who wants to use both siblings for her gain: from Mav, she wants to sap the young girl's gift of second sight; from Corban, she wants to manipulate King Eric Bloodaxe, who rules in Jorvik with a greedy and bloody iron fist. In Jorvik, Corban finds friends and true love, and possibly a way to save himself and his sister from the Lady of Hedeby... only that way is unknown to him and unseen by his sister until the final fateful moment of truth. The Soul Thief brims with action, self-discovery and worth, and heart - a worthwhile tale of hope and love despite the many hardships that good people face.

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: I love this author, but this book was a big disappointment.
Thing's just dragged on and on, I had to read some things twice because it didn't make sense the first time.
I didn't realize who the soul thief was until the last minute. I can't explain it, there wasn't enough story about some things-and too much about others.
The only thing that would make it up to me would be a sequel to this book written in the way of the Greenlander's or something.

Rating:
Summary: A Slice of 9th century life.
Review: The basic outline of this story has been laid out pretty well already, so I'll just touch on a few aspects of it.
Morgan LLywelyn wishes she'd written "The Soul Thief."
There's a lot of "What-if" in this book. Ms Holland's straightforward, tough-minded style and obviously well researched base in hard history take us into the world and mind of a young Irishman suddenly cast adrift in the Viking Age in Northern Europe. And who's to say that in the world before Christianity had a firm hold on the European mind, when people belonged to more elemental gods and mindsets, magic didn't work? Those people certainly believed. Next time you cross your fingers to ward off bad luck, (make the sign against the evil eye.) ask if you don't believe. Almost every account of Eric Bloodaxe's various reigns report his queen, Gunhild, to be a powerful sorceress.
Magic has always been a tool of politics. Ask Nancy Regan's or Hitler's astrologers. Both the American and Russian militaries try to gather information psychically. Police departments do it routinely. Does it work? Sometimes. Often enough that they keep doing it, anyway.
Our current High Priests (of Science) try and try and can't figure out the connection between twins.
Did Europeans land in the Americas before the Vinlanders? Why not? There's fairly plausible evidence of Phoenecian contact, if not colonies, in Brazil. (Long before the Viking Age.) There's readable Ogham in Native American petroglyphs in Virginia.
"Wherever an Irishman may go, he'll find an Irishman has been there before him." Oceans are wide, but obviously can be crossed.
Holland weaves these more fantastic elements of the story into the more familar reality until a magic coat is as natural as a comfortable pair of shoes, a stout axe, or goats in the living room. (You and I both had ancestors that thought that was just the most normal way to live.)
Like all her stories, like all good stories, this one is character driven. The magic coat makes our hero look smaller. (Reliance on external forces diminishes a man.)
Victory comes not by magic, but by will. A lesson any successful person learns.
Is the Rev. Moon a soul thief like the Lady of Hedeby?
Ask your friendly neighborhood Moonie.
All in all, this is a very good book. (Once the elements start to come together.)
Roance in the mudflats, devious intrigues among the mighty, madwomen singing the future of empires, thrones won and lost, art among the potsherds, the perfect storm, struggles for freedom, for a loaf of bread, for a silver penny, for a lost little sister. Revenge, redemption, and real life. Shades of Perseus, Dune and Abbey.
I reccomend it highly.
I'm just starting the sequel "The Witch's Kitchen" and it's a good one, too. I've come to really care about the characters, which is always a good sign.
And, by the way, before "corn" became the common name for the native to the Ameria's grain, maize, it was the common name for the grain we know as "wheat." (As in "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." Deuteronomy 25.4)
It's the kind of thing any stickler for historical detail should know.

Rating:
Summary: A sweeping Viking Tale
Review: This book from start to finish had me entranced. I believe this has to do primarily with Cecelia Holland being a truly gifted story teller. No matter where she took the story, I wanted to follow.

Corban's growth from a young boy to manhood, is swift as he is faced with the total destruction of his family. His connection with his sister leads him on his journey to save her, where he meets all sorts of people who will become important in his life.

The one part I did not enjoy in this book, was the telepathic connection with his sister. This book is rich in historical detail and I feel this detracted from the richness of the story.

Rating:
Summary: A Young Man's Quest among Vikings
Review: While young Corban is off in the hills, the Vikings come and slaughter the inhabitants of his village, but kidnap his twin sister, Mav. Enraged and desperate when he comes across the bodies of the rest of his family, Corban begins a journey to find Mav, who has ?second sight?. She is being held by the Lady of Hedeby, a witch-queen who wants to use Mav?s power to serve her own purposes for political domination of the regions of the North Sea.

Corban faces several obstacles on his journey, including a riveting storm at sea and attacks by thieves. In the town of Jorvik, he becomes involved with one of its oppressed families who lives under a mound of matted vegetation, just high enough to sit up inside. Three young girls care for their blind and senile father in this hovel, along with a few goats. The description of this place put me right there with this family; I could imagine the horrible stench inside from unwashed sweaty bodies, rotting vegetation, and goats in such close quarters. Later, as the story reaches its climax, Corban finds himself in a dangerous predicament, which puts both his life and his sister?s in danger, and the story picks up speed as events take an unexpected turn.

I found the era interesting, a time when Christianity was new and many clung to beliefs in the gods, such as Thor. But there is some fantasy and magic in the plot, which didn?t appeal to me. I prefer historical fiction that is more factual, because I want to know how it really was. Yet, I did enjoy Corban?s adventures and meetings with interesting people. Many historical novels focus on the powerful and wealthy, and their luxurious way of life, but the characters in this book are poor and filthy, scrounging for food, and not particularly lovely, an interesting change from glamorous characters. Though I found the writing style somewhat simplistic, as if written for younger readers, its shorter length is just right for a quick and entertaining romp into the past.