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Peaceweaver Legacy of Beowulf Rebecca Barnhouse Books

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Peaceweaver Legacy of Beowulf Rebecca Barnhouse Books

A heroic maiden good with a sword, too good, making her relatives uneasy--has her life further complicated by an unexpected gift of "far sight." Because of her actions in response to her mystic far seeing, she is condemned and imprisoned until her uncle finds a way to use her as a "Peace Weaver." These peace weavers are women given as wives to former enemies to cement a new peace. But as we learned in the earlier novel in this series, this is often a ploy to betray. The young woman sent to marry Beowulf's successor is lost in a wood inhabited by creatures very like Grendal (and the modern day legend of Sasquatch) How she escapes capture by one of these creatures, and what she does when she reaches the hall where Beowulf's young successor now rules makes a great story.


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Peaceweaver Legacy of Beowulf Rebecca Barnhouse Books Reviews

I got an eARC of this book through NetGalley(dot)com. This a wonderful historical fantasy about a young girl trying to find where she fits against insurrmoutable odds. It reminds me a bit of Robin McKinley's Hero and the Crown, Tamora Pierces books or Shannon Hale's books. I absolutely loved it. I didn't realize that this was the sequel to The Coming of the Dragon; the book stands well on its own but I really want to go back now and read The Coming of the Dragon (which is about the King of the neighboring kingdom Hild travels to).

Sixteen year old Hild is trying to step up and take on her responsibilities as a high ranking woman in a Norse Viking-like society. She is hoping she can offset the violent advice of the kings adviser and advise more political and less bloody solutions. When a strange intuition drives Hild to kill a visiting noble in an effort to save the life of the king's son, Hild expects the King to be grateful. She is stunned when she is accused of witchcraft and exiled to an enemy kingdom. She is sent their as a Peaceweaver, but knows that the King is planning war despite his offering of Hild to the enemy as a peace offering. Hild must do the best she can against not only the enemy and her home King, but also the dark monsters that haunt the woods.

I loved the historical fantasy setting of this book. It has a very Viking like/Norse feel to it. There is definitely some magic woven into the story; Hild is far-sighted and can predict certain events ahead of time...there are also mysterious dark creatures that haunt the forest Hild travels through. I enjoyed the setting a lot.

Hild is a wonderful character; she is fairly feminine and has many doubts and even moments of selfishness. Still she when push comes to shove she has a core of iron and is much tougher than she first seems. I enjoyed how realistic she was and enjoyed how she fought her self-doubt and really did what needed to be done.

The surrouding characters are equally realistic but not quite as well developed as Hild. The King of the neighboring kingdom has potential, but we never got to really know him well (probably because the first book in this series was all about him and I didn't read that one). There was also potential here for a wonderfully romantic romance between Hild and the enemy King, but that never really happens. In fact the book ends rather abruptly.

That is my only complaint about this book; just as the story is getting really good it quickly wraps up and ends. It made me sigh in frustration, we were just getting to the point where things we getting really awesome and the story ends! It doesn't end like there will be a sequel, it ends like the author needed to get it done and wrap things up as quick as possible.

Despite the hurried ending, the story is beautifully written and absolutely enchanting. I loved reading it and loved reading about Hild. I loved the characters and the Norse-like setting.

Overall this is a magical read and a very well done historical fantasy. I loved the beautiful writing and settings, and Hild was a wonderful heroine who was very realistic and easy to relate to. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending which was incredibly hurried and quickly wrapped up, it really didn't do the story justice. Still, it is a very good historical fantasy. I highly recommend to fans of historical fantasy; espeically those who love McKinley's The Hero and the Crown, Shannon Hale or Tamora Pierce.
Peaceweaver, like The Coming of the Dragon, is absolutely top notch historical fantasy. The fantastical elements (the monsters, the intervention of deities, Hild's strange gift) don't in the least make the book feel less plausible, less truly set in the dark ages of Europe; the world-building happens organically and convincingly, with lots of details woven into the story, and not just flat-out told. Rebecca Barnhouse has proven herself to be an author of historical fiction who I feel I can read with the relaxed confidence that comes from trusting that no nasty little anachronistic bits are going to kick me out of the story.

Hild is a most excellent character. From the beginning of the book, she is sympathetic, but she grows up during the course of events, become more thoughtful about her world and her place in it. For instance, she's forced to question somewhat her assumptions about the slavery that's part of her culture--and although she doesn't repudiate it on moral grounds, which would be ridiculously anachronistic, she does have a moment of truth in which she realizes that there is more to the lives of those who are enslaved than their service to their captors.

She's a strong character, in that she isn't afraid to act, but her abilities don't strain credulity--she knows how to use a sword (that scene on the cover really happens), but she's no Valkyrie. Likewise, she wants to do the right thing, but she's no holier than thou, unselfish martyr about it, and she also wants for things to work out nicely for herself!

Peaceweaver can perfectly well be read on its own, but since it includes spoilers for The Coming of the Dragon, that one really should be read first. That being said, I think Peaceweaver is the more statisfying of the two in its pacing and its plot...

Note on age of reader Hild is 16, so "young adult," but there's nothing in her story that makes it unsuitable for young readers. I'd be happy to hand this to a ten year old (which I see the publisher thinks too!). There's a bit of violent death here and there, but not so violent as to be traumatic. The arc of the story--happy young person's life is disrupted, a journey must be made and a fate chosen--is more, to me, a "middle grade" story than a "young adult" one. But boy, do I ever want the young adult story of what happens next!
A heroic maiden good with a sword, too good, making her relatives uneasy--has her life further complicated by an unexpected gift of "far sight." Because of her actions in response to her mystic far seeing, she is condemned and imprisoned until her uncle finds a way to use her as a "Peace Weaver." These peace weavers are women given as wives to former enemies to cement a new peace. But as we learned in the earlier novel in this series, this is often a ploy to betray. The young woman sent to marry Beowulf's successor is lost in a wood inhabited by creatures very like Grendal (and the modern day legend of Sasquatch) How she escapes capture by one of these creatures, and what she does when she reaches the hall where Beowulf's young successor now rules makes a great story.