All the Horses of Iceland

This is beautiful, the mix of historical fiction, lore, and magical realism pops from the page. This is the kind of book that takes its time, and you can't expect to fly through it with action and adventure. The stakes were lost on me (in that there weren't high stakes or anything that really pushed the plot forward), but slowly as it moved, there was beauty in the novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“This mare's story proves that one can be famous without a name, a valuable lesson.”

I don't normally pick up novellas unless they're a part of a series I'm reading, but the cover for this one and the blurb on NetGalley were to interesting to pass up. This short story follows Icelandic trader Eyvind as he accompanies another trader on a three year trading journey to trade with the qan's tribe. There, he performs a great task for the qan and is given wealth (in horses) and prestige.

The story has a weird ebb and flow to it that took me a bit to get into. What really compelled me forward was the mythological feel to the story, like I was reading an actual retelling of a myth. The writing style was fantastic, I thought, and I know some people found Eyvind flat or distant, but I thought he was pragmatic and had a dry sense of humor. The horses, despite being the key part the novella hinges on, don't actually feature in the story until the last half or so, and I was a little disappointed at them not being more of a feature.

I'm still giving this novella 4 stars, if only because I liked the short journey we went on, and for a really unique and intriguing writing style.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.