I stumbled upon this while looking for books based on Norse mythology (the sequel is called "The Spawn of Loki"). I was delighted to find that it was a continuation/reimagining of my favorite Shakespeare play, Macbeth. Macbeth was slain by the man of no woman born, Macduff, the Thane of Fife. But his story did not end there. Another mad King now threatens Scotland, and Macduff must convince his people to ally themselves with Elves, witches and Fae folk to secure victory once again.

The author does an excellent job of capturing the flavor and tone of Shakespeare without actually using Elizabethan English. Since Macbeth has a supernatural element, and Scotland is rich in folklore, the Erl-King story flows naturally from the end of the play. Macduff’s characterization is spot on and it’s easy to imagine that the Weird Sisters would appear to him. The plot is fairly straightforward – gather an army to counter the Erl-King’s army of dark elves. Within that simple plot, there is solid character development for Macduff, and also the witches. I enjoyed their interactions, and the descriptions of the environment. There is a tiny bit of Norse mythology hinted at when Macduff visits a Viking stronghold for aid, but the story remains firmly rooted in Scotland.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the sequel. Macduff is a great character to build a series around, and I expect the stories can become more complex now that his character has been established. Highly recommended to fans of Macbeth, or folklore based fantasy. ( )