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“You will never think of them as the Dark Ages again. Nicola Griffith’s command of the era is worn lightly and delivered as a deeply engaging plot. Her insight into human nature and eye for telling detail is as keen as that of the extraordinary Hild herself. The novel resonates to many of the same chords as Beowulf, the legends of King Arthur, The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones—to the extent that Hild begins to feel like the classic on which those books are based.
— Neal Stephenson
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Nicola Griffith is an awe-inspiring visionary, and I am telling everyone to snatch this book up. Hild is not just one of the best historical novels I have ever read--I think it's one of the best novels, period. It sings with pitch-perfect emotional resonance, and I damn well believe in this woman and everyone she engages. I finished the book full of gratitude that it exists, and longing for more.
— Dorothy Alison
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You could describe Hild as being like Game of Thrones without the dragons, but this is so much deeper than that, so much richer. A glorious, intensely passionate walk through an entirely real landscape, Hild leads us into the Dark Ages and makes them light, and tense, and edgy, and deeply moving. The research is flawless, the characters fully alive. If it wasn't like this, it should have been--and I'm sure that it was!
— Manda Scott
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What a fabulous book! Hild has all the joys of historical fiction--transportation into a strange, finely detailed world--along with complex characters and a beautiful evocation of the natural world. But the tensions of the gathering plot make Hild feel like a quick read--too quick! I fell into this world completely and was sorry to come out. Truly, truly remarkable.
— Karen Joy Fowler
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“What a fabulous book! Hild has all the joys of historical fiction—transportation into a strange, finely detailed world—along with complex characters and a beautiful evocation of the natural world. But the tensions of the gathering plot make Hild feel like a quick read—too quick! I fell into this world completely and was sorry to come out. Truly, truly remarkable.”
— Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club
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“Griffith’s
prose transports and beguiles.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
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“Griffith
has taken what little is known of the life of St. Hilda and imagined a vibrant,
if brutal, world. Her descriptions are inventive and vivid, making Hild a
pleasure to sink into…Our male heroes are going to be jealous.”
— Washington Post
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“Hild
is a brilliantly researched, intensely granular, almost out-of-body experiences
of being transported to another world. Every detail of life in the seventh
century is foreign, but rings true. The plot kept things moving, and the
prose reminded me of Marilynne Robinson in its beauty and strangeness.”
— Huffington Post
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“Luminous prose…A nice medieval trope.”
— Chicago Tribune
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“Griffith goes boldly into the territory, lingering over landscape, wallowing in language, indulging the senses, mixing historical fact with feminist fiction in a sweeping panorama of peasants working, women weaving, children at play, and soldiers in battle: the Dark Ages transformed into a fantasy world of skirt and sword.”
— Publishers Weekly
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“Provides a fascinating view of women’s lives in the early Middle Ages, from their vital roles in textile production and keepers of the household to sleeping arrangements and sexuality.”
— Library Journal
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“Griffith triumphs with this intelligent, beautifully written, and meticulously researched novel.”
— Booklist (starred review)
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“Griffith does admirable work in imagining and populating the ancient British world…Elegantly written—and with room for a sequel.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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“Nicola Griffith is an awe-inspiring visionary, and I am telling everyone to snatch this book up…It sings with pitch-perfect emotional resonance, and I damn well believe in this woman and everyone she engages. I finished the book full of gratitude that it exists, and longing for more.”
— Dorothy Alison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina
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“You could describe Hild as being like A Game of Thrones without the dragons, but this is so much deeper than that, so much richer. A glorious, intensely passionate walk through an entirely real landscape, Hild leads us into the Dark Ages and makes them light, and tense, and edgy, and deeply moving. If it wasn’t like this, it should have been—and I’m sure that it was!”
— Manda Scott, author of Dreaming the Eagle
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“Vivid, vital, and visceral, Hild’s history reads like a thriller.”
— Val McDermid, author of A Place of Execution