Sigurd the Volsung

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Nibelungs by William Morris, 345 pages

Now famed more for his contribution to the visual arts than for his poetry, among the notable literary works of William Morris is this adaption of the Volsunga saga into English verse.  Morris was fascinated by Norse myth and legend and had already completed translations of a number of Icelandic sagas before beginning this work, which was contemporaneous with but independent of Wagner's operas.

The poetry is deliberately archaic, not only in language, but in rhyme and meter - it is often easy to forget that it is an original work based on classical sources, and not a direct attempt at translation.  The obvious comparison is with Tennyson's Idylls of the King, and the fact that Morris' work can hold up to that comparison is testament to its quality and power.

     Ye have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew;

     How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of the Waters he drew;

     How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the Bright;

     And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men's sight.

     Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day,

     And the latter world's confusion, and Sigurd gone away;

     Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken troth,

     All the death of kings and of kindreds and the sorrow of Odin the Goth.

Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, 387 pages

Dark Triumph is Book Two in Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassins series.  Book Two picks up right where Book One left off, and the action is intense.  Focus shifts from the polite but dangerous Ismae to the mysterious, rebellious, and fascinating Sybella.  Sybella makes no apologies for herself or her chosen role as a handmaiden of death. In Book One, Sybella both arrived and left the St. Mortain convent under mysterious circumstances, all of which are revealed slowly with expert pacing throughout the course of Dark Triumph.  

While the overarching genre of historical fiction still reigns supreme, this book is full of other incredible themes:  guilt, redemption, revenge, incest, forgiveness, love and justice.  While I enjoyed Ismae's story, Sybella is certainly my favorite assassin novitiate.  Her emotions and motivations are incredibly believable and even heart-wrenching at times.   The one drawback (for some) might be the love story that occurs between Sybella and a character named the Beast.   I know some might feel it is somewhat of a cop-out to make romance as a central theme of this novel, and I can completely understand that, especially considering everything Sybella has lived through.  Still, I really like the Beast character, and I liked his contributions to the plot as well as his role as Sybella's partner-in-crime.  I cannot wait to read Book Three!