Hild
You are a prophet and seer with the brightest mind in an age. Your blood is that of the man who should have been king. That's what the king and his lords see. And they will kill you, one day. Britain in the seventh century - and the world is changing. Small kingdoms are merging, frequently and violently. Edwin, King of Northumbria, plots his rise to overking of all the Angles. Ruthless and unforgiving, he is prepared to use every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, belief. Into this brutal, vibrant court steps Hild - Edwin's youngest niece. With her glittering mind and powerful curiosity, Hild has a unique way of reading the world.
Stats for nerds
2recommend
4mentions
2people
2016–2024years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I find that historical novels by science fiction authors can be very rewarding, especially when they use their world building skills to bring the past to life. The Baroque cycle by Neal Stephenson comes up from time to time on HN, but one of my favourite examples is 'Hild' [0] by Nicola Griffith, which is an excellent interpretation of seventh century Britain, focusing on the young woman who was to become known to us as Hilda of Whitby.
- People who are interested in reading a modern take on the sort of society in which Psychomachia could have been read could do worse than read 'Hild' [0] by Nicola Griffith. Hild is a fictionalized account of the early life of the woman who became Hilda of Whitby, the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby. It is a historical drama, but written by a science fiction author who uses her world-building skills to create a story of first-contact between the court of a pagan king and the alien priests of Rome, told from the perspective of a kick-ass ninja seer (Hild) who just happens to be the King's niece. Hild could easily have been a character in Psychomachia
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hild_(novel) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_of_Whitby
- It's historical (medieval) fiction, not fantasy, but Hild (http://www.amazon.com/Hild-Novel-Nicola-Griffith/dp/12500560...) is one of the best written books I've read.
edit: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell is up there http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell-Novel/dp/0...
I find J G Keely's judgement aligned to my own: http://starsbeetlesandfools.blogspot.com/2012/06/suggested-r...
- There's another interesting example of this effect in Nicola Griffith's 'Hild' books [0], which fictionalise the early life of Hilda of Whitby [1] in 7thC Britain. Some of the towns that we now recognise (York, Ipswich) already existed, but a lot of the action concerns conflict between small (but real) kingdoms that no longer exist, and that exploits the 'redcrest war streets', i.e. Roman roads, for fast tactical movement. This is one book where I really had to study the map at the beginning to figure out what was going on, even though it is my own country.
