An epic journey, full of mythological figures. And as with a lot of mythology, the characterisation is pretty thin. Even the protagonist, Ingrid, doesn't have much in the way of personality. In fact it's one of the supporting characters - and sometime antagonist - Glimir who's the most interesting. I've often wondered how this book would be improved if she were the main character.

The real strength here lies in the description of landscape. It's extremely evocative, and gives me a wonderful sense of an environment I've never visited. There is arguably, however, too much of it. The book as a whole is very long-winded, and could have done with being cut down by at least a third (the absolutely unnecessary bookends could go for a start).