Book Review: Out of the Northern Mist: The Cimbri Appear by Jeff Hein

 

The Details:

The Cimbri Appear by Jeff Hein

Published: October 2021

Publisher: Red Wolf Books

Genre: Historical Fiction, Ancient Historical Fiction, Military Fiction

Pages: 346

Available: Paperback

Series: Book 1

Sex: ❤ on romantic scene, very mild

Violence: 😨 lots of battle descriptions, torture, human sacrifice

 

My Review:

Reviewers Note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Plot in Brief:  The traditional homeland of the Cimbri people is destroyed by a flood. The survivors set out on to find a new place where they can set down roots and start over but many miles, enemies and further tragedy stand in their way.

The Characters: There are a lot of characters in this book! The author provides references to keep everyone straight but this is hard to access in an eBook.

Borr is the main character. When the story opens, he is a youth, and we follow him as he matures and becomes the natural leader of his people. His character is well drawn and I found him believable with a great character arc. I enjoyed the family dynamics and the relationship between Borr and his sweetheart.

The Roman characters are given less page time, but I felt that they were sufficiently fleshed out, especially those that seem will be featured in future books.

The History: The book is set in the second century BC, beginning in the year 120BC when the Roman Empire flourished and barbarians roamed Northern Europe. The book is the story of the Cimbri people, a Germanic tribe which originated in Jutland (Denmark) and their search for a homeland following a flood. The narrative follows their progress through central Europe and their encounters with other Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. I really enjoyed reading about these ancient peoples and their movements across the continent. As I know little about this historical period I’m cannot pass judgement on the historical accuracy, but it certainly appears to be a well-researched book with an excellent glossary and historical notes. I found it both entertaining and informative.

The Writing: The book is told in both 1^st person by the character Borr and in 3^rd person by various other characters. I was sometimes confused by the various 3^rd person narratives which appeared mid chapter and the Romans were hard to keep track of. I think this would be easier in a paperback so the reader can reference the provided family charts, etc.  

The book is very well written, the pace is fast and the story engaging.

Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a time period that I am not very familiar with and I felt like I learned quite a bit. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction, Ancient Rome, Military Fiction.

 

My Rating: I give this book 4 1/2 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ stars

Jeff's Book has had a minor snafu in publishing to Amazon and will be ready soon! You can preorder now at Target and B&N