Feast of the Raven

A warrior has a crisis of faith in Spader’s thin medieval adventure of pagans versus Christians. In 782 Germania, Saxon pagans are forced by the Frank King Karl (Charlemagne) to abandon their old gods and convert to Christianity. Gerwulf, born from a Saxon wolf warrior father and a Christian Frank mother, yearns to purge his mystical wolf nature and embrace the Christian god with the help of colorful Brother Pyttel. He hopes that if he tracks down the rebel Saxon Widukind and retrieves Karl’s powerful relic, the Holy Spear, the king will absolve him of his pagan sins. But he’s distracted by the charms of Widukind’s accomplice, the magical shieldmaiden Vala, who worships Wodan and draws Gerwulf in with the hunger of the Raven spirit, the Eater of Souls. Historically accurate settings of the Hellweg, Lippespringe, and Teutoburg Forest are lovely; the sprawling plot and lengthy diversions are all the more unfortunate by comparison. Gerwulf frets convincingly over his soul, but the other characters lack dimension. (BookLife)