All the Windwracked Stars

Starred review from September 8, 2008
Hugo winner Bear (Undertow
) perfectly captures the essence of faded hopes and exhausted melancholy in this postapocalyptic melodrama based loosely upon Norse mythology. On the Last Day, the historian Muire fled the battle, leaving her sibling Valkyries to die. More than 2,300 years later, only a single city, Eiledon, has survived as the dying world slowly turns into ice. Ashamed of her cowardice, Muire now vows to keep the last humans safe, but as she slowly pieces together the horrific truth behind the magic that has kept Eiledon standing, she must decide whether it's worth the price. Readers will be captivated by Bear's incredibly complex, broken characters; multilayered themes of redemption; and haunting, world-breaking decisions. While stilted prose slows the beginning of the tale, its finale is both rewarding and compelling.

Starred review from November 15, 2008
Ragnarok has come and gone, and with it, the destruction of the worldexcept for the failed Valkyrie Muire and her valraven, Kasimir, the winged steed of the Valkyrie. Out of their survival arises a new world, in which magic and technology combine to create something new yet achingly familiar. Two thousand years pass, and the world is again dying, with one city remaining, ruled by the Technomancer. Muire dwells in the last city, awaiting her doom, for she has caught sight of Mingan the Wolf, on the hunt for the first time since the Last Battle. Bear's ("A Companion to Wolves" with Sarah Monette) ability to create breathtaking variations on ancient themes and make them new and brilliant is, perhaps, unparalleled in the genre. Her lyrical style and heroically flawed characters make this a priority purchase for most libraries. Highly recommended. [A Sci Fi Essential Book.]

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2008
Bear creates a world with an astonishing depth of mythology in a tale that begins with Ragnarok. Though Muire was the least of her sisters, she is the only one who survived the battle between the Light and the Tarnished. One of the sisters steeds also survived, in part because of the last miracle of the Light. Two thousand years later, it is nearly the end of the world again. This time, Muire stands to fight to the end. In the last city remaining on a dying planet, her enemies are old friends, one of whom was there the last time the world ended. The Technomancer, ruler of Eiledon, has gotten her power from a most unfortunate source, and the swords of Muires lost siblings are reappearing, as are their spirits. In an epic battle for the survival of life, Muire must overcome her conviction that she is the least of the Valkyries and transform into someone who can take on ancient powers. Bears world building echoes the best of Zelazny and pulls the reader into the story and the history until its over. Muire is, despite a certain difficulty in the beginning, one of Bears more interesting and likable characters, and the mythology Bear deploys promises further satisfying stories based in it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)