Yorick is a company man who is sent to the ice world of Ymir to hunt down the grendels (alien bioengineered AI) that are stalking and killing people in the mines. However, there he meets his estranged brother who wants his help with staging an insurrection, which lands him in between a rock and a hard place.
Ymir by Rich Larson is gnarly, futuristic cyberpunk novel filled with cool technology and a morally grey cast of characters.I do want to be upfront and say though that, while the blurb markets this story as a far-future Beowulf retelling, this story doesn’t share much is common with the Old English ballad asides from using the name Grendel. That’s not necessarily bad though! This book is its own unique animal.
At its core, this is a tale about the fine line between love and hate and two brothers with a lot of bad blood between them, and I think that’s what made the story so compelling for me.
However, my one complaint with this book is its worldbuilding. I feel like much of the world’s history is alluded to (like with the mysterious Oldies), but never fully explained. I’m not sure if this is because the author intends to revisit this universe later down the road, but I would have loved to have seen it fleshed out more.
Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Details:
Publication Date : July 12, 2022
Publisher : Orbit
IBSN: 0316416584
Pages : 416
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