Review: 'The First Girl Child' by Amy Harmon
Pub. Date: 8/20/2019
Publisher: 47North
Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.
Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.
Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.
What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.
As some of you may know, I am a Medievalist, and specifically one who specialises in Old Norse/medieval Scandinavian literature. I'm all about the Norse gods and the mythology and yes, this doesmake watching the Marvel movies a little painful at times (especially Ragnarok, a fun film but one that has nowhere near the drama or impact of the real Ragnarok). From the first page it became clear that Amy Harmon was also taking her inspiration from Old Norse mythology. The references to the Norse gods are frequent across the pages, as are the presence of runes, raids, and other elements that "feel" Norse. The origin story of Saylok, the country suffering under the curse of Bayr's mother, is also inspired by Old Norse mythology and initially I had some questions over it. But then I started to really appreciate the freedom Amy Harmon was taking with this material. She doesn't diverge in a way that feels disrespectful, in any way, but she does diverge in a way that allows her book to come to live independently of the other material. Bayr, for example, feels like a perfect mix between a medieval hero and a modern one. He is both blessed and doomed from birth, capable of intense strength, and unafraid in the face of danger. But he is also deeply insightful, emotionally expressive, and, above all, kind to the core despite his capability of violence. Seeing my beloved mythology come to new light in such capable hands as Harmon's is delightful, even if the academic in me could find things to quibble about.
Desdemona's last words are a curse on Saylok. No longer will men be able to mistreat, discard, or hurt women, because there no longer will be any new women. Witnessed by her newly born son Bayr and her heart-broken brother Dagmar, her curse takes effect and a dark time for Saylok threatens. Despite the birth of Alba, the first girl child in years, the situation only gets worse. While Bayr grows up, displaying miraculous feats of strength and even more stunning displays of gentleness and understanding, the situation around him worsens. From power-hungry royals to violent attacks and conflicting loyalties, the tension ramps up ever higher until either the curse or Saylok will break. The First Girl Child is a great mix between plot-driven and character-driven. On the one hand the novel pursues consequences of Desdemona's curse, but on the other hand its main focus is the growth and development of Bayr and Alba as two children with the weight of the world upon their shoulders.
I really enjoyed Amy Harmon's writing and I was quickly gripped by the story she was crafting. It was especially her eye for detail, the way she described both the landscape of Saylok and its culture and traditions. She does this world-building without majorly overloading the reader. She is not info-dumping it, she is passing it out as and when it becomes relevant and that means you have a gentle but supported entry in the world of Saylok. But it was really the beginning that drew me in, from a prologue set in the childhood of Desdemona and Dagmar full of foreboding, to the first chapter depicting Desdemona's curse. It was a great double-whammy that sucked me in immediately, that made the threat of danger feel immediate, and that made me want to keep reading. I did wonder how Harmon would deal with the essence of the curse, namely that Saylok would be allowed no more women to abuse. Would Saylok become a magical feminist realm by the end? Would the people figure out pretty quickly that being nice to women is a good thing, actually? Or would everything just get worse and end in death and doom? I'm not here to spoil things but I will say that I really enjoyed the way Harmon went about this. I do also have to admit that the last 15% or so of the novel went rather rapidly for me, to the point that I wondered how everything would be tied up with so little book left. Everything does come together in the end but, at times, almost too neatly considering how nuanced some of the previous plotting had been. Overall, however, I really enjoyed The First Girl Child and was thrilled to see a second novel set in this world has been published, The Second Blind Son. I look forward to spending more time in Saylok!
I give this novel...
4 Universes!
The First Girl Child is a brilliant fantasy novel with a rich mythological background and a strong message about kindness. I will definitely be reading more of Amy Harmon's writing and I would recommend this book to anyone with a love for strong characterisation and detailed world-building.
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