Eternal Night of the Northern Sky by Anne Bellows – Book Review
by Anne Bellows
Beneath the snowdrift of the longest blizzard Elias has ever endured, the last vampire in the dungeons finally succeeds in taking its own life. He doesn’t hear of the incident until it trickles through the stone tunnels of Clan Maewag three moons later.
The last vampire has died, their blood has burned off, and the clan must either risk a hunt, or freeze.
Now Elias counts the last of their stores of dried meat and frozen broth when Netto shares the news, grinning wide and absolutely vibrating with excitement. He’s already picked out his favorite spear. Elias keeps taking inventory by the dun light of a seershroom lantern, jotting down the barrel counts without once looking at his cousin.
There’s nothing I love more than a great vampire novel. Except maybe ARC reading books!
I had the pleasure of delving into the enthralling universe of Anne Bellows’s first book in the Northern Skies trilogy, Eternal Night of the Northern Sky, and this is a fantastic way to start this new month off strong. I really enjoyed this book and I’m going to give you a spoiler-free run down of why!
Anyone who appreciates a deep tale of survival, devotion, and the blurred lines between right and wrong should read this book. August 25, 2024, is the official release date and you can preorder now and have it delivered immediately to your Kindle upon release.
So, let’s dive in!
From the first page on, Bellows transports readers to a frozen wasteland where the sun hasn’t shone in three centuries in a setting that is at once familiar and foreign. The idea behind the story is intriguing in and of itself: humanity must contend with perpetual darkness and harsh cold because vampire covens, who were formerly the masters of the night, have stolen the sun from the sky. This establishes the framework for an engrossing story of human resiliency and surprising alliances.
The main character, Elias, belongs to Clan Maewag. After the last blood slave in the clan commits suicide, his life is completely flipped upside down. He is then forced to join a hunting group whose mission is to capture vampires to harvest their fiery blood, which is what keeps them alive. A recurring subject in the book is the sharp contrast between life’s warmth and the vampires’ icy embrace, which mirrors Elias’s inner struggle as well as his physical surroundings.
Elias is a well-rounded figure whose inner conflicts are depicted with striking nuance. Elias is forced to reevaluate everything he has ever known when an unforeseen event puts him in danger of dying. A vampire saves him. Elias and the vampire he meets have a survival-driven relationship that gives the narrative a fascinating depth and tests the limits of loyalty and trust in a setting where these ideas are frequently ambiguous.
Bellows skillfully writes a story that tackles the difficulties of morality in a world without light. The contrast between two covens—one that survives by the cruel practice of blood enslavement and the other that thrives on equality—shows how well the author can incorporate social critique into a fantastical environment. In addition to driving the story along, this struggle asks readers to consider what exactly constitutes a monster.
The book moves at a perfectly even pace, with quieter, introspective passages inserted between bursts of furious action that let readers empathize with Elias more deeply. The immersive world-building creates a realistic image of a setting in which social and natural norms have irreversibly changed. The bleak beauty of the frozen North and the sparkling, deceitful utopias found within the vampire covens are vividly brought to life in Bellows’ descriptive prose.
Each of the well-developed supporting characters has secrets and reasons that come to light as the plot develops. The way these people interact with one another highlights the complex web of allies and enemies that characterizes this dark universe and gives the story depth.
A compelling examination of identity and the lengths people will go to in order to survive and defend what they love can be found in Eternal Night of the Northern Sky. A universe hauntingly beautiful, created by Anne Bellows, full of characters that subvert expectations of good and evil in surprising ways. It sets the standard high for what is going to be an amazing tale as the first book in the Northern Skies series.
To sum it up, Eternal Night of the Northern Sky is a must-read if you’re searching for a book that will take you to a place where darkness rules and humanity’s light shines brightest. The story will stay with you long after you’ve put the book down, and you’ll be eagerly anticipating the next installment.
5 stars from me! A great debut novel.