Halloween Bingo 2024
I liked this book fine, but it was Anderson's use of history and folklore that was fascinating. As one of my friends has pointed out, this novel and The Fellowship of the Ring were published in the same year (1954). Even though Anderson and Tolkien used the same basic material, they made very different fictional worlds. Tolkien chose to make his elves to be tall, beautiful, and noble. Anderson sticks closer to the ones we know as the Fae in current literature—believing themselves vastly superior to humanity, rather callous toward them, and existing in a slightly different reality. Anderson based his story in our historical, mundane Medieval Northern Europe, while Tolkien created his own Middle Earth, containing many similarities to our world, but separate. (I have taken a couple of Medieval history courses lately that cause me to appreciate some of the details very much.)
This is, at its root, a Changeling story. Skafloc is the human, raised among the Elves. Valgard is the Elven-troll hybrid sent to grow up among humans in his place. While Skafloc excels in Elven society, Valgard makes everyone uneasy and rightly so, as he has no empathy for those around him. In this version, it is trolls rather than orcs/goblins who are the main enemy. Skafloc, like Aragorn, wields a sword that has been reforged, though this one appears to be cursed. The gods of the Norse and the Irish both stick their noses into the action.
I can definitely see the influence on Michael Moorcock and his Elric of Melniboné series. He took the cursed sword idea and ran with it. And although D&D is largely influenced by Tolkien, the idea of light elves and dark elves shows up in the Legend of Drizzt books by R.A. Salvatore. As a result, I am somewhat surprised that this novel doesn't get more love from fantasy lovers. I also have a powerful urge to re-read The Lord of the Rings—it must be at least 10 years since I last did that.
I read this book to fulfill the Sword and Sorcery square of my Halloween Bingo card. It is also number 22 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.
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