Review: The Fate of Our Union by Hildebrand Hermannson

The balance of harmony in the world is under threat, and a mythological age of unexpected heroes has arrived in The Fate of Our Union by Hildebrand Hermannson.

In this entrancing historical fantasy, the shadow of Rome’s boot is creeping across Europe, but the Germanic tribes and their mystical secrets have kept the invaders at bay. However, in a higher realm, gods play dice with existence, and the future of these diverse Sons of Men rests on the backs of a few unlikely companions.

Sunu the Saxon has recently proven himself and been renamed Red Stallion, Slayer of the Almighty White Bull, making him a budding hero among his tribal people, but arrogance and pride can separate even the greatest from their humanity, particularly when a young man sees a path to immortality. Rufus the black sheep is a Roman stoic who has already seen too much war and violence, but the coming battle may be unavoidable, even in his precious solitude of Bohemia. Keresaspa is a Sarmatian warrior priestess who refuses to compromise herself for anything, let alone a suitor, but that same stubbornness has already visited disaster upon her family’s door.

Brought together by destiny and a seven-headed Pegasus that goes by Long Ears, this trio of strangers must overcome their fatal flaws in time to push back the ancient forces of evil – berserker wolfkin and their hellish master in the shadows. Tasked with smashing the philosophical obstacles that lie before the Sons of Man and rein in the negative forces of human nature, this Prophetess, Poet, and Stoic must embark on a mythic quest.

The author’s confident storytelling weaves a marvelous tapestry of cultural influences, symbols, rituals, biases, mythologies, histories, and ideologies, without ever falling into the common trap of excessive or purposeless world-building. The incredible research on display from start to finish is perhaps the most impressive facet of this stunningly ambitious work, creating an overlap of history, fantasy, and folklore, along with the subtle comparisons of origin stories and diverse pantheons, stressing how these ancient peoples from history were complex figures driven by profoundly strong beliefs. The magical thinking and seemingly supernatural traditions at the turn of the first millennium is ripe ground for a saga that blurs the line of reality and fantasy, reminding readers that blind belief is still an ongoing issue today.

The fluidity of the prose and varied syntactical structure demonstrates Hermannson’s skillful pen and ability to bring old worlds to new life, imbuing the prose with a rare level of authentic immersion, where fantastical descriptive passages can be vividly imagined. Told from different narrative perspectives, each voice seems to take on a different rhythm and timbre – a demanding challenge for any author, which makes the reading experience even more engaging, displaying a high level of linguistic dexterity with each new character and setting.

With so many divine, inexplicable, or magical events, it can drain some of their narrative power, as each superhuman feat becomes slightly less believable or impressive than the last, but these moments of hyperbolic prose are relatively minor. Overall, this is a brilliant first piece of a new series that boldly leans into philosophy, anthropology, ethics, history, religion, and magic, for a phenomenal work of high fantasy.