A Tide of Black Steel is the first book in the Viking inspired fantasy series Age of Wrath, written by Anthony Ryan, and published by Orbit Books. An ambitious story told using multiple POVs, a slow-burn that takes its sweet time to build up the foundations of what will become an epic journey with a cast of well-fleshed characters, set in the same world as the Covenant of Steel trilogy, decades later.

The first of our POV will be Ruhlin, a prisoner captured from one of the islands after the rest is slaughtered; his ferocity convinced the invaders that his blood is special. As prisoner, he will be taken to the lands past the fire islands, where he will be forced to fight against other prisoners; in the meanwhile, he will try to forge allegiances with his companions, looking for a way to escape their fates. A great character who especially shines when he goes berserk, depicting brutal battles; his POV is kinda the most independent (even if it's still connected).
The second of our POV will be Thera, servant to the Sister Queens; she's given the mission of finding about the new threat Ascarlia is facing. Their islands are being invaded and slaughtered, and she will embark on a journey to learn what is happening and who are the responsible, slowly uncovering more at the cost of putting herself in danger. A brave woman who has a difficult relationship with his sibling, Felnir; but a person who is able to see the value of others over their aspect or their preconceptions.
The third and fourth POV are practically tied together, as they Elvine and Felnir. Elvine, a scribe taught by her mother that is brought into a Queen service, who will send into a difficult mission which starts with a map on the back of a crazy man; she will be together with Felnir and his crew of outcasts and criminals. They will uncover secrets about the myths of the isles and the truth behind the history of the heroes; but each one has a target in mind, Felnir trying to get the power following the machinations of his great grandfather, while Elvine wants to keep her mother safe fulfilling the mission given by the Queen.

Ryan marvelously weaves together the four POV to create an epic story; while it is a bit of a slowburn because there's much to set-up, you are always discovering more about the characters or the world in the meanwhile. All the POV are well layered characters, with distinctive voices, in a world that is bigger than just them.

The setting for this novel, Ascarlia, clearly has a Viking inspiration, which can be seen in many aspects of the book; decades later than the Covenant of Steel and more to the North than Albermaine, with some hints to the previous trilogy for the avid reader. I really enjoyed when the story goes deep into the foundational myths and the legends of Ascarlia, and how they might have a grain of truth after all.
The prose is a bit dry, but it works well in combination with the pacing, as it helps to keep you going even if there's much set-up at the start.

A Tide of Black Steel is a great kickstart to what aims to be an epic series; if you are looking for Norse inspired fantasy, well written characters and ambitious arcs, you should give Age of Wrath a try. Can't wait to see how the adventures of these characters continue.