Content Warnings

Short Version:

• Death
• Violence
• Gore
• Sex
• Abuse by a parent
• Misogyny
• Self-mutilation
• Death of a parent and sibling
• Mention of child death (not depicted on screen)
• Mention of sexual assault (not depicted on screen)
• Excessive menstrual pain and blood
• Animal sacrifice (not super graphic)
• Animal death (also not graphic)
• Depiction of slavery in the Viking Age

Long Version (CONTAINS SPOILERS):

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Death, violence, gore: This is spread throughout the book. A traumatic raid happens early on in the book, a duel happens near the end, and the finale is a battle and its aftermath. 

Sex: An encounter leads to a fadeout; two characters are intimate with each other, but not explicitly.

Abuse by a parent: The first few chapters see a character emotionally abused by her mother, with implied physical abuse as well. Later, the mother, on her deathbed, attempts to gaslight her.

Misogyny: This is also spread throughout the book. Women in Viking Age Scandinavia arguably had more agency than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe at the time, but they did not participate in the legal system, so their male kinsmen largely determined their fates. However, there are plenty of examples of women who take an active role in their lives, as well as examples of women who perpetuate misogyny and uphold patriarchal norms, both in this novel and in the source material I’ve drawn from. 

Self-mutilation: A character stabs herself through the hand with a knife to prove that she can heal it (she does).

Death of a parent and sibling: Early on in the book, a character’s mother and brother are killed in a raid; later, another character’s mother dies of an illness. 

Mention of child death: Early on in the book, a character reflects on how many children of her mother’s did not live to adulthood. 

Mention of sexual assault: A character mentions that a group of enslaved women is pestered by local men, prompting another character to step in and defend them; another character, who was enslaved, mentioned that she was assaulted. Neither instance goes into detail. 

Excessive menstrual pain and blood: One of the characters has extremely painful periods, which is mentioned several times throughout the book.

Animal sacrifice: A stunned bull is beheaded during a sacrifice. 

Animal death: During a raid early on in the book, there is mention of the farm dogs being “quickly dispatched” during a raid, along with many of the livestock. The dogs and cats mentioned elsewhere throughout the book live, and nothing bad happens to them.

Slavery: A character is kidnapped and enslaved near the beginning of the book. Her trauma is not discussed in detail but heavily implied after she is rescued.