Hall of Smoke | A Review

Hall of Smoke

by H.M. Long

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Hessa is an Eangi: a warrior priestess of the Goddess of War, with the power to turn an enemy’s bones to dust with a scream. Banished for disobeying her goddess’s command to murder a traveller, she prays for forgiveness alone on a mountainside.

While she is gone, raiders raze her village and obliterate the Eangi priesthood. Grieving and alone, Hessa – the last Eangi – must find the traveller, atone for her weakness and secure her place with her loved ones in the High Halls. As clans from the north and legionaries from the south tear through her homeland, slaughtering everyone in their path, Hessa strives to win back her goddess’ favour.

Beset by zealot soldiers, deceitful gods, and newly-awakened demons at every turn, Hessa burns her path towards redemption and revenge. But her journey reveals a harrowing truth: the gods are dying and the High Halls of the afterlife are fading. Soon Hessa’s trust in her goddess weakens with every unheeded prayer.

Thrust into a battle between the gods of the Old World and the New, Hessa realizes there is far more on the line than securing a life beyond her own death. Bigger, older powers slumber beneath the surface of her world. And they’re about to wake up.

An epic fantasy novel rooted in a Viking-inspired setting and lore, H.M. Long’s debut novel Hall of Smoke promised an axe-wielding warrior priestess, action, and mythology that immediately caught our attention. As time passed, we glimpsed more of what this novel held within its pages through posts shared online by the author, and Hall of Smoke quickly became one of our most anticipated reads of the year.

From the first page, H.M. Long’s skill as a writer is apparent, pulling readers under the rising swell of the tale she conjures with hardly a moment’s warning. Her writing flowed, easing readers into the world of Eangi, gods, and goddesses as we meet Hessa—our main character warrior priestess who has offended her goddess. There was a wonderful balance within Long’s writing, the story anchored in the trials of an existence marked by both brutality and unquestionable religious belief that was made real by the sharp, nuanced portrayal of the range of emotions that accompany such a life. Beautiful, rich descriptions of the setting breathe life into the pages, while the secrets and clashes between human tribes and gods alike keep readers turning the pages, eager to unravel the complexities behind the plot. It’s a fantastically written novel.

Hessa is a wonderful protagonist, the type of character readers can easily relate to and root for. While Hall of Smoke is fleshed out by a cast of well-written secondary characters, there was a sense of isolation in reading Hessa’s story that I enjoyed. The other characters move in and out of Hessa’s story, but there was little predictability in their appearances, leaving readers never quite sure what may happen next. Long does a wonderful job of creating such a tangible, rich culture that readers are able to have a deep understanding of the people—specifically Eangen—who flit in and out of the story. 

Hall of Smoke sweeps readers up into a world of gods, New and Old, and the tribes of people who worship them as Hessa, axe-wielding priestess warrior, tries to make sense of a world that is far from the one she thought she’d known. While obviously inspired by aspects of Viking traditions, among other bits of Celtic and Roman inspirations according to Long, Hall of Smoke is unique in its world building, mythology, and how it incorporated those elements into the overall plot. The cultures and religions of this world were so fantastically crafted and real, complex and detailed and rich in their depiction on the page. I loved that the gods of this world were not distant figures of pure myth and legend, but real figures who interacted with their peoples. The magic of this world felt so logical and real and simple in the best way possible. It was a clean cut magic system, hardly a system at all—just pure, simple magic that needn’t take much time for readers to understand and appreciate. While readers experience and learn about multiple cultures within the Empire, the focus is within Hessa’s own culture and traditions of the Eangen people, including those of the Eangi. As an Eangi, a warrior priestess of her goddess Eang, Hessa is blessed with a piece of her goddess’s power. The mythology and history of these peoples were woven into the story flawlessly, enriching every aspect of the story. I loved everything about this novel’s world. It was captivating, compelling, and rich with detail, lore, and emotion.

Hall of Smoke is both tightly plotted and a story that takes its time. Focused on Hessa’s quest to follow the orders of her goddess and atone for the mistakes she made, this novel delves deep into the politics of gods and the action of warring Viking-esque tribes as the world they know begins to change. Hessa is forced to question her faith, her actions, the very foundation of her existence as she fights her way through the complexities of the gods’ existence and impact. There is fantastic emotional depth to her journey, but it is just as equally exciting, full of unforeseen twists and betrayals, action, and secrets. This world and story swept me up completely. It was well paced, engaging, and completely satisfying. I couldn’t have guess where the story would take us, the ways in which it would expand and became a sprawling tale of epic proportions. I couldn’t put it down. 

Hall of Smoke was a truly epic fantasy. Powerful gods clashed as Hessa fought to survive and unravel the secrets of their world in a story that’s impossible to look away from and incredibly well written. Hall of Smoke is an absolute must-read for all fantasy readers.