PRIMAL FURY by Noël Traver - REVIEW

A hive-like race of brutal abominations. A single warrior who wants nothing more than to become a legendary berserker. Can Orsin survive the brutal, solo Trial?

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

INTRODUCTION

Primal Fury is a unique tale in that the perspective is not a human one. Where most fantasy stories put us in the shoes of humans, elves and other various fantasy creatures. It’s not often you experience the perspective of an anthropomorphic bear. The tale of Orsin and his brother Torben sees them preparing for something called the Trial. It is the ultimate test of fortitude, endurance and strength out in the wilderness and icy tundra. However, it is not a place untouched. It is tainted by a monstrous entity named the Herd. These mutations seek to consume or convert any they come across and it will take Orsin’s full might to conquer these eldritch horrors and return home to his clan victorious.

PLOT 3/5

The plot itself is by the book. It juggles a mix of action and horror with how the Herd monsters are shown to behave. All you need to know as a reader is that Orsin and those of his age have been preparing their entire lives for this moment to face the Trial and gain the blessing of their god Weihlaris. He is joined by his brother Torben and other members of his cohort. Who depart from their home behind the wall and set out to bring glory to their people. However, one strict rule of the trial is that it must be done solo. That means there can be no teamwork. However, one interesting aspect of the book is Torben’s point of view. Never truly showing himself to his brother, Torben acts as a bulwark to protect his brother from beasts who might try and get the drop on him. The story is slow to get going and seems almost aimless but it really picks up towards the middle and end as Orsin plunges deeper into Herd territory. It’s during this part of the book that we steadily get to better understand the Herd and just what they are. They are very much reminiscent of the Flood or Necromorphs but I could go so far as to say they would be right at home in Lovecraft’s own writing.

CHARACTER 5/5

Orsin is no Shakespeare. But we still experience growth throughout the story. What makes him so compelling is that he makes mistakes early on and almost pays dearly for them. But as he grows in confidence he begins employing more complex methods of thwarting his enemies. And by the end, he is a very different bear from the one so full of optimism and to some degree false bravado. In many ways, the Trial humbles Orsin especially near the end as he is forced to resist the Herd’s venom as it seeps deep into his mind and more. He is forced to make choices that go against his beliefs if it means winning. It’s what makes him such an interesting character, as he realises that if he is to survive. Nothing is too drastic, and everything is on the table.

Torben shadows Orsin for much of the story and we get plenty of hints at his presence, though it is a bit contrived that Orsin doesn’t quite catch on. This a minor gripe as Torben’s reactions were some of the funniest parts of the book, as it were if he were giving a running commentary of his brother’s antics. I won’t spoil later events but Torben is a character I would have liked to see more of. While I understand the rules, it would have been nice to see the brothers work together more openly. Though it was pretty badass that each of them poured a drop of their blood into the forging of the other's respective weapon. It does a lot to showcase how strong their bond truly is, and you really feel for Orsin as the story reaches its conclusion

The Herd itself are still quite the mystery, and very much reminds me of how the Flood operates. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are actually somehow alien. They convert and make use of any biomatter they can with the higher ranks of their army being referred to as Barons and Princes with a Queen sitting at the top. We get only a few hints of what their goals are but they are not to be underestimated and Orsin himself encounters many unique and challenging variants that require a great deal of cunning and patience to take down.

WORLD BUILDING 3/5

While not the most detailed world-building, the book does a good job showing off Fursja life and their traditions and beliefs. While giving little hints of what came before and how things ended up the way they did. Admittedly, you can only do so much in this type of story but what we do learn it’s enough to make anyone read on.

FINAL THOUGHTS 5/5

As a whole, I enjoyed the book, the 5/5 rating is more so due to the ending climax. That I personally loved. It’s been a long while since a book got me emotional and this one pulled it off. I won’t spoil it for obvious reasons. Personal love aside, realistically the book is more of a middle-ground type of story. It’s interesting and has tons of character and intense action scenes but the trial being a solo endeavour does mean we don’t encounter many others also running the gauntlet. It does make me look forward to a sequel where we can hopefully see even more of the Fursja culture and possibly even be introduced to the humans that were supposedly responsible for the Herd being released in the first place. If you want a story heavy on action and Berserker shenanigans you will thoroughly enjoy this.

The book can be found here.