Skadi's Saga (A Norse-Inspired Progression Fantasy)

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2024

Author

pwtucker

• The Rascor Plains (Bastion Book 2) Kickstarter is live
  Apr 13, 2026
• The Bastion Deluxe Edition Kickstarter Is Live!
  Jan 21, 2025
• Skadi's Saga audiobook is live
  Sep 5, 2024
• New story is out!
  Apr 29, 2024

What readers say about Skadi's Saga (A Norse-Inspired Progression Fantasy)

• “This is a great attempt at a modern day epic. It's like a Norse  Odyssey. Heroes, Gods, great battles, and mythical foes make up this story. The protagonist does not always win, nor does any problem ever get deus ex machina'd. There's wonderful character de…”

  xSolomonRoyal Road5.0 / 5

• “I weathered many low sleep nights from the evening I found this story till I got to the end. The Mythology and way the world worked, the strength of and ability to leverage fate was a fascinating concept that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that one day the ne…”

  BentSporkRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• xSolomonRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a great attempt at a modern day epic. It's like a Norse  Odyssey. Heroes, Gods, great battles, and mythical foes make up this story. The protagonist does not always win, nor does any problem ever get deus ex machina'd. There's wonderful character development, and vivid world building throughout.
  Read the first chapter, then you'll see there's nothing else to be done but to binge the whole story!
• BentSporkRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I weathered many low sleep nights from the evening I found this story till I got to the end. The Mythology and way the world worked, the strength of and ability to leverage fate was a fascinating concept that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that one day the next arc in Skadi's saga is written, but even if it never comes this is a story worth reading.
• ChristieRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Enjoying it, alright ! How not ? Vikings meet Fantasy. I am all in. Hoping for some magic somewhere on the line.
  But please please please use numbers in your chapters. It helps as a reader to see where you are and where you are going to. Specially when binging.
• DouglasReayRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Review of Phil W. Tucker's novel: Skadi's Saga
  Style - the prose is easy to read, and introduces Norse words and concepts in a way that does't obstruct or confuse.
  Story - well paced, maintains tension and addresses larger themes.
  Grammar - there's an occasional mismatch or omitted word left by re-editing a sentence, but no doubt that will get fixed when Phil gets around to checking the editing suggestion comments.
  Characters - the cast is believable and memorable, while the protagonist is vivid, active, likeable and grows.
  Overall - for me, the best thing about reading the novel was how fully I found myself immersed in Skadi's world, intuitively knowing how someone would act given the absolute evidence of what Freya  values and rewards.  I would buy this as a paper book in a bookshop, and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone with an interest in mythology or just in rattling good yarns.
  --
  A few words about the 'game mechanic' implementing wyrd, that justifies the Hornblower-esque 'progression fantasy' tag.
  This was cleverly done and, combines with Skadi's cheat Inspection skill, serves both to explain her victories and provide the reader with a peek beneath the surface that introduces a measure of strategy into the protagonists choices and lets the reader guage how much peril she faces in a situation so the can be suitably awed at her courage and triumphs.
• FantasticTeaManRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The story is amazing and well written, the world building is interesting and unique, the MC grows and faces challenges that seem insurmountable and overcomes them and deals woth the loss that follows.
  My only complaint is that there isn't more, it reads like a setup to a series and I sincerely hope the author plans to follow up.
• GomdzsabbarRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As others have mentioned it, the worldbuilding is elegant and almost unnoticable. The characters are vivid, they feel as real as a person in in a story should. Skadi is likable and in no way overpowered. Her fights and struggles (and losses, this is no powerfantasy) are belivable and logical in the context of the setting.
  The fights are one fo the story's strongest point. The opponents think and react which makes it feel way more realistic than I've expected.
  The grammar and punctuation is good, there are like 5 small mistakes here and there but the only reason I noticed them is because I went looking for them. I would also praise the pacing, the way the author sets it up and gives us shorter or longer lulls keeps the reader engaged.
  The dialogues are also good, the cast interacts with each other instead of following the flow of the main character.
  Overall by what I've seen until now this is a story I would 100% recommend reading. It is well-written and has a great cast of characters already whithout going overboard. The progression part has a good base to build from and room to grow and something that I like is that we can already see that even the run of the mill fighters will retain their effectivness against the more 'important' characters - including our protagonist.
• GuurzakRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  There is a lot of good amateur fiction on Royal Road. There isn't very much that that make you think "this would have been a best seller if published before the Internet." This is one of those few: great characters, great plotting, great pacing, great world building, and just generally great artistry and craftsmanship.
• H A N SRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  “How to render dialogue so it’s not modern sounding but also not too archaic that people can’t understand it.” —This is the main issue with writing historic settings.
  I’ll say this... I was forced to read slower simply because sometimes it got too archaic.
  It’s not just the jargon that I never heard of; although, I also have issue with this but this is not the topic here. Plus, the author also applies dialects to some characters similar to those northern viking movies of which I’m not familiar, so it took a couple of re-reading the same line to understand.
  — OVERALL —
  This novel is one of a kind, insanity, and high-quality action packed fantasy. I especially love the fighting, cause I'm just a sucker to fighting narrations.
• HookedontheskyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is genuinely one of my favourite works I've read on here, and while following along I was so excited every time a new chapter came out. It's taken me a while to write a review because I wanted to give this story justice, and I wasn't sure I could, but I'm going to give it my best try!
  Style: 5/5
  Skadi's "voice" is compelling and easy to follow. There's some foreshadowing, but generally it's a pretty straightforward story, which works well with the setting and themes. The pacing is good and the story is dynamic, with needed breaks that never drag on too much.
  Story: 5/5
  It's a huge shame this didn't become one of the top stories here because it has everything readers here look for, just wrapped in a slightly different package. It's a very compelling progression fantasy, with Skadi starting from a low starting point with still some power, and naturally growing into a powerful warrior. The enemies were challenging, and the fights made sense.
  I'm a sucker for norse mythology too, and this seems very well-researched. It's also a nice change from typical medieval fantasy settings, while stll staying true to the progression aspect.
  Grammar: 5/5
  Nothing special to report here, I didn't notice any mistakes. I just want to note that the author successfully managed to correctly spell all the impossible norse names and words which doesn't seem very easy, so genuine kudos for that.
  Characters: 5/5
  I think characters are one of the best parts of this novel. Sometimes in progression stories character growth falls to the wayside and characters start feeling like cardboard cutouts, but that's definitely not the case here.
  Skadi reminds me a bit of Arya Stark (the book version) - someone who isn't satisfied with their station in life as a woman, as a noble, and fights to change that. She's brash and brave and sometimes naive, and an amazing character to follow along. Her growth as a person and as a warrior is natural but very satisfying. I love me some female protagonists, and S
• MateuszRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Whatever your opinion of Skadi's Saga, it can't be denied that the story stands out on this site. The Norse inspiration, the writing quality, the clear research the author put into the world-building, and the unique magic system all make for a compelling action story. That being said, by Royal Road standards, this isn't as much of a popcorn read as many other stories, so I wouldn't advise going in with that expectation.
  If I had to describe how the story seems to be unfolding so far, it'd probably be, "If Assassin's Creed Valhalla had Ghost of Tsushima's plot, with more fantastical elements." Which is good mix. The action in the story kicks off immediately -- giving us our immense and implacable foe in the form of the Archean Empire -- and promises future dramatic showdowns on battlefields across the map. The stakes are there, as is a hint that there's something mysterious going on with the Archean's world conquest. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.
  The cast is likable. Skadi isn't the kind of protagonist that gets such a degree of favoritism that she feels like she's there to break the world instead of exist as part of it, but the story never descends into making her the target of misery porn either. There isn't a ton of dimension to her yet, but I'm not expecting it at this point in the story. My favorite is Damian -- a young priest far, far from home sent on a mission to warn other lands of impending Archean invasions rather than convert them. Unfortunately, skepticism is all he gets for his efforts. He's doubly interesting because he demonstrates a different aspect of the magic system than Skadi.
  And that magic system is 100% worth mentioning, because it's one of the highlights of the story. One of the reasons I mentioned Assassin's Creed earlier is because this magic system is essentially designed around creating the scenarios you'd see in an AC trailer -- by manipulating the threads of fate, Skadi (and others) can flawlessly kill tons of foes w