I didn’t know any specifically Finnish folklore when I picked up this interesting historical fantasy tale, and after a while, I was thinking, wow, the Finns have really dark legends. Later, I realised that NORTH IS THE NIGHT is a Nordic version of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

In this folklore, the underworld is known as Tuonela, and the current book starts the Tuonela duology. We meet two good friends, village girls, Siiri and Aina. They are salting fish from the family catches to preserve for the long winter. The Finnish people are under pressure to drop their pantheistic faith in the old Norse gods. A Christian priest is moving up through the forested land, preaching, and proclaiming that the Swedes are taking over the area. His words are backed by armed men, so everyone is apprehensive.

Another talking point is the fact that young women are being abducted from villages. Although they stay within sight of their brothers, Siiri and Aina are next to be targeted, and as Siiri tries to fight off a scary witch, Aina is dragged away, screaming. Siiri vows to find her friend and bring her home. From here, the chapters alternate, as Aina is taken to the underworld and made to sit alone in a hut, half-starved, then obliged to serve various powerful female goddesses and their cruel Queen.

There are so many goddesses to keep track of, I found it impossible for a newcomer to the lore. They all feature different aspects, one is the moon, one has been badly treated by her parents, one is a blind weaver, and so on. They seem to have retreated to Tuonela from the encroaching new faith, and they are not the least happy about it. Siiri decides to ask a wise, hermit-like Shaman for help and training if she is to survive her quest to the underworld. Väiinämöinen actually does not want to be found, by people or goddesses, so a long trek is required, with dangers from bears, wolves and starvation. Meanwhile, Aina, using her wits and compassion, eventually meets the king of the underworld.

We spend a lot of time in forests and meeting bears, ravens and reindeer. I was fine with that part. We also spend a lot of time seeing the dead of Tuonela and getting descriptions of decay, which I skipped over as I don’t read horror. The point is to show us that a choice Aina has to make, is not an easy one, and nobody staying in the underworld could thrive. This is quite a long tale with more darkness than fantasy readers might expect. We also meet only one of the Indigenous people, the Sami reindeer herders, who aren’t shown in a good light. I have to think this is how Nordic culture Finns at the time would have seen the nomads, while conveniently forgetting that their incursion had put pressure on the Sami, just as the more modern Swedes were doing to their community.

The book description calls this a sapphic romance. The label seems to be because author Emily Rath has previously written such romances. Both girls are strong characters. Siiri goes outside the usual female roles and is determined to find Aina, but Aina sticks to traditional female roles, and overall, this can’t be called a romance between them, but rather a deep friendship. NORTH IS THE NIGHT will be followed by South Is The Sea, and I would be interested in picking up that one to see how the story concludes.