Title: Daughter of Samland, Son of Denmark
Fandom: Hunger Games
Pairing: Katniss/Peeta
Genres: AU, Drama, Romance, Family, Slavery, Hurt/Comfort
Length: Super!Epic (152,459 words)
Warnings: Gore, torture/corporal punishment

Author on LJ: manniness
Author Website: Manniness @ AO3

Author's Summary:
We’ve prepared as best we could, but as I turn the corner on the muddy path through the village hugging the walls of my father’s fortress, I know we aren’t ready. We would never be ready.

The Northmen have come.

Review:
Katniss, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Samland, is captured by Vikings and sold as a slave to Viking!Peeta. The rest of the fic is a very slow building romance between the two, with the second half having a bit of political intrigue thrown in. I look upon Viking fics with feelings of glee and trepidation. Even though the Vikings were most probably first rate dickheads, they seem to be a popular subject with just about everyone, me included. But I know that Viking fics bring the angst.

Saying that, let me contradict myself and present you with this - an angst free Viking fic. Yes, even though this fic contains Vikings, slavery, and war, there is somehow no angst. There's no real evidence of the immoral shenanigans you would expect Vikings to be getting up to, and Peeta is his usual unbelievably perfect and respectful self despite what you would think was a harsh upbringing.

The romance is the strength of this fic. It's a very slow build, but the UST is scorching hot despite its chasteness. Scenes where Katniss and Peeta do little more than look at each other whilst fully clothed are described so well that they made me, a seasoned reader of very explicit porn, flustered. The lack of angst paired with this style of romance really reminded me of a romance novel, in fact. A hot, well written one though, I assure you.

Where the fic falls down is the actual plot; the political intrigue isn't really that intriguing. The main villain isn't even present for the most of the fic, and he's not fleshed out at all. I found the fic a real struggle to read after the first half, with the previous momentum just seeming to fade away. It's a shame that this fic isn't great all the way through, but the romance and the well thought out worldbuilding (the authors ANs are interesting reads) are compelling reasons to read this fic - or at least read its first half.

Daughter of Samland, Son of Denmark