This has been slow going so far, it seems cluttered with strange names which are intended to give it a fantasy feel but actually distract from the story. I'll give it a few more chapters to decide if it's worth finishing.

Update: Well, I finally slogged my way through it. It has a few unique moments and the second half was definitely better than the first. Overall I feel it needed a vigorous and thorough editing. The story could/should have been shortened by a third and it would have lost none of the intent, and would gain some much needed momentum.

By the end I did actually grudgingly begin to like the central character of Simon and also several of the supporting characters, namely Isgrimnur, Strangyeard, and Binabik.