Audio.
The ice ages continue and magic is around. In this book, the glacier that has formed the northern border for the known lands is withdrawing and in so doing opens a gap to the north. An intrepid band of adventurers jouneys through and finds bad'uns on the other side. They go home to report to unbelieving folk and then head north again, this time finding the bad'uns have invaded already. First of a trilogy.
Haven't read any Harry Turtledove before. This one seemed to have a number of trope-ic elements, phrases repeated, hopefully purposely. It would fit in the vaguely skaldic characters. Only reading some others by him will answer the question of "artful matching to material or insufficient editing before publication?"
From Publishers Weekly
In this promising first of a new saga, alternate-history maven Turtledove (Ruled Britannia) depicts a Bronze Age society in transition. A growing gap in the glacier that has formed the Raumsdalian Empire's northern border for millennia allows Count Hamnet Thyssen and Trasamund the jarl, of the nomadic Northern Bizogot, to become the empire's Lewis and Clark. They and their entourage, which inconveniently includes Hamnet's unfaithful ex-wife, Gudrid, depart the empire's capital city, Nidaris, to explore what lies beyond the glacier and search for the fabled Golden Shrine. On the way, a formidable and attractive (if unbathed) Bizogot shaman, Liv, joins the expedition—and Hamnet under the animal hides. If the Raumsdalians and Bizogots don't always get along, their culture clash is nothing compared to the threat they face on the other side of the glacier: the Rulers, a tribe of imperious, mammoth-riding warriors. A vivid setting and strong characterization bode well for future installments. (Feb.)