Overview

The Valkyries, glorified waitresses and taxi service for the slain, or fearsome enigmatic goddesses of battle? An awesome new title exploring classic tales and imagining fresh paths and new characters. The Valkyries – fierce daughters of battle, riders of storm and shadow. They choose the slain and carry souls to glory, moving between mortal and divine. These fierce but angelic warrior goddesses escort half of those who have died in battle to Odin's hall of heroes: Valhalla. There they receive the heroes with horns of mead. But there is so much more to these heavily symbolic beings. The Valkyries are many and amorphous, some are named and famous – Brunhild (powerful and defiant), Gunnr (courageous in battle), Skuld (a Norn but also a Valkyrie) to name a few – while others exist in the shadows. This new collection features stories that tell the Valkyries' own back stories, and echo their power: tales of fate, war, sacrifice and the mythic eternal. Stories selected from open submissions explore and expand on the classic tales and imagine completely new narratives. With an extensive new introduction to the ancient origins and stories, this powerful new title offers fresh perspectives on compelling characters. Introductory essay by Nancy Marie Brown, and foreword by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir. The modern authors whose stories feature in this book are: Ryaan Akmal, Don Bisdorf, Kay Hanifen, Ikechukwu Henry, E.K. Larson-Burnett, JB Riley, Laura Shenton, Nina Shepardson, Zac Sherman, D.L. Stille, Susanna Fraser Stone, Deborah Tapper, Benjamin Thomas, M.M. Williams, Mae Wilmarth, Johanna Wittenberg and Ernie Xu. Deluxe edition, foiled and embossed, with red foiled edges

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9781835627907

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Author Information

Nancy Marie Brown ('Introducing The Valkyries') is the author of The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women, which tells the story of the warrior woman buried in Birka grave Bj581. An independent scholar, she has been writing about Norse mythology, Icelandic sagas and Viking Age history and archaeology since 2001. She keeps Icelandic horses and considers Tolkien's Eowyn to be a major role model. Dr Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir (Foreword) is a medievalist and author of Valkyrie: The Women of the Viking World. Her work focuses on Vikings, medieval Scandinavia and the reception of these in the modern era. She completed her doctorate in medieval literature from Oxford University in 2010 and held research and teaching positions in Reykjavik, Iceland and the United States before taking up her current position at the National Library of Norway in Oslo. She has also worked as a historical consultant for documentaries and feature films, including Robert Eggers' The Northman.

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