โ Scribed by Fred Saberhagen
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
In his fifth Books of the Gods entry, veteran Saberhagen (the Berserker, Dracula and Swords series) offers a naturalistic retelling of Germanic myth, steering his usual middle course between the grittily realistic and the fantastic. One survivor of God of the Golden Fleece (2001) wanders into the middle of a Wagnerian cast and plot, including Wodan, Brunhild, Baldur, assorted Valkyries, flying horses, gnomes and a battle between the gods and the Underworld on the plain of Asgard. Armed only with cunning and a shabby piece of the Golden Fleece, Haraldur ("most call me Hal, to save themselves a little breath and effort") manages to sneak into Valhalla, single-handedly defeat a berserker, steal a Valkyrie's steed, penetrate Loki's stronghold, discover the stolen treasure of the gnomes, witness (or cause) the deaths of three gods and fight side-by-side with Wodan in the Last Battle. Despite the operatic overtones of his material, the author grounds his tale in a very unromantic reality. The noble figures and ideals of the old stories, like Valhalla, look better from a distance. Up close, draughty halls and leaky roofs do not a warrior's paradise make. The separation of appearance and actuality gives the book a dollop of ironic humor and a chance for Saberhagen to introduce his own superscience clues about the powers of the gods. Fans will recognize his technique of blurring the relation of the setting of both myth and history to produce a hybrid that allows him much free rein of invention within the standard story lines.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Haraldur the Northman has recently returned from his adventures with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece and meets Baldur, a young man in search of the Valkyrie Brunhilde, held captive by the god Loki inside a ring of fire. When two men form a partnership of would-be heroes intent on rescuing the maiden and, incidentally, investigating rumors of a hoard of gold within the fiery ring, they plumb the secrets of the gods of Valhalla and the mysterious gnomes who inhabit the caverns beneath the earth. The author of the "Book of the Gods" (e.g., The Face of Apollo, Ariadne's Web) series turns his attention from Greek to Norse myth with a rousing tale of love and adventure, spiced with humor and likeable characters. A good selection for most fantasy collections and for libraries owning the rest of the series.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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