"Land. I heard its song, sensed its heat. The raven stopped perching on me, trying to reach my land before me. Whatever Odin could muster right now, the blazing rage inside me was stronger. I sped up, determoned he'd fail. It was mine and it was calling me".
"The future was becoming the current, turning into the past, making space for the future that followed".
"They didn't name this land, because they knew what it was! Ice-land, that's what it is! Ice-land and ice-sea and ice-sky and ice-fire!"
Land by Bjørn Larssen is the second book in The Ten Worlds series (published 5 November 2024). This is a cool, dark (not just dark, grimdark!), spellbinding re-imagining of the Norse myths.
It is an enthralling tale of love and hatred, betrayal and forgiveness, revenge and compassion. It is brutal and shocking at times, and there were moments, when I had to pause reading it and take a break. Not because I didn't appreciate the story, but I needed to gather my thoughts and emotions.
The Blurb:
Love. Land. Loss. Happy Never After.
The truth Maya fought for all her life turns out to be a lie a thousand years long. She neither understands nor knows how to wield her hidden power, simultaneously endless and limited, forcing her to face responsibility for the harm she causes and parry countless questions she has no answers to. Neither time nor space can stop her - but can she stop herself?
Bound with an unbreakable love spell, Magni and Thorolf, raised in darkness and pain, share only one thing: a fear of revealing their truths. One was born to be a God; the other only knows a slave's life. One craves peace and quiet; the other believes peace to be a brief reprieve between wars. As they mourn those they have lost, the constant war of their own threatens to destroy all they have left - each other.
Haunted by Gods old and new, in the shadow of Odin's raven, they head to conquer the new Asgard. Apart from their demons, nothing and nobody is what it seems. Unwilling to give up love, freedom, or land they're fated to live happily never after... unless destiny can be altered after all?
Following the events of the first book, when Magni and Maya are accused of plotting against Thor, they have to leave Ásgard. Accompanied by Goddess Freya, they cross from one world to the next, through the roots of Yggdrasil.
There are two main threads in the narrative, the story unfolds through the voices of two protagonists, Magni and Maya. Their voices interchange, both emotionally charged.
Vengeful Freya puts an everlasting spell on Magni and Thorolf, making them fall in love with each other. One of them is a God, another is a slave. There is so much they can't agree on, the divide between them is a chasm. Both of them have suffered greatly.
"What Freya had done to them was borne of malice, meant to be a punishment. She failed, or she'd fail".
Magni craves "boring" life, he wants to live an uneventful quiet life, of peace and hard work. Thorolf believes this kind of idyll is not sustainable, and the war is coming to engulf everything they know. It looks like they are totally incompatible. On top of that, their inner demons are trying to take over.
Their love-resentment demands a terrible sacrifice. Is there a happy ever after for them?
Maya's path is not an easy one either. She is trying to figure out her own origins, strengths and powers. Since she is not fully comprehending what she is capable of, Maya presents a danger to the world around her.
"I was a tree the way Yggdrasil was a tree. I was destiny and I was destination, all the destinations, all the passages and routes and directions..."
The truth about her birth is demolishing all her preconceptions and assumptions, not only about herself, but her parents and even her age.
Maya is haunted by visions. There are too many questions, and very few answers.
"My visions were unwanted. I couldn't choose what or when to witness. What I experienced were destinies".
Intent on finding a new Ásgard, they have a perilous journey ahead. They cannot completely escape the old Gods, as Odin's raven accompanies them, uninvited, and ever watchful. What are Odin's plans?
What is destiny? Is it truly impossible to re-shape or invalidate?
The story blends a twisty plotline with compassion for the flawed, vulnerable characters. There is wisdom, and courage, and flares of dark humour.
Magni's voice is full of confusion and internal strife. His anxiety is overwhelming, and affects his mood swings on a constant loop, he has difficulty concentrating on the present, and feels guilty and worthless. Even when clearly loved, he doesn't believe he is worthy of being loved. His thoughts are chaotic, the events of the past appear as an incomplete puzzle in his mind.
Magni's stream of consciousness is so confused at times, that you plunge into that dark chaos and uncertainty with him. His mental distress is palpable.
"I have voices in my head," I said. My heart was racing. I am insane. "Some have names. Sometimes they argue and I can only listen, like I am outside. I think some don't even like me. Sometimes... I think that's why I forget... they take over..."
It's an authentic portrayal of a complex and nuanced nature of severe despondency, and of a dissosiative identity disorder.
While Why Odin Drinks is a satirical retelling of the Norse myths, this story is far from straight-comic (though the introducion written by Loki is truly amusing). That's not to say that humour is not present, but the overall narrative is charged, intricate and even shocking.
This book will engulf you, and keep you captive. Perhaps because this year has been very challenging for my older son who struggles with his mental health, I found it haunting and devastating at times (Magni's dissosiative identity disorder, his mental anguish, disorganised behaviour, etc).
I might have read it differently in a different situation. I really wanted to hold this vulnerable giant in my arms and soothe his pain.
What do I want to say? Read this book, and be blown away.
Author Bio:
An award-winning author of historical fiction and fantasy, dark and funny in varying proportions. His writing has been described as "dark", "literary", "cinematic", "hilarious" and "there were points where I was almost having to read through a small gap between my fingers".
His debut novel, Storytellers, won a Readers' Favorite Gold Medal (Best Historical Fiction Novel) and was shortlisted for Eric Hoffer Prize Award. His fantasy works, Children and Why Odin Drinks have been shortlisted for eleven (11) Indie Ink Awards - so far; Children was also nominated for a Staby Award (Best Indie Novel of 2020). Bjorn is a Queer Indie Award Laureate (best speculative fiction author) and very proud of it.
Bjørn has a Master of Science degree in mathematics, and has previously worked as a graphic designer, a model, a bartender, and a blacksmith (not all at the same time). He currently lives with his husband in Almer, which is unfortunately located in The Netherlands, rather than Iceland.
He has only met an elf once. So far.
His upcoming release, the second book in The Ten Worlds cycle - Land - is coming out on November 5, 2024.
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