Sunday 31 January 2010

Vikings, werewolves, meddling gods...and huge axes!

If that sounds pretty good to you, then Wolfsangel by M. D. Lachlan is a book you might like to look out for.

Here's the blurb:

"The Viking King Authun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately but Authun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy. A prophecy that tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the Gods. If Authun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory. But Authun discovers not one child, but twin baby boys. Ensuring that his faithful warriors, witness to what has happened, die during the raid Authun takes the children and their mother home, back to the witches who live on the troll wall. And he places his destiny in their hands.

And so begins a stunning multi-volume fantasy epic that will take a werewolf from his beginnings as the heir to a brutal viking king, down through the ages. It is a journey that will see him hunt for his lost love through centuries and lives, and see the endless battle between the wolf, Odin and Loki - the eternal trickster - spill over into countless bloody conflicts from our history, and over into our lives. This is the myth of the werewolf as it has never been told before and marks the beginning of an extraordinary new fantasy series from Gollancz."

This novel has received a slew of positive comments from a number of other authors:

Part fantasy, part horror, part historical adventure, bound up with a tight, lean style and featuring some of the strangest and most sinister magic I've encountered. A dark and original book, recommended for people who like weird magic, unpredictable outcomes, gore, and vikings.

JOE ABERCROMBIE

A unique take on the werewolf mythos, on the Norse pantheon and on magic itself. An enthralling, mesmeric book.

MIKE CAREY

A spellbinding and unputdownable fusion of historical and fantasy fiction that is sure to enchant devotees of both genres.

R.J. ELLORY

A classic. Many cuts above the ordinary. Big axe cuts too. Brilliant stuff.

ADAM ROBERTS

Sent chills down my spine, it was so good. Dark bloody and dangerous, you can almost smell the sweat and iron coming off the pages. There are a lot of werewolves coming our way this year, but Wolfsangel could well be the standard by which they will be judged for some years to come

STEPHEN DEAS

Wolfsangel is published by Gollancz on 20 May 2010.

5 comments:

DEZMOND said...

This sounds very interesting, I might even consider publishing this book in my country!

Valashain said...

Hmm, I am going to have to keep an eye out for that one.

shaneo52 said...

This one's looking pretty cool...not big fan of werewolves, but Vikings are some of the coolest bad boys.
Alot of good authors praising it too.
Thanks man

Gabriele Campbell said...

I'm mostly tired of the whole vampire and werewolf shenagian, but this one doesn't sound like a paranormal romance with a sexy monster. More like a badass monster. And I'm all for Vikings and axes. :)

Kristopher A. Denby said...

Vikings, you say? Anglo-Saxons?
I'll have to watch for this one.

Wait, what was the rest of this post about?