Publishers Weekly
08/19/2024
Brave women warriors and diplomats shine in their roles as leaders in this alluring reimagining of Norse mythology from Heartfield (The Embroidered Book). Valkyrie Brynhild has just been exiled from Valhalla by Odin for contradicting his orders. Resigned to the life of a mortal in Midgard, she declares that she will use her wisdom, strength, and rune magic to help those who need protection. Meanwhile, Christian Burgundian princess Gudrun agrees to marry Hun prince Bleda to secure a peaceful alliance—but then Bleda’s brother, Attila, slays him and declares the truce void. In the aftermath, the serpent dragon Fafnir attacks with its poison breath, and Gudrun’s brother, King Gunnar, runs away. With him missing, Gudrun becomes queen and uses her diplomacy skills and knowledge of herbal magic to protect her people. Fortunately, Brynhild and her new friend, Sigurd, the owner of a powerful dragon-killing sword, arrive to help. The complex romances, alliances, and betrayals between Gudrun, Sigurd, Brynhild, and Gunnar intertwine with heartbreaking and tragic results. With a brilliant heroine at the helm, this richly detailed, character-driven story renders epic mythological battles on a human scale. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Valkyrie
‘Reading THE VALKYRIE,I felt as if I were meeting old friends again for the first time. Kate Heartfield as taken a story I’ve read in many incarnations and still surprised and delighted me. Practically every sentence is a brilliant kenning, glittering brightly enough to match Fafnir’s hoard. This fierce and imaginative retelling, full of history and magic, does for the Ring Cycle what Atwood’s PENELOPIAD did for THE ODYSSEY’Chadwick Ginther, the Aurora-winning author of THE THUNDER ROAD trilogy
‘THE VALKYRIE is a richly-told and deeply-felt tale about finding ones place in the world. A sharp, radiant book to fit the women whose stories it recounts. Kate Heartfield is one of those rare writers who always make me feel as if what they’re writing, no matter how fantastical, is true. Whatever she told me in a story, I would believe it. Gods, dragons and all.’Natalia Theodoridou, winner of the World Fantasy Award
‘THE VALKYRIE sings, like the epic it is, without ever letting go of its groundedness, its bloodiedness. A secret history of the sagas, a story from behind the stories of old‒a war story, a love story that, once you see it emerge gleaming and gory from those bardic silences, seems like it was always there.’Vajra Chandrasekera, author of THE SAINT OF THE BRIGHT DOORS
Praise for Kate Heartfield
‘Where fantasy and history meet…An entertaining and dark read’STYLIST
‘An absorbing novel…a fine balance between history and fantasy’GUARDIAN
‘Spellbinding’JJA Harwood
‘Beautifully written’Elizabeth Chadwick
