Norse Code

Norse Code

Author: Greg Van Eekhout

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2009-05-19

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0553592130

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Is this Ragnarok, or just California? The NorseCODE genome project was designed to identify descendants of Odin. What it found was Kathy Castillo, a murdered MBA student brought back from the dead to serve as a valkyrie in the Norse god’s army. Given a sword and a new name, Mist’s job is to recruit soldiers for the war between the gods at the end of the world—and to kill those who refuse to fight. But as the twilight of the gods descends, Mist makes other plans. Journeying across a chaotic American landscape already degenerating into violence and madness, Mist hopes to find her way to Helheim, the land of the dead, to rescue her murdered sister from death’s clutches. To do so, she’ll need the help of Hermod, a Norse god bumming around Los Angeles with troubles of his own. Together they find themselves drafted into a higher cause, trying to do what fate long ago deemed could not be done: save the world of man. For even if myths aren’t made to be broken, it can’t hurt to go down fighting…can it?


The Gospel of Loki

The Gospel of Loki

Author: Joanne M. Harris

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-05-05

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1481449486

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“A surprise from the author of Chocolat,” New York Times bestselling author Joanne M. Harris, “this pacy adult fantasy is narrated by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief” (Vogue). This novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods—retold from the point of view of the world’s ultimate trickster, Loki. A #1 bestseller in the UK, The Gospel of Loki tells the story of Loki’s recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself. Using her lifelong passion for the Norse myths, New York Times bestseller Joanne M. Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel that the Sunday Sun recommends “to her long-standing audience with wit, style, and obvious enjoyment;” The Sunday Times claims it “lively and fun;” and The Metro adds that “Harris has enormous fun with her antihero...this mythical bad boy should beguile fans of Neil Gaiman.”


The A to Z of the Vikings

The A to Z of the Vikings

Author: Katherine Holman

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 081086813X

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The A to Z of the Vikings traces Viking activity in Europe, North America, and Asia for over three centuries. During this period people from Scandinavia used their longships to launch lightning raids upon their European neighbors, to colonize new lands in the east and west, and to exchange Scandinavian furs for eastern wine and spices and Arab silver. The Viking age also saw significant changes at home in Scandinavia--kings extended their power, Norse paganism lost ground to Christianity, and new towns and ports thrived as a result of increased contact with the wider world. This book provides a comprehensive work of reference for people interested in the Vikings, including entries on the main historical figures involved in this dramatic period, important battles and treaties, significant archaeological finds, and key works and sources of information on the period. It also summarizes the impact the Vikings had on the areas where they traveled and settled. There is a chronological table, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age.


Historical Dictionary of the Vikings

Historical Dictionary of the Vikings

Author: Katherine Holman

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2003-09-29

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 0810865890

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The Historical Dictionary of the Vikings traces Viking activity in Europe, North America, and Asia for over three centuries. During this period people from Scandinavia used their longships to launch lightning raids upon their European neighbors, to colonize new lands in the east and west, and to exchange Scandinavian furs for eastern wine and spices and Arab silver. The Viking age also saw significant changes at home in Scandinavia - kings extended their power, Norse paganism lost ground to christianity, and new towns and ports thrived as a result of increased contact with the wider world. This book provides a comprehensive work of reference for people interested in the Vikings, including entries on the main historical figures involved in this dramatic period, important battles and treaties, significant archaeological finds, and key works and sources of information on the period. It also summarizes the impact the Vikings had on the areas where they traveled and settled. There is a chronological table, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age.


River Kings

River Kings

Author: Cat Jarman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-02-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1643138707

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Follow an epic story of the Viking Age that traces the historical trail of an ancient piece of jewelry found in a Viking grave in England to its origins thousands of miles east in India. An acclaimed bioarchaeologist, Catrine Jarman has used cutting-edge forensic techniques to spark her investigation into the history of the Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now over one thousand years old, she can determine childhood diet—and thereby where a person was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death-date down to the range of a few years. And her research offers enlightening new visions of the roles of women and children in Viking culture. Three years ago, a Carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace the path of this ancient piece of jewelry back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings’ route was far more varied than we might think—that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, all the way to Britain. Told as a riveting history of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, this is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologized voyagers of the North—and of the global medieval world as we know it.


Myths of the Rune Stone

Myths of the Rune Stone

Author: David M. Krueger

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 1452945438

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What do our myths say about us? Why do we choose to believe stories that have been disproven? David M. Krueger takes an in-depth look at a legend that held tremendous power in one corner of Minnesota, helping to define both a community’s and a state’s identity for decades. In 1898, a Swedish immigrant farmer claimed to have discovered a large rock with writing carved into its surface in a field near Kensington, Minnesota. The writing told a North American origin story, predating Christopher Columbus’s exploration, in which Viking missionaries reached what is now Minnesota in 1362 only to be massacred by Indians. The tale’s credibility was quickly challenged and ultimately undermined by experts, but the myth took hold. Faith in the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone was a crucial part of the local Nordic identity. Accepted and proclaimed as truth, the story of the Rune Stone recast Native Americans as villains. The community used the account as the basis for civic celebrations for years, and advocates for the stone continue to promote its validity despite the overwhelming evidence that it was a hoax. Krueger puts this stubborn conviction in context and shows how confidence in the legitimacy of the stone has deep implications for a wide variety of Minnesotans who embraced it, including Scandinavian immigrants, Catholics, small-town boosters, and those who desired to commemorate the white settlers who died in the Dakota War of 1862. Krueger demonstrates how the resilient belief in the Rune Stone is a form of civil religion, with aspects that defy logic but illustrate how communities characterize themselves. He reveals something unique about America’s preoccupation with divine right and its troubled way of coming to terms with the history of the continent’s first residents. By considering who is included, who is left out, and how heroes and villains are created in the stories we tell about the past, Myths of the Rune Stone offers an enlightening perspective on not just Minnesota but the United States as well.


The Viking Age

The Viking Age

Author: Angus A. Somerville

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2019-11-20

Total Pages: 550

ISBN-13: 148757049X

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In this extensively revised third edition of The Viking Age: A Reader, Somerville and McDonald successfully bring the Vikings and their world to life for twenty-first-century students and instructors. The diversity of the Viking era is revealed through the remarkable range and variety of sources presented as well as the geographical and chronological coverage of the readings. The third edition has been reorganized into fifteen chapters. Many sources have been added, including material on gender and warrior women, and a completely new final chapter traces the continuing cultural influence of the Vikings to the present day. The use of visual material has been expanded, and updated maps illustrate historical developments throughout the Viking Age. The English translations of Norse texts, many of them new to this collection, are straightforward and easily accessible, while chapter introductions contextualize the readings.