And she certainly doesn't want anything to do with humans!įreya thinks humans are cruel, hate-filled creatures, but as she observes their world, she begins to wonder what it would be like to make friends with the girls or laugh with the boys she sees.

She doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of the legends before her-legends including her mother and sisters. Not someone you want to mess with.įreya is dreading her upcoming birthday when she'll officially have to take up her duties as a Valkyrie. In the process, this fascinating book uncovers the reality behind the myths and legends to reveal the dynamic, diverse lives of Viking women.From the bestselling author of the Pegasus books, Kate O'Hearn, comes an exciting new series that puts a fresh twist on Norse mythology. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological evidence, Valkyrie introduces readers to the dramatic and fascinating texts recorded in medieval Iceland, a culture able to imagine women in all kinds of roles carrying power, not just in this world, but pulling the strings in the other-world, too. The women in these stories take full part in the power struggles and upheavals in their communities, for better or worse. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings. Viking myths about valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war – to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows and sword blades into the bodies of others.

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE Valkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield.

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