Valhalla Burning - by Michael Pogach (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For fans of The Witcher and the novels of Joe Abercrombie and John Gwynne, comes a bloody Norse tale of grief, vengeance, fear, and fate from emerging SFF writer Michael Pogach.

It's 9th century Norway and Rúnr Njalson has been gifted supernatural warrior abilities as Odin's chosen Berserkr. Enemies and allies quake in fear at his approach. But when the unbeatable hero cannot save his own daughter Yrsa during a rival clan's raid, his only choice is to seek vengeance to gain her entry into Valhalla.

Plagued with horrific visions and grappling with the loss of his precious child, whose ghost torments his nights, Rúnr seeks the direction of a seeress's prophecy, and is told he must find a mysterious red temple and there face Yrsa's killer to save her soul from a fate with Hel. He abandons his homeland on a hunt spanning the dark forests of the Slavs and the Rus to the fabled city of Constantinople, along the way throwing in with a motley band of Viking raiders: Captain Garmr's ferocity fits the namesake of Hel's hound; the nervous merchant Erasmus hides secrets he'll never tell; the warrior Ingimar whose quick temper is going to get them all into trouble; and the fierce shieldmaiden Ingirid who may be the only one able to break through Rúnr's tough exterior.

While Rúnr's love for Ingirid grows, his Berserkr rage become more volatile, testing the crew's bonds and leading him to face an impossible sacrifice.

Lift a horn of ale and taste sweat and blood in this rich and brutal dark Viking adventure.

Review Quotes

"Michael Pogach writes with vigor and force, propelling his characters into one danger after another with a hungry, restless energy--for glory, for honor, for revenge. A roaring epic with a skaldic touch, Valhalla burns brightly as we stand witness at the center of the fire."
--Darby McDevitt, lead writer of Assassin's Creed Valhalla and author of The Halter

"In Valhalla Burning, Michael Pogach has written a compelling and powerful story, deeply embedded within Norse mythology, portraying a world view in which vengeance and justice are both personal and unavoidable. I became hooked!"
--Sam Davey, author of The Pendragon Prophecy series

"I'll gobble up a Viking Berserkr story any day, but Valhalla Burning is something special. Pogach weaves a rich world that strikes at the heart of us all: a haunted parent spiraling after loss into the depths of fury, desperate for vengeance, and caught at a crossroads. This thrilling grimdark fantasy echoes John Gwynne's Bloodsworn trilogy and is a perfect read for anyone seeking a gut-wrenching story drenched in blood and revenge."
--Gwendolyn N. Nix, author of I Have Asked to be Where No Storms Come and Bone Knuckles and the Rose Scavenger

About the Author

Michael Pogach is the author of the Gothic thriller, Slip, a 2023 PenCraft Award runner-up, as well as the Rafael Ward dystopian series beginning with The Spider in the Laurel, a Kindle Book Award finalist. In addition to his studies of Anglo-Saxon and Norse literature and mythology, he is a professor of English in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley where he lives with his wife, two children, and their black cat, Wednesday.