Olsen / Robson Erik and the Gods

Journey to Valhalla
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-906582-64-7
Verlag: Aurora Metro Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 400 Seiten

A classic of Danish children's literature, translated into over a dozen languages..
Winner Best Children's Book and PEN award
The Norse Gods have been fighting an endless war with the Giants and now they're growing weak and losing their powers, so the God of Thunder, Thor, travels to earth to find help. He asks Erik, an ordinary teenage boy, to go on a secret mission to Asgard and the Land of the Giants.
Once in the Land of the Gods, Erik has to train to gain the skills to outwit and outrun the Giants. Together with Thor's daughter, Trud, Erik ventures to the Land of the Giants to search for magic apples - the only thing which can revive the dying Gods. But time is running out.
Can they rescue the Goddess and prevent Ragnarok, the End of the World?
Reviews
'Erik and the Gods: Journey to Valhalla is an exciting retelling of Norse myths and legends that many of us have most likely heard of at some point in our lives. The author brings old myths and legends vividly to life with his story and whisks readers off on a magical adventure into the epic world of Norse mythology where adventure abounds.
I was positively surprised by this novel, because it has the feel of an epic adventure due to the author's way of writing about the various Gods and their deeds in a marvellous way. The author effortlessly evokes a sense of an adventure and makes sure that his readers are having a good time.' **** - Seregil of Rhiminee
'When the great hammer-wielding Thor whisks Erik off to Asgard, the boy finds himself in a new (and very ancient) world preparing to embark on a perilous quest. It will be an action-packed journey on a mythological scale, with Gods and giants, with monsters and magical knives, with dragons and wolves and serpents, with treachery and heroism. Olsen's breathless new adventure is filled with the old stories, which it conjures back into life an exciting and original introduction to one of the greatest of all mythological universes.' --Daniel Hahn, Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
'Famous myths and legends burst into life again when 13-year-old Erik is enlisted to help out the Norse gods, now fallen on hard times. His adventures that follow are in the same epic league as Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but delivered with a lighter touch as Erik brings in his own modern perspective to all he sees and hears now going on around him. Packing each chapter with incident and extraordinary detail concerning everyday life in Valhalla, the ancient home of the gods, Lars-Henrik Olsen provides readers of all ages with an unfailingly good-humoured feast for the imagination. Published thirty years ago in Danish, this wonderfully entertaining story, the first of four involving Erik, richly deserves a wider audience today.' --Nicholas Tucker, Rough Guide to Children s Books
'Lars-Henrik Olsen s epic novel of Erik s adventures with the Viking gods is a main reason why the powerful tales of Norse mythology continue to be shared by generations of Danes. When, as a young teenager, I first encountered Erik and the Gods, I discovered what would become a lifelong passion for fantasy and, not least, reading. I am delighted that this novel has been translated into English for the first time and will be available to a whole new generation of readers.' --Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, UCL Scandinavian Studies
Lars-Henrik Olsen is a Danish author. His writing spans both children's, youth and adult books. He has written over 70 books including non-fiction about animals and nature, Nordic mythology and several historical novels. His books have been translated into a total of 13 different languages and sold millions of copies. He also helped found the Panda Club for the World Wildlife Fund.
His novel Erik and the Gods: Journey to Valhalla (Erik Menneskeson) was awarded The Danish Children's Book Award in 1986. A film is now being made of the book in Denmark.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Olsen, Lars-Henrik

Robson, Cheryl

Weitere Mitwirkende

Holman, Kohki

Garrett, Paul Russell

Leseproben

CHAPTER 4 – SUTTUNG’S MEAD
They continued across the Rainbow Bridge and every colour of the rainbow shone intensely. “Help me keep an eye out for Jotuns,” Thor said, standing upright at the front of the chariot. His long red hair and beard were blowing in the wind, and he looked like a true god of war, Erik thought, huge and formidable. “Can you really handle all of the giants with your hammer?” “No, unfortunately not,” Thor answered. “Some can only be dealt with through cunning, as they are often just as clever as the Gods. Utgard-Loki is one such Jotun, a rather unpleasant creature. You will probably hear a lot more about him. The cleverest giant is called Mimir, and no one can match him in wisdom. Odin, for example, had to sacrifice his eye just to get some of his knowledge.” “What do Jotuns look like?” “They come in many shapes and sizes,” Thor answered, “but most of them are incredibly ugly and stupid, the males in particular. Some of them are enormous, as big as a mountain. I once slept inside the glove of a Jotun that size. It was Utgard-Loki’s glove, in fact, but at the time I thought it was a house or a large cave. Some are small, almost like gnomes or dwarves. When you are travelling in Jotunheim, you never know what kind of creatures you will encounter. Many Jotuns can transform into fish or birds. There is a big Jotun we call Hræsvelg, the corpse swallower, who looks like a giant eagle. He is so big that when he flaps his wings it causes the wind to blow. He is an odd fellow and for the most part he remains unseen. But he is so strong that he can set the seas in motion, and with one swoosh of his wing he can make a small fire flare up into an inferno. Some giants are extremely dangerous, and you should be very careful of them. There’s a female giant in a forest called the Iron Woods, far to the east of Jotunheim. She has many offspring, all monstrous wolves, and few trespassers make it out of that place alive. The Jotuns and the Æsir have long been enemies, but fortunately I can take care of most of them on my own. All it takes is one blow squarely on the noggin with my iron hammer here, and then they are done for.” Thor patted his hammer. Erik got up and stood next to Thor. The wind was blasting in his face and Erik really had to hold on hard to keep his footing. The goats were galloping at full pace, and sparks flew from their hooves as the chariot hurtled on. “There’s one!” Thor yelled and threw his hammer in a flash. The big long-haired Jotun, hobbled in front of them on the Rainbow Bridge. It turned and grinned at them hideously, but just then the hammer struck it in the middle of its forehead, splitting its head in two. The hammer then zoomed back into Thor’s hand, ready for its next victim. The giant was still grinning when they drove past. But its smile was now frozen in two parts. Thor laughed, in a much better mood now. “There’s another one!” he screamed and hurled the hammer again. An ape-like Jotun toppled over at once. “Yeehaw!” Thor was screaming like an American cowboy who had just tamed a bucking bronco. The hammer flew off a third time and slammed into an enormous face that had popped up by the edge of the bridge. The head was bigger than the chariot they were riding in, but the hammer blow had the desired effect, and the Jotun’s head disappeared instantly. “Yeehaw!” Thor shouted, now in high spirits. “There’s another one,” Erik said and pointed at a big, shiny black horse. “Are you mad?!” Thor shouted and got the goats to come to a stop. “That is Hófvarpnir, Frigg’s horse!” “What’s it doing here?” “It must have run off because nobody can be bothered looking after it anymore. We had better take it back with us,” Thor said, then jumped out of the chariot and ran over to the horse. “It might get eaten by the giants otherwise. They eat just about anything. Come on!” he said and patted Hófvarpnir gently. The horse followed him, almost like a dog. “Follow the chariot!” he shouted to Hófvarpnir and then got the goats moving again. Hófvarpnir followed at a smooth trot and even though the goats were fast, the horse kept up easily. “Say something to it!” Thor said. “Why?” Erik asked. “If you want to make friends with an animal, you have to talk to it. A lot. You almost have to talk to it like it was another person.” “But what should I say?” “That’s up to you,” Thor replied as he scouted for more Jotuns. Erik turned to Hófvarpnir and thought about it carefully. What do you say to a horse? “Talk to it so it learns to recognise your voice!” Erik cleared his throat. “Hi,” he said. Thor looked down at Erik. “That is not going to be enough, but you will learn. Do you know how to ride, by the way?” “No,” Erik answered. “I only tried it once, at a horse show, but there was a girl leading the horse.” “Well,” Thor began. “You are going to have to learn in a hurry. You will need to know how to ride for your journey.” Erik looked at the horse warily and wondered what exactly it was that Thor had in mind for him. Hófvarpnir looked Erik in the eyes with a great, warm look like only a horse could do. Its forelock and thick mane billowed in the wind as it ran alongside the chariot. Erik reached out and stroked Hófvarpnir and it whinnied faintly, like they had been friends forever. Hófvarpnir continued running next to the chariot. Was it to stay as close to Erik as possible, or did it want him to climb on its back? Erik remained firmly in the chariot. Even though he’d always been a little afraid of horses, he felt that he would never be afraid of Hófvarpnir. It was the biggest horse he had ever seen, but he got a clear sense that it would never kick him or try to buck him if he rode it. It was a wonderful feeling. Thor looked back at Erik and smiled to himself. For a long time they didn’t encounter any more giants and Erik began getting a little bored. To pass the time, he asked Thor what he meant when he said Odin was to blame for all the trouble in Asgard. “Well,” Thor began. “It started many years ago actually, in fact when Idun, one of the Asynjur, was snatched by the Jotuns,” Thor explained. “And just so you know, the Æsir are the male gods and the Asynjur are the female gods. Idun possesses some magical apples that keep all of us young and healthy, and it was Odin’s fault that she was taken by the Jotuns. You see, Odin discovered that a giant by the name of Suttung was said to possess a strange nectar, a very special drink that we call the skaldic mead of inspiration. This mead can make whoever drinks it burst into song or poetry that is as heavenly as birds singing in the spring. Odin had to get his hands on that mead. So one summer’s day, he disguised himself using an old tattered cloak and a cane, and set out to find Suttung, thinking that nobody in Jotunheim would recognise him like that. On his journey, he arrived at a field where nine peasants were gathering hay. Odin stopped to enjoy the smell of the freshly cut grass. But he could see that the harvest was hard work for the peasants, who were growing weary because their scythes were so blunt. So Odin offered to sharpen their blades with his grindstone, which he happened to have in his pocket. The peasants had no objections, and after Odin had finished, they noticed that their scythes were cutting far better than before. They were keen to purchase Odin’s grindstone and he was willing to sell it as long as they were willing to pay a fair price. But they had to choose which of them would get it. So Odin threw the grindstone in the air, and all nine peasants were so eager to get their hands on it, they tripped over one another in the scramble and accidentally sliced one another in two with their sharpened blades. Of course that was a sad outcome but nothing could be done about it, so Odin continued on his way. In the evening, he came across a Jotun named Baugi and asked if he might be permitted to be his guest that night. Baugi, who happened to be Suttung’s brother, asked for Odin’s name. Odin said his name was Bolverk, and since there were no Gods by that name, Baugi believed Odin to be a peaceful man and let him stay the night. While they sat drinking that evening, Baugi began to share his woes. All of a sudden, everything was a mess at his farm, he complained. All nine of his peasant workers had killed themselves. What was he going to do about the harvest? He could not cut the grass alone, nor could he leave it to rot in the fields. How terrible, Odin thought, and offered to work in their stead. He was confident he could do the work of nine men, he said, and all he wanted for it was a sip of Suttung’s mead. Baugi was unable to promise him that, because it was up to his brother, Suttung. “But at the end of the summer, I will take you to see him and plead your case,” he promised. So Odin spent the entire summer at Baugi’s farm. He did the work of the nine peasants and when the first day of winter arrived, he asked for his payment. Baugi could not refuse him that, so they paid a visit to Suttung. Baugi told him of Bolverk’s work and of his wish to drink a sip of the mead. But Suttung was having none of it, Odin was not going to get a single drop, not over his dead body! So they left emptyhanded. “Well, since he refuses to give me some, I guess I will have to take some,” Odin said when they got outside. “Will you help me?” In order to repay Bolverk for all the work he had...