Land: Grimdark Norse Mythology Retelling of Discovery of Iceland

The Ten Worlds #2

by Bjørn Larssen

Love. Land. Loss. Happy Never After.

The truth Maya fought for all her life turns out to be a lie a thousand years long. She neither understands nor knows how to wield her hidden power, simultaneously endless and limited, forcing her to face responsibility for the harm she causes and parry countless questions she has no answers to. Neither time nor space can stop her – but can she stop herself?

Bound with an unbreakable love spell, Magni and Thorolf, raised in darkness and pain, share only one a fear of revealing their truths. One was born to be a God; the other only knows a slave’s life. One craves peace and quiet; the other believes peace to be a brief reprieve between wars. As they mourn those they have lost, the constant war of their own threatens to destroy all they have left – each other.

Haunted by Gods old and new, in the shadow of Odin’s raven, they head to conquer the new Ásgard. Apart from their demons, nothing and nobody is what it seems. Unwilling to give up love, freedom, or land they’re fated to live happily never after… unless destiny can be altered after all?

Genres: Fantasy

552 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2024

About the author

Bjørn Larssen is a Norse heathen made in Poland, but mostly located in a Dutch suburb, except for his heart which he lost in Iceland. Born in 1977, he self-published his first graphic novel at the age of seven in a limited edition of one, following this achievement several decades later with his first book containing multiple sentences and winning awards he didn’t design himself. His writing is described as ‘dark’ and ‘literary’, but he remains incapable of taking anything seriously for more than 60 seconds.

Bjørn has a degree in mathematics and has worked as a graphic designer, a model, a bartender, and a blacksmith (not all at the same time). His hobbies include sitting by open fires, dressing like an extra from Vikings, installing operating systems, and dreaming about living in a log cabin in the north of Iceland. He owns one (1) husband and is owned by one (1) neighbourhood cat.

Reviews

[P.L. Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've waited a long time for the 2nd book in 'Ten Worlds', and it was definitely worth the wait!

Please see my YouTube interview with the brilliant author as part of my
SIX ELEMENTALS INTERVIEW series - link below - where we discuss LAND, and more of his work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8syl...

[Penni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maya and Magni are back, baby! Anyone who's followed Bjorn Larssen's incredible Norse sagas (Children, Why Oden Drinks, Creation, and even his Icelandic offshoot Storytellers) knows that they are about to either shriek with laughter, or shriek with horror. Or an uneasy combination of the two. But they also know they are in for a brilliant ride.

Readers, I read an advanced-advanced copy of this, before I read an advanced copy of this. Let me tell you, the ending is better in the new version. I was ready to walk into the ocean when I read a really early copy. Now, I feel gut-punched, but with hope.

We pick up on this epic chronicle of the lives of Maya (secret daughter of Goddess Freya, that bitch) and Magni (bastard son of that bastard God, Thor) as they have just escaped the clutches of Odin, (you MUST read Children first, as this book is the 2nd layer of the masterful sandwich that is this tale). Maya and Magni have begrudgingly joined forces with Freya to escape Odin's watchful eye (literally, just that one eye, or his ravens if you count those narcs). Freya planned to go to the 10th world with a select few (like her brother-lover) to rule over the peons known as humans. Unfortunately, she was going to go about it in the absolute worst way, and Maya, in an attempt to thwart her mother, accidentally sends the group of them to the new world--without a way back. Oopsie. Hate when my powers transport me elsewhere with a group of dicks I'd rather watch hang, than hang out with.

While Maya struggles with her heretofore unknown super powers, Magni finds himself madly in love with a lovely, lowly slave. How did these two meet-cute? Freya cast a spell to make them fall in love before they even set eyes on each other, just for the LOLz (and a titch of revenge). Did I mention she's a bitch? (Yet her humor makes me cackle and hate myself, such is the genius of Larssen's writing).

After a harrowing journey by sea to try to reach the New Asgard, the gang (made up of our heroes and a handful of maniacs, including a cameo by a character from Children) stumbles upon a Hidden Land with folks who'd prefer if you didn't know about them or their patch of dirt, thanks. Ruled by a benevolent queen, the people struggle to survive, while trying to figure out how to help the Gods and men that landed at their doorstep.

Reader, you are NOT ready for what happens to Maya. You will fall in love and have your heart broken for Magni. You will scream in delight and disgust for Freya. It's insane, thrilling, funny, sad, scary, breathtaking, and so operatic, even Peter Jackson would be afraid to try and turn these books into films.

The depth and breadth of Larssen's writing genius cannot be understated. How one man/one mind can come up with so many details and layers and twists and turns, is incomprehensible to us mere mortals (I suspect he may be part Norse God himself, like maybe a third cousin to Bragi).

I say this every time, but these books need to be read curled up next to a fire, with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea. This is a book you read for weeks, savoring, and thinking about. It'll haunt you long after you finish it.

[S. Bavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary advanced review copy from the author - thank you Bjørn. My opinions are my own and this is an honest review.

In Land, the grimdark sequel to equally grimdark Children, we see the continuation of the epic story involving the monumentally complicated characters of Maya, daughter of Norse goddess Freya, and Magni, son of Norse god Thor. Once again there are plenty of mentions of some of the best-known Norse myths and characters from Norse mythology are ever present, which can feel like welcome Easter eggs for a reader of Norse fantasy.

It has been a long time since I read Children and I found myself confused for the better part of the first few chapters, trying to remember why this group of mostly traumatised people are all together and where they are going. The author intends to add a summary of Children which will help solve this.

During a tumultuous sea voyage, Maya has to seize her newly discovered powers as a goddess to save them and even becomes the ship on which they are travelling. Some of them suffer further trauma on arrival in the Tenth World, before finding their way to the Hidden Land of the Hidden Folk, who may or may not be Freya’s Vanir who she thought were all dead from plague.

Maya really comes into her powers in this book and finds she has something in common with the Norns when she visits them. While Maya is struggling to understand the magnitude of her abilities, Magni is still struggling with his multiple personalities. He tries to keep track of them all and is aware that when unable to do so terrible things ensue, with terrible consequences. Things that are at times difficult to read. These main characters and also the secondary cast are masterfully written in all their many-layered complexity. There are enormous egos, a lack of patience, balance and some unhinged and narcissistic characters in the community they find but they have a queen who is selfless to a fault holding everything together by the skin of her teeth.

Once these compelling main character misfits find their places in the society of the Hidden Folk, the story really begins to find its stride, as Maya and Magni both finally discover what it feels like to be loved and they have a happier interlude for a while. This cannot last, however, as Land is a grimdark novel and more angst and trauma are necessary!

What can be considered a happy ending/death for one character causes unlimited pain for another and the introduction of Hel in all of her horrific glory doing her administrative paperwork while kindly welcoming the dead to Helheim was a favourite scene for me. There is dark humour spattered throughout this novel like blood droplets and brain matter after a grimdark battle, if you keep an eye open for it. But be sure to close that eye if Odin’s raven comes near or he just might peck it out.

[Lee-Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this sequel to 'Children' to be even more enjoyable than its predecessor, but whether that was down to the stage setting and character building accomplished in that first volume, or whether my reading of that one was hampered by something of a hiatus midway through, I couldn't tell you. But enjoy it I did. Don't get me wrong, there were parts that had me metaphorically peeking out from behind my cushion (Herjólf is a particularly cruel and unpleasant character who frankly deserves everything that's coming to him!) but on the whole I found it gripping. As before, the chapters are told from Magni and Maya's perspectives, and I find their stream-of-consciousness speech and thought to be a particularly endearing feature of the narrative - yes, these are gods, telling a fabulously imagined story, but they're just fumbling their way through life discovering their own skills and abilities, and agonising and feeling crushed and elated by turns, just like the rest of us! Very refreshing. Bjørn's storytelling is intriguing and imaginative, and his sense of humour twinkles through too. I think it's possibly more subtle in this volume (although don't get me wrong, the intro is HILARIOUS!) but it's there and I loved it, I often enjoyed a good chuckle or just a knowing grin.

Magni, Thorolf, Maya, Freya, Herjólf and Harbard, amongst others, are travelling together for a time, and eventually some of the group find themselves transported by Maya to a hidden land populated by the Folk, a peaceful and intentionally isolated community. They each have different aims on arrival and the battle between Magni and Thorolf is particularly painful and poignant as, despite their inextricable love for each other, they can't agree on...well, much at all really, apart from that love and desire. It's quite heart rending. They all have to do a lot of soul searching and you really live it with them. I don't want to give too much away about the plot, you must read and enjoy this for yourself, but it's just brilliant how Larssen has wound his own imagination around the Norse legends and the settlement tales of Iceland, bringing us a whole new take and perspective - quite MAGNI-ficent!

I know Book 3 is in progress, and although I have mixed feelings about reading Thorolf's story, when he's responsible for so much strife in this one, I know that, in Bjørn's skilled hands, (& did I mention he's brilliantly imaginative too?!) it will be absolutely worth it!

[Phil Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Land, by Bjorn Larssen, is his follow-up novel to his highly acclaimed Children. It is no less amazing, indeed, I’d say it is even better. I’ll explain why shortly. It is also an intensely emotional, even traumatic, story. I had to read it in stages, engaging for too long felt like watching one of those films where you need a box of tissues handy. I’m not going to lie, there were occasions (sometimes it was a single sentence) that brought a lump to my throat.

The story is complex but, in short, Maya and Magni are its two protagonists who are hampered by their own ignorance and must deflect the endless pressures that demand answers from them. It relies on a great deal of Norse mythology but has given it new meaning quite often, mythical characters are seen in a modern context. They remain equally as powerful, unpleasant and hurtful but their reasoning and actions has a modern edge we can see in others now.

Their goal is to conquer a new version of Asgard but you’re never too sure if their personal challenges may be even greater and get in the way. Maya’s immense power is amorphous, uncertain and unpredictable. Magni, Thor's powerful son, is trapped in a love spell with a slave, Thorolf. Both are too traumatised by their experiences to be able to express and sustain their love.

It's Magni’s story that had me blubbing. After everything he goes through, you just want him to be happy. Yet events, other people and his own trauma, constantly create road blocks.

All this sounds like a story that is depressing to read. It could be, very easily. Yet, not in the hands of Bjorn Larssen. Sure, this story is visceral in the mental and physical pain inflicted on its characters. At the same time, the humour that defines the author’s voice, is there. It’s wry, touching, ironic. It complements the heartache perfectly. The classic, one-minute-you’re-crying, the-next-minute-you’re-laughing tone. There’s a “throwaway” quality to his humour that I love, a touch so light you might miss it. Subtle word play.

In addition, the prose is exquisite. I rarely use that word. It applies here. As a writer, I found myself re-reading certain sentences to appreciate the quality. Places where you think, that is gorgeous. More often, where I decide I bloody hate Bjorn Larssen for writing something so beautiful. The guy has achieved all kinds of plaudits for Children – Land will be the same and rightly so.

Land is a story with emotional arcs so large, so wide-ranging, so varied and colourful, it is a multi-hued rainbow. One that can sometimes contain shadows and darkness through which you must travel to reach the light.

[David Miley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its hard to explain why a book this dark is this satisfying. Its simultaneously a rewrite of Norse tradition (Freya as Mommy Dearest) and true to the sense of Norse tradition. It is violent, but it is violent after the fact in the attempts of the narrators to make sense of it. It is full of love, devotion, and deceit all wrapped up into one while second guessing each separate part. And there is no happily ever after - truth in advertising. This book will not make sense if you have not read Children. Do that and if you like it you'll like this book too.

[Patricia Furstenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Land: Grimdark Norse Mythology Retelling of Discovery of Iceland (The Ten Worlds Book 2)" is a brutal, beautiful journey through Norse myth, told with grit, dark humour, and haunting humanity. Bjørn Larssen creates misfit gods and humans who yearn for love as fate leads them to Hel's gates. Grimdark at its best, unforgiving, piercing, and difficult to look away from.
This was one read standing out for me. Highly recommended.