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Valhalla Burning
Not yet published
Expected 21 Jul 26For 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 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.
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 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.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 21, 2026
4 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pogach
11 books39 followersMichael Pogach is an author and college professor. He is the author of the upcoming historical fantasy VALHALLA BURNING (July 2026, from Diversion Books). His previous novels include the Gothic thriller SLIP, which has been hailed as “a riveting thriller with a provocative central mystery” (Holly M. Wendt, author of “The Bolton Strid”) and “a thriller-mystery with a hint of the paranormal and a protagonist that will take a bite out of you from page one” (Gwendolyn N. Nix, author of I Have Asked To Be Where No Storms Come), as well as the dystopian thriller Rafael Ward series: THE SPIDER IN THE LAUREL (a 2018 Kindle Book Award finalist), THE LONG OBLIVION (a 2019 Kindle Book Award semi-finalist), THE TYRANT GODS, and THE HIDDEN EMPIRE. He's been called “one of speculative fiction’s rising stars,” by C.T. Phipps, author of The Rules of Supervillany.
When not working on his next book, Michael teaches literature and creative writing in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley where he lives with his wife, two kids, and a black cat named Wednesday.
www.michaelpogach.com
When not working on his next book, Michael teaches literature and creative writing in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley where he lives with his wife, two kids, and a black cat named Wednesday.
www.michaelpogach.com
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