Valhalla with a Twist of Lethe: and Other Strange Tales

by Satyros Phil Brucato, Phil Brucato, Sandra Damiana Swan (Illustrator)

Dragons’ daughters. Rock-star gods. A loophole-finding lawyer with a literal Faerie Godfather. Twenty-seven tales of music, magic, and various forms of mayhem from Satyros Phil Brucato. In this collection of fantasy and horror, you’ll find ravenous rock bands, decadent courtiers, wintry fiddlers, and eerie flowers that sing to the stars, plus the paranormal romance novella Dream Along the Edge (originally published under the name Cedar Blake) and author notes for the stories behind each tale. Satyros Phil Brucato is known best for his work with The Ascension, Strowlers, Faerie Tales for a New Millennium, Ravens in the Library, and various fiction and nonfiction projects spanning dozens of anthologies, magazines, games, comics, and other media. An occasional musician and outspoken political activist, Satyr lives in Seattle with his spouse Sandra Swan, two cats, and an endless supply of rage.

Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2020

Reviews

[Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I enjoyed this collection so much! I’m at a loss for words. The feelings I had while reading were joy, wonder, anger, awe, dread, amusement, and others that I can’t articulate. I’ve never FELT a book as much as this one. If you want to spend time in a place beyond yourself that’s full of all these emotions wrapped up in the most amazing writing, then get this book and read it.

[Batjutsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of stories, covering a multitude of themes. Some of these I’d read previously, but it was great to read them again, particularly the amazing tale of Elynne Dragonchild. Loopholes has the gravitas of John Grisham’s The Firm, but fused with Changeling and/or Mage, a fantastic story. Valhalla with a Twist of Lethe is fun and energising, nicely juxtaposing itself to the darker tales in this collection. The short stories quickly deliver plenty of emotion and nuance. A good mix of length helps to keep things interesting. A great ending with the beautiful Dream Along the Edge, which had me engrossed and worrying for the characters. So much here. All in all excellent, highly recommended.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satyros Phil Brucato is well known by roleplayers as the developer of Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary, one of the most versatile RPGs ever created, and one who delves deep into a charecter relationships with the world and with the fantasy realm. You can expect that and more inside this anthology of his short stories. His particular signature is the seamlessly transitions between everyday reality and the fantastic, in a way that it's impossible not to get related to. His characters breathe, are diverse, have a lot of conflicts, and Phil doesn't restrain to push them to their limits. Absolutely stunning tales.