The Chronicles of Loki Book Two

The Chronicles of Loki: Book Two Fimbulvetr The Terrible Winter, is the second book in a trilogy centered on the life of the Norse trickster, Loki. Essentially, this is a reworking of the Norse myths in which the character commonly identified as the god of mischief and wickedness gets to tell the story from his point of view. This book's twist, however, is that it takes what folklorists call an euhemeristic point of view with this mythology, i.e., it treats Loki, Odin, Frey, and company as if they were real human beings who lived ages ago on a lost island continent they called Igdrasil, which, as in the myths, was also divided into nine realms inhabited by distinctly different peoples and cultures. Perhaps the most challenging (and fun) part of this series has been reimagining Loki's various adventures and misadventures as they might have actually happened without the benefit of magic and sorcery, though this second book brings a Lovecraftian dimension into play.

The Chronicles of Loki Book Two: Fimbulvetr The Terrible Winter is the second book in a trilogy centered on the life of the Norse trickster, Loki. Essentially, this is a reworking of the Norse myths in which the character commonly identified as the god of mischief and wickedness gets to tell the story from his point of view. The twist with this treatment of Loki, however, is that he, Odin, Frey, and company are presented as if they were real human beings who lived ages ago on a lost island continent they called Igdrasil, which, as in the myths, was also divided into nine realms inhabited by distinctly different peoples and cultures. Perhaps the most challenging (and fun) part of this book has been reimagining Loki's various adventures and misadventures as they might have actually happened without the benefit of magic and sorcery (though a Lovecraftian dimension comes into play in this book). The book moves on two time axes. One is identified as Ragnarok, and takes place in the present. In this timeline, Loki, his family, and allies are setting in motion what will be a war of vengeance against Odin and the Aesir. Readers are introduced to the machinations of key characters in the myths—Odin of Asgard, Frey of Vanaheim, Surt, High King of the Muspelhim, the rulers of the wee folk of the West, i.e., Ivaldi, the principal ruler of the Dwarves, and Mama Cori, Lokane of Alfheim, as well as Loki's children, Fenrir (aka the Wolf), Fafnir (ruler of Jormundheim), and Hela, Queen of Nifleheim. The second timeline is a memoir of Loki's life, which in this second book encompasses the early years of Loki's rule in Jotunheim, his family life, the Aviking that takes him, Odin, Frey, and Freya to the realms of the Muspelhim, Dwarves, and Elves, and Loki and Odin's travels to Nifleheim and Jormundheim.

M. Gregory Kendrick is a retired professor of modern European history at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), and the author of "The Chronicles of Loki Book One: The Gathering Storm," The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present," and "Villainy in Western Culture: Historical Archetypes of Danger, Disorder, and Death."