Upcoming release: January 2, 2027 • ko-fi and Patreon: December 2, 2026
Odin has peace, which is suspicious. Freya is the Goddess of war with Odin as a father figure, which is awkward. He is the wisest God in the Universe, a magical lemon-squeezer, and his well has gone mouldy. She is the Goddess of love (Freya contains multitudes) who wants a necklace, a reputation, and a hobby. And, of course, to experience love just once. Thor wants a wife. Loki wants everything.
Bloodbath & Beyond will expose you to, among others: a fortune-teller with a chunk of salt, a mortal queen with red lips, four leathered-up dwarves with hammers, Loki inventing gossip, and a baby that’s half-corpse and all-aspiring-romance-novelist. Also, fire. With all those circumstances, can the wisest God in the Universe outwit a teenager?
The sequel to somewhat critically acclaimed Why Odin Drinks is a cider-soaked saga of love, war, and plumbing for readers who found the first book a bit too sensible.
The story of Bloodbath & Beyond
As always, it started with questions.
In Norse lore, a little-known ‘character’ exists; a Goddess named Gullveig, who craves gold and lusts for, hmmm, lust, I suppose. I mean, who doesn’t. The Gods, when she pops over to Ásgard, don’t seem very understanding; they burn her at the stake (and also kill with spears, they’re completists). Three times. So, this Goddess, according to some theories, is actually Freya, and I think this teaches you a lot about Freya already.
Bloodbath & Beyond is mostly Freya’s book, and you get to learn:
• how Freya made it to Ásgard in the first place
• how lawyers were invented
• and by whom
• what Odin wears
• what dwarf blacksmiths wear
• what, occasionally, Loki wears
• and, obviously, Sif.
Another question I’ve had was ‘Why in the name of all that is good and pure would Thor marry Sif?’ I chose to answer this one all by myself. Someone has to help the academics, they’re busy people. What does Freya have to do with it? Well, she is the Goddess of love, among her other jobs. How does Odin feel about her meddling with Gods’ love lives, though? Hmmmmm. Have I mentioned the stakes and the spears (not in the book, nobody has this much time)?
Why does Thor feel so, hmmm, negatively inclined towards the innocent jötnar?
Why did Loki steal the Brísingamen? (This is hardly a spoiler if you know anything about Norse lore. If you don’t, you don’t know what a Brísingamen is, so also not really a spoiler.)
Why did Angrboda choose to have Loki’s monstrous offspring? Here’s the truth from my (metaphorically) red lips…
And a few more I am probably forgetting. I need to read this book.
Special thanks for the title go to David the Evil Overlord, who came up with it and allowed me to use it.
The stories
We Don’t Talk About the War
The war between the Æsir and the Vanir, two tribes of Gods, has been so terrible that it nearly destroyed the Universe. So everyone seems to remember. And yet there doesn’t seem to be much destruction around… (Also, plumbing.)
All is Freya in Love and War
The Goddess of love is puzzled; she has never experienced that love herself. As the Goddess of war, she is less puzzled, because wars are kinda predictable. What if you mix the two and stir well?
The Song of Gold and Fire
Magical necklaces are the girl’s best friend. Loki definitely isn’t. Unfair accusations, a one-of-a-kind necklace, and Loki inventing another thing that, frankly, should have remained uninvented, like mosquitoes, celery, and dust.
Thor’s Special Choice
Thor has this problem where every woman he meets is special and different from all the others. He craves to meet one that will be even more special and different. A village fortuneteller has just the right answer. Soon, she has more gold than she can handle…
The Other Children
When Freya wakes up and the necklace isn’t around, a very unexpected chain of events begins, leading to invention of romantic novelists, enormous serpents, and surprisingly well-behaved wolf cubs. Now Odin has to deal with this and honestly, this is why he drinks.
Epilogue: Return of the Head
It only feels polite to also list the epilogue. Manners cost nothing!