(Reblogged from Illuminite Caliginosus)

My previous post was about one of my all-time favorite fantasy series- the Hel Trilogy- written by C. Dean Andersson under the pen name Asa Drake.  I was very happy to find out that Mr. Andersson has just released an omnibus edition of the trilogy called Bloodsong! Hel x3- newly revised and expanded with new chapters- as well as working on a new installment to the series: Valkyries of Hel. Terry Ervin interviewed him about everything he's been up to in recent years, which you can find here.

A review of the omnibus is at this site, and includes links to two anthologies which include crossover appearances by Bloodsong one of which is with, of all characters, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion (not Elric).

Feel free to check out Andersson's webpage for more info on this, his other works and links to his previous blogs.

Bloodsong on Facebook

Hel x3 on Goodreads

Hel x3 on Amazon

(Repost from Illuminite Caliginosus)

Going through my bookshelves to see what I wanted to drop off at Goodwill, I came across what I can only classify as some old friends. Back in 1986 I was chillin' in the book section of the PX at the Naval Air Station in Millington TN, looking for something to read. Hadn't done Lord of the Rings yet, thought the Hobbit was slow and Interview with the Vampire was really fucking boring. Thankfully I stumbled across what was dubbed at the time as 'the Heavy Metal of Fantasy'.

Bloodsong and Freedom!

Written by C. Dean Andersson under the pen name Asa Drake, the trilogy chronicles the tale of a norse woman, Freyadis, whose entire village was slain by a warlord in the service of Nidhug, a mad sorcerer king devoted to the goddess Hel. At least until he started trying to usurp Hel's power.

At Hel's insistance, Freyadis spent her last moments praying to the death goddess, which helped her return to the world as a Hel-warrior, now named Bloodsong, to strike back at Nidhug and free her friends and loved ones, especially her daughter. You see, Freyadis was pregnant when she was killed and her daughter was actually born in Hel's domain, making her rather attuned to the magics of the Underworld.

Unbeknownst to Freyadis- now called Bloodsong- her firstborn toddler, Thorbjorn, who'd been killed in the raid, had been resurrected and matured by an evil Hel-witch (is there any other kind?) named Thokk to further the plans that Nidhug had disrupted. Now called Lokith, he's a Hel-witch in his own right and possesses vampiric tendencies. Thokk also seeks to corrupt Bloodsong's daughter, Guthrun, whose unusual birth could make her a very powerful Hel-witch as well.

The finale wraps up with Lokith's return to once again strike back at his mother and her allies in an attempt to secure Hel's power. This time Bloodsong receives a bit of divine assistance from a god who likes to keep an eye out.

Along the way Bloodsong assembles the usual band of allies, including a Freya-witch named Huld; Jalna the swordswoman; Tyrulf, a sellsword who used to work for Nidhug and a band of berserker/lycanthropes led by Ulfhild- baddest bitch of the bunch. Tack on some amazing cover art by the incomparable Boris Vallejo, and what else do ya need?

By no means is this any kind of introspective, angsty, soul-searching literature. It's a light, gory romp to amuse and engage your imagination- and damn if'n it don't! What also makes it work is the way Norse Mythology is so well incorporated into the tale; if you've any familiarity with the topic you've already recognized some of the names used. The depictions of frost giants, the dark despair of the Underworld, Bloodsong's trials with the shapeshifters, all come together to shape an icy world teetering on the verge of apocalypse. My copies of these are very lovingly well-worn for a reason.

It's times like these that I truly appreciate growing up when I did. :) While you can find pretty cheap copies of these on Amazon, a casual glance at eBay shows them going at a premium: one seller wanted $120 for a copy of one of these! The late 70s/80s was the Golden Age for Fantasy/Sci-Fi, a true renaissance. Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, Sword of Shannara, the Belgariad, the Avengers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Judge Dredd, D&D and other RPGs- it all started coming together right then. It was when geekdom became firmly established as a viable sub-culture and gave rise to everything considered cool and mainstream now. And I firmly believe that this series is one of the foundation stones that helped it along.

Amazon: Warrior Witch of Hel

Amazon: Death Riders of Hel

Amazon: Werebeasts of Hel

After a skirmish with a Klingon ship Kirk, McCoy and Spock accompany an injured crewman to Vulcan for a revolutionary medical treatment - a treatment which Spock's mother is undergoing at the same time. Problems arise when a third patient mysteriously dies... accident or sabotage?

This novel was published in 1984, so it doesn't take into account anything about Vulcan tradition that was established later on in canon. Within TOS it is set a few months after Journey to Babel.

There are a quite a few things I enjoyed immensely in this novel. First of all, the depiction of Spock's family, his relationship with his father and mother, the relationship between Sarek and Amanda, all serving to paint a picture of misunderstanding, respect, pride and love more detailed that Amok Time (why weren't Spock's parents there?) and Journey to Babel could. It's a marvel to think that Spock's parents made such an impact in only one episode, more than most other characters can claim for themselves despite having appeared more often. If I had to nitpick a bit it would be that, while they work as persons, Sorel, Corrigan, and especially T'Mir lack a bit of background. Why did Corrigan come to Vulcan? Etc. But I guess that would have been too much for a 250p. book.

Then there are the original characters, the Vulcan healer Sorel (and his family to some extent) and his human partner Dr Daniel Corrigan who incidentally helped Amanda carry Spock to term. This novel is as much about fleshing them out as it is about Spock and Sarek. And even though I'm loathe about original characters in a tie-in novel, they simply work and come across as nuanced and real as the TV-protagonists - but without taking anything away from them. I guess it's difficult to introduce new characters in tie-in novels because you have to cater to an audience who wants to read about well-known characters. So, to find the balance of old vs. new must be really hard. But this is something Lorrah definitely excels in as she's shown here and in her early TNG-novels.

And I have to say I was intrigued by the Vulcan traditions and lifestyle Lorrah introduced in this novel. Some have since become obsolete by new canon, but in this context it just works.

If there has to be some criticism then it's especially aimed at the investigation into the perceived system failure - once it's established that a crime has been comitted, Kirk starts to investigate himself and forms a list of likely suspects. But he doesn't think of the simplest (and therefore most obvious) of all motivations which makes this part of the novel a bit tedious.

Overall, this novel has its flaws, mainly the rather obvious plot and the lack of background characterization in the original characters, but it manages to continue the family reunion of Spock and Sarek in a very satisfying way. And it certainly whets my appetite for Lorrah's next TOS-adventure.