The best books on Norse gods set in the modern world

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been immersed in Norse Myth for more than a decade and writing books about the Gods I’ve always wanted to read. My Fate of the Gods trilogy is a mythic mash-up of Biblical, Norse, Greek, and Egyptian myth, and writing as Amalia Carosella, my book Daughter of a Thousand Years is Viking age historical fiction about Freydis, the daughter of Erik the Red. Additionally, as a Norse Pagan polytheist myself, finding books that do justice to the Gods in our modern world is that much more important to me than your average reader - I’m always looking to celebrate the books that bring them to life!


I wrote...

From Asgard, With Love

By Amalia Dillin,

Book cover of From Asgard, With Love

What is my book about?

Samantha Connelly has no idea what she's doing with her life. That feeling leads her into the woods, where she pours a libation to a different god - a god of thunder - praying just once for a response. There's no lightning or ominous rumbles, but she does meet a man with a bow strapped to his back and an easy smile. A man named Ullr, who isn't really a man at all.

Unfortunately, he's brought ill-tidings. If Sam thought her life was a mess before, it's nothing to what's coming. Loss and pain and sorrow hang like a dark cloud over her fate, and now that she's called to the Norse gods, Ullr is determined to see her through it. Maybe it's foolish, but Sam agrees to let him. After all, with all signs pointing to ruin, how could accepting some help from the gods make things worse?

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Giants of the Frost

Amalia Dillin Why did I love this book?

The Norse God: Vidar

Suspense, Horror, Romance, Adventure—this book has it all! Vidar’s steadfast search for the mortal woman he loved and lost, and the complications of her return as a cynical scientist at a research outpost in the modern world are both “wild and melancholy.” I love the idea of a god with such a loyal heart. This book gets bonus points for going all-in on Odin as the villain of the piece, but also features Loki in full Trickster form, and touches on many of the other gods of Asgard.

By Kim Wilkins,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giants of the Frost as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Victoria Scott, scientist and hardened sceptic, accepts a job at an isolated weather station on an island in the Norwegian Sea. She's running from a broken engagement and the knowledge that love is a lie. But there are shadows outside her cabin window, a hag who visits in nightmares - and a distrurbing sense of familiarity in the deep, haunted forest. In Asgard, the world of the old gods, Odin's son Vidar has exiled himself from his cruel family to await the reincarnation of his beloved: the woman his father murdered a thousand years before. And deep in the black,…


Book cover of Norse Code

Amalia Dillin Why did I love this book?

The God: Hermod

Dancing around the edges of Ragnarok with a focus on one of the most obscure gods he could find, Norse Code brings us into a world where the gods have adapted and adopted modern technology to gather warriors to Odin’s cause—defeating the forces of darkness and bringing about a new golden age to the world. Because van Eekhout approaches the myth of Ragnarok from Hermod’s perspective (along with a Valkyrie named Mist), he frees himself from the proscribed roles so many other gods are fated to play and offers us a fresh take on a well-known and well-trod story.

By Greg Van Eekhout,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Norse Code as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Is this Ragnarok, or just California?

The NorseCODE genome project was designed to identify descendants of Odin. What it found was Kathy Castillo, a murdered MBA student brought back from the dead to serve as a valkyrie in the Norse god’s army. Given a sword and a new name, Mist’s job is to recruit soldiers for the war between the gods at the end of the world—and to kill those who refuse to fight.

But as the twilight of the gods descends, Mist makes other plans.

Journeying across a chaotic American landscape already degenerating into violence and madness, Mist hopes…


Book cover of The Age of Odin

Amalia Dillin Why did I love this book?

The God: Skadi, Freya, Thor (and more!)

Another take on Ragnarok, but wholly different from Norse Code. Set in a post-apocalyptic mini Ice Age—the fimbulwinter that precedes Ragnarok—and following a soldier/mercenary who signs himself up with no real idea of what he’s in for, Age of Odin gives us an action-packed war-driven adventure with fun takes on familiar and less familiar gods along the way—even including Ratatosk, the squirrel who resides upon and spreads gossip all along the World Tree.

By James Lovegrove,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Age of Odin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gideon Coxall was a good soldier but bad at everything else, until a roadside explosive device leaves him with one deaf ear and a British Army half-pension. So when he hears about the Valhalla Project, it's like a dream come true. They're recruiting former service personnel for excellent pay, no questions asked, to take part in unspecified combat operations.

The last thing Gid expects is to find himself fighting alongside ancient Viking gods. The world is in the grip of one of the worst winters it has ever known, and Ragnaroek - the fabled final conflict of the Sagas -…


Book cover of Thor The Mighty Avenger

Amalia Dillin Why did I love this book?

The God: Thor

Marvel doesn’t always get it right, mythologically speaking, but this all-ages title was a fantastic introduction to the superhero version of everyone’s favorite Norse God, Thor. Romantic and full of adventure, with peeks at Thor’s goat chariot and guest appearances by a handful of other superheroes along the way, paired with the gorgeously expressive artwork of Chris Samnee, this is definitely a graphic novel worth gifting to both the young and young at heart in your life—if you can find it to give!

By Roger Langridge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thor The Mighty Avenger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Collects Thor The Mighty Avenger #1-8 and material from Free Comic Book Day 2011: Captain America & Thor.

It’s Thor as you’ve never seen him when Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated writer Roger Langridge and artist Chris Samnee re-imagine the God of Thunder! Thrill as Thor battles raging robots the size of cities and fights side-by-side with Iron Man for the first time! Gasp as he tames the mightiest sea creatures and tests his might against the Sub-Mariner! Swoon as he rescues damsels in distress from the vilest villains! Plus: When mischievous Loki’s machinations throw Thor and a World War II-era…


Book cover of Perfekt Order

Amalia Dillin Why did I love this book?

The God: Tyr

S.T. Bende built her brand on the Elsker Saga, a series following the Norse God Ull, Thor’s step-son, but don’t sleep on her take on Tyr, the Norse God of War, either! Perfekt Order, the first book in the Ære Saga is a delightful, sweet romance take on what happens when Norse Gods come to earth and start mingling with mortals, upending our carefully ordered worlds.

By S.T. Bende,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Perfekt Order as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

All's fair when you're in love with War.

For seventeen-year-old Mia Ahlström, a world ruled by order is the only world she allows. A lifetime of chore charts, to-do lists and study schedules have helped earn her a spot at Redwood State University's engineering program. And while her five year plan includes finding her very own happily-evah-aftah, years at an all-girls boarding school left her feeling woefully unprepared for keg parties and co-ed extracurricular activities.

So nothing surprises her more than catching the eye of Tyr Fredriksen at her first college party. The imposing Swede is arrogantly charming, stubbornly overprotective,…


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Ferry to Cooperation Island

By Carol Newman Cronin,

Book cover of Ferry to Cooperation Island

Carol Newman Cronin Author Of Ferry to Cooperation Island

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Sailor Olympian Editor New Englander Rum drinker

Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

James Malloy is a ferry captain--or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a "girl" named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.

When he discovers a plan for a private golf course on wilderness sacred to his dying best friend, James is determined to stop such "improvements." But despite Brenton's nickname as "Cooperation Island," he's used to working solo. To keep historic trees and ocean shoreline open to all, he'll have to learn to cooperate with other islanders--including Captain Courtney, who might just morph from irritant to irresistible once James learns a secret that's been kept from him for years.

Ferry to Cooperation Island

By Carol Newman Cronin,

What is this book about?

Loner James Malloy is a ferry captain-or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a girl named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island's daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.

When he discovers a private golf course staked out across wilderness sacred to his dying best friend, a Narragansett Indian, James is determined to stop such "improvements." But despite Brenton's nickname as "Cooperation Island," he's used to working solo. To keep rocky bluffs, historic trees, and ocean shoreline open to all, he'll have…


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