"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Weight of Stars

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.

I love Tessa Gratton's United States of Asgard series, so I was quite surprised that I almost missed that she has three novellas coming out next week, on November 17.  They will be available individually, or in a collected volume called THE WEIGHT OF STARS.  I'm going to by the anthology myself, although the individual ebooks are tempting given their pretty covers.

Blurb:

“This infinitely exciting tale’s twist and turns highlight the characters’ missions as they decide which identity to choose: hero, martyr, or villain. Readers looking for a sophisticated fantasy that shows a raw, rowdy, and rough side of life will be utterly satisfied. For fans of Robin LaFevers’s His Fair Assassins series.” —School Library Journal

The United States of Asgard is a nation of poets and warriors, of rock bands and evangelical preachers, of gods and their children. The media tracks troll sightings and reality TV is about dragon slaying and teen prophets. The president rules the country alongside a council of Valkyrie, and the military has a special battalion dedicated to eradicating the threat of Greater Mountain Trolls.

Welcome to the United States of Asgard: Be sure to watch for troll-sign!

GOLD RUNNER tells the story of Amon Thorson, bastard son of Thor Thunderer, a rebel who specializes in illegal troll artifacts and elf gold. Someone has stolen Loki’s Mask of Changing, and Amon is the prime suspect, putting a famous hunter and a mysterious stranger on his tail.

LADY BERSERK is about Vider, the first female berserker warrior in generations, who is loved by Loki Changer but determined to stand on her own. One of six celebrities invited to participate in a televised dragon hunt, she knows things are not as they seem—which is usually a sign Loki is up to his old tricks.

GLORY’S TEETH offers a glimpse into the wild heart of the Fenris Wolf, also called Glory, trapped in the shape of a teenaged girl for hundreds of years so she cannot grow large enough to devour the sun and begin the end of the world. But Glory’s seen signs that now is time she’s fated to hunt Baldur the Sun down and eat him.

With evocative writing and lush world building, Tessa Gratton once again captivates readers with her inventive reimagining of Norse mythology and American life in this collection of novellas based on her United States of Asgard series.

“With razor-sharp prose and bone-deep emotions, Tessa Gratton doesn’t just tell a story. She invites readers into another world-- one we hate to leave when the last page is turned.” —Saundra Mitchell, author of Mistwalker and The Vespertine

Review: The Strange Maid

Book two of the United States of Asgard
By Tessa Gratton
Available now from Random House BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

THE LOST SUN ended up being one of my favorite books last year.  The romance, the loyalty, the world - it all combined to form a delicious reading experience.  But I was not prepared for the sequel.  THE STRANGE MAID starts before THE LOST SUN, and is the story of Signy Valborn, a disgraced Valkyrie who couldn't be more different from Soren.  Soren longed to escape his violent destiny.  Signy would like to bring back human sacrifice.

Signy is a delightfully unique heroine.  She dances on the edge of madness and chaos, delights in battle and revenge, has sex with whoever she wants and doesn't apologize for it.  Her story is likewise violent, sexy, and just a little crazy.  Also, fitting for a story set in a US where the Viking gods are real and everyone still worships them, there is a strong vein of BEOWULF running through the plot.

I loved how much more of the world Gratton explores in THE STRANGE MAID.  Soren shows up eventually, but he doesn't take over the story.  Signy's story stretches over even more of the land, and she spends time integrating into more groups.  For all that THE LOST SUN involved a road trip, it was more insular.  THE STRANGE MAID also gives more insight into the berserkers, in addition to the Valkyrie.  I'm not entirely sure where Gratton is going with this series, but she obviously has a plan.  Clearly, I have no idea what might happen next, and I love it.

I think that I prefer THE LOST SUN to THE STRANGE MAID, but that's because I loved the central triangle of Soren, Astrid, and Baldur in THE LOST SUN so much.  I think THE STRANGE MAID has stronger worldbuilding and a more sophisticated plot.  It's a rich exploration of grief, revenge, entitlement, destiny, choice, and faith.  Plus, like her critique partner Maggie Stiefvater, Gratton knows how to use her words.  THE STRANGE MAID is a beautiful novel.

I cannot wait for book three.