In the beginning there was confusion.
Welcome to one of the November 5th stops on the blog tour for Creation by Bjørn Larssen with Storytellers on Tour and happy Norsevember to those who are participating! Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and author guest posts and interviews. And seriously, go follow the Norsevember stuff too! You can find Bjørn all over it and he’s a great guy.
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About the Book
Creation
Why Odin Drinks Book One
by Bjørn Larssen
Published 18 August 2021
josephtailor
Cover Artist: Ragrfisk
Genre: Humorous Fantasy, Satire Norse Mythology Retelling
Page Count: 84
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
In the beginning there was confusion.
Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly? Your brothers keep creating mosquitoes and celery and other, more threatening weapons. What can your ultimate answer be – the one that will make you THE All-Father and them, at best, the All-Those-Uncles-We-All-Have-But-Don’t-Talk-About?
“FML! The answer’s why I drink!” – Odin
Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, and Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
CW: Contains the word “ass-thetics”
My Review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Consider liking my review on Goodreads
I was sent a complimentary copy of Creation: Why Odin Drinks #1 by Bjørn Larssen as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Storyteller on Tour. Thank you so much to Bjørn and the SoT team for this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
You know that phrase “I wasn’t born yesterday?” Neither was Odin. He was born today! Along with brothers Vé and Vili, these newly minted gods have been unleashed on an empty world and it’s time to start creating, well, everything. What could go wrong?
Oh my goodness, Bjørn please write faster, I need more of this! This is Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett level dry humour that does not stop hitting. It manages to remain quite true to traditional Norse mythology and classic portrayals of Odin, The Allfather, while still having a heck of a lot of fun and taking a lot of artistic license with the storytelling. I absolutely share Odin’s opinion of celery and I love the ass-thetics of the peacock. In fact, the whole variety of birds creation scene was one of my favourites. So many jokes in such a small space as not one but two species of flightless flappy armed species were created (the other being the chicken) and the concept of egg-laying came into existence. I’m dying of laughter just thinking about it again!
Perhaps more important than the humour though (and that’s not to say humour isn’t important,) Creation explores the human (godly?) emotions of being a new soul in a strange world, being the leader of the world’s first rendition of the three stooges, and watching one’s own creations get out of hand. I’m not much of a drinker myself, but I completely understand Odin’s need to drink. I would too. And no, it wouldn’t be celery juice.
Thanks again to Storytellers on Tour for organizing this tour and dropping that invite email in my inbox and thank you to Bjørn for writing such a gem and sending a copy my way! I’ll be bringing this along with me at Christmas and forcing it on my mother.
If you like mythology retellings, humour, satire, and all-things Norse, this needs to be your next read!
About the Author
Bjørn Larssen is a Norse heathen made in Poland, but mostly located in a Dutch suburb, except for his heart which he lost in Iceland. Born in 1977, he self-published his first graphic novel at the age of seven in a limited edition of one, following this achievement several decades later with his first book containing multiple sentences and winning awards he didn’t design himself. His writing is described as ‘dark’ and ‘literary’, but he remains incapable of taking anything seriously for more than 60 seconds.
Bjørn has a degree in mathematics and has worked as a graphic designer, a model, a bartender, and a blacksmith (not all at the same time). His hobbies include sitting by open fires, dressing like an extra from Vikings, installing operating systems, and dreaming about living in a log cabin in the north of Iceland. He owns one (1) husband and is owned by one (1) neighbourhood cat.
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This sounds hilarious!