Wednesday 11 November 2015

Gunnhild And Hrolf Kraki

Hrolf Kraki's Saga is a retold saga full of Norse gods, heroes and the supernatural whereas Mother Of Kings is a biographical historical novel with a fantasy element recognizing the title character's role and reputation as a witch but with only two appearances by a single supernatural being: heroic fantasy as against historical fiction. Hrolf and the other leading characters in his saga are heroes; Gunnhild, Mother of Kings, is a villainness unopposed by any hero.

Without time to post at length this morning, I invite blog readers to reread earlier posts on both works and to appreciate the diversity of Poul Anderson's works even when the common theme is the retelling of Northern legends.

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