Review: Still Going Strong
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2014
With the fourth book this series is not getting stale, plots are not repeating, and the themes are still worth reading. The Old Norse etymology of "Kara" is the wild one, the stormy one, or the curly one.  And Kara lives up to her name in this thrilling sequel.  It is fitting that the Valkyrie who stayed behind on earth to protect Asgard would once again put her people above her own welfare and sacrifice herself for the greater good.  Mr Schubach writes a story that digs deep into the collective unconscious and mythic background and creates memes and themes that resound with anyone who has ever read the Norse myths.I truly love the way Mr Schubach makes these timeless stories live again by putting his own spin on them.  Every time the Valkyries rush to battle, I hear Wagner in my head.  Mr Schubach deftly stirs the heart while spinning a tale that excites and delights.  The reader thrills to Kara's extraordinary courage and weeps over total devotion to those she loves.Edited to add: After the second reading, I am still astounded by how accurately Mr Schubach interprets the Poetic Edda.  The poem called "Voluspa", for example, portrays Ymir as the primordial being from which everything was created, the origin of the Aesir and even the first of all the Jotun.  The Bellows translation says,Of old was the age when Ymir lived;Seas nor cool waves nor sand there were;Earth had not been, nor heaven above,But a yawning gap ("Ginnungagap"), and grass nowhere.After reading Erik Schubach's Valkyrie series, if one were then to read the Poetic Edda, it would all sound definitive, accurate, and familiar.  He gets the details right and makes them sound plausible.The Edda goes on to say that Ymir is altogether evil (by Odin's definition).  Mr Schubach portrays this as a creater dissatisfied with his creation and determined to wipe it all out and start over.  (cf Genesis chapter 7).The resonances which come from race memory, ancient mythology, and literary tradition make these books so much more rich and detailed than they would be without them.I know I'm the only reviewer who raves about the connections to Nordic mythology, but every new book amazes me with the depth and detail of his research.  So many authors grab a mythological theme or a few characters and then make up their own details, but Erik Schubach researches and makes sure he gets the details right.The reason I always say so much about this is because it makes the books so much more enjoyable for me to read.  Every time I read a new Valkyrie book, I get online or dig out some of my mythological tomes and look up details that are new (to me) or unusual.  And EVERY SINGLE TIME, Erik Schubach has gotten all the details exactly right!Do you know how unusual this is?  How many authors go to this much trouble to create accurate resonances with race memory, literary tradition and architypes that we all have vague memories of?  These details enhance the stories so much and enrich my enjoyment so deeply that I just can't stop raving about it.