LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Steeped in atmosphere and myth, Danny Weston’s Postcards from Valhalla is a fabulously realised adventure for 11+year-olds. Chillingly suspenseful as the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred, it’s a completely compelling story, driven by a quest to find a missing brother, and underpinned by a sense of family.
15-year-old Viggo is getting on with his life in Edinburgh when his mum brings bad news — his older brother Magnus has gone missing in Shetland, where he was working on a Viking settlement. Viggo’s response is understated - to begin with, at least. In Viggo’s view, Magnus was a “total weirdo”, and he’d “lost count of all the disasters that Magnus had caused.” But this time, they have more reason to worry — the boys’ father went missing in the same spot a few years ago (missing, presumed dead), so Viggo and his mum journey to Shetland.
Soon enough, Viggo is plagued by spiralling visions of Viking ships and weird creatures. The sense of fear and escalating danger is viscerally evoked, and so too are emotions around love and loss.
Joanne Owen
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About
Postcards from Valhalla Synopsis
Viggo is fifteen years old, living in Edinburgh with his mum. He has no plans for the future other than to watch the new Thor movie at his local multiplex. But one morning, he wakes to the news that his older brother, Magnus, has gone missing on Shetland. Mum has already booked tickets to go and search for him.
There’s good reason to be worried. Five years ago, Viggo’s dad, Jonathan, went ‘off grid’ in the same location and disappeared. He is now ‘missing presumed dead.’
Viggo has no option but to go to Shetland with Mum - but from the moment they set off, he’s troubled by strange visions: images of armed warriors, mythical creatures and Viking longships. And then they encounter Leon, a mysterious wandering musician who attaches himself to them and proves impossible to shake off.
Once on Shetland, the search for Magnus begins in earnest and Viggo’s troubling visions start to intensify. Soon he is finding it difficult to separate fact from fantasy… and who knows what terrors lie in wait for him deep beneath the ground?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781915235657 |
| Publication date: |
2nd November 2023 |
| Author: |
Danny Weston |
| Publisher: |
UCLan Publishing |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
336 pages |
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Author
About Danny Weston
Danny Weston is the YA pen name for popular children and YA writer Philip Caveney. He was born in North Wales in 1951 and now lives in Edinburgh. His first novel, The Sins of Rachel Ellis was published in 1977 and he produced a series of adult thrillers over the following decades. His first novel for younger readers, Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools was released in 2007 and was published all around the world. Since then, he has concentrated on writing exclusively for younger readers.
Danny's debut novel The Piper won the Scottish Children’s Book Award in 2016 and in 2018, The Haunting of Jessop Rise was shortlisted for the Scottish Teenage Book prize and nominated for a Carnegie Medal.
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