"A missing brother, Viking visions, and an atmospheric Shetland setting – this transcends genre boundaries in thrilling style"
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.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: |
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?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Postcards from Valhalla and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Postcards from Valhalla features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommendations, Horror & Ghost Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Mystery / Mythology, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Postcards from Valhalla is available in Paperback
Postcards from Valhalla was written by Danny Weston and published by UCLan Publishing
Postcards from Valhalla has 315 pages
£8.09
