Return of the Asgard

The Valkyrie Chronicles #1

by Erik Schubach

The Valkyrie Kara stood alone against the Ragnarok horde on Earth to ensure that the Asgard race and Valhalla could escape. For five thousand years she has fought and evaded the Ragnarok race on Earth, just waiting for her people to return.

A human woman, Kate, joins her fight against the invading race, showing as much conviction and valor as any Valkyrie. Their friendship quickly becomes something more as they hold the line on Earth in battle to herald the return of the Asgard.

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, Science Fiction, Romance, Urban Fantasy, LGBT, Lesbian Romance

224 pages, ebook

First published March 17, 2013

About the author

International bestselling author of #lesfic f/f romance, scifi, urban fantasy, paranormal & more. Consummate geek & sarcasm connoisseur. Any pronouns are fine.

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Reviews

[P. Industry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is terrible.

Alas, forgive me the simile, but this book is terrible like a really drunk girl hitting on you at the club is terrible. She's kind of a hot mess. Her flirting isn't going anywhere, because she's a sloppy drunk and makes no sense. In your heart you know encouraging her is a mistake. But even so, in the darkness and not thinking about it to hard, it's sort of fun, you know? She's bright and happy wants to dance about fourteen different dances with you. This is going to end with her falling over and vomiting on your shoes, but that's okay. You know? That's what this book is.

Plot. Okay – the plot is fairly simple; space aliens come to Earth every five thousand years to harvest the Earth's sweet, sweet magnetic field. (Don't think about this). They've got five planets and jump their little pocket-dimension around between them in a circle, like a cosmic timeshare. Inexplicably they thought to themselves – you know what would be awesome? If our energy gathering was less easy! And so they seeded those five planets with their genetic material to create new races - one of those races were humans. ((The jumping-bean aliens, by the way, are based on Norse myth. But, no, not really – the actual Norse myths haven't been used, but instead the versions which were invented by Marvel for the comic-book “Thor”. This is not necessarily a bad thing.))

Oh shit though – who would have thought casaully creating sentient races and putting them on planets you need/harvest might cause problems later? One of the other races turned into a planet full of douchebags geared for war; these objected to the sick light-show the pocket-dimension put on whenever it turned up (also perhaps the aliens casually using their planet as a battery/keeping advanced technology from them). When Asgard (of course it's named Asgard) jumped near their planet again it was all out with the sparks out; there were armies, recriminations, weird aura-seeing powers... yeah. So that's the background – trust me, I explained that background 9000% more coherently than the book does, so you're welcome I guess.

Deep breath; right. Kara is the Wild One, an Asgardian warrior-badass accidentally left behind on earth. She was defending Asgard from Douche aliens while they harvested our energy, but when the city jumped to the next port-of-call it took off without her, leaving her stuck. It's been five thousand years and she's kind of over it; earth is a dump, there are aliens hunting her, and her technology is breaking down. At least the beer is good! Anyway, while casually wreaking the faces of a couple of rapists, a gorgeous cop walks in and they abruptly (I know we're talking lesbians but I really mean abruptly) are in love, and also in information dumps with each other. And that's it; that's all's you need to know. The rest of the novel is people smiting each other in fantastic and deeply unbelievable ways. Awesome!

So; impressions. At any second, I felt like this book felt was going to demand vodka and take a selfie. What it wanted and the limits of its talents were two different continuums, alas; it wanted to be an action-packed adventure with cool space-aliens who were also ancient mythic creatures. And it achieved this! It just did it while stumbling around in the dark trying to find its pants, or maybe its best friend Beccy. It needed Beccy to leap in and act as a filter for its drunk rambling. It needed to go home earlier. But what a party, right?

I gotta give this more stars than it deserves; I'm going with three. So good. So bad.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Return of the Asgard (Valkyrie Chronicles #1) is an enjoyable and entertaining story of Norse gods mythology reimagined as a SciFi adventure in which the gods are an advanced and ancient civilization.

MC Kara (what a wonderful name ;) ) is the most powerful of the Valkyrie, the powerful women warriors who defend Asgard and the people of earth against the race of Ragnarok. MC Kate is a spunky and delightful police detective who begins working with Kara. Their insta-attraction romance is a fun part of the story, but much of the book involves frequent bloody battles, with Kara reminding us often that she is sworn to defend the innocent, and is smiting her enemies “with all my might”.

Faced with first contact, at least in the modern era - the Asgardians were last on earth 5,000 years ago, the human military is pretty pathetic in both behavior and ability, though one lieutenant is thought of particularly well by one of the many hot women of Asgard! While activities are fade-to-black, the Asgardians love talking about and engaging in sex just about as much as they enjoy drinking mead.

“Return of the Asgard” is the first of five books in the series, and happily they are all available as audiobooks, and the entire series is narrated by the wonderful Hollie Jackson! 4.25*, and I look forward to continuing the series.

[MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it

I enjoy it more than what I expected. This is not a life-changing book but is quite enjoyable and this comes from someone who doesn't read much fantasy/sci-fi books.
I find the MC's adorable, Kate and Kara are two very strong women with a huge sense of justice and I love that.
The plot was interesting and so were the other characters.
This was my first try with audiobooks and it was very nice (I read along), good narration from Holly Jackson.

I will definitely read the rest of the series, this is recommended to anyone who enjoys women being awesome.

As a side note: Please Erik, I beg you! can your protagonist have more than one kiss in the whole book? Please!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so refreshing. When I first discovered lesbian novels it was such a life altering experience. I was amazed that there were books out there that seemed just for me. I have always loved reading and I read often but lately the lesbian novels that I have purchased have been hard to get through. That brings me to Erik Schubach.. I am admitting a personal fault here by saying I am hesitant to purchase lesbian novels written by men because I wonder their drive in writing about such a subject. I also have to say that I researched a bit about Erik Schubach before purchasing this book. The reason I did purchase the book was because the author had posted that he is drawn to strong female characters and that the media lacks representation of strong female characters that happen to be lesbian. I agree and completely respect his drive to write what he does.

I wish more authors could do what this author has done. He created a unique amazing world that I want more of. The characters are so well developed. There is so much intrigue that is created and then carried throughout the book. I adored the lead characters and the amazing tension and connection they have. The supporting cast of characters are equally fascinating and provide much needed comic relief in high tension moments. This book is such a refreshing departure from all of the cookie cutter, badly written books that seem to swamp the lesbian novel niche. I emphatically give this book five stars and recommend anyone to experience an Eric Schubach novel.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good grief. What is this godawful mess? You'd think that with a basic premise of Norse mythology meets sci-fi meets F/F romance, you'd end up with an entertaining read, but... nope. The plot, such as it is, has more holes than substance, the infodumps are enough to drive one insane, the characters are interchangeable and devoid of personality, the "romance" happens in about two seconds with precisely zilch in the way of actual feelings coming across, the dialogue is repetitive and verges on the ridiculous on many occasions (if I read the phrases "well met" and "hold the line" one more time, I'll scream), and I'd describe the writing on the whole as juvenile if I hadn't met 13-year-olds with better writing skills.

[River Gheuens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I did this as an Audiobook. Voice by Holly Jackson.

First, this is the base to the epic series that Erik takes a walk for us. Kate, the detective, is a well rounded character that runs into Kara, a legendary Valkyrie of Asgard. The team up to save both their races, if they can.

What's great is that it starts with modern times. It could almost happen in real life all of a sudden. I highly suggest giving it a read if you like a good sci fi book, with a strong LGB twist (T was left out as there are no characters in this book as transgender. He does tackle transgender characters in London Harmony).

I need a crothing drink now.

[Victoria Zagar · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

This book is a badly written catastrophe. The author paid little attention to spelling and grammar while writing and I'm pretty sure this never saw an editor. I tried to find the story underneath but found myself skimming before realizing I just didn't care enough to continue.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm liking the audio book even more than the read. 4.5

[K]

I was sceptical about this book. Nothing could be as good as Erik Urban fairy tales series. When i started it i was so confused. Then I realized I was reading book two in the series.. hahah true story. So I went back and read this one, and i was in awww... it was so captivating. Full of excitement. Tears. Laughter and lots of Hell Yeah moments. I was wrong.. this book and the whole series is just as amazing as any of his other series. Erik is a brilliant Lesfic writer. You wont ever be disappointed.

[Dide · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 star ratings
For an advanced specie, Asgard wheeling a generator is comical. That said, the story was entertaining and very PG. Looking forward to continue the series.

[Rebecca Langham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was difficult to rate. During some parts, I wanted to give it four stars, during others, I wanted to give it 1 or 2. Sometimes, a rating is fairly arbitrary, and that may be the case here. In the end, I think this book is a film in disguise. It's a movie, trying to be a novel, full of action, lightning spears, cheesy flirtations, tight-fitting armour, and repetitive dialogue. That said, I can still understand why it's so popular.

The concept of using Norse mythology as the basis of a female-led action sci-fi sounds wonderful, and it almost works. Kara had me quite interested for the first few chapters, and the creativity behind some of her weaponry was quite interesting. I can definitely say I've never read another story with the nano-lattice concept and it was definitely cool.

The issues with the book, however, started to compound the further I read. Kate and Kara experience the epitome of insta-love. It's hard to understand any movement of time in the story, but the two women seem to know each other for less than a day before they've all but decided to spend the rest of their lives together. Kate also seems to have no real friends or family, no qualms at all about the thought of leaving her entire life behind in order to be the new "Daughter of Odin" as Kara's mate (a word that I was really tired of by the end).

The main thing that had me gritting my teeth by the end of the novel was the repetition. The phrase "Well met, Valkyrie" is used so many times that I couldn't stand it anymore. The constant use of full titles when the Asgard spoke to each other also become cumbersome, such as "Kate the Raging Storm, Daughter of Odin and mate to Kara the Wild One" or even the shorter versions such as "Areena the Whispering Breeze, Second to Kate the Raging Storm". I appreciate the need for cultural differences between humans and Asgard, but it became frustrating overkill within two chapters of Valhalla's return.

The book is heavy on action, and I couldn't help but picture Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld series for a huge portion of the story. The writer clearly has a talent for fast-paced fight scenes and, to be fair, those who read my reviews know that this probably makes me the wrong reader for the book.

I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters during these fight scenes though, as their wounds and manoeuvres were always just listed, never really described, never explored in a way as to show how they felt, even though it's written in first person. Someone is stabbed in the chest from behind, and barely reacts, and doesn't seem to feel a thing. The constant mention of "fighting with valour" became a distraction from Kara and Kate themselves, like they only did what they did because, as they say over and over (and over and over) again "we are Valkyrie", as though that's an explanation on its own.

It's an interesting novel. And if you're like me and just adore any connection to the ancient world and/or mythology, then it's worth having a look at. If you enjoy action from nearly start-to-finish, then this is certainly a book for you! Just be prepared for certain plot points to be re-hashed several times, along with a fair amount of repetitive language use. I don't regret reading this one, it was entertaining overall, but I don't think I'll be picking up any others in the series, as much as I desperately love the overall concept.

*NOTE: Apparently there's a comic book adaption, and this could be something worth exploring!

[Jaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, exiting book that reads like an action movie. A lot of intense, big sequences happen, and since it's fairly short, it's just a really entertaining escape. It's about a bisexual valkyrie (apparently her entire society is bisexual) who falls for a human woman.

It's a bit instalove, a bit ALL ACTION with minimal plot, and things seem a little TOO easy for the characters. At times, the Asgardians speak like Thor from the Avengers - "Shall I share your table this night? Let us pour some mead after our glorious battle." Like. Idk. THAT ANNOYS ME A LOT, but the popularity of the Thor movies tells me it doesn't bother everyone lol. Even with its problems, it is still worth a read, if you just want a fun sci-fi action story featuring queer ladies.

My only serious complaint is that the writer is a male who ONLY writes stories about queer ladies. That just makes me feel .... creeped out. A bit. It makes me question his motives, and feel like I'm reading his fantasies or something? This has spawned a lot of conversations between me and my friends about people who exclusively write fiction about sexualities that they ... aren't a part of. If that makes sense. Like straight girls writing all m/m, or straight men writing all f/f.

This book doesn't have any sex scenes in it. A lot of flirting, and tension, and discussion of having sex, but none happens "on screen." That made me feel much more comfortable with it... although I look forward to them hooking up in later books. ;)

Haha this review is ... going off tracks. Aha. Oh well.

[Kageashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book earned four stars in spite of awkward tenses and questionable editing that made the story a bit bumpy at times. If you can get past the awkward beginning and sometimes rough writing, this book is a phenomenal treat.

An odd hybrid of fantasy and science fiction, Return of the Asgard set a high bar for itself in challenges to find a way of incorporating the two worlds and not bog down in the exposition. While the beginning suffers a bit from the strange cross between genres, the book as a whole delivers fantastic action, fairly touching if atypical romance, and fantastically humorous moments brought about by the clash of cultures (American Human vs Asgard) and genres (myth/fantasy vs science fiction).

I was initially disappointed in the book, as the beginning is so painfully awkward out of the gate, but once it hits its stride it keeps things entertaining and engaging.

A worthwhile read for anyone who is a fan of myths revisited, science fiction action, or heroes who just happen to be lesbians/bisexual/broad spectrum sexually.

[grammarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. Sci-fi Norse myth lesbian romance? Yes please! However, the main impression I got from it was how much the main characters were "spectacular" (an overused term, needing an editor), having no interesting flaws or character progression, and instead "blushing" a bit too much instead. Wow, someone else's lesbian fantasy, not mine. The Asgard society was superficially interesting but not in-depth at all. Apparently everyone is very beautiful and happy there in their castes and power does not corrupt. And there's a bunch of fighting, which was quite well-written but not something I personally want most of a book to be filled with. The advanced tech the Asgard and Ragnarok had was really intriguing though. I'll borrow the next book in the series and give it a go.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to write a terrible review, but this book was fairly horrible. Huge plot holes, terrible dialogue, sub-par writing. I had hoped this would be a fun book, but it was just terrible.

[L E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading this book and was immediately hooked - finished the series and wish there was more!

Wanted to re-read this amazing women! Can't get enough and will read again.

[Belen Lacam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoy this book. It is great. I loved the characters. They are fun and well-developed. I really like Kara's strength and Kate's compassion. But what I loved more was that the characters aren't perfect stereotypes, they have their insecurities and deal with their scars. Now, I want to continue reading the whole serie. :) :) 5/5 Scoll!!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Gaiman's Norse Mythology and I wanted more so I picked up this book just from the title, knowing nothing about it. A chapter or two in I realized that it wasn't what I was looking for.

I wanted mythology, fantasy Tolkien. What I got was a Science Fiction story of alien contact. So I was going to stop reading, but I just couldn't these two bad ass warrior women just sucked me in and I read the whole thing in one sitting.

I'm really glad I stuck around and finished this.

[M L Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise

I'll be honest. I had no expectations going in to this. It was just something I came across and decided to try and let me tell you I'm glad I did. It's an odd mix of myth, modern day and sci-fi yet it somehow works in a way I didn't expect it to. Really worth a read.

[Inked Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a great mix of sci-fi and the real world. I’ll admit, I did expect it to be a bit heavier into the sci-fi when I picked it up, but I wasn’t disappointed. The plot stole the show and took the book to great heights. From the beginning to the end, this book held my interest. If I was rating this book on plot and story line alone, it would be 4.5 stars. It loses half a star for being rough in the beginning. There’s a lot of information happening very quickly and feels quite like an information dump for a few chapters.

The characters in this novel really do come to life, and their romance is invigorating and enticing. I also thought it was interesting how such a sexually free people are not into touching. It’s seems the opposite of what one would think. There is no question of multiple partners, same sex relationships, or sex for fun, yet the culture itself demands they are reserved to the point of not touching beyond hands and forearms. It’s an interesting dynamic that I’m still processing.

However, I struggled with reading it. This book should not have taken me long, but I had to keep putting it down because of the lack of editing. Each sentence had grammatical errors in it, including switches between present and past tense almost constantly. It was difficult to push through the bad editing to the story. I really wish the editing was better because this might just hit close to the top of list of favorite books.

I look forward to reading more from this author and to see any improvements he has in future novels. I recommend this book for anyone who has a love of sci-fi, mythology, and legends of our history.

3.5 stars

I was given this in return for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.

~AJ

[Jennifer Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I "read" this via Audible. It is a fun story that I enjoyed listening to. Holly Jackson does an excellent job reading the story and adding good inflections where needed. The story moves at a super fast rate. there is hardly a moment to catch your breath. The two main characters did get together a bit fast in my opinion. There could have been more to the meeting of the two women, maybe a relationship building after several encounters. Other than that I and jumping right into the next one. I am glad I didn't find these books when they first came out because not I don't have to wait for the next part.

[Todd Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great twist on Norse mythology. I absolutely loved this book. Comedy, romance, action, and aliens! Whats not to like? In this book, the Norse Gods aren't Gods at all. They are an alien race and they're coming back to Earth for Ragnarok which is actually another race of aliens. Hollie Jackson does an amazing job with the narration.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unsure about this one to begin with reading the description but i was happily surprised :D A very good read i thought just a little disappointed that i now have to wait for a second book (if there is going to be one).. hope its not too long to wait!

[Huy · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 heroines and the book still manages to keep coherent and logical narration? 5/5! Seriously though, the book has concise writing and natural follow, action scenes are epic, romantic scenes are lovely. Only downside is that the most fighting are, rather than shown, told.

[Alastar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly an interesting read, I do love the nice twist of sci-fi and lore. The Two main characters are very well done.

[Tori Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book! Great introduction to the Valkyrie of Asgard! I loved the quick wit and sass between Kara and Kate! GREAT read! Highly recommended!!

[chisholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

[Ed Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[Lia · Rating 2 out of 5]

lacks editing.

[Crystin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was like a break-neck rollercoaster ride with a fun twist on Norse mythology.