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This is one of my favourite books on Asatru. Paxson is a member of the Troth and fairly Universalist, so a lot of people dislike her on principle. It was less "hard info" (although there was a lot of info there for beginners) for me and more inspiration; it had a lot of, for lack of a better word, texture to it.

I loved the fictional kindred at the beginning of every chapter. I didn't think I would, but I did, and it leant a lot of depth to it for me. I enjoyed her writing voice and how she presented things. One of the books that helped me fall in love with Asatru. I truly enjoyed it.

The down side was that I guess I didn't want it to end. It was too short. There was so much more that she could have included, so much she could have done to flesh it out. Whether that's my own enjoyment of the book contributing to that opinion I'm not sure, but it did feel thin in some places.

I can see the point of some of those who are more folkish in leaning when they stress things they dislike about the book but I disagree with them that she was very biased towards Universalism. Yes Paxson is a Universalist and yes this will colour her writing, but I felt that she did explain both points of view in a fair manner.


What are your thoughts? Were you pleasantly surprised? Disappointed? Did you enjoy it? Was it useful to you? Was there anything in it you disliked? What were your favourite parts? Is it on your "recommended reading" list?

Discuss!

I pretty much agree with your assessment on this book Sang. No, it's not for the hard reconstructionist but it's a great intro for beginners and seekers. It pulls Heathenism out of dusty, medieval source books and puts it in a modern, relatable setting. This is a good thing. And she includes a fairly long list of books and websites in the back so you can continure to look into things for yourself and decide where or if you want to go on this path. Anyway, it's way better than anything by Edred Thorsson.

I wouldn't recommend her novel Brisingamen though. I wanted to punch the "heroine". Repeatedly.

Loona, go back to the lore. Incest was taboo in Asgard but it wasn't an issue in Vanaheim.

Freyr and Freyja were teased about possibly having had intercourse before coming to Asgard in Lokasenna. Njord was understood to have been married to his sister - this was the reason he didn't bring his wife with him to Asgard. Freyr and Freyja are thus the product of incest. This is mentioned in Heimskringla.

I just ordered it on Amazon yesterday with the two-day shipping, along with Terry Goodkind's new book The Omen Machine. I'm so excited, my reading selection is all set for vacation next week. =]