Joanne M. Harris is best known for Chocolat, her bestselling novel that was turned into an equally successful and award-winning film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. But there’s a whole other world of Harris’ work, rooted not in romance but in legend and mythology. One of those books is featured among today’s Kindle Daily Deals, so that may be the best place to start:
The Gospel Of Loki (4/5 stars, priced at $1.99 TODAY ONLY)
“A surprise from the author of Chocolat,” New York Times bestselling author Joanne M. Harris, “this pacy adult fantasy is narrated by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief” (Vogue).
This novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods—retold from the point of view of the world’s ultimate trickster, Loki. A #1 bestseller in the UK, The Gospel of Loki tells the story of Loki’s recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself.
Using her lifelong passion for the Norse myths, New York Times bestseller Joanne M. Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel that the Sunday Sun recommends “to her long-standing audience with wit, style and obvious enjoyment;” The Sunday Times claims it “lively and fun;” and The Metro adds that “Harris has enormous fun with her antihero…this mythical bad boy should beguile fans of Neil Gaiman.”
Runemarks (4/5 stars, currently priced at $7.99, YA novel appropriate for grade 7 and up)
Seven o’clock on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the end of the world, and goblins had been at the cellar again. . . . Not that anyone would admit it was goblins.
In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours–all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived.
The “ruinmark” she was born with on her palm proves it––and makes the other villagers fearful that she is a witch (though helpful in dealing with the goblins-in-the-cellar problem). But the mysterious traveler One-Eye sees Maddy’s mark not as a defect, but as a destiny.
And Maddy will need every scrap of forbidden magic One-Eye can teach her if she is to survive that destiny.
Runelight (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99, YA novel appropriate for grade 7 and up)
The squabbling Norse gods and goddesses of Runemarks are back!
And there’s a feisty new heroine on the scene: Maggie, a girl the same age as Maddy but brought up a world apart – literally, in World’s End, the focus of the Order in which Maddy was raised.
Now the Order is destroyed, Chaos is filling the vacuum left behind… and is breaching the everyday world.
A chilling prophecy from the Oracle. A conflict between two girls.
And with just twelve days to stave off the Apocalypse, carnage is about to be unleashed . . .
Doctor Who: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller – Time Trips (4.5/5 stars, 50pp short, currently priced at $2.42)
Struggling to get back to UNIT HQ, his body being destroyed by radiation, the Third Doctor arrives in the most perfect English village, where everyone is happy.
But is he really on Earth, or somewhere far more strange?
As his body weakens, the Doctor and the Queen of the village begin to unravel the truth.
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