Valhalla

By Tom Holt

Book Overview

'Wacky humour bubbles through the polished narrative ... Holt doesn't skimp on the flashes of brilliance' - SFX

'A definite must for all fans of comic fantasy' - ENIGMA

As everyone knows, when great warriors die their reward is eternal life in Odin's great hall - otherwise known as Valhalla.

But Valhalla has changed. It's grown. It's diversified. Just like any corporation, the Valhalla Group has had to adapt to survive.

Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared it for the arrival of Carol Kortright, one-time cocktail waitress, currently dead, and not at all happy.

Sparkling comic fantasy from one of Britain's sharpest, funniest writers.

Books by Tom Holt:

Walled Orchard Series
Goatsong
The Walled Orchard

J.W. Wells & Co. Series
The Portable Door
In Your Dreams
Earth, Air, Fire and Custard
You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps
The Better Mousetrap
May Contain Traces of Magic
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages

YouSpace Series
Doughnut
When It's A Jar
The Outsorcerer's Apprentice
The Good, the Bad and the Smug

Novels
Expecting Someone Taller
Who's Afraid of Beowulf
Flying Dutch
Ye Gods
Overtime
Here Comes the Sun
Grailblazers
Faust Among Equals
Odds and Gods
Djinn Rummy
My Hero
Paint your Dragon
Open Sesame
Wish you Were Here
Alexander at World's End
Only Human
Snow White and the Seven Samurai
Olympiad
Valhalla
Nothing But Blue Skies
Falling Sideways
Little People
Song for Nero
Meadowland
Barking
Blonde Bombshell
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings
An Orc on the Wild Side

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841490423
• ISBN13: 9781841490427
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Orbit Fiction
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Junk food for the mind

I really like Holt's writing - his best is hilarious. I can't say that Valhalla is his best. It has its moments, such as the predatory agent auditioning to be himself. I found it uneven, though, and slack about following its own internal illogic.Still, it's a fun read, and better than going without any Holt at all. If you already like Holt, go ahead. If you're new to Holt, though, another title might make a better first impression.

Subtly hysterical

This book has many threads seemingly all going in different directions. You find yourself waiting for Holt to tie them together in the bizarre unforseeable way that only he can. And he delivers.The cast is a fabulous mix of modern day Joe's with issues, Joan of Arc who hears soap commercials between messages from the angels, a sleazy Hollywood-style agent finding gigs for gods, et al.There is a great deal of humor in this book that can easily be overlooked. A character meets a headhunter (the executive recruiting kind): "the way he'd said headhunter . . . brought to . . . mind a mental image of a violin-maker rattling a spoon against a saucer and calling out 'Here, kitty, kitty!'" If that doesn't make you laugh, and/or you don't know squat about mythology you're probably going to miss a lot.If you're up for a book that's totally ridiculous and whose punch lines you may not catch 'till you're three sentences past, check this one out. Be careful where you read it though. I laughed out loud . . . often.