ISBN: 978-1-4327-1994-4

Publisher: Outskirts Press

I hadn’t realized how unusual this book was until I started to read, Days in Midgard - basically a collection of stories that reflect the traditions and days of old. Basically, they are “modern legends based on Northern myth.”

Although I knew this was the case, I struggled to find where these stories fitted in to old legends. This could just be my fault, though I admit I am not one for ancient tales of the Vikings or Gods. However despite this, I did find several of the stories very interesting. 

My personal favourite is A Short Vacation that features Ann, a globetrotter, who is always in pursuit of new destinations with a “bright future”.

She is lucky to go on a vacation and on arriving has to wait for husband Paul to catch his flight over there. They have jobs that take them all over the world and often they are not together for very long.  

While waiting, Ann gets embroiled in a conversation with a very strange woman who talks of how seeing the future could be quite tiresome. Ann tries her best to agree but senses something odd about this person. Not what she’d call hysteria but not anger. Later on Ann, watching from a bedroom window, witnesses a woman’s peculiar behaviour. What does she see in the birdbath?

This was very much a mystery story but I thought it lacked something toward the end. I would have expected a little more surprise in store but there wasn’t much, just the whole unnerving feel of the story and the atmosphere that felt almost sinister to me. Do the birdbath and the future have some connection? I wonder. 

The Hard Way is another interesting piece about a soldier out in town fighting for the future. He and his men are dying off pretty quickly as bombs explode all around them and firearms are shot. Just when there seems to be no hope a man comes from nowhere.

From the soldier’s hiding place, he can’t tell if this stranger is one of his men or the enemy, only that he has no right hand. This rather unfamiliar person does however guide the men out of harm’s way and saves the soldier’s life.

Was he a guardian angel perhaps? 

If you enjoy this novel, you can discuss it with other readers by logging onto Steven Abell’s website.

I did end up really enjoying these stories and was sad to finish this book. Let’s hope Abell writes another batch!