for a long period, consisted of all”, journal of the same sort of essence: most came directly from the celtic mythology. Poor king Arthur to be resurrected again and again in more or less successful variants, while elves, dragons and dwarves usually had following a stopover in J R R Tolkien’s middle earth before they showed up in the new books.
During the sixties, it was just music and Irmelin Sandman Lilius, who wrote pure nordic fantasy, where Klockarbacklillfia in ”Has alley” (1969) had met the Water-sprite in his youth, and where a landsortsdoktor could be called on emergency visits far out in the woods late in the evening, only to discover that the patient had a tail (”Silverhästskon”, 1964).
appeared in norse mythology as the right of the dusty and uninteresting, but the last few years, the nordic fantasy changed fundamentally. Where it previously was thirteen elves on a dozen or so in the books, it is now at least as obvious a troll and waving happily on the tail.
It is not at all solely about children’s and young adult literature, but also on a number of tv series, films and novels for adults. The film ”Limit” (2018), the tv series ”Jordskott” (2015 and 2017), Stefan Spjuts novels, ”Stallo” (2012) and ”Stalpi” (2017), Lars Vasa Johansson’s understated novel ”The great verklighetsflykten” from 2016. For those who wanted to get a modern renderings made the talented bilderbokskonstnären Johan Egerkrans a grand reference book 2013, ”Nordic nature”, and for those who needed to get his old sütterlin narrated by Neil Gaiman the old stories in the ”Norse mythology” (2017).
, or, let us say, a river full of melt water, for, in keeping with the nordic theme. Why is it that the nordic mythology received such a renaissance? Of course, that it is a previously unused area for all in need of new nourishment for their fiktionsskapande, but also it gives us the mythological roots in our neighborhood. It is also the urban man’s yearning back to nature?
Or have the trolls been awarded EU funding to develop the nordic småknyttsregionen. You never know nowadays.
Chronicles of the Red monastery: ”Maresi”, ”Naondel”, ”Letters from the Maresi” (2015-2018)
the Publisher
Last year, I would have said that the finland-Swedish Maria Turtschaninoff does not belong to the fantasy writers who let themselves be influenced by the nordic mythology: she has other role models. ”Maresi”, which was nominated for the Nordic Council literature prize for children and young people in 2015, is set on the island of the International where the Red monastery is located, the women’s retreat. Reminded about anything, it was of Atuan, the island in the american Ursula K Le Guins ”Possible Atuan” (1970). But where Ursula K Le Guin signed a rigid, ice-cold world of rules and captivity did Maria Turtschaninoff instead a warm, safe place, a centre of excellence where women could escape male violence.
, ”Naondel”, attracted in a dry ökenvärld where men ruled and women only existed as mothers, mistresses, and servants. In a harem meet a group of very different and very suspicious of women, who gradually find a way out of his captivity.
When the ”Letters from the Maresi” came in the fall, it was another new environment, but now is Maresi at home, she has returned to her old home village, Rovas, which is located in the far north. It is cold and sparsely between the villages, the winter is dark and the forest is even darker.
And it is not so easy. It is not a world that happily realize the advantage of education, but rather a suspicious, halvsvulten bybefolkning that are not going to change the habits in brådrasket just because someone has learned new habits in the rest of the world.
a few recognizable mythological creatures from the past. Instead, it is the basic naturmagi governing Maresis step around the village, and vardagsvanor that turns out to have unsuspected force. And oddly enough gives it an even stronger foothold. It is here that the tamped out of the earth, the nordic mythology.
PAX: ”Nidstången”, ”Grimmen”, ”Mylingen”, ”Bjäran”, ”Gasten”, ”Water”, ”Pestan”, ”Vitormen”, ”Maran” and ”Joined” (2014-2018)
Bonnier Carlsen (from 9 years)
Nordic mythology, classical fantasykamp between evil and good, vardagsmobbning, a library as the focal point and two rowdy brothers – it should be too overloaded, but it is brilliant.
the Trilogy of Havsfolket: ”Djupgraven”, ”Sjörök”, ”Bioluminescence” (2016-2018)
Bonnier Carlsen (from 9 years)
Exciting trilogy that combines climate change with fantasy and skärgårdsrealism, if a pale, uppsala and bullied twelve-year old girl who lives on Harö in the Stockholm archipelago. The danger is strangely realistic, with fog, ice and boating where something suddenly thumps against the underwater hull from the bottom in deep water.
the Chronicle of Jarmaland: ”the Battle of Salajak” (2018)
Bonnier Carlsen (from 9 years)
Nuanced fantasy, far beyond the black-and-white evil-and-good-cliché: In a medieval Sweden marching three brothers with an army against the lake Storsjön in Jämtland, where you’ll be fighting against the winged hwitrerna. At the same time get a girl at the lake Storsjön in contact with a creature in the lake. The second part, ”Hwitrerna”, coming soon.
Idijärvi trilogy: ”Middagsmörker”, ”Gryningsstjärna” and ”Midnattsljus” (2016-2018)
Opal (from 12 years)
Áili have grown up in sweden, but when her father dies she must move to her grandfather in the sami village Idijärvi. Where suffer she of the strange attack, which proves to be linked to her schamanistiska forces. She becomes an important part in the fight against Borri noaidi, the old powers awakened.
the Descendants: ”Hatred” and ”the Fight” (2018)
Rabén & Sjögren (young adults)
Global policy, vision of the future and tonårsvardag in an intelligent and complex blend with a lot of mountain scenery and mythological beings related to themselves in a new world. Jenny lives with her family in Skellefteå, their father disappeared on the mountain a long time ago and their mother working in the united nations.
”Water drag”, ”Earth awakens”, ”the Mountain of sacrifice” (2015-2018)
Nature & Culture (young adults)
It starts with the fill and six, dull job and an unpleasant crime. But out in the countryside awakens powers of the old mines ‘ time. Madeleine Brook weaves a dense tale of miners and security guards and about how we choose to use what we inherited.
Korpringarna: ”Odinsbarn”, ”Rot”, ”the Force” (the originals came 2013-2015)
Trans. Ylva Kempe, B Wahlströms (young adults)
It begins in a kind of inverted fantasy: Hirka is the only one who doesn’t have powers in his world, and also the only one who doesn’t have a tail. Siri Pettersen using his knowledge of both the fantasy mythology as the basis for a exceptionally original nordic story.
”A security guards confessions”, ”the Wisdom awaken”, ”Sömnernas sleep” (2016-2018)
Like the books (young adults)
Rare funny fantasy about Tilda, who lives in Stockholm and has the tiresome task to keep track of all the world, that is to say, mythological creatures, who travels a lot around and interfere in the town. Gnomes, trolls, fairies and other things. Mostly they are just annoying, but some essence proves to be dangerous.
