We Are the Fire
Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Out Now!
As electrifying as it is heartbreaking, Sam Taylor's explosive fantasy debut We Are the Fire is perfect for fans of An Ember in the Ashes and the legend of Spartacus.
In the cold, treacherous land of Vesimaa, children are stolen from their families by a cruel emperor, forced to undergo a horrific transformative procedure, and serve in the army as magical fire-wielding soldiers. Oksana and Pran—both taken from their homeland at a young age—only have each other to hold onto in this heartless place.
Pran dreams of one day rebelling against their oppressors and destroying the empire; Oksana only dreams of returning home and creating a peaceful life for them both.
When they discover the emperor has a new, more terrible mission than ever for their kind, Oksana and Pran vow to escape his tyranny once and for all. But their methods and ideals differ drastically, driving a wedge between them. Worse still, they both soon find that the only way to defeat the monsters that subjugated them may be to become monsters themselves.
Content Warnings for We Are the Fire
We Are the Fire
Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Out Now!
Want to learn more about Nordic Folklore & Culture?
Podcasts
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Saga Thing - John and Andy, both professors of medieval literature, put the sagas of the Icelanders on trial with lively discussions of each and votes on their best elements.
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Nordic Mythology Podcast - Dr. Mathias Nordvig and Daniel Ferrand discuss topics from Viking culture and Old Norse mythology
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Nordic on Tap - Interviews, folklore, music, and hygge with a Nordic flavor.
Folklore Collections & Other Reading
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Nordic Tales - Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark
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Norse Mythology - Old Norse tales collected and retold by Neil Gaiman
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The Complete And Original Norwegian Folktales Of Asbjørnsen And Moe - The extraordinary folktales collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in the mid-1800s. Includes a foreword by Neil Gaiman.
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Icelandic Folk Tales and Fairytales - Some of the original folklore collected in the 1800s by Jón Arnason
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Icelandic Folk Legends by Alda Sigmundsdóttir - Tales of apparitions, outlaws and things unseen
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Little Book of the Hidden People by Alda Sigmundsdóttir - Twenty stories of elves from Icelandic folklore
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The Sagas of the Icelanders - (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Many of the medieval sagas written about the original Viking-Age settlers of Iceland
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The Prose Edda and The Poetic Edda - Old Norse mythology straight from the source
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Photo credit: Sarah Cruz Photography
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@alda.sigmunds (Instagram; Icelandic facts & folklore)
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@saamicouncil (Instagram; News and concerns regarding Sámi society)
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@qsgreenland (Instagram; Fun facts about indigenous life in Greenland)
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Anna Bridgland - Tales from the North (YouTube; Nordic folklore)
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Jackson Crawford - (YouTube; Insights into Old Norse language, customs, and culture)
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Hrafna (YouTube; Icelandic culture, language, travel tips & more)