NorsePlay.

After a deep hunt for the Arnold J. Toynbee appendice The Forfeited Birthright of the Abortive Scandinavian Civilization (mentioned as an inspirational piece for Vikingverse author Ian Stuart Sharpe in our interview ), NorsePlay has decided to present it in its entirety here. First published in A Study of History , Volume II, from Oxford University 1934 CE, this appendice gives one much food for thought about how historical outcomes sometimes turn on a tíuaurar , and quite possibly how the seemingly tenuous & malleable society of today could also be directed in the now. _____________________________ THE FORFEITED BIRTHRIGHT OF THE ABORTIVE SCANDINAVIAN CIVILIZATION Having observed the narrowness of the margin by which the abortive Scandinavian Civilization failed to achieve its manifest destiny, let us now imagine to ourselves that the historic encounter between the Vikings and the Civilizations of the South had ended, not as it actually did, but in the other of the two possible...

Watching Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder is about 65% like watching Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin . What they share are the deep flaws of when a director runs the material into a self-indulgent lampooning direction, and loses sight of what originally makes it Mighty . Understandably no film is ever going to translate a comic directly. The medium is different, so adjustments & liberties necessarily must be taken. Yet anyone who has read the very dramatic terminally-ill Jane Foster as Thor comic book run, and the seriously pathos-laden & doom-filled Gorr the God Butcher storylines should realize that these two things are absolutely not foils for comedy. They're stories that deal with peace-making one's own mortality juxtaposed with carrying on an immortal legacy, while the other addresses faith in the divine being justified or not and what the expectations of that belief are. Those are amazing and weighty things that move and push boundaries for com...

NorsePlay recently reviewed the Vikingverse series , and I loved it so much, I've reached out to its author & creator  Ian Stuart Sharpe to bring you this Q&A interview filled with all the inquiries his brilliant what-if-the-Vikings-had-conquered-the-world masterwork compelled me to ask.  For background, Sharpe's  career as a published writer started with the first Vikingverse installment, The All Father Paradox (2018 CE), continued with sequel Loki's Wager (2020 CE), gained even more literal public support with his crowdfunded Vikingverse graphic novel,  The Jötunn War (2021 CE), and then an equally fan-supported  Vikingverse -adjacent phrasebook Old Norse For Modern Times (2021 CE).   Sharpe's from London, UK, did some growing up in East Anglia, and now lives in Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada. His longer tech career includes working for the BBC, IMG, Atari, and Electronic Arts. [Note that this interview does contain spoilers. Now, ont...

  In Thor  issue #17 (2020 CE), during a very argumentative Asgardian family sit-down, some huge forest monsters attack. So what does Freyja  save everyone with? As seen in this double truck panel scan, she cavalries in with her huge vambraced battlewagon cat Trjegul and his shoulder-mounted Gatling cannons to fatally maul and blast the beasties into meaty little chunks. Clawsome. [the above comic book panel written by Donnie Keats & illustrated by Michael Bandini.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigat...