An entrancing, magical and entertaining read. There is a wonderful wide ranging cast of characters in an intricate and complex narrative. It is well written, although not always coherent, although this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book. Maddy has to stop the Nine Worlds from falling into chaos, and there is, of course, a battle. We go on to encounter shapeshifters, enchanted apples, magical creatures, a prophecy and the wonders and joys of Lucky (Loki), a smart, comic and infinitely complex god. Upon entry, Maddy comes face to face with a familiar goblin. A worried Old One-Eye wants Maddy to go on a quest to locate the Whisperer in the World Below. Maddy's only friend is Old One-Eye (Odin) and she finds herself being tutored on magic by him. But here's the thing, Maddy likes doing magic.particularly when it comes to some troublesome goblins! In her world, magic is perceived to be dangerous and banned. She was born with a new runemark on her hand denoting the gods. Maddy Smith is the young heroine shunned by family and community.

She re-imagines the Norse gods and on occasion subverts them. This is a dense and sprawling satire that draws on Norse mythology and folklore on which the author has certainly done her research. She also spends too much time on Twitter plays flute and bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16 and works from a shed in her garden at her home in Yorkshire. Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen. In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories.

Joanne m harris runemarks series