The Dragons of the Rhine (Wodan's Children) - Softcover

Paxson, Diana L.

3.93

137 ratings by Goodreads

9780380765270: The Dragons of the Rhine (Wodan's Children)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380765276 ISBN 13: 9780380765270

Publisher: Avon Books, 1995

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Trapped in the court of the Burgund by an insidious magic, champion warrior and shape-shifter Sigfrid Sigmundson is thrust into battle against Brunahild, the woman he once loved, in order to win her for another man. Reprint.

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From Publishers Weekly:

This sometimes grim but always gripping retelling of the tragedy of Sigfrid and Brunahild, a sequel to The Wolf and the Raven, depicts the doomed lovers, and their royal spouses, in warm and sympathetic terms, with maybe a touch too modern a sensibility. Sigfrid, having vowed to return to Brunahild, whom he knows as Sigdrifa, comes to the land of the Burgunds on the banks of the Rhine, where he is welcomed by the king, Gundohar. The queen mother, Grimahild, a wisewoman of the old beliefs, gives Sigfrid a potion to destroy his love for Brunahild and direct it instead to her daughter Gudrun. After a nomadic and hunted childhood, Sigfrid is overjoyed to become part of a family. He agrees to help Gundohar win Brunahild, who keeps suitors at bay while awaiting Sigfrid by declaring she will wed only the man who can defeat her. A disguised Sigfrid wins the bride for Gundohar, although he is then horror-struck to discover her true identity. Brunahild's feelings of betrayal, Sigfrid's sense of honor and the king and his brother Hagano's growing jealousy begin the spiral to destruction. Paxson vividly brings to life the northern Europe of the early fifth century, poised between the new Christian religion and the ancient gods, between the nomadic roaming of tribal life and the more comfortable settlements established by the still-viable Roman Empire.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Drawing from a trove of historical sources, Paxson re-creates fifth-century lore in a sequel to The Wolf and the Raven. Part two of Paxson's projected trilogy continues the richly detailed saga of Sigfrid (the wolf child) and Brunahild (the raven-haired Walkyrja). At the outset, Brunahild has secretly borne Sigfrid's child, and once again the Burgunds and the Huns are jousting about. Fate interrupts the magical connection between the two lovers, with a series of events resulting in Sigfrid's marrying Gudrun and Brunahild's becoming King Gundohar's queen. Betrayal stirs the characters' emotions, as anger and vengeance form the crux of this exciting tale. A master of embellishment, Paxson combines equal parts history, mythology, and fantasy in a tale that should delight fans of all these genres. Alice Joyce

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