cover image The New God? (Gunhild #1)

The New God? (Gunhild #1)

Fred Tornager. Rockport, $13.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7603-8191-5

A girl with a fiery temper rounds up a band of faithful sidekicks to combat a universe-ending calamity in this droll adventure through Norse mythology by Danish creator Tornager. When Gunhild warns that Ragnarok is coming, no one else at her Earth orphanage seems to care, so the 12-year-old fire giant sets off to become a god, seeking to stop the oncoming destruction herself. With her trusty fire salamander companion Newt, and her new human friend Liv—a kitchen hand she meets aboard a ship sailing for the realm of the gods—Gunhild travels to Asgard to find Odin and demand he transform her into a deity. But Odin proves difficult to track down, and after run-ins with Loki and Asgard gatekeeper Heimdall net only peril, Gunhild realizes that preventing the end of the world might be more difficult than she initially thought. Tornager’s bombastic, vibrantly saturated art portrays flashy fight sequences with a potent mixture of intense suspense and ludicrous humor. Frenzied activity abounds in this action-packed series starter, with a solidly earned cliffhanger ending to entice readers into the next volume. Ages 13–up. (Apr.)