The Impudent Edda
Formats: Paperback
Ages: 18+
Picking up where the original, medieval sources of Norse mythology - The Poetic Edda and The Prose Edda - left off, The Impudent Edda not only introduces readers to a fresh, new perspective on both familiar and previously unknown narratives about the Norse gods, but also brings the world's foremost epic fantasy series to its inevitable and fateful conclusion: in a dank alleyway behind a dive bar in Boston. Told from the point of view of an irate but profoundly wise drunkard, this easy-to-read compilation of unique and archaic lore offers readers a highly accessible journey through fun and classic tales that range from Odin's unprovoked murder of an ancient witch to Freyja's voluntary experiment as a prostitute among lecherous dwarves to Thor's drunken and petty act of larceny on the eve of Ragnarok, the final world-shattering battle of the gods.
Only available in paperback, The Impudent Edda includes 44 black-and-white photos, 227 highly informative footnotes (providing important background information on ancient Scandinavian transmogrifiers, the functional capabilities of Odin's magical toilet, and Tyr's virtuoso guitar-playing skills, among many other nuanced facets of ancient Nordic lore), and 33 mythological chapters with such illuminating titles as:
Middle-Earth is Just an Eyelash on the Celestial Gallows Pole
How Not to Get Away with Witch Murder
Bad Poets Drink Bird Shit
Never Go Apple-Picking with a Bad God
Thor's Cross-Dressing Misadventure
Odin Experiments with Public Vagrancy
Hostile Cattle Decapitation Day
Everyone and Everything Dies
The book also contains extensive front and end matter including an incredibly educational Foreword by Eirik Storesund (Brute Norse) and glorious cover art by Matt Smith (Barbarian Lord, Hellboy: The Bones of Giants). In the May 2025 episode of the Grimfrost podcast, The Impudent Edda was even seen being waved around by Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth), so there's also that.
Reviews
“The text throughout is caustic, demotic and profanity-laden, as though our narrator isn’t some hoary-bearded Viking bard sitting by the fireside but a modern guy shooting the breeze with buddies over a beer. The result is a smart, lovingly rendered blend of academia and pastiche.”
“You’ve heard of two renowned Eddas, The Prose Edda and The Poetic Edda, but have you heard of The Impudent Edda? What? You have not heard of the Edda found in the deepest, darkest depths of a seedy alleyway in Boston? Blasphemy! This is a comical take on Norse mythology and unlike anything I’ve read in relation to mythology in general.”
“You don’t have to be a Bostonian to find The Impudent Edda hilarious and even if you know a lot about Old Norse mythology, you’ll find its unique take both thought-provoking and insightful. The Norse gods as you’ve never seen them before!”
