Edda

With the publication of Edda, the trilogy begun with Epic and Saga – now known as ‘The Avatar Chronicles’ – is complete. While, like its two predecessors, the novel is set in the futuristic fantasy domains of an electronic video-games-playing world, the origins of its narrative technique lie in the myths, legends and folk tales which constitute our oldest stories. Story, in fact, in all the numerous possible modes of its telling is central to Kostick’s concerns. Here, the emphasis is on teenage Penelope, who, in Edda’s virtual world, has spent most of her life at the beck and call of its oppressive ruler, Lord Scanthax. In the guise of her avatar, Princess, she ‘scripts’ the weapons he employs to exercise his bellicose aspirations. Eventually though, she rebels and allies herself with a colourful group of young freedom fighters determined to create revolution. Their ensuing confrontations with the forces of Scanthax, played out on land, on sea and in the air, make for some extremely exciting and energetic writing. Some of the ‘games’ played are far from being merely playful. ‘We have to figure out what is happening to us, what the universe is really like’ remarks one of these young revolutionaries; young readers beset by a similar urge as they embark on their adolescence will find plenty in this highly imaginative piece of fiction to help them on their quest.