Thunder Road
In a flash, the world Ted Callan knew exploded. The fire on the patch had burned everything to the ground, including his marriage and now hes on the road looking for a fresh start. What he finds is a mysterious young woman named Tilda in the middle of the highway who tells him hes destined to either become a hero or die a quick and painful death.Later that evening, when three stout men break into his hotel room, bind him to the bed and proceed to carve his skin with a stylus Ted wishes that death would come quickly. When he wakes, his body is covered in an elaborate norse tattoo, complete with Hugin and Munin, Mjolnir and Yggdrasil, not to mention the power of the Gods. As Ted seeks out the three men who assaulted him, he learns that the creatures of Norse mythology walk in the world of humankind and some of them want to see it burn.Accompanied by the trickster Loki and the bequiling Tilda, Ted wants nothing more than to have his old life back. No more tattoos. No more smart-ass Gods. No more mystic powers. The problem is, if he succeeds, it might just be the end of the world.
Winner of the 2013 Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher
Winner of the 2013 Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction
Short-listed for the 2013 Prix Aurora Award for Best Canadian Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel in English
Chadwick Ginther is a major new talent. His stunning debut novel grabs you by the throat and shakes you mercilessly; his prose is vivid and sharp and his settings are gritty and terrifyingly real. This is serious fantasy for grownups.
—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Triggers
Thunder Road is a gritty, two-fisted action fantasy jammed with Norse mythology and the unique atmosphere of the Canadian prairies. The imagination and attention to detail make this book a compelling and exciting read. By the time I finished I needed a stiff drink, a smoke and a shower. Chadwick Ginther is one of those authors that gets under your skin. Im looking forward to his next book.
—J.A. Pitts, author of Forged in Fire
An excellent first novel, Thunder Road is ultimately a creative fantasy about a human thrust into the role of a peacemaker between mythological forces....Imagine True Blood crossed with Thor and Beowulf.
—Chris Rutkowski, Winnipeg Free Press
...In Thunder Road, Chadwick Ginther opens a doorway to the mythical in the modern world, letting his reader almost believe that at the edges of our reality, in the most mundane of places, there lurks the remnants and lingering presence of the Otherworld...
—Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating Canada
Unique and brilliantly crafted, Thunder Road leaves the reader salivating for the next book in this trilogy and the next instalment in the life of Ted Callan.
—The Winnipeg Review
...the action in the story is fast-paced and, at times, almost heart stopping. There were many times I found myself holding my breath, wondering what was going to happen next.
—Susan Rocan, mywithershins.com
In Chadwick Ginther’s world, the prairies are alive with the sounds, smells, and appearances of Norse mythology.
—Stacks and Ranges Blog Review Quote
Ginther handles both the mythic and human aspects of Thunder Road with considerable skill. ...Thunder Road is a fast-paced, thoughtful novel, and news that it’s the first in a trilogy is welcome indeed.
—Robert J. Wiersema, Quill & Quire
"[In Thunder Road,] reality jostles with the supernatural, and sometimes the arcane can seem remarkably at ease on a changed planet. Without a trace of antagonistic empires, vast armies, or the schemes of eldritch sorcery, [Ginther writes] fantasy that resonates the deepest when it strikes close to home."
—Locus Review
A solid entry into the Modern Mythology subgenre of contemporary fantasy.
—Paul Weimer
I put down Mockingjay to read this one.
—Lindsay Kitson
[Thunder Road] blends Norse mythology into the Canadian landscape as smoothly and naturally as Joss Whedon married the Hellmouth to Southern California.
—Helen Michaud, The Canadian Science Fiction Review
If you liked Neil Gaimon's AMERICAN GODS, you'll adore this (frankly, I think it's better, sorry Neil).
—Lauren B. Davis
Excitedly inventive and extremely well paced and researched...
—Daniel Alvarez