Valhalla Conversations

What does it take to embody a legendary Norse villain? I’m joined by OneVoice 2026 & 2025 award winning voice actor, ⁨@georgeweightman1331⁩ to discuss how he transformed into one of Norse: Oath of Blood’s most formidable foes - Steinar Far-Spear. We will be talking about the physicality of performance capture, the psychology of playing the 'bad guy,' and how you bring a Viking warrior to life while covered in sensors instead of armour and instead of wielding a sword, axe or spear, you have to wear a mobile camera braced inches from your face! Let us explore how the Vikings are represented in the newest Viking game from ⁨@ArcticHazard⁩ ⁨@tripwireinteractive⁩ . Behind the scenes performance capture photos credit to Max Brown Media. Introduction Showcase Video credit to OneVoice Awards 2026. https://www.norsethegame.com/ 'Norse: Oath of Blood is a Turn-Based Tactics game set in Viking-Age Norway. Build a settlement, forge alliances, and fight strategic battles. Manage a community of craftspeople, farmers, and warriors, as you grow strong on your path to vengeance in this story-rich saga.' https://store.steampowered.com/app/3054690/NORSE_Oath_of_Blood/ Sword Brothers - FREE Prequel Short Story - available as an eBook and Audio Book via the Norse game website. Learn more about Giles Kristian, the epic narrative writer behind the game and dive into the best Viking age fiction around - https://www.gileskristian.com/

Joining me in this month's episode is comic writer ⁨@Zackkaps⁩ , we will be discussing Kill All Immortals ( ⁨@darkhorsecomics⁩ ) with spoilers and exploring his creative and cleverly inspired choice to use a family of Vikings, and a particular famous family for those in the US, to grant them immortality and billionaire level wealth. We discuss greed, freedom, independence at what cost, the perception of Vikings as brutal warriors and reveal exciting news for the future of this comic story arc. Zack Kaplan is a break out science fiction comic writer and creator of such comics and graphic novels as KILL ALL IMMORTALS, BEYOND REAL, MINDSET, BREAK OUT, METAL SOCIETY, FOREVER FORWARD, JOIN THE FUTURE, THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS, PORT OF EARTH and ECLIPSE. After just a few short years, he has worked with publishers such as Image/Top Cow, Dark Horse, Aftershock, Vault, Scout Comics and DC Comics. His first three series were all optioned for TV adaptation, with PORT OF EARTH currently being developed by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Ent. Zack has taught screenwriting and storytelling at the International Academy of Film and TV, located in the Philippines. He currently lives in Los Angeles. https://zackkaplan.com/ - Kill All Immortals - Succession meets John Wick…with immortal Vikings. A thousand years ago, Viking explorer Erik the Red and his four adult children discovered a mysterious source of immortality. Now, in our modern world, they are an enigmatic billionaire family with a powerful banking empire. But when Erik’s only daughter, Frey Asvald, seeks to finally be free from her family’s influence, she must be prepared to reveal their supernatural secrets and confront her well-trained siblings in a deadly and epic struggle for power. Get ready for a bloodthirsty immortal fight like no other! https://youtu.be/nAgOg-zFIrM?si=Dvnt0EUgIv2KubuH Writer: Zack Kaplan Artists: Fico Ossio, Thiago Rocha and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou ⁨@ThoughtBubbleComics⁩ Comic Festival & Comic Con, Harrogate, November 2025. https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/

Joining me for this month's episode is a good friend of mine, Genevieve Gornichec, due to our shared passion for all things Norse and I'm delighted to finally after years of talking online about her wonderful Norse Fantasy and Norse History books, 'The Witch's Heart' and 'The Weaver and the Witch Queen'. Learn what inspired both stories about remarkable female figures of mythology and history, her experience writing and publishing, her second life in viking age living history and so much more. Please discover more about Genevieve and her books at her website: https://genevievegornichec.com/

Joining me in this month's episode of Valhalla Conversations are two academics, Luca Panaro, a PhD candidate at the University of Iceland, in the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies; and Emma Thompson, a Midlands4Cities (M4C)-funded PhD Researcher at the University of Leicester, in archaeology broadly but specifically looking at Viking Age and Late Anglo-Saxon mortuary identities. We unite together to dive into the topic of games played by the vikings and the journey to games where we can play as vikings! Games discussed in Part 1 are as follows: Hnafltafl aka Tafl - A traditional Norse strategy table top board game. Assassin's Creed Valhalla & Orlog @assassinscreedUK @Ubisoft God Of War (2018 onwards) @PlayStation Valheim @irongateofficial Norse @ArcticHazard @tripwireinteractive Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree @WildboyStudios The Frostrune @grimnirmedia9341 The Banner Saga @StoicStudio Dead in Vinland @ishtar_games Jotun @thunderlotus Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hell @gamesfarm3558 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice @officialninjatheory You can also read Luca's "deep dive" article into Norse Mythology retold in God of War 2018 here: https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2595-9107.2021v1n4.60355Do follow up with Part 2 of our this insightful and interesting conversation!

Joining me in Valhalla this month is a fast friend of mine, Ian Stuart Sharpe, whom I affectionately call Mr Vikingverse for he has quite a vast and established collection of creative works with strong Norse historical and mythological influences.2 sci fi/fantasy novels: All-Father Paradox and Loki's WagerThe Jotunn War comics collection.Old Norse for Modern Times phrase book.When the Wolf Comes table top role play campaign source book.And is also running an actual play podcast of the former, Vikings and Valkyries!We discuss his works, why the question "What if?" began it all, the closeness between Old Norse and Angl0-Saxon/Modern English, the tricks involved in running a role play game where the characters as the oddest bunch of heroes and where a character dies in nearly every episode. We also share an enlightening discussion about the gaps in the mythology and how us as creatives adapt and try to fill in the gaps, the bane and boons of interpretation.Please visit his website to find links to all his publications, freebies and more! https://vikingverse.com/Please be bold and follow along with his actual play podcast, Vikings and Valkyries, it's a wild unforgettable ride! https://rss.com/podcasts/vikingsandvalkyries/*** In Episode 14, due out in April, we will be welcoming artist Sam Flegal, who was also a guest on Ian's Vikings and Valkyries podcast, but we will be diving more into his deep connection to Norse Mythology and interpretating Old Norse poetry stanza by stanza through ink art.This episode will also be available to watch on my YouTube podcast if you wish to see the covers of each of his published books and work-in-progress.

Joining me in my humble hall of all things norse is canadian author and games designer Joshua Gillingham. We discuss his fantasy series Torin Ten-Trees, how he developed the strategy card game Althingi based on the Icelandic legal and cultural practices during the Viking Age, his scandinavian heritage and how he became interested in viking culture and history. Guest profile: https://www.joshuagillingham.ca/ Joshua Gillingham is an author, game designer, and editor from Vancouver Island, Canada. His fantasy trilogy The Saga of Torin Ten-Trees (Crowsnest Books) is a rollicking, riddling, troll-hunting adventure inspired by the Norse myths and the Icelandic Sagas; it now available in paperback, ebook, and as an audiobook narrated by Alex C. Stewart. Joshua is also the co-author of Old Norse for Modern Times alongside Ian Stuart Sharpe (Vikingverse Books & Comics) and Dr. Arngrimur Vidalin (University of Iceland). In partnership with Outland Entertainment, Joshua is the founding Worldsmith of the trans-media Outland 'Althingi' World set in Viking Age Iceland, featuring his original card game Althingi: One Will Rise and the groundbreaking anthology Althingi: The Crescent & the Northern Star, co-edited with Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad (A Mosque Among the Stars) which explores the under-examined historical connections between Vikings and Muslims.

*First recorded and premiered on YouTube in November 2024.Join me for Episode 9 of Valhalla Conversations, which is a special collaborative podcast episode as I am joined by the two hosts of ‘Shield Maiden: ‪@WomenoftheNorseWorldPodcast‬ Kim Barton and Johanna Wittenberg.In this episode we each share our particular favourite female figure from Norse sagas and history, and equally Norse legends and mythology.I chose Audr/Unnr the Deep Minded, a woman who single handidly led her family from danger to peaceful settlement in Iceland. Followed up by Freya, Goddess of War, Love and Seidr Magic.Kim chose Lagertha, and we learn more about what the sagas say, not the Netflix drama. Followed up with Skarthi, the Jotun/Giant, who demanded a husband in recompense for the Gods killing her father.Johanna chose Queen Asa of an ununified Norway, who features as her female protagonist in her now 6 going on 7 book series, followed up with the half-corpse goddess, Hel, who ruled Helheim.Kim and Johanna are both authors of historical fiction (and some fantasy) set in the Viking Age, and each has a strong female protagonist to explore and navigate the culture and society of the time. Kim and Johanna, combined forces over their shared fascination and interest women’s lives, experiences, challenges and successes and roles during the Viking Age and so began their own podcast. To date they have recorded 24 episodes covering an amazing range and depth of women in Viking history and mythology. From goddesses to spirits to legends and sagas, historical artefacts, archaeology, religious roles, domestic roles, Queens to Abbesses, Warriors to Valkyries. These two have covered a LOT and I have always learned something from every single episode I’ve listened to so far.Johanna Wittenberg’s website - https://johannawittenberg.com/K.S.Barton’s website - https://www.ksbarton.com/