“I am here to joyously haunt you.”

Joshua Mohr’s is the story of an ex-con called Saint who was raised in the wilds of Norway, where his father brought him up in the old traditions and taught him the way of the Viking. Now Saint finds himself immersed in the Oakland music scene. On stage, he wears a pair of antlers that have been painted with yellow reflective paint, calling to mind bolts of lightning with his punk band. Off stage he finds himself on a mission to recover equipment that was stolen and other crimes against those who are part of the punk community.

This is the first book in a trilogy and the premise alone had me intrigued. Saint’s story is told through his pov from what he is currently facing and through snippets of his upbringing. Through this tale the author has included real events that took place in the Oakland scene including issues that still have an effect today.

I do enjoy a good viking story and what I liked about this book was how well it was crafted in showing Saint’s Norwegian side and his commitment to his punk band and overall outlook on life.

It felt like being on an adventure with this first book. There is a cast of crazy characters that you will both love and hate. Overall I really enjoyed this first book in this trilogy and looking forward to seeing how Saint’s story progresses.

This novel was a wild ride! It took a little bit to get into, at the start it felt like the mix of hard-boiled, virtue, and humour didn't quite work. However, as the story progressed the writing was more confident and the story really took off. We follow Saint over the course of one day as he tries to redefine himself, right some wrongs, save the misfortunate, play music, and get out of it all alive.

It's not surprising that this book was hugely entertaining, it is surprising that it has such an emotional and philosophical depth. Saint isn't just an adrenaline junkie racing through Oakland's subculture, he's complex, interesting, moral in his own way. This is a fantastic read.