THE BJORKAN SAGAS

Drawing upon his Cree Indigenous and Scandinavian roots and fusing narrative traditions, Johnson merges myth, fantasy, and history in this epic saga set in an enchanted world of heroic storytellers, shrieking Valkyries, and fire-breathing dragons.

While sorting through the possessions of his recently deceased neighbour, Harold Johnson discovers an old, handwritten manuscript containing epic stories composed in an obscure Swedish dialect. Together, they form The Bjorkan Sagas.

The first saga tells of three Bjorkans, led by Juha the storyteller, who set out from their valley to discover what lies beyond its borders. Their quest brings them into contact with the devious story-trader Anthony de Marchand, a group of gun-toting aliens in search of Heaven, and an ethereal Medicine Woman named Lilly. In the second saga, Juha is called upon to protect his people from Marchand's invading forces, bent on taking their land and stealing the secrets contained within the valley's sacred trees. The third saga chronicles the journey of Lilly as she travels across the universe to bring aid to Juha and the Bjorkans, who face their deadliest enemy yet.

For readers for Marlon James's Black Leopard, Red Wolf, THE BJORKAN SAGAS also joins the ranks of bestselling Canadian books that combine Indigenous storytelling traditions with the sci-fi and fantasy genres, including works by authors such as Eden Robinson and Cherie Dimaline.

Harold R. Johnson is the author of five works of fiction and five works of nonfiction, including Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours), which was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction. Born and raised in northern Saskatchewan to a Swedish father and a Cree mother, Johnson graduated Harvard Law School and served as a Crown prosecutor, and now writes full-time. Johnson is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation.