 After KveldúlfR Gundarsson‘s well-known introductory books Teutonic Magic and Teutonic Religion, and the massive compendium Our Troth (which he wrote a considerable portion of as well as editing), it is an inspiration and delight to finally have the chance to look more deeply into one of our foremost Heathen scholar‘s fundamental work in the lore and philosophy of Germanic Heathenry.
Wotan: The Road to Valhalla demonstrates that Gundarsson fully deserves his reputation as a great teacher and godhi. It is the first serious work of Heathen theology that I have read, containing a vast amount of lore investigated with both the critical eye of a professional researcher holding a doctorate in the subject of Germanic religion and the deeper understanding of a priest and theologian seeking to understand and explain our faith‘s teaching in regards to the afterlife and the most complex and difficult figure of our religion.
In the book, Gundarsson examines the understanding of death and memory which has been largely lost to modern society as a combined result of christianity and the rational/technological culture of the West. He discusses the origins and evolution of the Valhalla-belief, and clarifies the vital role of Óðinn as a traditional death-god who, in his role of bringing the dead and the living together through the Otherworldly art of poetry, maintains the power, wisdom, and vitality of the Germanic culture.
Gundarsson concludes this impressive work with a discussion of Wotan‘s role in the modern world (including a thorough and well-documented deconstruction of the popular myth that Nazi racist ideology either stemmed from or attempted to promote any kind of Germanic Heathen belief - the account of Hitler‘s printed attacks against Germanic pagan revivalists and, in particular, the quote from Himmler about "foolish, malicious, and brainless people (who) have created the fable, the fairytale that our forefathers worshipped gods and trees" are priceless to anyone who must explain this to misinformed outsiders).
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