Wodan's Children Books in Order

Wodan's Children is Diana L. Paxson's historical-fantasy retelling of the Sigfrid and Brunahild legend. It draws on the Volsunga Saga and the Nibelungenlied, but places their mythic story in the political uncertainty of fifth-century Europe. Burgunds, Huns, Romans, and Germanic tribes all have something to lose as old systems break apart.

The gods have not left the world alone.

The opening novel, The Wolf and the Raven, follows Sigfrid and Brunahild from childhood. Sigfrid is raised in the wild and trained by the smith Regin, while Brunahild becomes part of the walkyriun, a sisterhood of warrior women. Wodan, the figure also known as Odin, guides both of them in ways that are helpful, dangerous, and never entirely easy to understand.

Sigfrid becomes a warrior after reforging his father's sword and facing the dragon Fafnir. Brunahild's own power and refusal to obey carry a price. When their paths finally join, their love seems to promise something larger than either one of them, but the legend's larger machinery is already moving toward conflict.

The Dragons of the Rhine shifts from heroic beginnings to court politics and treachery. Seeking glory, Sigfrid reaches the Burgund court, where a spell makes him forget Brunahild and marry Gudrun. His unwilling role in bringing Brunahild into the same royal family turns private hurt into a crisis with political consequences. Old vows, jealousy, and honor begin to pull the characters toward tragedy.

No one gets to step outside fate for long.

The final book, The Lord of Horses, follows Gudrun after Sigfrid's death. Married into Attila's world and separated from the life she knew, she must find the courage to survive an alien court while carrying grief, anger, and unfinished loyalties. The focus broadens from one doomed romance to the aftermath endured by the people left behind.

These books are rich in battles, prophecy, shape-changing, smithcraft, and old gods, but their strongest current is personal. Paxson keeps asking what legendary figures might have felt before they became symbols. Read in order, starting with The Wolf and the Raven. The trilogy builds one continuous version of the legend, and the later books carry more weight once readers know how Sigfrid and Brunahild began.