Who is Saint the Terrifying? Get to know literature’s new Viking punk vigilante on Tuesday, March 18, at 6:30 PM, when San Mateo County Libraries welcomes author Joshua Mohr.
This virtual author talk will take place over Zoom, so be sure to register to receive your link. All San Mateo County Libraries locations will have limited giveaway copies of Saint the Terrifying available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Meet the One-Of-A-Kind Narrator of This Oakland Punk Noir
Saint’s an ex-con still coming to terms with his origin story. Raised in the wilds of Norway by an artisan father famed for his glass-blown birds, Saint trained daily in ancient Norse martial arts with a bear as his sparring partner. One day, his father makes a critical mistake, forcing Saint to leave his home forever and move to San Francisco.
Years later and fresh out of prison, Saint finds himself immersed in the Oakland punk music scene. On stage, he’s struggling to find his identity as a guitar player in a mediocre band. Off stage, his uniquely Norse skillset suddenly turns Saint into a one-eyed punk gumshoe after sinister thieves start targeting local bands' gear. But it's only when Saint meets Trick Wilma, the powerhouse lead singer of another (better) band, that he begins to see the glimmer of salvation.
Saint the Terrifying is the first installment in Joshua Mohr’s Viking punk saga from Unnamed Press, opens a new window. Luckily, once you get absorbed by Saint’s story, you won’t have long to wait for the rest! In an interview with LitHub, opens a new window, Mohr reveals, “The second book, The Wolf Who Wants Answers, is out in April 2025, and the culminating piece comes out next October.” Plus, Mohr is at work on a very real record from Slummy, Saint’s fictional band.
Praise for Saint the Terrifying
“Josh Mohr is a kind of punk rock arc-angel, and this wildly sacred book is on fire with his genius. It’s everything. The whole horizon, within and without.” —Luis Alberto Urrea
“I live a quiet life. Wife, family, gym membership—the whole catastrophe. But Joshua Mohr’s latest offers me—and you, Dear Reader—a day-pass to a world of pain, glory, lust, and limitlessness.” —Paul Wilner, Zyzzyva, opens a new window
“Saint’s spiritual wrestling match with gentrification will be particularly familiar to Bay Area residents. There is a mystery to unravel in this book, but Saint’s story is ultimately about so much more than the who, what, where and why of this case. It is a search for salvation, for Valhalla, for community in a shifting and merciless world, that is ultimately deeply human.”—Naomi Elias, KQED, opens a new window
Get to Know Bay Area Author Joshua Mohr
“Once I gave myself the creative latitude to let this project be this untamable, genre beast—it came to charismatic life. Conventional wisdom says we should write the book we want to read, and I have no problem with that. But what if we push it a step further and say: Make the art that only you can make.”—Joshua Mohr for LitHub , opens a new window
Joshua Mohr is the author of eight books, including Model Citizen and Damascus, which The New York Times called “Beat-poet cool.” He’s also written Some Things That Meant the World to Me, one of O Magazine’s 10 Terrific Reads, and All This Life, winner of the Northern California Book Award. Termite Parade was an editors’ choice on The New York Times Best Seller List. In his Hollywood life, he’s sold projects to AMC, ITV and Amblin Entertainment. Learn more about Joshua.
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