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emcoffin's review
challenging
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
ellenmoonlitstories's review
4.0
This book had been on my TBR for at least a year, so it was about time I picked it up.
As you may or may not know, I adore the Marvel movies that have come out in recent years. I especially love the Thor ones. Complicated characters are my favorites and Loki fits that description perfectly. He’s not just some lose canon, it’s obvious that there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Now I’m eagerly awaiting the new movie ‘Ragnarok’, which is coming out in two weeks, and I know it’s going to be amazing, but I needed something to help me fill the void until that movie comes out. The Hurricane Party sounded like the perfect filler.
The book starts off somewhere in the future. There have been some big changes. Sickness has killed a lot of people and the environment has been utterly destroyed. You now have two seasons: the rainy season (which drowns everything) and the dry season (which burns everything). Food is scarce and people have to make do with what they have.
Hanck lives in the city with his grown-up son who’s a chef and cooks for the richest part of the population, the Clan. Hanck himself repairs machines and listens to “The Organ” in his spare time. Doesn’t sound very interesting but they still managed to draw me in.
The first part of this book is mainly getting to know the main-character and the situation he’s in. It’s also about figuring out who killed his son (it takes a loooong time before we get to that part). I guess this book is about family and love more than the murder itself. Things are not straightforward or pretty. They are depressing because the situation is depressing. I actually really liked this dystopian part, the world-building and the character dynamics.
I also enjoyed the writing. It’s a bleak world he’s portraying but he does it extremely well. I could imagine myself there. Although I’m not entirely sure where ‘there’ is. Some say it’s Stockholm, which I can understand, but I guess I’m just thrown off by the mention of Dutch and Flemish people. (Loved that by the way, I don’t often see Flemish people in these kinds of books)
The second part of the story is where the Norse Mythology comes in. Like I said, I adore Norse Mythology and this book didn’t disappoint me. I actually learned a lot and I loved the way he wrote Loki. He’s not a likeable character, but he’s interesting. There were so many myths in here and normally I wouldn’t have wanted it to end…but……….. it slowed down the entire story and I still feel like the glue, that was meant to keep the two parts together, wasn’t strong enough. They still felt like two completely different stories to me.
So would I recommend it?
Maybe.
If you like Norse Mythology and dystopian stories like I do, then you’ll probably like it a lot. If you like Swedish crime novels, this could also be something you’d enjoy because it has the same atmosphere.
If none of these things are your cup of tea, maybe you’d better read something else.
https://alittlebooklife.com
As you may or may not know, I adore the Marvel movies that have come out in recent years. I especially love the Thor ones. Complicated characters are my favorites and Loki fits that description perfectly. He’s not just some lose canon, it’s obvious that there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Now I’m eagerly awaiting the new movie ‘Ragnarok’, which is coming out in two weeks, and I know it’s going to be amazing, but I needed something to help me fill the void until that movie comes out. The Hurricane Party sounded like the perfect filler.
The book starts off somewhere in the future. There have been some big changes. Sickness has killed a lot of people and the environment has been utterly destroyed. You now have two seasons: the rainy season (which drowns everything) and the dry season (which burns everything). Food is scarce and people have to make do with what they have.
Hanck lives in the city with his grown-up son who’s a chef and cooks for the richest part of the population, the Clan. Hanck himself repairs machines and listens to “The Organ” in his spare time. Doesn’t sound very interesting but they still managed to draw me in.
The first part of this book is mainly getting to know the main-character and the situation he’s in. It’s also about figuring out who killed his son (it takes a loooong time before we get to that part). I guess this book is about family and love more than the murder itself. Things are not straightforward or pretty. They are depressing because the situation is depressing. I actually really liked this dystopian part, the world-building and the character dynamics.
I also enjoyed the writing. It’s a bleak world he’s portraying but he does it extremely well. I could imagine myself there. Although I’m not entirely sure where ‘there’ is. Some say it’s Stockholm, which I can understand, but I guess I’m just thrown off by the mention of Dutch and Flemish people. (Loved that by the way, I don’t often see Flemish people in these kinds of books)
The second part of the story is where the Norse Mythology comes in. Like I said, I adore Norse Mythology and this book didn’t disappoint me. I actually learned a lot and I loved the way he wrote Loki. He’s not a likeable character, but he’s interesting. There were so many myths in here and normally I wouldn’t have wanted it to end…but……….. it slowed down the entire story and I still feel like the glue, that was meant to keep the two parts together, wasn’t strong enough. They still felt like two completely different stories to me.
So would I recommend it?
Maybe.
If you like Norse Mythology and dystopian stories like I do, then you’ll probably like it a lot. If you like Swedish crime novels, this could also be something you’d enjoy because it has the same atmosphere.
If none of these things are your cup of tea, maybe you’d better read something else.
https://alittlebooklife.com
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