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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You can do a straight up textbook if you like. (Edith Hamilton's Mythology)
You can do a humorous fanfic aimed at middle-grade readers if you like. (Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer)
But straightforward tales of the shenanigans of the Norse pantheon told in story format are pretty rare, with the only other one I've read being penned with Neil Gaiman's wit and quirky charm (Norse Mythology, both in blocks of text form AND graphic novel form!).
So this one that has Loki as the main character and narrator is pretty darn exceptional. If you put aside linguistic anachronisms & poetic licensing to put Loki in more events he wasn't typically a part of, it really puts into focus how these stories continue to be entertaining as heck and how these characters stand the test of time.
What I really appreciate is a believable timeline for all these tales since sometimes you hear lil inconsistencies in other sources that make you scratch your head and think "wait wut?" since some stories have Thor beat up the giant who made Asgard's walls with Mjolnir...when he shouldn't have the hammer yet because of the situation with Sif's hair & Loki getting the uber gifts.
And to be honest, we've seen authors over the years CON~STANT~LY try to paint the trickster in a sympathetic light; heck the scribes at Marvel have been doing that for decades, making him as anti-hero as Magneto or Venom. This one is no different with a lot of the earlier stories establishing he feels SO MUCH like an outsider, but later in the book the struggle is depicted as whether he's the fated villain because of prophesied destiny or if it's because of his own chaotic nature.
Great read and now contemplating if I want to see what the sequel is about since, spoilers, Ragnarok happens in this book and what else is there to tell after that?
You can do a humorous fanfic aimed at middle-grade readers if you like. (Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer)
But straightforward tales of the shenanigans of the Norse pantheon told in story format are pretty rare, with the only other one I've read being penned with Neil Gaiman's wit and quirky charm (Norse Mythology, both in blocks of text form AND graphic novel form!).
So this one that has Loki as the main character and narrator is pretty darn exceptional. If you put aside linguistic anachronisms & poetic licensing to put Loki in more events he wasn't typically a part of, it really puts into focus how these stories continue to be entertaining as heck and how these characters stand the test of time.
What I really appreciate is a believable timeline for all these tales since sometimes you hear lil inconsistencies in other sources that make you scratch your head and think "wait wut?" since some stories have Thor beat up the giant who made Asgard's walls with Mjolnir...when he shouldn't have the hammer yet because of the situation with Sif's hair & Loki getting the uber gifts.
And to be honest, we've seen authors over the years CON~STANT~LY try to paint the trickster in a sympathetic light; heck the scribes at Marvel have been doing that for decades, making him as anti-hero as Magneto or Venom. This one is no different with a lot of the earlier stories establishing he feels SO MUCH like an outsider, but later in the book the struggle is depicted as whether he's the fated villain because of prophesied destiny or if it's because of his own chaotic nature.
Great read and now contemplating if I want to see what the sequel is about since, spoilers, Ragnarok happens in this book and what else is there to tell after that?
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
DNF - made it 28% into the book and decided this really wasn’t for me, which is a shame as it sounded like something I would/should have loved.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a book that is both ahead of a trend and as such possibly dated in retrospect. It is by no means a bad story. in fact, given your level of knowledge on Norse mythology, it might be a great introduction for you. It certainly has one element that hasn't aged beyond popularity. There's a jovial tonality that is always refreshing, entertaining, and increasingly popular in this type of subgenre. However in an age where myth retelling are exploding this doesn't bring a whole lot to the table other than it's Loki-favorable spin. Outside of some framing to make the tales more favorable rather that cynical to Loki and wit-isms, even with my base knowledge of the lore it didn't bring a whole lot I"d consider as new or engaging in itself. Not a terrible read, just not as engaging and immersive as I had hoped.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The idea of the book is fun, but it's unnecessarily cis, straight and misogynistic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny