Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
A Zelazny book, but not nearly on the same scale as Lord of Light. The characters seemed to fall flat, and the story's pay off was not satisfying, and abrupt.
4/5 Stars (%77/100)
Some parts were just WOW but there were also some parts, especially in the beginning, that I got really confused and that is due to Zelazny's writing style. You are simply thrown into the story and since Zelazny likes to combine sci-fi and mythology, it becomes even more complicated. The narration goes back and forth between the past, 12th century, and the future, or the present we could call it. However, this is also what made me like Zelazny in the first place. On top of that, Norse Mythology is my all-time favorite and Loki is the one I like the most. Yet, the slow start and complicated narration might not be for everyone. The ending and the last few chapters were phenomenal and if you like Zelazny, you should definitely give this one a chance. If you are new to him, I would probably suggest This Immortal or Lord of Light.
Some parts were just WOW but there were also some parts, especially in the beginning, that I got really confused and that is due to Zelazny's writing style. You are simply thrown into the story and since Zelazny likes to combine sci-fi and mythology, it becomes even more complicated. The narration goes back and forth between the past, 12th century, and the future, or the present we could call it. However, this is also what made me like Zelazny in the first place. On top of that, Norse Mythology is my all-time favorite and Loki is the one I like the most. Yet, the slow start and complicated narration might not be for everyone. The ending and the last few chapters were phenomenal and if you like Zelazny, you should definitely give this one a chance. If you are new to him, I would probably suggest This Immortal or Lord of Light.
November 06, 2004
This is a book from the nadir of Zelazny's life and career as a writer. It's a much better book, though still heavily flawed, if the chapters with the flash backs are skipped. The flashbacks are written out of chracter for Zelazny's usual style of writing so I can only guess that they are Thomas T. Thomas's contribution to this book. The story itself isn't much different than the second half of the Amber series, namely that of Merle and his semi-sentient computer. Zelazny usually doesn't bother with a lot of back story and in his better pieces, Tom Gurgen would have known by about page 30 that he was somehow tied to Loki. He'd have his powers and be trying to figure out why he had them, who wanted them and who he should aly himself with. But here the pacing is off and all the really typical (and good) Zelazny stuff doesn't happen until the last thirty pages of the book!
This is a book from the nadir of Zelazny's life and career as a writer. It's a much better book, though still heavily flawed, if the chapters with the flash backs are skipped. The flashbacks are written out of chracter for Zelazny's usual style of writing so I can only guess that they are Thomas T. Thomas's contribution to this book. The story itself isn't much different than the second half of the Amber series, namely that of Merle and his semi-sentient computer. Zelazny usually doesn't bother with a lot of back story and in his better pieces, Tom Gurgen would have known by about page 30 that he was somehow tied to Loki. He'd have his powers and be trying to figure out why he had them, who wanted them and who he should aly himself with. But here the pacing is off and all the really typical (and good) Zelazny stuff doesn't happen until the last thirty pages of the book!