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pegahe's review
3.0
More reviews at The Sirenic Codex
For some reason, I don't know very much about Norse Gods. I've read many stories about Greek Gods but when it comes to Asgard, I'm pretty clueless. When I saw The Lost Sun, I was very excited. Not because of the cover which didn't appeal to me at all. I was drawn to this book by the author, Tessa Gratton. I read her previous book, Blood Magic, and enjoyed it so I decided to give this one a shot.
I'm happy I did. I was very impressed with the atmospheric writing. There is a certain sense of destiny that permeates the story and this mood is evident from the very first page. The Lost Sun is not a light book; the story is vaguely poetic at times, and so it took some time for me to get into it.
As someone that knows very little about Asgard I was incredibly pleased that there were many explanations and retellings of prominent myths. I couldn't remember everything, but they helped introduce me to a new mythology. I also loved the way New Asgard was set up. The Gods live along with the humans. All humans seem to choose one particular god to obey and follow. Also, the little historical and geographical aspects were incredible. As a Canadian, Canadia and the Montreal Troll Wars were of particular interest. The setting was creative with some humour too, which was very useful considering how serious other parts of the story felt.
The plot was very enchanting. All the characters had a purpose and although it took a while, I finally started to connect to them. The friendships that formed were a little heartbreaking, and they were all so meaningful. What I would have liked to see was some lighter scenes. Everyone was so angsty, and it does make sense, but some comic relief to relieve some of the tension could be beneficial.
I can pretty much name the scene where I got very into the story because Soren acted so compassionately and I realized how good of a person he was. After that scene, I warmed up to him and all the other characters. Soren's conviction is endearing and it's hard not to root for him.
The ending is magical. Everything wraps up very well and I was legitimately scared for the characters. Gratton tied everything up though, and overall I enjoyed this foray into Norse mythology. I wouldn't mind more, actually.
If you're a fan of Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, and/or Brenna Yovanoff, you should give The Lost Sun a try. The writing is incredibly atmospheric and the story is enchanting.
For some reason, I don't know very much about Norse Gods. I've read many stories about Greek Gods but when it comes to Asgard, I'm pretty clueless. When I saw The Lost Sun, I was very excited. Not because of the cover which didn't appeal to me at all. I was drawn to this book by the author, Tessa Gratton. I read her previous book, Blood Magic, and enjoyed it so I decided to give this one a shot.
I'm happy I did. I was very impressed with the atmospheric writing. There is a certain sense of destiny that permeates the story and this mood is evident from the very first page. The Lost Sun is not a light book; the story is vaguely poetic at times, and so it took some time for me to get into it.
As someone that knows very little about Asgard I was incredibly pleased that there were many explanations and retellings of prominent myths. I couldn't remember everything, but they helped introduce me to a new mythology. I also loved the way New Asgard was set up. The Gods live along with the humans. All humans seem to choose one particular god to obey and follow. Also, the little historical and geographical aspects were incredible. As a Canadian, Canadia and the Montreal Troll Wars were of particular interest. The setting was creative with some humour too, which was very useful considering how serious other parts of the story felt.
The plot was very enchanting. All the characters had a purpose and although it took a while, I finally started to connect to them. The friendships that formed were a little heartbreaking, and they were all so meaningful. What I would have liked to see was some lighter scenes. Everyone was so angsty, and it does make sense, but some comic relief to relieve some of the tension could be beneficial.
I can pretty much name the scene where I got very into the story because Soren acted so compassionately and I realized how good of a person he was. After that scene, I warmed up to him and all the other characters. Soren's conviction is endearing and it's hard not to root for him.
The ending is magical. Everything wraps up very well and I was legitimately scared for the characters. Gratton tied everything up though, and overall I enjoyed this foray into Norse mythology. I wouldn't mind more, actually.
If you're a fan of Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, and/or Brenna Yovanoff, you should give The Lost Sun a try. The writing is incredibly atmospheric and the story is enchanting.
easolinas's review
5.0
WARNING: Norse mythology purists may want to stop here, because this book takes some serious liberties with stories about the Norse gods. May cause myth-fan-rage.
But aside from some mythic "reimagining," Tessa Gratton's "The Lost Sun: Book 1 of United States of Asgard" is a clever, richly-fantastical fantasy, set in an alternate history where the Americas were colonized not by the British and Spanish... but by the Scandinavians and their gods. Part urban fantasy, part alternate history and part magical road trip, this is a bittersweet, powerful story about a boy's fight against fate.
At the school of Sanctus Sigurd, Soren Bearskin is an outcast -- his berserker father went on a random killing spree, and Soren is doomed to become a berserker as well. So he seems an unlikely companion for beautiful Astrid Glyn, the daughter of America's most famous seethkona -- but both of them can tell that they are bound together by fate. If only her presence didn't make his berserker blood get hot.
Then on the day when Baldur the Beautiful is supposed to rise from the dead... he doesn't. The country is thrown into a panic, and Odin Allfather offers a favor to anyone who finds Baldur.
Astrid decides to track down Baldur with her seething magic -- if they find him, Odin can tell her where her missing mother is, and lift the berserker curse from Soren. But though they are able to find Baldur, he's unable to remember who he is. And as the teens drive the amnesiac Baldur to the other gods, Soren begins to realize that all of this was orchestrated.
Tessa Gratton is one of those rare young adult authors who has a truly captivating writing style -- her prose is jewel-toned and rich with atmosphere ("thin shafts of starlight like ghosts in the rafters," "frost glimmers like diamonds from the tips of the grass"), full of bright fires and eerie smoke-filled nights. It gives a real sensuality to the story, filling it with bright sounds and lush smells.
It also works well with this alternate version of the U.S., which has a Scandinavian-derived culture instead of Anglo-derived. Not only are the Norse gods real and visible in this world, but each group of their devotees has a sort of subculture based around their worship. And there are some cute "modern" depictions of a magical Norse culture -- a girly magazine called "Teen Seer," holmgang-themed websites, Hallowblot instead of Halloween.
But it also has some flaws. It's not really explained how a fifty-state democratic country could be generated by a different culture, or how famous historical figures like Thomas Jefferson could have the same role in this alternate history. And... well, Gratton changes some of the mythological stories, such as turning Fenrir the wolf into a pretty girl. Some readers will care about this, some won't.
However, Gratton does an excellent job with the characters. She handles the instant attraction between Soren and Astrid beautifully, weaving in a genuine connection that makes their love plausible. Soren himself is a likably brooding figure who doesn't want to be like his murderous father, while Astrid is the perfect counterpoint -- a bright, sweet girl who dances through her magical frenzies.
"The Lost Sun" plays fast and loose with mythology, but it's in service of a lusciously-written story with some powerful teen protagonists. Despite its flaws, an exquisite piece of work.
But aside from some mythic "reimagining," Tessa Gratton's "The Lost Sun: Book 1 of United States of Asgard" is a clever, richly-fantastical fantasy, set in an alternate history where the Americas were colonized not by the British and Spanish... but by the Scandinavians and their gods. Part urban fantasy, part alternate history and part magical road trip, this is a bittersweet, powerful story about a boy's fight against fate.
At the school of Sanctus Sigurd, Soren Bearskin is an outcast -- his berserker father went on a random killing spree, and Soren is doomed to become a berserker as well. So he seems an unlikely companion for beautiful Astrid Glyn, the daughter of America's most famous seethkona -- but both of them can tell that they are bound together by fate. If only her presence didn't make his berserker blood get hot.
Then on the day when Baldur the Beautiful is supposed to rise from the dead... he doesn't. The country is thrown into a panic, and Odin Allfather offers a favor to anyone who finds Baldur.
Astrid decides to track down Baldur with her seething magic -- if they find him, Odin can tell her where her missing mother is, and lift the berserker curse from Soren. But though they are able to find Baldur, he's unable to remember who he is. And as the teens drive the amnesiac Baldur to the other gods, Soren begins to realize that all of this was orchestrated.
Tessa Gratton is one of those rare young adult authors who has a truly captivating writing style -- her prose is jewel-toned and rich with atmosphere ("thin shafts of starlight like ghosts in the rafters," "frost glimmers like diamonds from the tips of the grass"), full of bright fires and eerie smoke-filled nights. It gives a real sensuality to the story, filling it with bright sounds and lush smells.
It also works well with this alternate version of the U.S., which has a Scandinavian-derived culture instead of Anglo-derived. Not only are the Norse gods real and visible in this world, but each group of their devotees has a sort of subculture based around their worship. And there are some cute "modern" depictions of a magical Norse culture -- a girly magazine called "Teen Seer," holmgang-themed websites, Hallowblot instead of Halloween.
But it also has some flaws. It's not really explained how a fifty-state democratic country could be generated by a different culture, or how famous historical figures like Thomas Jefferson could have the same role in this alternate history. And... well, Gratton changes some of the mythological stories, such as turning Fenrir the wolf into a pretty girl. Some readers will care about this, some won't.
However, Gratton does an excellent job with the characters. She handles the instant attraction between Soren and Astrid beautifully, weaving in a genuine connection that makes their love plausible. Soren himself is a likably brooding figure who doesn't want to be like his murderous father, while Astrid is the perfect counterpoint -- a bright, sweet girl who dances through her magical frenzies.
"The Lost Sun" plays fast and loose with mythology, but it's in service of a lusciously-written story with some powerful teen protagonists. Despite its flaws, an exquisite piece of work.
ninetalevixen's review
2.0
Not the most compelling writing style, in terms of audience appeal (specifically, to me) - somewhere between middle grade and young adult maybe. But the plot was pretty good, and I liked the characters more or less.
elevetha's review
3.0
I'm not sure what I was expecting. I don't know; it's hard to explain how I felt about it. I loved it and I didn't care and then I was flapping my hands like a crazy girl and then I was disappointed and then it was over.
It started out with Insta!love/attraction by page 5 and I had this dread that I would hate it; hate the romance, hate the story(which was really very boring up till 1/4 of the way in), hate the writing. But I was wrong.
The writing, if nothing else, while not the best pacing or characterization and all that, is quite pretty. The romance is actually rather sweet and if maybe there was some moments I was "Okaaaaaaay, Soren, we get it, you like Astrid", they can be pushed mostly aside because they do have a lovely friendship that was more of a deal than their budding romance(or so it seemed to me). And the characters do come a long way from page one.I though I might do a section on each of the characters because that would be cool and there's quite a lot to say if only I knew how to but no. Not today. Probably not ever.
AND THEN THERE WAS BALDUR.
THIS GUY. BEST PART.
It started out with Insta!love/attraction by page 5 and I had this dread that I would hate it; hate the romance, hate the story(which was really very boring up till 1/4 of the way in), hate the writing. But I was wrong.
The writing, if nothing else, while not the best pacing or characterization and all that, is quite pretty. The romance is actually rather sweet and if maybe there was some moments I was "Okaaaaaaay, Soren, we get it, you like Astrid", they can be pushed mostly aside because they do have a lovely friendship that was more of a deal than their budding romance(or so it seemed to me). And the characters do come a long way from page one.
AND THEN THERE WAS BALDUR.
THIS GUY. BEST PART.
itsamae's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reader84's review against another edition
2.0
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Tessa Gratton's books. BLOOD MAGIC was a 5/5 read for me, whereas I couldn't even finish THE BLOOD KEEPER. The premise involving a modern day Norse Mythology infused world completed grabbed my attention, but THE LOST SUN itself struggled to maintain even a low level excitement for most of the book.
THE LOST SUN is slow. That's the kindest way to put it. Very little happens to adequately fill these 368 pages, and the characters aren't interesting enough to pick up the slack. Soren is really quiet and broody, Astrid lacks personality, and Baldur is so underutilized as to be fairly pointless in any of his scenes. The book is essentially one long road trip. You'd think in a world where mythological gods like Thor and Loki roam around freely, that there would be all this fantastical epic stuff going on. Not so much. There are news reports of savage troll attacks and mob swarms, but we don't see them first hand. Instead we stay in cheap motels, pick up take out, and practice sparring...yeah, that's exciting.
The big disappointment is how small this world feels. I really wanted to feel and experience the gods and the way the world is different because of them. THE LOST SUN is written in such a way that it assumes readers know all about the United States of Asgard and is rather ho hum about it all. Sure days of the week have different names and there are different holidays etc, but it doesn't come across as grand an epic like mythology should.
The ending does pick up in terms of the plot, but since I felt pretty indifferent towards all the characters, their plight was lacking impact. Ultimately, nothing stood out enough here to make me interested in reading the next book in the United States of Asgard series.
THE LOST SUN is slow. That's the kindest way to put it. Very little happens to adequately fill these 368 pages, and the characters aren't interesting enough to pick up the slack. Soren is really quiet and broody, Astrid lacks personality, and Baldur is so underutilized as to be fairly pointless in any of his scenes. The book is essentially one long road trip. You'd think in a world where mythological gods like Thor and Loki roam around freely, that there would be all this fantastical epic stuff going on. Not so much. There are news reports of savage troll attacks and mob swarms, but we don't see them first hand. Instead we stay in cheap motels, pick up take out, and practice sparring...yeah, that's exciting.
The big disappointment is how small this world feels. I really wanted to feel and experience the gods and the way the world is different because of them. THE LOST SUN is written in such a way that it assumes readers know all about the United States of Asgard and is rather ho hum about it all. Sure days of the week have different names and there are different holidays etc, but it doesn't come across as grand an epic like mythology should.
The ending does pick up in terms of the plot, but since I felt pretty indifferent towards all the characters, their plight was lacking impact. Ultimately, nothing stood out enough here to make me interested in reading the next book in the United States of Asgard series.
seachelles7's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Everything came together so wonderfully and I adored the characters.
declaired's review
4.0
First new book of 2016! I've had this living in my kindle library for a while, and when I ran out of data, plus still kinda fussy & fuzzy from oral surgery, it seemed like a good time to just hang out with a solid YA novel. (and it is a solid YA novel)
THINGS I THOUGHT ABOUT "THE LOST SUN" in no particular order:
- I am not naming any names but I am here to HEAVILY IMPLY that if you want a series that puts a non-American mythos/ pantheon and puts them in the United States, United States of Asgard does more and does it with greater depth and transformation than some of the other series out there. Some of which I mean in details of the setting-- all of the state names are changed, the geography is probably sketched a little differently, the make and model of cars all show the Norse influence-- the details in the worldbuilding are very exciting. But MOSTLY what I mean is:
- WHEN THE MYTHS ARE RESPUN THEY ARE RESPUN TO STRIKE A CHORD (pull a thread?) WITH THE MODERN AUDIENCE, with relevant feminist, social justice, and queer awarenesses.
- The book I am not naming any names of made Circe into a rude joke about misandry. The United States of Asgard made Fenris the Wolf into a teen girl with a story of hunger and destruction and /sympathy/.
- If the book were composed entirely of the Fenris the Wolf section it would be five stars hands down A+++
- There is an incredible OT3 vibe that is complicated but also so, so canon. The love is there, the love is explicit.
- I enjoy questions of identity in stories, because what else are you going to talk about if not "what makes the self," and that's a pretty major component of the journey.
- "What we do is not all of what we are."
- I have another rant that is about ladies because 1) what else do I talk about 2) this book is a good book to have feelings about ladies:
- women don't get to have stories where they go out on epic roadtrips by themselves, women so rarely get stories where they face the dark and the dark blinks first. It's always fear, because the narrative in America is one that says "you have to keep yourself safe. Here's how. Here is your fear." And although Astrid is wandering around with a big berserker warrior (no matter that he's reluctant and afraid of that side of himself), she /would/ have set off without him. She leads the journey, she rents the rooms, she gets the car and starts the journey, she's the one who is safe in the world, and she is never afraid of the dark. I don't see that enough.
- I feel rude not talking about Soren or Vider or Baldur like at all, because after all it is Soren's journey as well, of self-acceptance and finding a place in the world and with other people, and of not being afraid of yourself (or of becoming your father), and all of his steps are important and good, and the world has a lot more room for empathetic narratives about black boys who are afraid of the world and their place in it
- and Vider is a spitfire and I adore her and everything about her
tl;dr excellent characters, yay for diversity (in several lanes), the worldbuilding details are fun, the narrative treats ladies with respect, also there are sequels but the story does wrap up fairly satisfactorily independently.
THINGS I THOUGHT ABOUT "THE LOST SUN" in no particular order:
- I am not naming any names but I am here to HEAVILY IMPLY that if you want a series that puts a non-American mythos/ pantheon and puts them in the United States, United States of Asgard does more and does it with greater depth and transformation than some of the other series out there. Some of which I mean in details of the setting-- all of the state names are changed, the geography is probably sketched a little differently, the make and model of cars all show the Norse influence-- the details in the worldbuilding are very exciting. But MOSTLY what I mean is:
- WHEN THE MYTHS ARE RESPUN THEY ARE RESPUN TO STRIKE A CHORD (pull a thread?) WITH THE MODERN AUDIENCE, with relevant feminist, social justice, and queer awarenesses.
- The book I am not naming any names of made Circe into a rude joke about misandry. The United States of Asgard made Fenris the Wolf into a teen girl with a story of hunger and destruction and /sympathy/.
- If the book were composed entirely of the Fenris the Wolf section it would be five stars hands down A+++
- There is an incredible OT3 vibe that is complicated but also so, so canon. The love is there, the love is explicit.
- I enjoy questions of identity in stories, because what else are you going to talk about if not "what makes the self," and that's a pretty major component of the journey.
- "What we do is not all of what we are."
- I have another rant that is about ladies because 1) what else do I talk about 2) this book is a good book to have feelings about ladies:
- women don't get to have stories where they go out on epic roadtrips by themselves, women so rarely get stories where they face the dark and the dark blinks first. It's always fear, because the narrative in America is one that says "you have to keep yourself safe. Here's how. Here is your fear." And although Astrid is wandering around with a big berserker warrior (no matter that he's reluctant and afraid of that side of himself), she /would/ have set off without him. She leads the journey, she rents the rooms, she gets the car and starts the journey, she's the one who is safe in the world, and she is never afraid of the dark. I don't see that enough.
- I feel rude not talking about Soren or Vider or Baldur like at all, because after all it is Soren's journey as well, of self-acceptance and finding a place in the world and with other people, and of not being afraid of yourself (or of becoming your father), and all of his steps are important and good, and the world has a lot more room for empathetic narratives about black boys who are afraid of the world and their place in it
- and Vider is a spitfire and I adore her and everything about her
tl;dr excellent characters, yay for diversity (in several lanes), the worldbuilding details are fun, the narrative treats ladies with respect, also there are sequels but the story does wrap up fairly satisfactorily independently.
dreams_of_attolia's review
3.0
I wasn't super engrossed in the story at first, but it ended up getting more interesting. The aspect I ended up enjoying the most was the way the gods play a very long game and manipulate situations in complicated ways to twist the strands of fate towards the outcomes they desire. That felt very true to Norse mythology to me, and is the characteristic that makes Norse mythology so fascinating, regardless of which versions of the stories are being told.
It helps to think of this story as taking place in an alternate universe rather than in an alternate history version of this universe. If you think of it the second way, a lot of things don't make sense and it's distracting. For example, I'm willing to go with the "vikings settled North America instead of other European cultures" thing, but it was annoying the way that the political geography (cities, states etc.) of the US was pretty much the same, with even similar-sounding (but oddly-spelled) names (like Nebrasge instead of Nebraska). This was probably done as an expedient to help the reader understand the locations of things as the characters progress along their road trip, but it kept throwing me out of the story because it is so improbable. Other aspects of the culture that are old-school Norse don't make sense to me either, because this is supposed to be modern times. Modern day Scandinavians don't do this stuff, so why would modern North Americans just because they are descended from the Norse? I had to keep reminding myself just to think about it like a random alternate universe that just is, rather than an alternate history version of this universe. And given that in this world the Norse gods and trolls and such are real, the alternate universe is probably how Tessa Gratton intended this world to be interpreted.
It helps to think of this story as taking place in an alternate universe rather than in an alternate history version of this universe. If you think of it the second way, a lot of things don't make sense and it's distracting. For example, I'm willing to go with the "vikings settled North America instead of other European cultures" thing, but it was annoying the way that the political geography (cities, states etc.) of the US was pretty much the same, with even similar-sounding (but oddly-spelled) names (like Nebrasge instead of Nebraska). This was probably done as an expedient to help the reader understand the locations of things as the characters progress along their road trip, but it kept throwing me out of the story because it is so improbable. Other aspects of the culture that are old-school Norse don't make sense to me either, because this is supposed to be modern times. Modern day Scandinavians don't do this stuff, so why would modern North Americans just because they are descended from the Norse? I had to keep reminding myself just to think about it like a random alternate universe that just is, rather than an alternate history version of this universe. And given that in this world the Norse gods and trolls and such are real, the alternate universe is probably how Tessa Gratton intended this world to be interpreted.
ha_its_sarah's review
5.0
The United States of Asgard. The United States is ruled by viking gods. Soren a warrior and Astrid a prophetess, go on a journey to find a missing god.
Soren with Astrid's help comes to terms with his past and learns to accept who he is. Astrid and Soren must fight against fate to stay together.
Soren with Astrid's help comes to terms with his past and learns to accept who he is. Astrid and Soren must fight against fate to stay together.