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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Usually, I love a retelling. However, there was something about this one that did not quite click for me. The connections were just not there and I disliked the unearned time skips. Time in general was an odd situation here because despite talking about eternities and how every small moment mattered, there was not a good sense in how some of the relationships formed. Angrboda was a particularly hard one to love because I wanted her to do better and be more active. There was also a great line from Loki about stories being the only thing we can pass on, but otherwise it was a very middling story.
4.5 I was frustrated with the beginning and the gendered power imbalances but the author earned it, took the story exactly where it needed to go and I cried at work lol
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I pushed through to the end of this but found it an ultimately forgettable novel. It takes the easy path of recycling cultural touchstones into middle-class stereotypes. Within the strictures of available plot and character, such as they are in the prose and poetic eddas, Gornichec imagines a coherent story with figures whose charisma is wholly beyond her. It is hard to convey how disappointing it is to see the raw, alien brutalities of Loki, Angrboða, Jörmungandr, Fenric, Hel, and the like reduced to the banalities of familial discontent. Along the way, infelicities occur. For example, is the implication meant that Ragnarok occurs because of what appear to be daddy issues? Is the plainspeech of the characters meant to make of them simpletons? Is this novel essentially a fan of Norse mythology's excuse to turn that interest into "content"? Someone wiser and more patient than me could settle those questions, but I'd like to move on to more interesting books than this one.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Second half was much stronger than the first half. Still dont really understand why Hel harbored so much anger towards her mother. Glad there was reconciliation btw the two. Has similar vibes to Circe but found the pace and the chracter's choices more frustrating and therefore just did not enjoy as much, though I still really liked it. Mother's love for her children will suck me in every time. Wish I had known more about Norse mythology prior to reading. About to do a deep dive