Tag Archives: fantasy

wyrd gods

Book Review: Wyrd Gods, by Susana Imaginário

1 Reply

Wyrd Gods, by Susana Imaginário, was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight back in May. I didn’t agree to review the book for the tour, but everyone who participated received a free copy of the book. I’m trying to make an effort to get some of the harder to accomplish letters for my yearly alphabet challenge out of the way, so I’m not scrambling in December, like usual. And here we have an ‘I’!

wyrd-gods_imaginário

The God of Time wants to destroy Eternity.

A mysterious immortal seeks vengeance.

And a reclusive deity does what no god should ever do: she answers a prayer.

As punishment, she is stripped of her powers and trapped in a mortal’s body. Now a Wyrd – a fated god – she is haunted by the memories and thoughts of her host and must hide her true identity in order to survive in Niflheim, the rival Norse Underworld.

There she discovers the afterlife is not quite what it used to be. Niflheim’s new ruler threatens the precarious balance of a world overrun with outcast deities and mortals alike.

To save her own sanity and find her way back to the stars, she must help the other Wyrd overcome their grievances to defeat this enemy, but those who would be her allies appear to have motives as hidden as her fragmented consciousness.

And yet it seems the greatest threat to her freedom comes from within, and the prize it seeks is her immortal soul…

my review

I mostly enjoyed this. I liked the main character, the difficulty of non-humans trying to adapt to human (or human-like) limitations, the attempt to save the world(s), the sarcasm, and the really readable writing. I did get lost in all the characters and species though—there are a lot. I might have been helped out if I knew all the gods and races of different pantheons more intimately. There was no one here I’d not heard of, but being all muddled together it still felt like a tsunami of ‘who will show up next.’

But…BUT I think those of you who are really invested in the Marvel Universe will adore this. (And yes, I very seriously considered “accidentally” referring to Loki and the DC universe just to see who’d come out of the woodwork to call me a degenerate heathen. I saw reason though.) But if you like the gods, as presented in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I promise you’ll like this too.

wyrd gods

born of metal

Book Review: Born of Metal (Rings of the Inconquo #1), by A.L. Knorr & A.D. Schneider

Leave a reply

I received an Audible code for a free copy of Born of Metal, by A.L. Knorr and A.D. Schneider.

born of metal

Her family is all that matters, too bad they may be the death of her…

Ibby’s parents gave up everything for a chance at a better life. So, after a terrible accident leaves her alone in London, Ibby works her internship at the British Museum and goes to her classes to make them proud.

She hopes to one day bring her uncle, her only living relative, to the UK. Family is what matters. But, when Ibby finds a hidden artifact and encounters a mysterious stranger in the bowels of the museum, she learns that its her lineage, the very origins of her family, that will put everything at risk. That, and metal is starting to do some pretty bizarre things around Ibby.

A powerful artifact, a secret society, an ancient evil. Can Ibby embrace her destiny as Inconquo guardian before an ages-old demon is unleashed on London?

If you love strong female characters and millennia old secrets, you’ll love the origin story of Ibukun Bashir, metal elemental. Welcome to the world of the Inconquo.

my review

I thought this was a middle-of-the-road enjoyable read (or listen, rather). I liked Ibby. I liked the immigration aspect of her character. I liked the idea of the ability to control metal. I liked her self-sufficiency and smarts. However, I never felt particularly immersed in the world. This may be because the book is a spin-off from another series (which I didn’t know when I decided to listen to it). It may be because the book is all running here, being attacked there. It never settles enough for the reader to catch a breath and start caring. Plus, there’s a pretty big deus ex machina moment toward the end.

I see several people in the reviews complaining about the narrator. I had little problem with her. I thought she was a little dry with some characters (the demon, for example), but was mostly fine. I’d listen to her again.

born of metal

the border keeper

Book Review: The Border Keeper, by Kerstin Hall

1 Reply

I borrowed a copy of Kerstin Hall‘s The Border Keeper from the local library.
the border keeper

She lived where the railway tracks met the saltpan, on the Ahri side of the shadowline. In the old days, when people still talked about her, she was known as the end-of-the-line woman.

Vasethe, a man with a troubled past, comes to seek a favor from a woman who is not what she seems, and must enter the nine hundred and ninety-nine realms of Mkalis, the world of spirits, where gods and demons wage endless war.

The Border Keeper spins wonders both epic—the Byzantine bureaucracy of hundreds of demon realms, impossible oceans, hidden fortresses—and devastatingly personal—a spear flung straight, the profound terror and power of motherhood. What Vasethe discovers in Mkalis threatens to bring his own secrets into light and throw both worlds into chaos.

my review

Really marvelous. Spare in language, but rich in content. Circular in a really satisfying way. And have you seen that cover? So many little details that mean nothing until you read the book and realize they mean a lot. I would have been happy with it as a stand-alone. But now that I know there is a sequel coming out I’ll be waiting impatiently.

the border keeper