Tag Archives: Gods

wyrd gods

Book Review: Wyrd Gods, by Susana Imaginário

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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

The Raven Tower

Book Review of The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie

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I borrowed an audio copy of Ann Leckie‘s The Raven Tower through my local library.

Description from Goodreads:

For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes.

But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.

It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo–aide to Mawat, the true Lease–arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven’s Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself…and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever. 

Review:

This had a slow, but consistent pace. But I found that I continued to find chores I could do to keep listening to it. I enjoyed that the narrator was utterly unexpected and that the main character was just a tad off-centre from power. If you’re looking for a rollicking, fast-paced novel, this isn’t it. But it you like interesting, thought-provoking narrations it very well could be. This was my first Leckie book, but it won’t be my last. And Adjoa Andoh did a great job with the narration. In fact, while I’m sure I’d have liked the book regardless, I wonder if I’d have loved it as much as I did had I not listened to it.

LieSmith

Book Review of LieSmith, by Alis Franklin

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LieSmithI was granted a copy of Alis Franklin‘s LieSmith from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Working in low-level IT support for a company that’s the toast of the tech world, Sigmund Sussman finds himself content, if not particularly inspired. As compensation for telling people to restart their computer a few times a day, Sigmund earns enough disposable income to gorge on comics and has plenty of free time to devote to his gaming group.
 
Then in walks the new guy with the unpronounceable last name who immediately becomes IT’s most popular team member. Lain Laufeyjarson is charming and good-looking, with a story for any occasion; shy, awkward Sigmund is none of those things, which is why he finds it odd when Lain flirts with him. But Lain seems cool, even if he’s a little different—though Sigmund never suspects just how different he could be. After all, who would expect a Norse god to be doing server reboots?
 
As Sigmund gets to know his mysterious new boyfriend, fate—in the form of an ancient force known as the Wyrd—begins to reveal the threads that weave their lives together. Sigmund doesn’t have the first clue where this adventure will take him, but as Lain says, only fools mess with the Wyrd. Why? Because the Wyrd messes back.

Review:
I thought that this was quite clever. That alone would be enough for me. But paired with how darned CUTE Sigmund was, makes it’s a real winner for me. I just wanted to grab all his über-geeky, low self-esteem (what he would call realistic self-appraisal), hipster envy, good boyness and hug it and love it and call it George. I adored him. Plus, he’s a not a cookie-cutter, Ken-shaped, white main character. He’s plump and dark. Maybe with some Maori ancestry, but that’s never clarified. I loved it, even more since this was played all sorts of cool, as if it wasn’t some rare gem to be treasured when found in a book.

The story itself is quite convoluted and, honestly, readers would be well served to have at least a basic understanding of Norse mythology. I’m not saying that it’s not understandable if you don’t, but I think it will be more enjoyable if you do. But beyond the story of the machinations of the gods there is a lot to enjoy here. The romance is slow and sweet. It never progresses beyond a kiss, but it’s obvious the end goal is love not lust. *sigh* And there is just tons and tons of Gamer/Trekkie/Trekker/Ringer/comic book/Star Wars/DnD/etc nerddom to revel in. It’s glorious in its own way, but not over-played. Plus, Sigmund is never disparaged for his interests. In fact, he’s quite comfortable in who and what he is.

With the tangled plot, I did find it a little hard to keep up with on occasion, it seemed to slow down and drag for a while in the Helbleed, friends accepted the impossible with aplomb, and the ending is left a little ‘we’ll figure it out eventually’ open. But for the most part I found this a really enjoyable read.