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In the Shadow of Giants
In the far future, after humanity has spread across the stars, the Norse Gods ask a former companion's help, but Loki may not be ready for another round of Ragnarok. Reluctantly drawn into the battle against the Chinese Pantheon, his connection to chaos might be all that saves the Norse Gods and humanity from destruction at the hands of an awakening elder god.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2015
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April 29, 2015
(Update: as time has gone on, I've found myself liking this story more and more. I'm leaving the star rating as it is because that was my initial reaction. I just wanted to add that this story is aging well in my memory and I'm looking forward to the sequel.)
I decided to give this three stars because I actually do like it. Loki's portrayed very well. In fact, all the gods and goddesses in the Norse pantheon stayed true to themselves, even in the changes the book puts them through.
I'm not as familiar with the Chinese pantheon, but it felt like Gifford had done her research there as well.
The details and images in this story are beautiful, and I love the way Gifford describes magic. It wasn't hard to follow when something magical happens both because of the description and because she lays out (in a way that flows naturally from the story) where their magic comes from, how it's used, and what its limits are.
Out of all the characters, I liked Loki best. He's responsible with his chaos (no matter how much he loves it), he's devoted to Sigyn and Torin, and he's kind of a leader, in a sense, when it comes to Chaos and the space station. It's nice to see a Trickster in that role.
I have to admit that there were times I thought something would be important and it really wasn't, and there were hints of things that I thought would be powerful and weren't. The Queen of the West was one of those. Lots of hints yet nothing really happened.
Chu Jong was okay as a villain. He was a good opposite for Loki but there were too many times when he could have acted and didn't because he felt it supposedly wasn't worth it? That made no sense to me since perfection is only attained by fighting against entropy/chaos. Something reaching toward perfection would, I would think, be more active in all areas of life, especially when perfection is threatened.
Not to mention, by introducing the Queen of the West, that took some of the power from Chu Jong's villainy.
The ending was pretty satisfying for me. It was difficult for me to figure out what was happening at times, and sometimes I had no idea why things were happening the way they were, but overall the ending was pretty good. There were also hints at a possible sequel. Considering the position Loki was in by the end, I just may read it.
I decided to give this three stars because I actually do like it. Loki's portrayed very well. In fact, all the gods and goddesses in the Norse pantheon stayed true to themselves, even in the changes the book puts them through.
I'm not as familiar with the Chinese pantheon, but it felt like Gifford had done her research there as well.
The details and images in this story are beautiful, and I love the way Gifford describes magic. It wasn't hard to follow when something magical happens both because of the description and because she lays out (in a way that flows naturally from the story) where their magic comes from, how it's used, and what its limits are.
Out of all the characters, I liked Loki best. He's responsible with his chaos (no matter how much he loves it), he's devoted to Sigyn and Torin, and he's kind of a leader, in a sense, when it comes to Chaos and the space station. It's nice to see a Trickster in that role.
I have to admit that there were times I thought something would be important and it really wasn't, and there were hints of things that I thought would be powerful and weren't. The Queen of the West was one of those. Lots of hints yet nothing really happened.
Chu Jong was okay as a villain. He was a good opposite for Loki but there were too many times when he could have acted and didn't because he felt it supposedly wasn't worth it? That made no sense to me since perfection is only attained by fighting against entropy/chaos. Something reaching toward perfection would, I would think, be more active in all areas of life, especially when perfection is threatened.
Not to mention, by introducing the Queen of the West, that took some of the power from Chu Jong's villainy.
The ending was pretty satisfying for me. It was difficult for me to figure out what was happening at times, and sometimes I had no idea why things were happening the way they were, but overall the ending was pretty good. There were also hints at a possible sequel. Considering the position Loki was in by the end, I just may read it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review