What do you think?
Rate this book
Twe12ve: Twelve keys, one secret.
Twelve keys, one secret.
Odin and his twelve sons guard the secret to prolonging human life. The secret, kept deep in a vault in Ragnorok, can only be revealed when humans stop intentionally killing one another.
Twelve humans hold the keys to open the vault, but during centuries of complacency, Odin has lost track of the keyholders. Two keyholders now remain, and Odin awakens to their existence.
Can Odin and his sons protect the last two keyholders, or will Loki, Odin's greatest rival, destroy everything Odin holds dear and seize control of Ragnorok?
***Please note: While this book contains references to Norse Gods, the author has altered some of the names of Gods, events, and place names (e.g., in the original tales, Ragnarok is a series of events including a battle, in 'Twe12ve', Ragnorok is a place.) Thank you for your understanding.
Odin and his twelve sons guard the secret to prolonging human life. The secret, kept deep in a vault in Ragnorok, can only be revealed when humans stop intentionally killing one another.
Twelve humans hold the keys to open the vault, but during centuries of complacency, Odin has lost track of the keyholders. Two keyholders now remain, and Odin awakens to their existence.
Can Odin and his sons protect the last two keyholders, or will Loki, Odin's greatest rival, destroy everything Odin holds dear and seize control of Ragnorok?
***Please note: While this book contains references to Norse Gods, the author has altered some of the names of Gods, events, and place names (e.g., in the original tales, Ragnarok is a series of events including a battle, in 'Twe12ve', Ragnorok is a place.) Thank you for your understanding.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2015
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Ceri Bladen
20 books46 followersCeri likes to write 'easy flow' romances, either historical or contemporary, and is now venturing into sci-fi and fantasy novellas.
She particularly likes the Viking era and the Scottish Highlands to find her heros and heroines :)
She particularly likes the Viking era and the Scottish Highlands to find her heros and heroines :)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 3, 2015
In short: Ceri Bladen hits the bullseye again.
Whilst the cover and blurb are intriguing, the fact is that the author is one who grows in stature with each book she pens. I have not read all of hers (but most of them) and each has brought something new that I enjoyed. Twe12ve is no exception, but it may be Miss Bladen's best work to date.
I try to pin down what it is I love about her writing. I suppose it is the fact that one never really knows what will jump out on the pages. This story, though complex as an idea, actually reads extremely well as a story. I am not sure how many writers could have accomplished this as well as the author has, and for that, I give her much credit.
Sci-fi isn't a must read genre for me. I much prefer to see it on the big screen, but the sci-fi elements of this story were some of the best parts of the whole book.
The thriller featuring many detectives (and yes, admittedly a lot of characters are thrown at you for a relatively short book) have witty banter that made the dialogue and the switch to narrative an easy to read story. I'm a huge fan of coffee too, so if you want to know the in-jokes in this story, you will simply have to read it.
Having read the story, it is extremely packed for its length. I just wonder what a special edition volume would look like. I felt it could have been longer. But in essence, the 'keeper' of the keys to a long term existence, master Odin, and his bid to reunite with some of the other keyholders faces a seemingly simple task, until it is complicated by uber-baddie Floki, and it's here where most of the fun and action in the book takes place.
In some ways, two stories run parallel here...the detectives who are keeping busy but largely ignorant of the bigger picture, and the drama elements with Odin and Floki. Usually novels pick up a pace towards the end, and Twe12ve is no exception.
As a tale, it is rather exceptional. Maybe I am just a fan of this author's works. I believe anyone who can work so many elements into one story and have it come out as well as it does here, can only go from strength to strength.
A special mention must be given to this Kindle version as viewed on my iPad. It looks terrific, is well presented and easy to navigate.
For fans of sci-fi, fantasy, criminal investigation and...coffee.
Whilst the cover and blurb are intriguing, the fact is that the author is one who grows in stature with each book she pens. I have not read all of hers (but most of them) and each has brought something new that I enjoyed. Twe12ve is no exception, but it may be Miss Bladen's best work to date.
I try to pin down what it is I love about her writing. I suppose it is the fact that one never really knows what will jump out on the pages. This story, though complex as an idea, actually reads extremely well as a story. I am not sure how many writers could have accomplished this as well as the author has, and for that, I give her much credit.
Sci-fi isn't a must read genre for me. I much prefer to see it on the big screen, but the sci-fi elements of this story were some of the best parts of the whole book.
The thriller featuring many detectives (and yes, admittedly a lot of characters are thrown at you for a relatively short book) have witty banter that made the dialogue and the switch to narrative an easy to read story. I'm a huge fan of coffee too, so if you want to know the in-jokes in this story, you will simply have to read it.
Having read the story, it is extremely packed for its length. I just wonder what a special edition volume would look like. I felt it could have been longer. But in essence, the 'keeper' of the keys to a long term existence, master Odin, and his bid to reunite with some of the other keyholders faces a seemingly simple task, until it is complicated by uber-baddie Floki, and it's here where most of the fun and action in the book takes place.
In some ways, two stories run parallel here...the detectives who are keeping busy but largely ignorant of the bigger picture, and the drama elements with Odin and Floki. Usually novels pick up a pace towards the end, and Twe12ve is no exception.
As a tale, it is rather exceptional. Maybe I am just a fan of this author's works. I believe anyone who can work so many elements into one story and have it come out as well as it does here, can only go from strength to strength.
A special mention must be given to this Kindle version as viewed on my iPad. It looks terrific, is well presented and easy to navigate.
For fans of sci-fi, fantasy, criminal investigation and...coffee.
February 9, 2017
Cracking idea. Wish I’d have thought about it to be fair. This is really original and I became hooked straight away. If you want to read an inventive well written story this is definitely the one to pick up. As far as I am concerned, the primary thing I want from a book is a good story well told. I may have lost my way a little at one point in this book, possibly more down to me than the book but I am still confident in saying that this author has excelled herself in creating a highly original story that both engages and entertains throughout. The Norse God angle sounds on the face of it like something that simply won’t work but that is where the author deserves the most credit. It is one thing to come up with an idea and an entirely new job of work to execute it. Ceri Bladen executes this story with her own talent and style marvellously well and I am glad I have more than one of her books on my kindle to go back to. Enjoyable read.
November 24, 2015
First I have to say the cover and the blurb are fantastic, second, so is the story. This is the first book I have read from this author and it won't be the last.
In Twe12ve Ceri Bladen has taken a complex and elaborate plot and told it in an interesting and simple way. The structure of this novel has been well thought out and is cleverly brought to a conclusion with all tie nicely wrapped up. There is so much going on in Twe12ve but I never lost sight of the story.
As you read you can feel the suspense build up as the pages are turned. In the world of the human characters life becomes pretty hectic for them. All the characters are interesting, the human ones are believable and the not so human are complex, some are likeable and some you just want them to get their just desserts.
I mentioned that there is so much going on in Twe12ve - stalking, building relationships, plotting, fighting, chasing and loving - all are brought together to deliver a great story.
I read Twe12ve with my kindle subscription.
In Twe12ve Ceri Bladen has taken a complex and elaborate plot and told it in an interesting and simple way. The structure of this novel has been well thought out and is cleverly brought to a conclusion with all tie nicely wrapped up. There is so much going on in Twe12ve but I never lost sight of the story.
As you read you can feel the suspense build up as the pages are turned. In the world of the human characters life becomes pretty hectic for them. All the characters are interesting, the human ones are believable and the not so human are complex, some are likeable and some you just want them to get their just desserts.
I mentioned that there is so much going on in Twe12ve - stalking, building relationships, plotting, fighting, chasing and loving - all are brought together to deliver a great story.
I read Twe12ve with my kindle subscription.
February 27, 2016
I really like the idea that gods wander among us doing godly things and generally causing problems. That was the central tenet of Douglas Adams' The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, it was an integral part of Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys, and I used a similar idea in Henchmen and Arise.
The one thing, though, that all of those books had in common was the gods were really just doing god stuff and were mostly unconcerned with human things. Today's book, Twe12ve by Ceri Bladen, changes that dynamic somewhat. The story of Twe12ve revolves around two groups of Norse gods. Naturally, the groups are at odds with each other over a secret buried in Odin's vault; one group wants to keep the secret safe (they're the good guys) and the other wants to steal it and hand it off to pharma company, presumably so the pharma company can make sure it never gets out.
And that's kind of an interesting twist on the god genre. While it's never actually revealed what the pharma company has promised the bad guys in return for the secret, one can only assume it must be impressive to catch the attention of a bunch of Norse gods.
If I had one problem with Twe12ve it's that some of the mythology is a little off. I won't worry about the names (Floki instead of Loki), because names can change and it's entirely possible Loki just wanted to use a different name. He's a god; he can do stuff like that without even bothering to fill out a change of name form.
The gods make plenty of references to wanting to go home. Unfortunately, they want to go back to Ragnarok. Ragnarok is an event, though, not a place; it's the end times when the great battle will happen. Asgard is where the gods lived. The cool people got to hang in Valhalla - a large hall inside of Asgard.
Aside from that, Twe12ve was a fun read.
The one thing, though, that all of those books had in common was the gods were really just doing god stuff and were mostly unconcerned with human things. Today's book, Twe12ve by Ceri Bladen, changes that dynamic somewhat. The story of Twe12ve revolves around two groups of Norse gods. Naturally, the groups are at odds with each other over a secret buried in Odin's vault; one group wants to keep the secret safe (they're the good guys) and the other wants to steal it and hand it off to pharma company, presumably so the pharma company can make sure it never gets out.
And that's kind of an interesting twist on the god genre. While it's never actually revealed what the pharma company has promised the bad guys in return for the secret, one can only assume it must be impressive to catch the attention of a bunch of Norse gods.
If I had one problem with Twe12ve it's that some of the mythology is a little off. I won't worry about the names (Floki instead of Loki), because names can change and it's entirely possible Loki just wanted to use a different name. He's a god; he can do stuff like that without even bothering to fill out a change of name form.
The gods make plenty of references to wanting to go home. Unfortunately, they want to go back to Ragnarok. Ragnarok is an event, though, not a place; it's the end times when the great battle will happen. Asgard is where the gods lived. The cool people got to hang in Valhalla - a large hall inside of Asgard.
Aside from that, Twe12ve was a fun read.
August 31, 2019
Cassey and Brian, two ordinary people, have been forced to desert their families, other than Brian’s wife, change their names, and move into Witness Protection. In charge of caring for them and solving the mystery of the keys that have endangered their lives are DCI Dave Wilks and DCI Alyx Shaw. Aha, I thought, the makings of a detective story!
How wrong can you be to forget the “man” in the title: Odin. Stir in a soupçon of the paranormal and what do you get? Two well-meaning police and their colleagues utterly baffled. A war between the virtuous gods and a malevolent crew from the same “world” –
That’s enough? It could have been, but Ms Bladen confuses her characters even more with a dollop of romance!
How wrong can you be to forget the “man” in the title: Odin. Stir in a soupçon of the paranormal and what do you get? Two well-meaning police and their colleagues utterly baffled. A war between the virtuous gods and a malevolent crew from the same “world” –
That’s enough? It could have been, but Ms Bladen confuses her characters even more with a dollop of romance!
May 17, 2017
Good Quick read
While this was a good quick read I would have like it to have a bit more 'meat on its bones'. I thought the idea was original and we'll thought out, I'd definitely read a second one if it was ever written
While this was a good quick read I would have like it to have a bit more 'meat on its bones'. I thought the idea was original and we'll thought out, I'd definitely read a second one if it was ever written
January 4, 2020
I listened to this story using text to audio and enjoyed the fast pace and unique plot idea. Odin and his clan protect the remaining two of twelve key holders, one of whom has a primary key. These keys unlock a vault that contains the secret to prolonging life. Loki and his team want the keys so they can sell the contents of the vault to big pharma.
The author's writing style makes it easy to read, though, at times, some repetition on words or phrases distracts. Even with a multitude of characters, it's easy to keep track of who's who. It wraps up neatly at the end but with the promise of more to come. The story entertained, was suspenseful, and I'd be interested in reading more.
The author's writing style makes it easy to read, though, at times, some repetition on words or phrases distracts. Even with a multitude of characters, it's easy to keep track of who's who. It wraps up neatly at the end but with the promise of more to come. The story entertained, was suspenseful, and I'd be interested in reading more.
October 16, 2016
This book was short and full of action and suspense.
It was well written and the story was an unusual one about opposing Norse Gods, humans, and a guarded secret.
This fantasy adventure was a great read and the length of the book was ideal for me.
I enjoyed it.
It was well written and the story was an unusual one about opposing Norse Gods, humans, and a guarded secret.
This fantasy adventure was a great read and the length of the book was ideal for me.
I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews