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Midgard #1
Mist
Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors.
Or so she thought.
When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.
Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….
Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.
Or so she thought.
When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.
Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….
Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.
13 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 30, 2013
22 people are currently reading
1924 people want to read
About the author
Susan Krinard
76 books330 followersTrained as an artist with a BFA in Illustration from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Susan Krinard became a writer in 1992 when a friend read a short story she'd written and suggested she try writing a romance novel. A long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, Susan began reading romance -- and realized what she wanted to do was combine the two genres. Prince of Wolves, her first romance novel and one of the earliest to feature a werewolf hero, was the result. Within a year Susan had sold the manuscript to Bantam as part of a three-book contract, and the novel went on to make several bestseller lists.
Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.
Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
July 29, 2013
Actual rating: 2.5
Throughout reading this book, I had a word floating around in my mind. It wasn't a word, so much as a vague idea of a definition, and it's a shame that my brain doesn't have a CTRL+F function or a built-in thesaurus because it took me a good 3/4 of the book to actually put a word to the sensation that this book evoked within me.
Lofty:
1. Of imposing height.
2. Elevated in character; exalted.
3. Affecting grandness; pompous.
4. Arrogant; haughty.
While all of the above can be true to some extent regarding this book and its characters, I think definitions number 2 and 3 are most applicable. This book tries too hard to be epic, and it ultimately falls flat. The book is on a grand scale, with a considerable amount of Norse mythology, and as much it tries to portray the inevitability and possibility of a grand battle for Earth's fate, I just couldn't summon the interest for the book itself nor its characters. Even so, it tries pretty damn hard. I cannot remember the last time I've had to put so much effort into reading a book. By that I mean:
- I had to refresh my knowledge of Norse mythology: While reading this book, I had to sit by a computer to constantly look up references and read up on the bare bones of it (Wikipedia, how I love thee!). This is not intended to dissuade anyone from reading the book. I view this part of my effort as necessary for better comprehension of the book, and it was even enjoyable. I am more well-versed in Far Eastern, Egyptian, Greek/Roman mythology, etc., and as such can bring up to mind, say, who Thetis or Amaterasu is without any additional effort. While I know the basics of the Nordic gods/goddesses, and let's face it, who doesn't know of Freya, Thor, or Odin, there are a lot more minor gods and creatures named here in this book than I can automatically recall. As such, it took a lot of additional research for me to read this book. It's probably unnecessary for the average reader, but I like knowing things and verifying things.
- This book was a chore to read: It was as dull and dry as dirt. It reads in part like an actual Wikipedia article, and had the emotional evocation of a documentary. Yes, there is a lot of Norse mythology, the bad thing is that it's almost purely Norse mythology. At times, it felt like the plot is just an afterthought built around the mythology. I felt like I was reviewing for an exam with all the information and terminology that was being crammed into my brain. Alfr, Mjollnir, Hrimgrimmr, Gungir, Jotunar, Vidarr, Vali, etc. There was so much name-dropping, it felt like the author was just showing off her knowledge of the Aesir at times. This is an ambitious book, but it was not written with the enjoyment of the audience in mind.
I'm not going to bother with summarizing the story, because the plot was a mess, and I don't think I can do a better part than the official blurb without running off into a mess of a rant, so let's let that summary stand. My criticism of the book and my reasons for giving it this rating was simply because I did not enjoy it.
The good: for the most part, I felt that the depictions and the use of the Nordic gods and goddesses was true to their role in Nordic Mythology. A better scholar and one more well-versed than I can probably criticize it on that matter, but for my part, I don't think there is much inconsistency with the characters of the various gods and goddesses and how they're used. I did have one problem with how the author depicted the goddess Freya. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and battle, yet she's frequently described as a highly sexually manipulative being who kills with love. The corniness of the phrase aside, killing with actual love...I mean, really?
I also cannot criticize the writing style, but regardless of the fact that it was well-written and the descriptions are on point, the writing left me emotionless. It left me feeling emotionless. The writing is textbook perfect, and just about as emotionally evocative. I just didn't really care about anything, however well-written it was; I couldn't muster up the energy to give a fuck about any characters or any bit of the plot.
For those who live in San Francisco, or love it, you will find this book enjoyable, because there is a very definite sense of place. There's a lot of name-dropping as well regarding San Francisco, the streets, the districts, the shops. The Embarcadero, Hyde Street Pier, the Eddy, the French Laundry, Sutter Street. If you have a good knowledge of San Francisco at least you will be able to entertain yourself with place scavenging, if nothing else in this book.
Mist is such a strange character. Firstly, I have a problem with the name. It feels like the author is dumbing things down for us. Initially, we know right away that Mist is a Valkyrie, with two fellow sisters. So here we have Horja, Bryn, and...Mist? Is that even a Nordic name? I don't know if it is or not, but it feels like the author doesn't think her readers have the mental capacity to remember a foreign name, so the Mary-Sue name of Mist is given to us, to make things easier. I try not to slap a Mary Sue label on a character, but here is my justification for it.
She is skilled in all things. Fighting, wisdom, using magic, you name it. Even an ancient Light-Elf is impressed with her magical powers. And she's no goddess, she's just a humble Valkyrie.
"...elemental aspects that went beyond the magic wielded by most of the Aesir and their allies. Beyond any magic even the most powerful of the Alfar possessed, more than the Seidr that had existed even before the Runes had come to Odin. It was if she had reached back into the time before time and drawn upon the very force of life itself."
Did I say she's no goddess? Oops. It was revealed very early on that she's actually Freya's daughter, she just didn't know it!
Mist is lovely, stunningly beautiful, without knowing it.
"And she was beautiful, in spite of her obvious unawareness of her beauty. Her appearance was that of a twenty- eight-year- old woman; her candid eyes were gray with highlights of green, her cheekbones high, her lips full and firm, and her hair, fixed in a long braid at her back, was the gold of sun-kissed wheat."
And her faults? What faults?! You know how you go to a job interview and the interviewer asks you "What is your biggest weakness?" and instead of revealing that you're a lazy slob who can barely get to work on time every day, you mutter something to the tune of "I'm too hard-working, too organized," it's like that with Mist. She is "too honest, too forthright."
There's also a spicy Latina character that I'm not altogether comfortable with. She speaks perfect English, yet feels the need to throw in occasional Spanish words. "Estupido!" "Idioto" "Cabrón." She is fierce, she is protective, she is temperamental. Turn on a TV, and that's pretty much the embodiment of every Latina character ever. Gabi seems to me, a stereotype.
Her love interest, Dainn, left me cold. I didn't think he contributed much to the story, I mean, of course he helped, but it's like Legolas in The Lord of the Rings. It just seems like he stands around looking pretty (Dainn is an elf, after all) and making bold statements but not really contributing much overall.
My only truly positive experience reading this book was that I can picture Tom Hiddleston as Loki in my head for every scene in which he appears. Even if this Loki had red hair instead.
"And the figure that emerged from the shadows was not tall and broad-shouldered, but as lean and wiry as a stoat. He was dressed in black from neck to toe, modified biker's leathers adorned with flashy metal trimmings and emblazoned with a stylized flame. His eyes were brilliant green, the irises rimmed with orange. His red hair was artfully styled, and his long, handsome face was smiling.
Mmm.
Throughout reading this book, I had a word floating around in my mind. It wasn't a word, so much as a vague idea of a definition, and it's a shame that my brain doesn't have a CTRL+F function or a built-in thesaurus because it took me a good 3/4 of the book to actually put a word to the sensation that this book evoked within me.
Lofty:
1. Of imposing height.
2. Elevated in character; exalted.
3. Affecting grandness; pompous.
4. Arrogant; haughty.
While all of the above can be true to some extent regarding this book and its characters, I think definitions number 2 and 3 are most applicable. This book tries too hard to be epic, and it ultimately falls flat. The book is on a grand scale, with a considerable amount of Norse mythology, and as much it tries to portray the inevitability and possibility of a grand battle for Earth's fate, I just couldn't summon the interest for the book itself nor its characters. Even so, it tries pretty damn hard. I cannot remember the last time I've had to put so much effort into reading a book. By that I mean:
- I had to refresh my knowledge of Norse mythology: While reading this book, I had to sit by a computer to constantly look up references and read up on the bare bones of it (Wikipedia, how I love thee!). This is not intended to dissuade anyone from reading the book. I view this part of my effort as necessary for better comprehension of the book, and it was even enjoyable. I am more well-versed in Far Eastern, Egyptian, Greek/Roman mythology, etc., and as such can bring up to mind, say, who Thetis or Amaterasu is without any additional effort. While I know the basics of the Nordic gods/goddesses, and let's face it, who doesn't know of Freya, Thor, or Odin, there are a lot more minor gods and creatures named here in this book than I can automatically recall. As such, it took a lot of additional research for me to read this book. It's probably unnecessary for the average reader, but I like knowing things and verifying things.
- This book was a chore to read: It was as dull and dry as dirt. It reads in part like an actual Wikipedia article, and had the emotional evocation of a documentary. Yes, there is a lot of Norse mythology, the bad thing is that it's almost purely Norse mythology. At times, it felt like the plot is just an afterthought built around the mythology. I felt like I was reviewing for an exam with all the information and terminology that was being crammed into my brain. Alfr, Mjollnir, Hrimgrimmr, Gungir, Jotunar, Vidarr, Vali, etc. There was so much name-dropping, it felt like the author was just showing off her knowledge of the Aesir at times. This is an ambitious book, but it was not written with the enjoyment of the audience in mind.
I'm not going to bother with summarizing the story, because the plot was a mess, and I don't think I can do a better part than the official blurb without running off into a mess of a rant, so let's let that summary stand. My criticism of the book and my reasons for giving it this rating was simply because I did not enjoy it.
The good: for the most part, I felt that the depictions and the use of the Nordic gods and goddesses was true to their role in Nordic Mythology. A better scholar and one more well-versed than I can probably criticize it on that matter, but for my part, I don't think there is much inconsistency with the characters of the various gods and goddesses and how they're used. I did have one problem with how the author depicted the goddess Freya. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and battle, yet she's frequently described as a highly sexually manipulative being who kills with love. The corniness of the phrase aside, killing with actual love...I mean, really?
I also cannot criticize the writing style, but regardless of the fact that it was well-written and the descriptions are on point, the writing left me emotionless. It left me feeling emotionless. The writing is textbook perfect, and just about as emotionally evocative. I just didn't really care about anything, however well-written it was; I couldn't muster up the energy to give a fuck about any characters or any bit of the plot.
For those who live in San Francisco, or love it, you will find this book enjoyable, because there is a very definite sense of place. There's a lot of name-dropping as well regarding San Francisco, the streets, the districts, the shops. The Embarcadero, Hyde Street Pier, the Eddy, the French Laundry, Sutter Street. If you have a good knowledge of San Francisco at least you will be able to entertain yourself with place scavenging, if nothing else in this book.
Mist is such a strange character. Firstly, I have a problem with the name. It feels like the author is dumbing things down for us. Initially, we know right away that Mist is a Valkyrie, with two fellow sisters. So here we have Horja, Bryn, and...Mist? Is that even a Nordic name? I don't know if it is or not, but it feels like the author doesn't think her readers have the mental capacity to remember a foreign name, so the Mary-Sue name of Mist is given to us, to make things easier. I try not to slap a Mary Sue label on a character, but here is my justification for it.
She is skilled in all things. Fighting, wisdom, using magic, you name it. Even an ancient Light-Elf is impressed with her magical powers. And she's no goddess, she's just a humble Valkyrie.
"...elemental aspects that went beyond the magic wielded by most of the Aesir and their allies. Beyond any magic even the most powerful of the Alfar possessed, more than the Seidr that had existed even before the Runes had come to Odin. It was if she had reached back into the time before time and drawn upon the very force of life itself."
Did I say she's no goddess? Oops. It was revealed very early on that she's actually Freya's daughter, she just didn't know it!
Mist is lovely, stunningly beautiful, without knowing it.
"And she was beautiful, in spite of her obvious unawareness of her beauty. Her appearance was that of a twenty- eight-year- old woman; her candid eyes were gray with highlights of green, her cheekbones high, her lips full and firm, and her hair, fixed in a long braid at her back, was the gold of sun-kissed wheat."
And her faults? What faults?! You know how you go to a job interview and the interviewer asks you "What is your biggest weakness?" and instead of revealing that you're a lazy slob who can barely get to work on time every day, you mutter something to the tune of "I'm too hard-working, too organized," it's like that with Mist. She is "too honest, too forthright."
There's also a spicy Latina character that I'm not altogether comfortable with. She speaks perfect English, yet feels the need to throw in occasional Spanish words. "Estupido!" "Idioto" "Cabrón." She is fierce, she is protective, she is temperamental. Turn on a TV, and that's pretty much the embodiment of every Latina character ever. Gabi seems to me, a stereotype.
Her love interest, Dainn, left me cold. I didn't think he contributed much to the story, I mean, of course he helped, but it's like Legolas in The Lord of the Rings. It just seems like he stands around looking pretty (Dainn is an elf, after all) and making bold statements but not really contributing much overall.
My only truly positive experience reading this book was that I can picture Tom Hiddleston as Loki in my head for every scene in which he appears. Even if this Loki had red hair instead.
"And the figure that emerged from the shadows was not tall and broad-shouldered, but as lean and wiry as a stoat. He was dressed in black from neck to toe, modified biker's leathers adorned with flashy metal trimmings and emblazoned with a stylized flame. His eyes were brilliant green, the irises rimmed with orange. His red hair was artfully styled, and his long, handsome face was smiling.
Mmm.
Read
June 4, 2016...note no rating and I still have this on the "currently reading shelf. That said a I'm about to lay it aside. We opened with some action and mythological tie in. However the angst is so thick you can cut it with...well with a cliched remark.
Opening on well trod ground (I mean it's not a spoiler if it happens on the first couple of pages) a broken oath (or oaths. If it's one oath made by multiple characters is it oath or oaths???? Oh well) anyway "we broke our oath" and we watched as "one we loved must be given up". We move forward to find another bed mate (I mean she's a Valkyrie she can't really commit to a guy who'll die as she stays young...right?) and then she meets....taa-dat-ta-da-daaaa! A hero elf whom she wants to ravage one minute and punch the next. Classic "romance relationship"...I threw up in my mouth a little.
Not my kind of book. The cover warned me but you know I've found a couple of books where the cover was misleading. Anyway we're back to the plot...for now. So I haven't laid it aside...yet.
Okay, enough. With her almost 'crying out" at the "touch of his mind" and her being so moved by his song (even though the song of no Alf (Elf) "had ever moved her before", I will leave the "smouldering glances" to those of you who enjoy PNR.
I like Norse Mythology...I'd like to see more novels based on it. Sadly I'm not a fan of romances.
Opening on well trod ground (I mean it's not a spoiler if it happens on the first couple of pages) a broken oath (or oaths. If it's one oath made by multiple characters is it oath or oaths???? Oh well) anyway "we broke our oath" and we watched as "one we loved must be given up". We move forward to find another bed mate (I mean she's a Valkyrie she can't really commit to a guy who'll die as she stays young...right?) and then she meets....taa-dat-ta-da-daaaa! A hero elf whom she wants to ravage one minute and punch the next. Classic "romance relationship"...I threw up in my mouth a little.
Not my kind of book. The cover warned me but you know I've found a couple of books where the cover was misleading. Anyway we're back to the plot...for now. So I haven't laid it aside...yet.
Okay, enough. With her almost 'crying out" at the "touch of his mind" and her being so moved by his song (even though the song of no Alf (Elf) "had ever moved her before", I will leave the "smouldering glances" to those of you who enjoy PNR.
I like Norse Mythology...I'd like to see more novels based on it. Sadly I'm not a fan of romances.
June 12, 2013
The book started off strong but then slid downhill towards the middle and never climbed back up. By the end, things were a mess.
+ the characters
Mist was a strong heroine. She didn’t blindly follow the gods, her superiors, and thought for herself. She moved on with her life, finding new reasons to live in a world that didn’t require her service as a Valkyrie anymore and a belief in magic would institutionalize a person. When confronted with dangers that should have been dead with the past she quickly accepted her new reality, which was actually old since the peace turned out to be nothing but a long interlude and the end of the world has yet to happen. Best of all, she asked questions that should have been asked and took nothing at face value.
Unfortunately, what ruined my liking for the heroine was the many bad decisions she made and how she took issue with things she didn’t have the luxury to take. For someone who moved on and left her warrior ways behind, to be specific didn’t improve herself as a warrior and her magic anymore, she was too bold to the point of foolishness in her confrontation of the bad guys. Only by luck and the strained help of other paranormals and the fact that the villains were equally ill-prepared and partaking hubris did Mist prevail in her battles. I wished her quick acceptance of new things extended to her hidden divine heritage and abilities because in lieu of her rusty warrior skills and the dearth of comrades, her super magic was virtually the only advantage she had.
Dainn, Mist’s love interest, was worse than Mist. I didn’t care for his POV. While the things said in his introspection confirmed my hunches and provided elucidation, they didn’t compensate for melodrama that peppered his thinking. Dude was such an emo. The romance between Dainn and Mist was ham-fisted and unpersuasive.
If Dainn’s POV was bad and unnecessary, Loki’s POV was the worst and definitely unnecessary. Loki was a big reason why I didn’t like the book. He fell short — way short — of my expectation as the main villain, his characterization an amateur attempt of an evil mastermind. The scenes told in his POV were nothing more than evil-doing masturbation (figuratively of course, although...). I understood that he use sex as a weapon, but I hated how he tried to seduce Freya, Mist, and Dainn to point that he became a one-trick pony. Not to mention the fucked up love web. Honestly, was there anyone who he hadn’t try to seduce? Dude wasn’t an evil mastermind, he was an outright douchebag whose dick did most of the thinking.
Last but not least were Ryan and Gabi, magically talented homeless kids who Mist saved and incidentally became their guardian. I didn’t like the kids because they were so pitiful, serving little purpose beyond being cannon fodder.
+ the plot
Some of the scenes were a tad too lengthy. The biggest offenders were the smack talking scenes between Loki and the heroes, which were too long and too awkward to believe. I didn’t need to a single brain cell to realize that those dreadful scenes were nothing more than a clumsy “showing, not telling” approach to avoid info-dumping.
The climax was where the plot hit rock bottom as Dainn confronted Loki by himself and relied on the pure chance that his inner beast of a curse would be powerful enough to defeat Loki. *facepalm* Of course, Mist wouldn’t accept that so she tried to crash the event only and predictably to be taken hostage because girl was worse prepared than Dainn and barely a competent warrior. She too relied on on the pure chance that her super magic would be powerful enough to defeat Loki. *double facepalm*
Just when it seemed things couldn’t be worse, it got worse when the story mentioned, this time with a little more depth, Ragnarok and how the war was a game between Freya and Loki. A game? This was a game the gods were playing? Really? Why the fuck was this important shit of information heavily glossed over the in the near beginning when it was first mentioned? Bad enough there was a plot hole immediately in the beginning, in the prologue, when no reasons were given for why the Valkyries and their fellow Norse never stayed in contact with each other whatsoever when common sense dictated that they should have.
In Conclusion
I rated Mist 2-stars for it was okay. Everything from the characters to the plot to the world building were poorly developed. To readers who plan to pick up the series, I strongly recommend borrowing over buying it. If you want to read something like Mist, an exclusively Norse-mythology based Urban Fantasy, but as a better book, I recommend Norse Code.
+ the characters
Mist was a strong heroine. She didn’t blindly follow the gods, her superiors, and thought for herself. She moved on with her life, finding new reasons to live in a world that didn’t require her service as a Valkyrie anymore and a belief in magic would institutionalize a person. When confronted with dangers that should have been dead with the past she quickly accepted her new reality, which was actually old since the peace turned out to be nothing but a long interlude and the end of the world has yet to happen. Best of all, she asked questions that should have been asked and took nothing at face value.
Unfortunately, what ruined my liking for the heroine was the many bad decisions she made and how she took issue with things she didn’t have the luxury to take. For someone who moved on and left her warrior ways behind, to be specific didn’t improve herself as a warrior and her magic anymore, she was too bold to the point of foolishness in her confrontation of the bad guys. Only by luck and the strained help of other paranormals and the fact that the villains were equally ill-prepared and partaking hubris did Mist prevail in her battles. I wished her quick acceptance of new things extended to her hidden divine heritage and abilities because in lieu of her rusty warrior skills and the dearth of comrades, her super magic was virtually the only advantage she had.
Dainn, Mist’s love interest, was worse than Mist. I didn’t care for his POV. While the things said in his introspection confirmed my hunches and provided elucidation, they didn’t compensate for melodrama that peppered his thinking. Dude was such an emo. The romance between Dainn and Mist was ham-fisted and unpersuasive.
If Dainn’s POV was bad and unnecessary, Loki’s POV was the worst and definitely unnecessary. Loki was a big reason why I didn’t like the book. He fell short — way short — of my expectation as the main villain, his characterization an amateur attempt of an evil mastermind. The scenes told in his POV were nothing more than evil-doing masturbation (figuratively of course, although...). I understood that he use sex as a weapon, but I hated how he tried to seduce Freya, Mist, and Dainn to point that he became a one-trick pony. Not to mention the fucked up love web. Honestly, was there anyone who he hadn’t try to seduce? Dude wasn’t an evil mastermind, he was an outright douchebag whose dick did most of the thinking.
Last but not least were Ryan and Gabi, magically talented homeless kids who Mist saved and incidentally became their guardian. I didn’t like the kids because they were so pitiful, serving little purpose beyond being cannon fodder.
+ the plot
Some of the scenes were a tad too lengthy. The biggest offenders were the smack talking scenes between Loki and the heroes, which were too long and too awkward to believe. I didn’t need to a single brain cell to realize that those dreadful scenes were nothing more than a clumsy “showing, not telling” approach to avoid info-dumping.
The climax was where the plot hit rock bottom as Dainn confronted Loki by himself and relied on the pure chance that his inner beast of a curse would be powerful enough to defeat Loki. *facepalm* Of course, Mist wouldn’t accept that so she tried to crash the event only and predictably to be taken hostage because girl was worse prepared than Dainn and barely a competent warrior. She too relied on on the pure chance that her super magic would be powerful enough to defeat Loki. *double facepalm*
Just when it seemed things couldn’t be worse, it got worse when the story mentioned, this time with a little more depth, Ragnarok and how the war was a game between Freya and Loki. A game? This was a game the gods were playing? Really? Why the fuck was this important shit of information heavily glossed over the in the near beginning when it was first mentioned? Bad enough there was a plot hole immediately in the beginning, in the prologue, when no reasons were given for why the Valkyries and their fellow Norse never stayed in contact with each other whatsoever when common sense dictated that they should have.
In Conclusion
I rated Mist 2-stars for it was okay. Everything from the characters to the plot to the world building were poorly developed. To readers who plan to pick up the series, I strongly recommend borrowing over buying it. If you want to read something like Mist, an exclusively Norse-mythology based Urban Fantasy, but as a better book, I recommend Norse Code.
September 29, 2013
If you’re a woman with even the slightest knowledge on Norse mythology, I bet you spent some time fantasizing about being a Valkyrie. (If you’re a man… well, let’s not go there.) After all, they are gorgeous, they are practically invincible, either noble or descendents of gods and the things they can do with a sword would make any person drop their jaw in admiration. And there are always those outfits to consider – I for one would kill to wear them just once.
I am fairly new to Norse mythology and it’s still a source of constant (and pleasant) surprises. What I knew before reading Mist came from another urban fantasy series (thank you, Kevin Hearne!), but even if I knew nothing, I’d be fairly well versed after this reading experience. Despite it being set in modern day San Francisco, all the characters in Mist come straight from Norse mythology.
For decades, Valyrie Mist has been living In Midgard among the mortals (that would be us, my friends), convinced that her gods have perished during Ragnarok. She is the faithful guardian of Odin’s spear, even though she believes there’s no one left to guard it for, and her sisters guard other immortal Treasures all over the world.
When her live-in boyfriend Eric turns out to be none other than the trickster god Loki in his mortal disguise, Mist is furious with herself for several reasons. First, for allowing him to get close to the spear, which he ended up stealing while she was busy fighting a frost giant. Second, for being too quick to believe that her gods really are gone forever. And third, for not being aware of her true heritage in time to stop it all from happening.
What this book needed to become infinitely better was just a touch of humor. Mist was so serious all the time, and so was her companion Dainn, which means that both POVs ended up being a bit tough to swallow. Even Loki, the trickster, had no trace of humor in his actions and/or dialogue – just brutality and venom. Consequently, the prose was pretty dry, which combined with the sheer amount of information offered, made for a very demanding read. Humor so often makes or breaks urban fantasy, and in this case, it could have worked to Krinard’s advantage.
I am quite unused to dual POV in urban fantasy, especially when it takes over a hundred pages for the second one to enter the picture. Dainn’s conflicts were interesting to witness through his eyes, but I still felt that the author took the easy way out.
If there is such a thing as high urban fantasy (which apparently there is), Mist is a very fine example of it. It is a weighty read that offers an abundance of action and information without a single thing to lighten things up. Still, true fans of urban fantasy shouldn’t miss it, and since I count myself among them, I’m glad I made the decision to read it.
I am fairly new to Norse mythology and it’s still a source of constant (and pleasant) surprises. What I knew before reading Mist came from another urban fantasy series (thank you, Kevin Hearne!), but even if I knew nothing, I’d be fairly well versed after this reading experience. Despite it being set in modern day San Francisco, all the characters in Mist come straight from Norse mythology.
For decades, Valyrie Mist has been living In Midgard among the mortals (that would be us, my friends), convinced that her gods have perished during Ragnarok. She is the faithful guardian of Odin’s spear, even though she believes there’s no one left to guard it for, and her sisters guard other immortal Treasures all over the world.
When her live-in boyfriend Eric turns out to be none other than the trickster god Loki in his mortal disguise, Mist is furious with herself for several reasons. First, for allowing him to get close to the spear, which he ended up stealing while she was busy fighting a frost giant. Second, for being too quick to believe that her gods really are gone forever. And third, for not being aware of her true heritage in time to stop it all from happening.
What this book needed to become infinitely better was just a touch of humor. Mist was so serious all the time, and so was her companion Dainn, which means that both POVs ended up being a bit tough to swallow. Even Loki, the trickster, had no trace of humor in his actions and/or dialogue – just brutality and venom. Consequently, the prose was pretty dry, which combined with the sheer amount of information offered, made for a very demanding read. Humor so often makes or breaks urban fantasy, and in this case, it could have worked to Krinard’s advantage.
I am quite unused to dual POV in urban fantasy, especially when it takes over a hundred pages for the second one to enter the picture. Dainn’s conflicts were interesting to witness through his eyes, but I still felt that the author took the easy way out.
If there is such a thing as high urban fantasy (which apparently there is), Mist is a very fine example of it. It is a weighty read that offers an abundance of action and information without a single thing to lighten things up. Still, true fans of urban fantasy shouldn’t miss it, and since I count myself among them, I’m glad I made the decision to read it.
September 9, 2013
This review was posted at Kirkus.com
A long time ago, all of the great Norse gods and goddesses died in the Last Battle. Only a handful of Valkyrie survived and were sent to Midgard (Earth). Each of them was tasked by Odin All-father to protect powerful artifacts that once belonged to the gods themselves, holding on for their possible return one day.
And so the Valkyrie waited. And waited.
Until the events of World War II moved them into action. Tired of waiting and tired of not fighting in the countless wars that came before, the Valkyrie Mist urged her sisters to help the humans in their time of need and to use the powerful artifacts they each held. The consequences of their hubris* and mingling in human affairs were swift.
In modern-day San Francisco, Mist is finally making a life of her own still guarding—but never using—Odin’s Gungnir, the Spear that never misses its mark. Until, in just one day, a series of seemingly impossible events happen: She is attacked by a Frost Giant in a public park; comes across Dainn, a magic Elf in disguise; and realizes that her boyfriend was actually the trickster god Loki all along. And now he has taken Gungnir.
As it turns out, the Aesir are not dead after all—they have been merely cut off in another dimension. But now the bridges are open again and Midgard is in danger, caught in a deadly game between gods. Mist and her new ally Dainn must do anything they can to protect their artifacts from falling in the wrong hands. And then Mist learns a secret that changes everything.
Is there anything more frustrating to a reader than a book that shows a lot of promise and potential to start with but then goes off its tracks and derails completely into a confusing mess?
First the good: I love the premise of Susan Krinard's Mist, with the Valkyrie protecting powerful artifacts. The opening chapter, taking place during WWII, was a powerful introduction to their story portraying the Valkyrie in their emotional struggle between doing what they have always done (i.e. obey the gods as their servants) and developing a different way of life. I particularly enjoyed Mist’s take on that struggle, her choice to go from observer and servant to a strong fighter with agency. At the beginning, she really convinced me as a powerful and smart gods-defiant and angst-ridden champion.
But unfortunately, I felt all of this promise went wayward when the book suddenly changed tracks half way through. First of all, there was the abrupt point-of-view change. For the first seven chapters, the story is solely from Mist’s viewpoint. Then, all of a sudden, Dainn’s voice is introduced, then Loki’s, then even a few random paragraphs from a secondary character. It’s weird since it starts quite late into the story but also since it kind of detracts from the plot—some of it relies heavily on the secrets being kept from Mist, and since those are secrets that obviously both Dainn and Loki are privy of, Mist often comes across as frustratingly naïve. This would not be a problem per se if it wasn’t for the fact that it clashed so much with the portrayal of Mist as an extremely clever person for the first 7 chapters.
Then we have the fact that the main storyline shifts and the story becomes all about how Mist is the Most Powerful and Unique Being in the History of Ever (without even knowing about it) and who is also Beautiful Beyond Compare (without even realizing it). Without spoiling The Secret, it is hard to suspend disbelief that the above—her magic, her specific type of power, her extreme beauty—never made an appearance before. I am not going to mention the fact that the goddess Freya is merely reduced to how hot she is or that characters who have known each other for about 48 hours are willing to throw their lives away for one another, no actual relationship development needed.
Those problems are compounded by how the story is exposition heavy with back story and action-halting explanations that make the book rather…bland and emotionless. The actual development of the characters and storylines did not have enough depth to allow for us to care about the many emotional punches the book throws at the characters.
And finally, my main problem with the novel? The writing of the few LGBT and PoC characters. First of all, there is the implied attraction that one minor male character has for another male character. Then, the book features rape and sexual molestation, all of them always man-on-man. I like what Fangs for the Fantasy had to say about it:
Which brings me to GBLT characters – we have the implied Ryan and we have… Loki. In mythology Loki sleeps with anyone and everything up to and including the stallion Svadilfari. That alone doesn’t make him a good representation for GBLT characters. But in this book he has sex with one man – as a woman then changing his shape to a man to use as blackmail against his sex partner. And he lusts after and sexually molests Dainn, who he previously had sex with while shapeshifted to look like Frejya. There’s a whole lot of sexual predation going on here and it’s all directed at other men and leaves a general bad taste in my mouth.
Quite. The PoC characters are not better. One of them is a Japanese-American who randomly shows up in the story and magically seems to know martial arts. The other is a Mexican girl who goes around yelling expletives. This is where things made me incredibly angry not only because of the stereotype but also because some of the Spanish she spoke was wrong. At one point, she yells “idioto.” You do not say "idioto" in Spanish. It should be "idiota" for both men and women (unlike “stupid” which is gendered depending on who you are talking to). This might come across as a minor thing but to me it is incredibly offensive. Protip: If you are writing a Spanish speaking character and if you want the character to speak Spanish in the book, please do your research. Otherwise, it just sounds as though you are not being careful or respectful enough with cultures and languages not your own.
I want diversity and I want inclusion in SFF but this is not good enough, folks. Do your homework and avoid stereotypes. And I will leave it at that.
In Book Smugglerish, a disheartened 4 (maybe 3?) out of 10.
A long time ago, all of the great Norse gods and goddesses died in the Last Battle. Only a handful of Valkyrie survived and were sent to Midgard (Earth). Each of them was tasked by Odin All-father to protect powerful artifacts that once belonged to the gods themselves, holding on for their possible return one day.
And so the Valkyrie waited. And waited.
Until the events of World War II moved them into action. Tired of waiting and tired of not fighting in the countless wars that came before, the Valkyrie Mist urged her sisters to help the humans in their time of need and to use the powerful artifacts they each held. The consequences of their hubris* and mingling in human affairs were swift.
In modern-day San Francisco, Mist is finally making a life of her own still guarding—but never using—Odin’s Gungnir, the Spear that never misses its mark. Until, in just one day, a series of seemingly impossible events happen: She is attacked by a Frost Giant in a public park; comes across Dainn, a magic Elf in disguise; and realizes that her boyfriend was actually the trickster god Loki all along. And now he has taken Gungnir.
As it turns out, the Aesir are not dead after all—they have been merely cut off in another dimension. But now the bridges are open again and Midgard is in danger, caught in a deadly game between gods. Mist and her new ally Dainn must do anything they can to protect their artifacts from falling in the wrong hands. And then Mist learns a secret that changes everything.
Is there anything more frustrating to a reader than a book that shows a lot of promise and potential to start with but then goes off its tracks and derails completely into a confusing mess?
First the good: I love the premise of Susan Krinard's Mist, with the Valkyrie protecting powerful artifacts. The opening chapter, taking place during WWII, was a powerful introduction to their story portraying the Valkyrie in their emotional struggle between doing what they have always done (i.e. obey the gods as their servants) and developing a different way of life. I particularly enjoyed Mist’s take on that struggle, her choice to go from observer and servant to a strong fighter with agency. At the beginning, she really convinced me as a powerful and smart gods-defiant and angst-ridden champion.
But unfortunately, I felt all of this promise went wayward when the book suddenly changed tracks half way through. First of all, there was the abrupt point-of-view change. For the first seven chapters, the story is solely from Mist’s viewpoint. Then, all of a sudden, Dainn’s voice is introduced, then Loki’s, then even a few random paragraphs from a secondary character. It’s weird since it starts quite late into the story but also since it kind of detracts from the plot—some of it relies heavily on the secrets being kept from Mist, and since those are secrets that obviously both Dainn and Loki are privy of, Mist often comes across as frustratingly naïve. This would not be a problem per se if it wasn’t for the fact that it clashed so much with the portrayal of Mist as an extremely clever person for the first 7 chapters.
Then we have the fact that the main storyline shifts and the story becomes all about how Mist is the Most Powerful and Unique Being in the History of Ever (without even knowing about it) and who is also Beautiful Beyond Compare (without even realizing it). Without spoiling The Secret, it is hard to suspend disbelief that the above—her magic, her specific type of power, her extreme beauty—never made an appearance before. I am not going to mention the fact that the goddess Freya is merely reduced to how hot she is or that characters who have known each other for about 48 hours are willing to throw their lives away for one another, no actual relationship development needed.
Those problems are compounded by how the story is exposition heavy with back story and action-halting explanations that make the book rather…bland and emotionless. The actual development of the characters and storylines did not have enough depth to allow for us to care about the many emotional punches the book throws at the characters.
And finally, my main problem with the novel? The writing of the few LGBT and PoC characters. First of all, there is the implied attraction that one minor male character has for another male character. Then, the book features rape and sexual molestation, all of them always man-on-man. I like what Fangs for the Fantasy had to say about it:
Which brings me to GBLT characters – we have the implied Ryan and we have… Loki. In mythology Loki sleeps with anyone and everything up to and including the stallion Svadilfari. That alone doesn’t make him a good representation for GBLT characters. But in this book he has sex with one man – as a woman then changing his shape to a man to use as blackmail against his sex partner. And he lusts after and sexually molests Dainn, who he previously had sex with while shapeshifted to look like Frejya. There’s a whole lot of sexual predation going on here and it’s all directed at other men and leaves a general bad taste in my mouth.
Quite. The PoC characters are not better. One of them is a Japanese-American who randomly shows up in the story and magically seems to know martial arts. The other is a Mexican girl who goes around yelling expletives. This is where things made me incredibly angry not only because of the stereotype but also because some of the Spanish she spoke was wrong. At one point, she yells “idioto.” You do not say "idioto" in Spanish. It should be "idiota" for both men and women (unlike “stupid” which is gendered depending on who you are talking to). This might come across as a minor thing but to me it is incredibly offensive. Protip: If you are writing a Spanish speaking character and if you want the character to speak Spanish in the book, please do your research. Otherwise, it just sounds as though you are not being careful or respectful enough with cultures and languages not your own.
I want diversity and I want inclusion in SFF but this is not good enough, folks. Do your homework and avoid stereotypes. And I will leave it at that.
In Book Smugglerish, a disheartened 4 (maybe 3?) out of 10.
June 18, 2017
Mist the Mark.
I have conflicted feelings on this one. I happen to love all things Norse mythology and have read several great series that feature it. But where other series merely borrow from the mythology to add flavour to their worlds, Mist is infused with it from root to tip. It's both its biggest asset, and its greatest downfall. And I'll try and explain why.
Kicking off with a prologue set in World War II era Norway, Mist wastes no time packing in the mythology. Within the first 5 pages we've been bombarded with several god's names, a brief run down of their role in things and what they're capable of. I was instantly overwhelmed and trying desperately to memorize things in case they were important later on. It was just a lot to absorb. If there's such a thing as UF lite, then this was UF heavy to the extreme, and rather than making it seem more rich and colourful for it, it just felt dense and bogged down instead.
Following on from that, the first couple of chapters were actually much easier to follow as we join Mist in present day San Francisco, and at this point in the read I was even feeling pretty confident that I could enjoy Mist if I was willing to put in some work. The basic set up is that she and a few of her Valkyrie sisters are the only ones from the Old World left on Midgard after Ragnarok. Or a failed Ragnarok, as it happens. For those who don't know what Ragnarok is before reading this book, well, you're going to struggle, frankly. I at least have a passing knowledge of it from reading a couple of other series that mention it, but even I was getting bamboozled a lot of the time.
Anyhoo, each Valkyrie has been given a treasure to keep and protect such as Odin’s spear, Freya's cloak, or Thor’s hammer. Mist has the spear - arguably the most valuable of all the treasures. Why Mist? Well, you'll find out, as she will, that there's more to Mist that being a mere Valkyrie.
I found this aspect hard to fathom as well. Mist is two millennia old. To have someone at 2,000 suddenly find out all these things about themselves that they never even suspected, smacked of implausibility to me. I suppose if you consider how cut off she's been from her kind and that she's not had much cause to test herself, it kinda makes some sense, but I was still giving the book the squinty eyeball at times.
Mist is written in alternating POV’s, much like traditional fantasy which also made if feel different to the many other UF series I've read. I'm used to having a smart, snarky main character to experience things through, often in first person, but sadly that wasn't the case here and I didn't really connect to Mist in the way I'd hoped. There were some interesting characters, however. The Alfar, Dainn, was an fascinating chap. Probably the most complex and conflicted of the bunch. Sadly, he's also somewhat weak - a beta to Mist's alpha - which in this instance didn't work for me either.
My last complaint (I honestly didn't think this review would be so whiny when I started it, sorry!) is that there was just too much dialogue. And I love dialogue! Usually. But here there were pages and pages of paragraph-long diatribes which, although well-written, just weren't exciting. Another thing that added to the weighty feeling of the book.
So, do I recommend Mist? Well, maybe if you are a superfan of Norse mythology and literally don't think there's such a thing as too much, then yes. For the rest of us mere mortals, I'm afraid I can't in all honesty give Mist the Demon Librarian Seal of Approval and I won't be reading the next book in the series.
3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have conflicted feelings on this one. I happen to love all things Norse mythology and have read several great series that feature it. But where other series merely borrow from the mythology to add flavour to their worlds, Mist is infused with it from root to tip. It's both its biggest asset, and its greatest downfall. And I'll try and explain why.
Kicking off with a prologue set in World War II era Norway, Mist wastes no time packing in the mythology. Within the first 5 pages we've been bombarded with several god's names, a brief run down of their role in things and what they're capable of. I was instantly overwhelmed and trying desperately to memorize things in case they were important later on. It was just a lot to absorb. If there's such a thing as UF lite, then this was UF heavy to the extreme, and rather than making it seem more rich and colourful for it, it just felt dense and bogged down instead.
Following on from that, the first couple of chapters were actually much easier to follow as we join Mist in present day San Francisco, and at this point in the read I was even feeling pretty confident that I could enjoy Mist if I was willing to put in some work. The basic set up is that she and a few of her Valkyrie sisters are the only ones from the Old World left on Midgard after Ragnarok. Or a failed Ragnarok, as it happens. For those who don't know what Ragnarok is before reading this book, well, you're going to struggle, frankly. I at least have a passing knowledge of it from reading a couple of other series that mention it, but even I was getting bamboozled a lot of the time.
Anyhoo, each Valkyrie has been given a treasure to keep and protect such as Odin’s spear, Freya's cloak, or Thor’s hammer. Mist has the spear - arguably the most valuable of all the treasures. Why Mist? Well, you'll find out, as she will, that there's more to Mist that being a mere Valkyrie.
I found this aspect hard to fathom as well. Mist is two millennia old. To have someone at 2,000 suddenly find out all these things about themselves that they never even suspected, smacked of implausibility to me. I suppose if you consider how cut off she's been from her kind and that she's not had much cause to test herself, it kinda makes some sense, but I was still giving the book the squinty eyeball at times.
Mist is written in alternating POV’s, much like traditional fantasy which also made if feel different to the many other UF series I've read. I'm used to having a smart, snarky main character to experience things through, often in first person, but sadly that wasn't the case here and I didn't really connect to Mist in the way I'd hoped. There were some interesting characters, however. The Alfar, Dainn, was an fascinating chap. Probably the most complex and conflicted of the bunch. Sadly, he's also somewhat weak - a beta to Mist's alpha - which in this instance didn't work for me either.
My last complaint (I honestly didn't think this review would be so whiny when I started it, sorry!) is that there was just too much dialogue. And I love dialogue! Usually. But here there were pages and pages of paragraph-long diatribes which, although well-written, just weren't exciting. Another thing that added to the weighty feeling of the book.
So, do I recommend Mist? Well, maybe if you are a superfan of Norse mythology and literally don't think there's such a thing as too much, then yes. For the rest of us mere mortals, I'm afraid I can't in all honesty give Mist the Demon Librarian Seal of Approval and I won't be reading the next book in the series.
3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2014
I wanted to love this book. There isn't enough fantasy, or urban fantasy, that deals with Norse mythology. There's such a wealth of history to draw on with the Norse gods, and since it's my heritage I'm always anxious to see it used more. I had high hopes. Mist both did and didn't live up to those hopes.
Firstly, despite the fact that this has a strong sense of place in San Francisco - honestly, I feel like I could have taken out a map and easily followed Mist and the other characters around the city - I would more easily categorize this as straight fantasy. Yes, it's "urban," yes it's "contemporary," technically filling the Urban Fantasy requirements, but it reads and flows more like a straight fantasy novel. I have no issue with this as I love high fantasy as well, but it could be off-putting to a lot of readers more used to the norm of the urban fantasy genre. Another thing that makes it more like Fantasy than Urban Fantasy is the fact that there's no real resolution in this book. It's a beginning of a much larger story. And the ending is a cliff-hanger, not a horrible one, but one nonetheless.
I got everything I could have wanted in a book based on Norse mythology. One slight twist to the myths and Susan Krinard had a whole other story to tell, while staying true to the source material. In the beginning there is Ragnarök, and instead of it occurring like it should, Odin Allfather gives the Aesir treasures to the Valkyrie, then sends them to Midgard to keep guard for when the Aesir return. Every Norse character we meet - save one - is true to the mythologies. Vali and Vidarr, Odin's sons, are actually said to have survived Ragnarök. Mist is an actual named Valkyrie, as are her sisters; Loki, of course, we all know. I enjoyed, greatly, how Ms. Krinard took the myths and wove them into current time. There's a lot of history to work with and as it isn't as familiar to most of the Western world as, say, Greek mythologies she wove a lot of it into the story. I think this makes it so you can read the book without having to look up additional information, but there's plenty additional you can learn if you do look up more. I especially loved the Norwegian that's peppered throughout the text, in curses or endearments.
Mist does a good job of not making the heroes or villains one-note, too. Freya, though we (and Mist) are led to believe she's benevolent and there to help seems to have alternate ideas. She, initially, came off as simply love, which frustrated me a bit because she's so much more. In fact, in one of her earliest appearances she tries to smother a character with love. Freya could do so much more than that. However, I think what I came to realize is that Freya wasn't completely in control of everything at that moment so she used what she could. When she appears again later, it's a much different story. And I'm eager to see what exactly she's up to.
Having the story told in alternating points-of-view - though this doesn't start until nearly 30% into the story - gives us added information that Mist doesn't have. It also gives us insights into Loki and Dainn, which I admit I loved. What I didn't love is the amount of information being kept from Mist. It's a plot device, and a common tactic of the gods, so I get it, but I still hate it. I also was really hoping that at least one of the secrets would be revealed by the end of this book to Mist, alas I was left wanting and somewhat frustrated on that account.
Mist herself is an intriguing character. There's definitely the 'more power than she knew' thing going on and though I don't mind it, I am really curious as to why she has this power that's more powerful than the powerfullest. I hope that gets explained in one of the next two books of this trilogy. Regardless, Mist is a strong heroine, a warrior skilled with the sword and with forging those weapons - and can I say how much I love that she forges her own stuff. I really loved how she wasn't going to let anyone tell her what had to be done, she would make her own decisions based on the best information available and her own moral guide. And though she knows stuff is being kept from her, she still questions things, still tries to get at the truth of it. She's also got a lot of loyalty, and a sense of right-and-wrong that nothing will dissuade her from trying to affect. Despite this, Mist is also a little more than somewhat ashamed and unsure of herself. She lost faith once, as we learn in the prologue, and did things she shouldn't have, costing a lot of lives she was trying to save and her shame from that carries on. I liked seeing that remorse, knowing that her actions had consequences and she's learning from them and trying not to make the same mistakes again.
Though we got a good amount of time in Dainn and Loki's heads, I'm still not sure how I feel, completely, about either one. Dainn wants to be honorable, but isn't sure he can be. He's definitely got something extra going on, but I wish he'd listen to Mist when she offers to help. Loki, on the other hand, is devious and an asshole - most of the time. At others though he seems to make a convoluted sort of sense. While I definitely don't agree with his future plan for Midgard (better known as our world), I'm not sure that I want the Aesir in control either.
This review's getting to be quite long, so I'm going to quickly go over some of the stuff that didn't work for me. While the action is really great, it's fairly infrequent. I wanted more of it, and wanted a better picture of what was happening during it. Then there were the times in the story where we'd get lost, only for a little bit, in exposition and/or Dainn and Mist thinking about what they would do. Even Loki fell into this occasionally, but as he's the Trickster I expect planning and machinations from him. As such, it slowed the story down, when all I wanted was more stuff happening. Again, the secrets kept from Mist irritated me. And the cliff-hanger / non-ending left me feeling a little abandoned. It's a good enough stopping point, I suppose, but I wanted something to add to the tension.
Overall, I liked this foray into Norse myths in the modern world. Krinard is clearly faithful to the original myths and builds them convincingly in Mist. I'm definitely going to be reading the second one to see how Mist deals with this newfound responsibility, and what happens when Mist learns the truth. That is going to be an interesting day.
Pre-Review:
Awesome in some parts, not so awesome in others. Overall, I liked it.
Norwegian/Scandinavian Words Used
einvigi: duel
elskede min: my beloved
farvel: goodbye
gaefa: blessings, luck, fortune, welfare
hnefatafl: Norwegian board game
nidingr: person affected with stigma of the loss of honour and the status of a villein
nidingsverk: act of a nidingr (contemptible act)
penningr: penny
skatten min: sweetheart
skita: shit
spamadr: person capable of foretelling events
venninne min: my girlfriend
villkatt: wildcat
Firstly, despite the fact that this has a strong sense of place in San Francisco - honestly, I feel like I could have taken out a map and easily followed Mist and the other characters around the city - I would more easily categorize this as straight fantasy. Yes, it's "urban," yes it's "contemporary," technically filling the Urban Fantasy requirements, but it reads and flows more like a straight fantasy novel. I have no issue with this as I love high fantasy as well, but it could be off-putting to a lot of readers more used to the norm of the urban fantasy genre. Another thing that makes it more like Fantasy than Urban Fantasy is the fact that there's no real resolution in this book. It's a beginning of a much larger story. And the ending is a cliff-hanger, not a horrible one, but one nonetheless.
I got everything I could have wanted in a book based on Norse mythology. One slight twist to the myths and Susan Krinard had a whole other story to tell, while staying true to the source material. In the beginning there is Ragnarök, and instead of it occurring like it should, Odin Allfather gives the Aesir treasures to the Valkyrie, then sends them to Midgard to keep guard for when the Aesir return. Every Norse character we meet - save one - is true to the mythologies. Vali and Vidarr, Odin's sons, are actually said to have survived Ragnarök. Mist is an actual named Valkyrie, as are her sisters; Loki, of course, we all know. I enjoyed, greatly, how Ms. Krinard took the myths and wove them into current time. There's a lot of history to work with and as it isn't as familiar to most of the Western world as, say, Greek mythologies she wove a lot of it into the story. I think this makes it so you can read the book without having to look up additional information, but there's plenty additional you can learn if you do look up more. I especially loved the Norwegian that's peppered throughout the text, in curses or endearments.
Mist does a good job of not making the heroes or villains one-note, too. Freya, though we (and Mist) are led to believe she's benevolent and there to help seems to have alternate ideas. She, initially, came off as simply love, which frustrated me a bit because she's so much more. In fact, in one of her earliest appearances she tries to smother a character with love. Freya could do so much more than that. However, I think what I came to realize is that Freya wasn't completely in control of everything at that moment so she used what she could. When she appears again later, it's a much different story. And I'm eager to see what exactly she's up to.
Having the story told in alternating points-of-view - though this doesn't start until nearly 30% into the story - gives us added information that Mist doesn't have. It also gives us insights into Loki and Dainn, which I admit I loved. What I didn't love is the amount of information being kept from Mist. It's a plot device, and a common tactic of the gods, so I get it, but I still hate it. I also was really hoping that at least one of the secrets would be revealed by the end of this book to Mist, alas I was left wanting and somewhat frustrated on that account.
Mist herself is an intriguing character. There's definitely the 'more power than she knew' thing going on and though I don't mind it, I am really curious as to why she has this power that's more powerful than the powerfullest. I hope that gets explained in one of the next two books of this trilogy. Regardless, Mist is a strong heroine, a warrior skilled with the sword and with forging those weapons - and can I say how much I love that she forges her own stuff. I really loved how she wasn't going to let anyone tell her what had to be done, she would make her own decisions based on the best information available and her own moral guide. And though she knows stuff is being kept from her, she still questions things, still tries to get at the truth of it. She's also got a lot of loyalty, and a sense of right-and-wrong that nothing will dissuade her from trying to affect. Despite this, Mist is also a little more than somewhat ashamed and unsure of herself. She lost faith once, as we learn in the prologue, and did things she shouldn't have, costing a lot of lives she was trying to save and her shame from that carries on. I liked seeing that remorse, knowing that her actions had consequences and she's learning from them and trying not to make the same mistakes again.
Though we got a good amount of time in Dainn and Loki's heads, I'm still not sure how I feel, completely, about either one. Dainn wants to be honorable, but isn't sure he can be. He's definitely got something extra going on, but I wish he'd listen to Mist when she offers to help. Loki, on the other hand, is devious and an asshole - most of the time. At others though he seems to make a convoluted sort of sense. While I definitely don't agree with his future plan for Midgard (better known as our world), I'm not sure that I want the Aesir in control either.
This review's getting to be quite long, so I'm going to quickly go over some of the stuff that didn't work for me. While the action is really great, it's fairly infrequent. I wanted more of it, and wanted a better picture of what was happening during it. Then there were the times in the story where we'd get lost, only for a little bit, in exposition and/or Dainn and Mist thinking about what they would do. Even Loki fell into this occasionally, but as he's the Trickster I expect planning and machinations from him. As such, it slowed the story down, when all I wanted was more stuff happening. Again, the secrets kept from Mist irritated me. And the cliff-hanger / non-ending left me feeling a little abandoned. It's a good enough stopping point, I suppose, but I wanted something to add to the tension.
Overall, I liked this foray into Norse myths in the modern world. Krinard is clearly faithful to the original myths and builds them convincingly in Mist. I'm definitely going to be reading the second one to see how Mist deals with this newfound responsibility, and what happens when Mist learns the truth. That is going to be an interesting day.
Pre-Review:
Awesome in some parts, not so awesome in others. Overall, I liked it.
Norwegian/Scandinavian Words Used
einvigi: duel
elskede min: my beloved
farvel: goodbye
gaefa: blessings, luck, fortune, welfare
hnefatafl: Norwegian board game
nidingr: person affected with stigma of the loss of honour and the status of a villein
nidingsverk: act of a nidingr (contemptible act)
penningr: penny
skatten min: sweetheart
skita: shit
spamadr: person capable of foretelling events
venninne min: my girlfriend
villkatt: wildcat
July 19, 2013
*Genre* Urban Fantasy with Norse Mythology
*Rating* 3.0
*Thoughts*
Mist is the story about an orphan who later became the immortal Valkyrie halfling named Mist Bjorgsen. Mist, along with her Valkyrie sisters, was given an important job of protecting valuable treasures by Odin before Ragnarok was supposed to descend on the Norse Gods. Mist's job is to protect Gungnir, the spear that can never miss its mark, a job she fails at which causes consternation and fits and starts along the way.
Mist is an interesting character in that she's basically clueless to her heritage and has given up on any hope that any Gods survived. She's taken up a mostly mortal existence, moving onward when people start to wonder why she's not aging while also fighting for justice in battles like World War II. She is surprised & attacked by a frost giant (Jotunn) who was thought to be extinct, but somehow, they are now living in San Francisco where she's spent the past 50 years right under her nose. Mist is also stunned to learn that she's more powerful than she could have imagined since she's the daughter of Freya the Goddess of love & desire which gives her abilities and magic that can be used to defeat her nemesis if she can learn to control it.
The main antagonist of this story is Loki, son of giants, and Odin's brother better known as the Trickster god. Loki apparently has some bones to pick with Freya, to the point where he's willing to turn Midgard into a battle ground in order to get his version of the perfect world. Along the way, he deceives Mist into believing he is a mortal named Eric who she spends 6 months with, and pilfers said spear while trying to locate Mist's sisters and the rest of the treasures they protect. Of all the characters introduced, Loki is the only one that isn't trying to be someone he's not. He's a trickster God. He plays people, he uses people, he blackmails them by pretending to be various men, and women, and sometimes other beings in order to control them. He has a straight forward goal, and doesn't care who stands in his way of ultimate victory.
The third character in this merry-go-round of a story is Dainn Faithbreaker, an elf who was banished and cursed by Odin after he betrayed the Aesir. He's also known as the Elf that started Ragnarok and was supposed to be killed by Thor. Later, Dainn is given a second chance by Freya as a way to gain access to Mist who she needs in order to cross over into Midgard. I really didn't much care for Dainn, except for the part where he was cursed, and has a uncontrollable beast that is dying to get out. I didn't like the fact that at no point in this book did he feel the need to speak up and tell Mist the truth about Freya's intentions. He and Loki have a past, which also, in my opinion, makes him truly untrustworthy. One can only hope that Mist wakes up and smells the coffee before Dainn leads her down the wrong path.
Overall, I liked the concept behind Mist and will most likely be continuing on with this series since the book has left a plethora of possibilities that needs to be explained, sorted out, and tied up. The heroine has unusual upbringing which she didn't really understand until Dainn's arrival. Mist has some issues as well. She's too trusting in people. She gets into things she doesn't understand, and she is absolutely clueless about her mothers (Freya) intentions towards her. She can be a powerful heroine if she just trusts in herself, and keeps everyone else at arms length. I am interested in the possibilities of a reunion between Mist and her Valkyrie sisters in order to stop Loki's machinations.
Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC received via NetGalley 05/29/2013 *Expected publication July 16, 2013
*Rating* 3.0
*Thoughts*
Mist is the story about an orphan who later became the immortal Valkyrie halfling named Mist Bjorgsen. Mist, along with her Valkyrie sisters, was given an important job of protecting valuable treasures by Odin before Ragnarok was supposed to descend on the Norse Gods. Mist's job is to protect Gungnir, the spear that can never miss its mark, a job she fails at which causes consternation and fits and starts along the way.
Mist is an interesting character in that she's basically clueless to her heritage and has given up on any hope that any Gods survived. She's taken up a mostly mortal existence, moving onward when people start to wonder why she's not aging while also fighting for justice in battles like World War II. She is surprised & attacked by a frost giant (Jotunn) who was thought to be extinct, but somehow, they are now living in San Francisco where she's spent the past 50 years right under her nose. Mist is also stunned to learn that she's more powerful than she could have imagined since she's the daughter of Freya the Goddess of love & desire which gives her abilities and magic that can be used to defeat her nemesis if she can learn to control it.
The main antagonist of this story is Loki, son of giants, and Odin's brother better known as the Trickster god. Loki apparently has some bones to pick with Freya, to the point where he's willing to turn Midgard into a battle ground in order to get his version of the perfect world. Along the way, he deceives Mist into believing he is a mortal named Eric who she spends 6 months with, and pilfers said spear while trying to locate Mist's sisters and the rest of the treasures they protect. Of all the characters introduced, Loki is the only one that isn't trying to be someone he's not. He's a trickster God. He plays people, he uses people, he blackmails them by pretending to be various men, and women, and sometimes other beings in order to control them. He has a straight forward goal, and doesn't care who stands in his way of ultimate victory.
The third character in this merry-go-round of a story is Dainn Faithbreaker, an elf who was banished and cursed by Odin after he betrayed the Aesir. He's also known as the Elf that started Ragnarok and was supposed to be killed by Thor. Later, Dainn is given a second chance by Freya as a way to gain access to Mist who she needs in order to cross over into Midgard. I really didn't much care for Dainn, except for the part where he was cursed, and has a uncontrollable beast that is dying to get out. I didn't like the fact that at no point in this book did he feel the need to speak up and tell Mist the truth about Freya's intentions. He and Loki have a past, which also, in my opinion, makes him truly untrustworthy. One can only hope that Mist wakes up and smells the coffee before Dainn leads her down the wrong path.
Overall, I liked the concept behind Mist and will most likely be continuing on with this series since the book has left a plethora of possibilities that needs to be explained, sorted out, and tied up. The heroine has unusual upbringing which she didn't really understand until Dainn's arrival. Mist has some issues as well. She's too trusting in people. She gets into things she doesn't understand, and she is absolutely clueless about her mothers (Freya) intentions towards her. She can be a powerful heroine if she just trusts in herself, and keeps everyone else at arms length. I am interested in the possibilities of a reunion between Mist and her Valkyrie sisters in order to stop Loki's machinations.
Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC received via NetGalley 05/29/2013 *Expected publication July 16, 2013
January 4, 2015
***Review copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.***
Susan Krinard is a new to me author, but once I heard that there would be Valkyries I was all up in this book! Norse mythology! Um, yes please. A classic trickster Loki that can change shape into anything he wants, male or female, making for a pretty steamy and deceptive read! Sexy scandals. Check. Did I mention Valkyrie?? This title had everything that makes me foam at my metaphorical mouth! Then a few pages into the book it hit . . .
Valkyrie titles must be jinxed for me. Especially, the characters. To be honest I think Krinard was trying to make Mist the mythical legend—AKA the Valkyrie in question—more human. She isn't aware of how stunningly gorgeous she is, or when men are openly lusting after her. Mist also suffers from serious self doubt. Now I'm not saying those are bad qualities. But Mist is old. I mean she's a walking fossil old. At a certain point in her centuries old life I'd expect her to realize that "girls got sex appeal." One huge mistake in her past causes her to question every step she takes after that. It's just so unrealistic. Yes, it's good to question yourself. But not to a point where you would blindly trust a stranger, who clearly has evil intentions. Or to ignore your instincts when a "clue" just up and slaps you across the face. Mist has to be rescued numerous times, comes off as really-really stupid, and while her genuine kindness makes her endearing it can't save her character.
That stranger I mentioned above just happens to be a elf named Dainin. Who is a emotionless, cold hearted guy, who just happened to start Ragnarok. Of course he was tricked and is now living with a monster inside him. So for the write price he'd betray Mist. The majority of the book is set up to show what a hotty Dainin is, his suffering, and his eventual arrival to the point that he needs to help Mist out. Of course I can't forget that he would allow someone else to pay for his sins. Or the way he is willing to betray Mist. It's purely evil and it over shadows every move he makes, even when he's finally willing to die for Mist. Clearly he's the love interest in this series. One that I'm not feeling. He's a great character and highly fascinating, but it just doesn't work out for me. He still deceives Mist even after he realizes that he needs to help her. Hot N cold, sing it Perry.
This book was fairly long. But I felt like I just read the first half of a novel, where it's trying to frantically build up the world while making plot progress. For me there's barely anything that truly happens. Boredom is a feeling no reader should ever feel. The mythology was half baked at best and I felt that Krinard stepped back on a few of her "rules" of magic. There's too many questions running about at the end. Is Norse mythology the only true mythology of this world, are there others? How do they tie in? And on, and on! Plus, Loki's name gets mixed up with a few of the other characters. You can't have errors like that! Not when there is a character that can become anyone. I spent a good time wondering if it was an error, or if it was actually Loki.
In the end this title has potential I'm really curious as to what will happen in future books, but I'm only continuing if the next title can transform this series into what it could be. The action is tons of fun, even if Mist really never brings the heat. There's an interesting romance developing, even if I'm not that into it. The main reason for reading Mist is for Loki. Man is he scandalously delicious! Probably one of my favorite literary renditions of him. Come for the Norse mythology, stay for Loki.
Sexual Content: Nothing overly graphic, but there’s some sex and some naughty-naughty by Loki.
2/5- Average/disappointing, library check-out
Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.
Susan Krinard is a new to me author, but once I heard that there would be Valkyries I was all up in this book! Norse mythology! Um, yes please. A classic trickster Loki that can change shape into anything he wants, male or female, making for a pretty steamy and deceptive read! Sexy scandals. Check. Did I mention Valkyrie?? This title had everything that makes me foam at my metaphorical mouth! Then a few pages into the book it hit . . .
Valkyrie titles must be jinxed for me. Especially, the characters. To be honest I think Krinard was trying to make Mist the mythical legend—AKA the Valkyrie in question—more human. She isn't aware of how stunningly gorgeous she is, or when men are openly lusting after her. Mist also suffers from serious self doubt. Now I'm not saying those are bad qualities. But Mist is old. I mean she's a walking fossil old. At a certain point in her centuries old life I'd expect her to realize that "girls got sex appeal." One huge mistake in her past causes her to question every step she takes after that. It's just so unrealistic. Yes, it's good to question yourself. But not to a point where you would blindly trust a stranger, who clearly has evil intentions. Or to ignore your instincts when a "clue" just up and slaps you across the face. Mist has to be rescued numerous times, comes off as really-really stupid, and while her genuine kindness makes her endearing it can't save her character.
That stranger I mentioned above just happens to be a elf named Dainin. Who is a emotionless, cold hearted guy, who just happened to start Ragnarok. Of course he was tricked and is now living with a monster inside him. So for the write price he'd betray Mist. The majority of the book is set up to show what a hotty Dainin is, his suffering, and his eventual arrival to the point that he needs to help Mist out. Of course I can't forget that he would allow someone else to pay for his sins. Or the way he is willing to betray Mist. It's purely evil and it over shadows every move he makes, even when he's finally willing to die for Mist. Clearly he's the love interest in this series. One that I'm not feeling. He's a great character and highly fascinating, but it just doesn't work out for me. He still deceives Mist even after he realizes that he needs to help her. Hot N cold, sing it Perry.
This book was fairly long. But I felt like I just read the first half of a novel, where it's trying to frantically build up the world while making plot progress. For me there's barely anything that truly happens. Boredom is a feeling no reader should ever feel. The mythology was half baked at best and I felt that Krinard stepped back on a few of her "rules" of magic. There's too many questions running about at the end. Is Norse mythology the only true mythology of this world, are there others? How do they tie in? And on, and on! Plus, Loki's name gets mixed up with a few of the other characters. You can't have errors like that! Not when there is a character that can become anyone. I spent a good time wondering if it was an error, or if it was actually Loki.
In the end this title has potential I'm really curious as to what will happen in future books, but I'm only continuing if the next title can transform this series into what it could be. The action is tons of fun, even if Mist really never brings the heat. There's an interesting romance developing, even if I'm not that into it. The main reason for reading Mist is for Loki. Man is he scandalously delicious! Probably one of my favorite literary renditions of him. Come for the Norse mythology, stay for Loki.
Sexual Content: Nothing overly graphic, but there’s some sex and some naughty-naughty by Loki.
2/5- Average/disappointing, library check-out
Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.
July 14, 2013
Once, long ago Mist was a Valkyrie, an orphan raised to immortality, who served Odin. But that was before Ragnarok descended on the Norse Gods and Loki and his minions attacked the Aesir. Before her world collapsed into death and destruction, Odin gifted Mist with his Spear Gungnir and each of the other Valkyrie with an immortal weapon and sent them over the Rainbow Bridge to live in old Norway in Midgard among the humans
2050 years go by, and Mist is now living in San Francisco. She has hidden Gungnir behind wards that only a god could break and is friendly with Eric, a Norwegian man, who shares her affinity for ancient weapons. Mist, who once fought with other Valkyries in World War II to protect innocent mortals, cares about the mortals.
While walking in a park, Mist is attacked by a frost giant and also finds Dainn, an injured Alfar or elf. She is mystified by both events because she understood that all of the Gods, Frost Giants and Alfar, were dead, but Dainn tells her that the Gods are not dead at all. That Ragnarok never fully occurred and that the Gods have only been stuck in semi-corporeal form in another universe.
However, Dainn fears that Loki has escaped to Midgard. Dainn has been sent by Freja to find Mist and stop Loki. Loki has a plan to use his frost giant minions to take over Earth, and his first order of business is getting the treasures.
On returning to her home, Mist finds that Eric, was really Loki and that he has stolen Gungnir from its hidey hole. Dainn uses elf magic to help Mist find Loki who is at a bar owned by Odin's sons, who were also living in San Francisco. In the ensuing sword fight with Loki, Mist learns that she is not just an immortal Valkyrie, but a half godling herself, the daughter of Freya.
This is where the novel goes sideways. While it is interesting that Mist has an immortal treasure and is living among the mortals, clearly a half god, half Jotunar (giant) Valkyrie aided by magic against Loki, now that might be a good battle.
But is Loki, Mist's only enemy. Dainn, her magical helper, but a legendary traitor, and Freya, her mother, seem to also have a plan for Earth and for Mist.
As the novel progresses, Mist learns further magic, we learn a lot about Dainn and his bargain with Freya and about Loki and Freya alternate plans for Earth. Dainn is trying to teach Mist magic and unlock her god powers, but for what purpose?
While Loki wants to dominate and goes after classic evil men, no surprise here either, Freya and Dainn also have a plan, and it does not seem to involve an aware Mist in control of her own body. But although Mist is initially suspicious of Freya and Dainn's motivations, she does not remain suspicious, which makes no sense since Dainn is a legendary traitor. Moreover, Dainn's own motivations are also not believable. His nefarious plans for Mist at Freya's request are obvious within 30 pages of meeting him, but he falls under the sway of Mist and falls so hard for her, that he again is plotting to betray a god, Freya.
Susan Krinard spends a scant few pages in the seemingly tacked on prologue in an obvious attempt to show that Mist is a hero by having her fight the bad Nazis in World War II. We learn a bit more about the heroic and loyal Mist in the ensuing chapters. Another slightly discordant note is that Loki appears to be in Midgard as a real person, but that Freya cannot manifest unless she is in Mist's body. There is a lot of world building here as Krinard establishes Dainn, Freya and Loki's relationship and a lot of action as Mist goes after Loki again in order to find Gungnir
Still in all, this is a good urban fantasy that involves the oft overlooked Norse gods.
Mist is a good character and I think this trilogy has staying power.
2050 years go by, and Mist is now living in San Francisco. She has hidden Gungnir behind wards that only a god could break and is friendly with Eric, a Norwegian man, who shares her affinity for ancient weapons. Mist, who once fought with other Valkyries in World War II to protect innocent mortals, cares about the mortals.
While walking in a park, Mist is attacked by a frost giant and also finds Dainn, an injured Alfar or elf. She is mystified by both events because she understood that all of the Gods, Frost Giants and Alfar, were dead, but Dainn tells her that the Gods are not dead at all. That Ragnarok never fully occurred and that the Gods have only been stuck in semi-corporeal form in another universe.
However, Dainn fears that Loki has escaped to Midgard. Dainn has been sent by Freja to find Mist and stop Loki. Loki has a plan to use his frost giant minions to take over Earth, and his first order of business is getting the treasures.
On returning to her home, Mist finds that Eric, was really Loki and that he has stolen Gungnir from its hidey hole. Dainn uses elf magic to help Mist find Loki who is at a bar owned by Odin's sons, who were also living in San Francisco. In the ensuing sword fight with Loki, Mist learns that she is not just an immortal Valkyrie, but a half godling herself, the daughter of Freya.
This is where the novel goes sideways. While it is interesting that Mist has an immortal treasure and is living among the mortals, clearly a half god, half Jotunar (giant) Valkyrie aided by magic against Loki, now that might be a good battle.
But is Loki, Mist's only enemy. Dainn, her magical helper, but a legendary traitor, and Freya, her mother, seem to also have a plan for Earth and for Mist.
As the novel progresses, Mist learns further magic, we learn a lot about Dainn and his bargain with Freya and about Loki and Freya alternate plans for Earth. Dainn is trying to teach Mist magic and unlock her god powers, but for what purpose?
While Loki wants to dominate and goes after classic evil men, no surprise here either, Freya and Dainn also have a plan, and it does not seem to involve an aware Mist in control of her own body. But although Mist is initially suspicious of Freya and Dainn's motivations, she does not remain suspicious, which makes no sense since Dainn is a legendary traitor. Moreover, Dainn's own motivations are also not believable. His nefarious plans for Mist at Freya's request are obvious within 30 pages of meeting him, but he falls under the sway of Mist and falls so hard for her, that he again is plotting to betray a god, Freya.
Susan Krinard spends a scant few pages in the seemingly tacked on prologue in an obvious attempt to show that Mist is a hero by having her fight the bad Nazis in World War II. We learn a bit more about the heroic and loyal Mist in the ensuing chapters. Another slightly discordant note is that Loki appears to be in Midgard as a real person, but that Freya cannot manifest unless she is in Mist's body. There is a lot of world building here as Krinard establishes Dainn, Freya and Loki's relationship and a lot of action as Mist goes after Loki again in order to find Gungnir
Still in all, this is a good urban fantasy that involves the oft overlooked Norse gods.
Mist is a good character and I think this trilogy has staying power.
June 11, 2013
This book has left me in a quandry. I don't know whether it was A, the massively huge injection of Norse mythology or B, the constant and continuous action that left me in a rather confused tail-spin.
Let me 'splain. I love mythologies and learning about different pantheons, so much so that I studied ancient history for a spell at university. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Norse mythology is only what I gleamed from Thor - well, when I wasn't panting over Chris Hemsworth's incredibly cute Aussie arse that is.
sigh...
But I just couldn't seem to wrap my head around all of the different characters. As a newbie to this world, I needed a better explanation about Mist's history and what the hell had happened in the first place to kick everything off. I understand the softly, softly approach to introducing new information. Particularly for a UF book. But I found the author's method of doing this very confusing. I just couldn't seem to picture the characters in my head either - for half of the book, I thought that the frost giants were kinda... frosty looking. It turns out they actually look more like lumberjacks. duh.
Now, onto point B - the action was so dizzyingly constant that it made me feel super tired for everyone involved. Mist and Dainn seemed to run from point A to point B without pausing for breath. Not even time to stop for a Kit-Kat or a cup of tea. I know right? What happened to a good bit of drama round the kitchen sink? It was ex-haust-ing. I guess maybe they were so hyped up on super awesome Norse juice they never needed to sleep. But still, a stop for a chat (or an ogle, I'm not fussy) wouldn't have gone a miss surely?
This is not to say that Mist is not a well written book - because it is. This book is a fast-paced novel with a fantastic storyline and a lot of heart. If you know your Norse mythology and love a bit of sword play, you should definitely check this out. The romance is light, but remember - this is first and foremost an Urban Fantasy. Yes, Ladies and Gents, it's time to get your sword out (no, your other sword) and stick it to the big nasty. Shiny leather bottoms are in, as well as wise-cracks and sarcasm as a form of foreplay.
But back to the show: Mist is a Valkyrie with one foot stuck in the past and other facing out towards the future. She's an immortal, but is tired to death (ha!) of life. Separated from her sisters and the rest of her breathern, she lives in domestic bliss in San Fran with her human lover and two cats. Awww! Mist has been tasked to look after and protect Gungnir, a sword with magical properties and one of the many Norse treasures. But after it's stolen, she busts out the big guns and goes after her man ahem sword.
Mist's side-kick is the rather scrumptious Dainn, an elf with a dark past and a secret he can't share with her - or it could mean the end of their 'relationship'. I like Dainn. In fact I like any elf with a baddass side and is written to look and act nothing like Legolas - Orlando Bloom almost killed my love for elves... long live the baddass elf!
But for me, I sadly spent more time being confused and hoping that Mist and Dainn should just get it on already.
And because I love this movie (and Chris), I leave you with a parting gift. The gift of gif. Yay!
Read more book reviews with The Urban Book Thief here
Let me 'splain. I love mythologies and learning about different pantheons, so much so that I studied ancient history for a spell at university. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Norse mythology is only what I gleamed from Thor - well, when I wasn't panting over Chris Hemsworth's incredibly cute Aussie arse that is.
sigh...
But I just couldn't seem to wrap my head around all of the different characters. As a newbie to this world, I needed a better explanation about Mist's history and what the hell had happened in the first place to kick everything off. I understand the softly, softly approach to introducing new information. Particularly for a UF book. But I found the author's method of doing this very confusing. I just couldn't seem to picture the characters in my head either - for half of the book, I thought that the frost giants were kinda... frosty looking. It turns out they actually look more like lumberjacks. duh.
Now, onto point B - the action was so dizzyingly constant that it made me feel super tired for everyone involved. Mist and Dainn seemed to run from point A to point B without pausing for breath. Not even time to stop for a Kit-Kat or a cup of tea. I know right? What happened to a good bit of drama round the kitchen sink? It was ex-haust-ing. I guess maybe they were so hyped up on super awesome Norse juice they never needed to sleep. But still, a stop for a chat (or an ogle, I'm not fussy) wouldn't have gone a miss surely?
This is not to say that Mist is not a well written book - because it is. This book is a fast-paced novel with a fantastic storyline and a lot of heart. If you know your Norse mythology and love a bit of sword play, you should definitely check this out. The romance is light, but remember - this is first and foremost an Urban Fantasy. Yes, Ladies and Gents, it's time to get your sword out (no, your other sword) and stick it to the big nasty. Shiny leather bottoms are in, as well as wise-cracks and sarcasm as a form of foreplay.
But back to the show: Mist is a Valkyrie with one foot stuck in the past and other facing out towards the future. She's an immortal, but is tired to death (ha!) of life. Separated from her sisters and the rest of her breathern, she lives in domestic bliss in San Fran with her human lover and two cats. Awww! Mist has been tasked to look after and protect Gungnir, a sword with magical properties and one of the many Norse treasures. But after it's stolen, she busts out the big guns and goes after her man ahem sword.
Mist's side-kick is the rather scrumptious Dainn, an elf with a dark past and a secret he can't share with her - or it could mean the end of their 'relationship'. I like Dainn. In fact I like any elf with a baddass side and is written to look and act nothing like Legolas - Orlando Bloom almost killed my love for elves... long live the baddass elf!
But for me, I sadly spent more time being confused and hoping that Mist and Dainn should just get it on already.
And because I love this movie (and Chris), I leave you with a parting gift. The gift of gif. Yay!
Read more book reviews with The Urban Book Thief here
July 1, 2014
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: This book just didn’t work for me.
Opening Sentence: ”Just a little further, skatten min,” Mist said, helping the little girl to her feet.
The Review:
I have been holding on to hope that I would want to return to this book and then be able to review it, but I’ve come to the realization it just isn’t going to happen.
This book has everything going for it: a great premise, characters that I already know from my crazy love of comics, and writing that did hook me for 18% of the story. And yet, I just couldn’t pick it back up.
To be honest, I’m not sure if that is because there are so many other books I’m just holding out to read or if it is because this world doesn’t mesh with the multiverse of Loki that I can’t seem to get past. Every time I see his name some where all I can do is see Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in my head and it just doesn’t work.
The portion of the story that I did read was good but wasn’t enough to make me get beyond my Hiddleston roadblock. The fight sequence with the Jotunn was well written and the inclusion of magic was a good spin, but it just wasn’t enough to encourage me to continue reading.
Some of you may wonder why I didn’t give this book a bit more of a chance, but I had to come to the realization in the past year that life is too short to limit yourself to things that become chores. My love of reading is something I value highly and as soon as I start to feel like a book is a challenge, I want to either have it grab me by the coattails and not let me go or realize that this book is just not written with me in mind. And I have to accept that and not beat myself up about it.
I truly believe if you are looking for a new spin on Norse mythology you might find this a delightful read. There are many things that this book does so right but the mix just didn’t work for me. After looking at the ratings from GoodReads I’m clearly in a minority. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for Ms. Krinard’s other works and will try her Historical Werewolf series, Touch of the Wolf, or maybe her Val Cache series, Prince of Wolves. What I have loved about this adventure is that it has exposed me to Ms. Krinard’s work and I look forward to delving deeper into one of her other series.
Notable Scene:
Mist had seen its like countless times in Odin’s hall, Valhalla, regal and stately among the carousing Aesir and warriors, fairer to look upon than the sun. It had always been accepted that the most beautiful of all creatures were the light-elves of Alfheim, allies of the gods.
This man was not so beautiful. His face was a mask of gore and mud, one eye swollen shut and nose covered in blood. Yet his features could not be mistaken.
A frost giant had come to Midgard from gods-knew-where. Now one of the Alfar had arrived as well, against all reason. Against every “truth” she had known, believed for so long.
Mist touched the elf’s shoulder. “Can you hear me?” she asked in the Old Tongue.
He moved his hand, fingers digging into the soil, and spoke in a voice rough and raw with pain.
“Who…” he croaked, opening his one good eye. “How…”
There was no doubt, no doubt at all, that he was speaking the Old Tongue with the accent of the Alfar. He was every bit as real as the Jotunn had been.
FTC Advisory: Tor Books/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Mist. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: This book just didn’t work for me.
Opening Sentence: ”Just a little further, skatten min,” Mist said, helping the little girl to her feet.
The Review:
I have been holding on to hope that I would want to return to this book and then be able to review it, but I’ve come to the realization it just isn’t going to happen.
This book has everything going for it: a great premise, characters that I already know from my crazy love of comics, and writing that did hook me for 18% of the story. And yet, I just couldn’t pick it back up.
To be honest, I’m not sure if that is because there are so many other books I’m just holding out to read or if it is because this world doesn’t mesh with the multiverse of Loki that I can’t seem to get past. Every time I see his name some where all I can do is see Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in my head and it just doesn’t work.
The portion of the story that I did read was good but wasn’t enough to make me get beyond my Hiddleston roadblock. The fight sequence with the Jotunn was well written and the inclusion of magic was a good spin, but it just wasn’t enough to encourage me to continue reading.
Some of you may wonder why I didn’t give this book a bit more of a chance, but I had to come to the realization in the past year that life is too short to limit yourself to things that become chores. My love of reading is something I value highly and as soon as I start to feel like a book is a challenge, I want to either have it grab me by the coattails and not let me go or realize that this book is just not written with me in mind. And I have to accept that and not beat myself up about it.
I truly believe if you are looking for a new spin on Norse mythology you might find this a delightful read. There are many things that this book does so right but the mix just didn’t work for me. After looking at the ratings from GoodReads I’m clearly in a minority. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for Ms. Krinard’s other works and will try her Historical Werewolf series, Touch of the Wolf, or maybe her Val Cache series, Prince of Wolves. What I have loved about this adventure is that it has exposed me to Ms. Krinard’s work and I look forward to delving deeper into one of her other series.
Notable Scene:
Mist had seen its like countless times in Odin’s hall, Valhalla, regal and stately among the carousing Aesir and warriors, fairer to look upon than the sun. It had always been accepted that the most beautiful of all creatures were the light-elves of Alfheim, allies of the gods.
This man was not so beautiful. His face was a mask of gore and mud, one eye swollen shut and nose covered in blood. Yet his features could not be mistaken.
A frost giant had come to Midgard from gods-knew-where. Now one of the Alfar had arrived as well, against all reason. Against every “truth” she had known, believed for so long.
Mist touched the elf’s shoulder. “Can you hear me?” she asked in the Old Tongue.
He moved his hand, fingers digging into the soil, and spoke in a voice rough and raw with pain.
“Who…” he croaked, opening his one good eye. “How…”
There was no doubt, no doubt at all, that he was speaking the Old Tongue with the accent of the Alfar. He was every bit as real as the Jotunn had been.
FTC Advisory: Tor Books/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Mist. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
November 29, 2025
Loki is on the rise and his goal is to take control of the earth. Loki arrives in modern day San Francisco.
Valkyrie Mist is a guardian of ancient and powerful weapons entrusted to her by the god, Odin. Mist must reignite her zeal and lost faith and come to the rescue of the world. Enlisting help from a betrayer and a drunken god and then discovering that they are seriously behind in this take over, Mist must pull out all the stops before all is lost.
The battle between the gods and goddesses is inevitable, hanging in the balance will be Mist role in the coming war. Will the betrayer, betray again? Will Mist loose herself to the scheming gods and goddesses? Friend and foe is a precarious distinction when the ultimate war for power is in play.
Saturated in Norse lore, gods, goddesses, history and legend Mist will keep you on your mythological toes. I found Mist to be a difficult read but intriguing and extremely enlightening. There is in depth background and story building which distracted me from building any connection to the characters and the meat of the plot. A good story, an interesting premise and an intriguing direction, I will be checking out the second book in the Mist series.
I received this ARC copy of Mist from Macmillan-Tor/Forge - Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. This book is set for publication July 16, 2013.
Valkyrie Mist is a guardian of ancient and powerful weapons entrusted to her by the god, Odin. Mist must reignite her zeal and lost faith and come to the rescue of the world. Enlisting help from a betrayer and a drunken god and then discovering that they are seriously behind in this take over, Mist must pull out all the stops before all is lost.
The battle between the gods and goddesses is inevitable, hanging in the balance will be Mist role in the coming war. Will the betrayer, betray again? Will Mist loose herself to the scheming gods and goddesses? Friend and foe is a precarious distinction when the ultimate war for power is in play.
Saturated in Norse lore, gods, goddesses, history and legend Mist will keep you on your mythological toes. I found Mist to be a difficult read but intriguing and extremely enlightening. There is in depth background and story building which distracted me from building any connection to the characters and the meat of the plot. A good story, an interesting premise and an intriguing direction, I will be checking out the second book in the Mist series.
I received this ARC copy of Mist from Macmillan-Tor/Forge - Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. This book is set for publication July 16, 2013.
June 3, 2013
Easily 75% of the text in this first installment of the Mist series is dedicated to world building and contextualization of characters and events past and future. The world that Susan Krinard is building is well developed and intriguing.
Yet, for all of the contextualization, there is little for the reader to latch onto in terms of bonding with the characters.
The version of Mist we meet in this book is a proforma Urban Fantasy warrior heroine without any depth or emotion for the reader to bond with; in fact I bonded more with Loki her nemesis than I did with Mist.
Given that the world that Krinard is building has no black or white characters, the fact I bonded with Loki might have been her intention. However, I wanted to form a connection to Mist and I found her as airy and transparent as her name.
I wanted to like this book and tried very, very hard to get into it but could not for the life of me form a connection to Mist. That said, I’d like to reserve the right to return to this book and change my rating based on the next book in the series since so much of this book was dedicated to world-building.
Krinard laid enough of a foundation for this world in this first installment to spark my interest in a second installment; I just hope Krinard gives us a more rounded protagonist to bond with.
Yet, for all of the contextualization, there is little for the reader to latch onto in terms of bonding with the characters.
The version of Mist we meet in this book is a proforma Urban Fantasy warrior heroine without any depth or emotion for the reader to bond with; in fact I bonded more with Loki her nemesis than I did with Mist.
Given that the world that Krinard is building has no black or white characters, the fact I bonded with Loki might have been her intention. However, I wanted to form a connection to Mist and I found her as airy and transparent as her name.
I wanted to like this book and tried very, very hard to get into it but could not for the life of me form a connection to Mist. That said, I’d like to reserve the right to return to this book and change my rating based on the next book in the series since so much of this book was dedicated to world-building.
Krinard laid enough of a foundation for this world in this first installment to spark my interest in a second installment; I just hope Krinard gives us a more rounded protagonist to bond with.
May 24, 2013
I received an advanced copy of ''Mist'' from Tor to review.
Let me start by saying I really did like this book. I couldn't put it down and devoured it in just a couple days. That said, I must also confess that I couldn't love it as much as I really wanted to, and if it wasn't for the compelling story and the interesting characters, I probably wouldn't care if I read the next one or not. My main holdup is on the dialogue and the writing in general. In many parts, it seems to get stuck between formal and colloquial and can't quite make up its mind, and the dialogue between characters is often rather forced. So much so that it distracted me from the story. But, that story was still great. I was super excited to see a fantasy novel based on Norse mythology, and I was not disappointed in Krinard's interpretation of it. All in all, ''Mist'' is worth taking a look at if you want to a light urban fantasy that has a well-researched foundation and throws in a few sexy immortals for fun.
Let me start by saying I really did like this book. I couldn't put it down and devoured it in just a couple days. That said, I must also confess that I couldn't love it as much as I really wanted to, and if it wasn't for the compelling story and the interesting characters, I probably wouldn't care if I read the next one or not. My main holdup is on the dialogue and the writing in general. In many parts, it seems to get stuck between formal and colloquial and can't quite make up its mind, and the dialogue between characters is often rather forced. So much so that it distracted me from the story. But, that story was still great. I was super excited to see a fantasy novel based on Norse mythology, and I was not disappointed in Krinard's interpretation of it. All in all, ''Mist'' is worth taking a look at if you want to a light urban fantasy that has a well-researched foundation and throws in a few sexy immortals for fun.
September 27, 2018
DNF at 25% therefore no rating.
I was really looking forward to this being a story of 'just' a Valkyrie, just a regular non-super-powered immortal, not a secret speshul snowflake in disguise.
I've been struggling with wanting to continue this for a whole month, and it's really not for me. I should stop trying to expand my horizons and go back to young adult.
I was really looking forward to this being a story of 'just' a Valkyrie, just a regular non-super-powered immortal, not a secret speshul snowflake in disguise.
I've been struggling with wanting to continue this for a whole month, and it's really not for me. I should stop trying to expand my horizons and go back to young adult.
December 31, 2018
I loved this book. I loved Mist so much. I loved how she didn't give up and how she was willing to fight with everything that she had. I felt so bad for her when instead of being her boyfriend, he ended up being Loki. I never actually trusted Dainn, and I hope that I end up being correct. I love how they continue to defeat Loki and the frost giants. I have always loved mythology, and this was no exception. 10 stars.
July 19, 2014
I would have rated this book about 3.7 stars, but due to a mixture of typographical errors that shouldn't have made it into the final publication, and the overwhelming amount of Norse mythology without a reference guide anywhere in the book, I am forced to rate it 3 stars on almost all public review sites
Ms. Krinard is certainly not tentatively testing the waters of urban fantasy with this book - she is diving in head-first. And what a dive it is, leading us into a book full of interesting characters, rollicking fights, mind-blowing magic (sometimes literally), all led by a take-no-prisoners style heroine. If you don't know your Norse mythology, be prepared for a crash course, as you'll need it when the groundwork is being laid and when the story moves forward.
Mist is a complicated character, a Valkyrie stuck walking the earth longer than can be imagined, bearing guilt over a choice she made, which influenced some of her Sister Valkyries, only to later learn just how widespread the ramifications of her choice were. She even lost some beloved Sisters because they followed her lead, or so she believes.
She has seen the best and worst of mankind, but still she feels attached to Midgard, the realm she and her Sisters had been banished to at the start of the Last Battle. Once mortal, she still longs for love, sex, companionship. However this is mostly denied to her as she appears to never age, and most of the men of Midgard (Earth) don't appreciate a strong woman. So when she learns she's been played by Loki she is enraged. But even that takes a second seat to her shock, for she learns of the betrayal from an Alfar (elf). But they were supposed to have all died in the Last Battle, the one which killed Odin and all the Aesir, the one that left the Valkyrie stranded, alone, and guarding weapons for Gods that would never rise again.
Thus begins Mist's education about what really happened. Well, at least as much the Alfar Dainn can recall. He is working for one of the Gods on their side, which is one reason he was attacked by a frost giant, one that Mist ended up scaring away. Though she later learns the frost giant was simply a distraction to allow Loki to circle back to Mist's loft to steal Gungnir. Gungnir, Odin's magical spear that never misses its target, the spear that had entrusted to Mist to guard with her life. The very same spear that Loki now had in his possession. Thus begins of the real Last Battle, the battle for the ownership of Midgard.
Mist is one heck of a resilient character. But it seems her downfall may be her feelings for the people of Midgard. Even after witnessing all the atrocities they put each other through, she still has faith in their innate goodness. One of the more recent atrocities was the Nazi invasion, a event which left a lasting impression on Mist and her Sisters. So much so that it was the last time Mist saw any of her Sisters. And that means the race is on, for both Loki and Mist want to reach all the Valkyrie first, in order to gain possession of, or safeguard, the weapons entrusted to each of the Sisters. Mist knows it is crucial to gather and protect those weapons until Odin and the others can find more bridges into Midgard, bridges like those Loki used. For if Loki gets his hands on those weapons before the Aesir get to Midgard the game is over, this time forever.
In addition to all this Dainn is teaching Mist to access her inner abilities, for she is no mere mortal as she'd always been told. Yet she's smart enough to initially understand that she isn't being taught out of love. But with all the truth and lies she's being bombarded with, will she be able to separate fact from fiction before it's too late? And will she catch on to the fact that her role in this war is likely to be far larger that she anticipates? Who is really her friend, and who is her foe? Will her Sisters ever forgive her for her prior error, or will they string her along and then drop her just when she needs them most? So many questions, and this is only the end of the first book!
New York Times bestselling author Susan Krinard launches her first urban fantasy series.
Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors.
Or so she thought.
When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.
Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….
Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.
Ms. Krinard is certainly not tentatively testing the waters of urban fantasy with this book - she is diving in head-first. And what a dive it is, leading us into a book full of interesting characters, rollicking fights, mind-blowing magic (sometimes literally), all led by a take-no-prisoners style heroine. If you don't know your Norse mythology, be prepared for a crash course, as you'll need it when the groundwork is being laid and when the story moves forward.
Mist is a complicated character, a Valkyrie stuck walking the earth longer than can be imagined, bearing guilt over a choice she made, which influenced some of her Sister Valkyries, only to later learn just how widespread the ramifications of her choice were. She even lost some beloved Sisters because they followed her lead, or so she believes.
She has seen the best and worst of mankind, but still she feels attached to Midgard, the realm she and her Sisters had been banished to at the start of the Last Battle. Once mortal, she still longs for love, sex, companionship. However this is mostly denied to her as she appears to never age, and most of the men of Midgard (Earth) don't appreciate a strong woman. So when she learns she's been played by Loki she is enraged. But even that takes a second seat to her shock, for she learns of the betrayal from an Alfar (elf). But they were supposed to have all died in the Last Battle, the one which killed Odin and all the Aesir, the one that left the Valkyrie stranded, alone, and guarding weapons for Gods that would never rise again.
Thus begins Mist's education about what really happened. Well, at least as much the Alfar Dainn can recall. He is working for one of the Gods on their side, which is one reason he was attacked by a frost giant, one that Mist ended up scaring away. Though she later learns the frost giant was simply a distraction to allow Loki to circle back to Mist's loft to steal Gungnir. Gungnir, Odin's magical spear that never misses its target, the spear that had entrusted to Mist to guard with her life. The very same spear that Loki now had in his possession. Thus begins of the real Last Battle, the battle for the ownership of Midgard.
Mist is one heck of a resilient character. But it seems her downfall may be her feelings for the people of Midgard. Even after witnessing all the atrocities they put each other through, she still has faith in their innate goodness. One of the more recent atrocities was the Nazi invasion, a event which left a lasting impression on Mist and her Sisters. So much so that it was the last time Mist saw any of her Sisters. And that means the race is on, for both Loki and Mist want to reach all the Valkyrie first, in order to gain possession of, or safeguard, the weapons entrusted to each of the Sisters. Mist knows it is crucial to gather and protect those weapons until Odin and the others can find more bridges into Midgard, bridges like those Loki used. For if Loki gets his hands on those weapons before the Aesir get to Midgard the game is over, this time forever.
In addition to all this Dainn is teaching Mist to access her inner abilities, for she is no mere mortal as she'd always been told. Yet she's smart enough to initially understand that she isn't being taught out of love. But with all the truth and lies she's being bombarded with, will she be able to separate fact from fiction before it's too late? And will she catch on to the fact that her role in this war is likely to be far larger that she anticipates? Who is really her friend, and who is her foe? Will her Sisters ever forgive her for her prior error, or will they string her along and then drop her just when she needs them most? So many questions, and this is only the end of the first book!
July 17, 2013
Mist is a Valkyrie, one of the last remnants of the Norse pantheon left on Midgard, following her sacred duty to keep the Treasures safe that Odin entrusted to her, and her sister’s, care.
But many centuries have passed and she has lost a lot of faith in this role – she is slowly adopting a normal life in San Francisco with the Norse firmly in her past. Until she runs into a Jotun who tries to kill her and an Alfar who has some ominous news – the 8 other Realms are gone, but Ragnarok has not yet been fought. The other gods are still out there, seeking passage to Midgard to begin the fight
And Loki is already on Midgard, already preparing to win and unleash his own brand of chaos on the world. It’s down to Mist to stop him, especially when he steals Odin’s spear, Gungnir, her charge to defend.
I love Norse mythology. Actually, I love mythology in general and are a definite mythology junkie. This is the kind of book that can be guaranteed to be like catnip for me – I’m reeled straight in to any world that incorporates all the details – the more the author has dug and the more obscure elements they have included, the more geeky glee I enjoy.
So here we had a full selection of the Norse on display, a delving into their treasures, and expansion and mention of so much of the nitty gritty of Norse mythology – it’s the kind of thing I love, it’s the kind of thing I can guarantee will hold me interested because of my geeky obsession because there is simply so much of the Norse mythology folded into this world setting. It made for a fascinating world with a lot of strong characters because of the amount there, the fullness of the background and integration and the incredible knowledge the author has and has included
However, pushing through my own enjoyment, I have to say that if you’re not a major mythology geek it’s going to be too much. There are too many unnecessary references, not all of them very well explained if you don’t’ have a good grounding in Norse mythology already. There’s a lot of Norse words, Norse references, Norse exclamations – I don’t know if it could be confusing, but it could slow the book. Certainly a lot of them are not necessary to the story. I don’t want to criticise this because of my own geeky love of it, but objectively I think it’s the mythological equivalent of those authors who include lots and lots of literary quotes to prove they have an English Lit degree.
Because pacing in this book isn’t brilliant to begin with. It’s not awful, I’ve certainly read a lot worse, but there’s a lot of time when Mist, Dainn or Loki are sat considering their next move and thinking about the situation they’re in. A lot of these are used as teasers for various big reveals with Loki or Dainn’s long, rambling thought processes tip-toeing all around the surprise until they get almost to it – then their thoughts get interrupted. It’s just more dragged out than it has to be and sometimes my mind did wander. I don’t think the fight scenes are written in a way that flows or gets the full sense of the action either – 5 minutes of frenzied activity can feel like 1 hour of 2 people doing stuff while everyone else watches.
But these are relatively minor complaints. They’re there, they’re problems but not big ones – the monologuing isn’t so long as to frustrate me, the fight scenes are still exciting enough to keep me engaged, follow the action and feel that the action is there, the world building is a little overdone but it’s all really fascinating. All of these things aren’t critical flaws in the book so much as a lack of polish over the already excellent bones of the story – which is a good story, with multiple actors all playing their own games, all fighting with conflicting motives, a lot of twists and a couple of red herrings to keep you guessing. It’s exactly what I’d expect from a series of gods plotting with and against each other – simple on the surface but with a large amount of background machinations that could easily trip you up. It’s deep, it’s nuanced, it has lots of angles and is generally interesting to read.
Read More
But many centuries have passed and she has lost a lot of faith in this role – she is slowly adopting a normal life in San Francisco with the Norse firmly in her past. Until she runs into a Jotun who tries to kill her and an Alfar who has some ominous news – the 8 other Realms are gone, but Ragnarok has not yet been fought. The other gods are still out there, seeking passage to Midgard to begin the fight
And Loki is already on Midgard, already preparing to win and unleash his own brand of chaos on the world. It’s down to Mist to stop him, especially when he steals Odin’s spear, Gungnir, her charge to defend.
I love Norse mythology. Actually, I love mythology in general and are a definite mythology junkie. This is the kind of book that can be guaranteed to be like catnip for me – I’m reeled straight in to any world that incorporates all the details – the more the author has dug and the more obscure elements they have included, the more geeky glee I enjoy.
So here we had a full selection of the Norse on display, a delving into their treasures, and expansion and mention of so much of the nitty gritty of Norse mythology – it’s the kind of thing I love, it’s the kind of thing I can guarantee will hold me interested because of my geeky obsession because there is simply so much of the Norse mythology folded into this world setting. It made for a fascinating world with a lot of strong characters because of the amount there, the fullness of the background and integration and the incredible knowledge the author has and has included
However, pushing through my own enjoyment, I have to say that if you’re not a major mythology geek it’s going to be too much. There are too many unnecessary references, not all of them very well explained if you don’t’ have a good grounding in Norse mythology already. There’s a lot of Norse words, Norse references, Norse exclamations – I don’t know if it could be confusing, but it could slow the book. Certainly a lot of them are not necessary to the story. I don’t want to criticise this because of my own geeky love of it, but objectively I think it’s the mythological equivalent of those authors who include lots and lots of literary quotes to prove they have an English Lit degree.
Because pacing in this book isn’t brilliant to begin with. It’s not awful, I’ve certainly read a lot worse, but there’s a lot of time when Mist, Dainn or Loki are sat considering their next move and thinking about the situation they’re in. A lot of these are used as teasers for various big reveals with Loki or Dainn’s long, rambling thought processes tip-toeing all around the surprise until they get almost to it – then their thoughts get interrupted. It’s just more dragged out than it has to be and sometimes my mind did wander. I don’t think the fight scenes are written in a way that flows or gets the full sense of the action either – 5 minutes of frenzied activity can feel like 1 hour of 2 people doing stuff while everyone else watches.
But these are relatively minor complaints. They’re there, they’re problems but not big ones – the monologuing isn’t so long as to frustrate me, the fight scenes are still exciting enough to keep me engaged, follow the action and feel that the action is there, the world building is a little overdone but it’s all really fascinating. All of these things aren’t critical flaws in the book so much as a lack of polish over the already excellent bones of the story – which is a good story, with multiple actors all playing their own games, all fighting with conflicting motives, a lot of twists and a couple of red herrings to keep you guessing. It’s exactly what I’d expect from a series of gods plotting with and against each other – simple on the surface but with a large amount of background machinations that could easily trip you up. It’s deep, it’s nuanced, it has lots of angles and is generally interesting to read.
Read More
August 22, 2013
See this and other reviews at Wandering Meander
You know, I think vampires have had their day in urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I totally got on the Greek mythology bandwagon (and positively squee'd when Sherrilyn Kenyon combined both vampires and Greek mythology in one series). But I think it's time for me to respectfully bow out. It's not you, vampire fiction; it's me.
And then I saw Mist sitting in my favorite bookstore, with a kick-ass heroine holding a sword with one hand while grabbing friggin' lightning with the other. When the blurb was all "You know what I got? Norse Valkyries in San Francisco - that's what!" it was a few quick skips to the checkout counter.
I'll admit, I got a little twitchy with excitement while reading the first chunk of the book. Valkyries. Lost artifacts. Missing gods. Ragnarok! Frost giants in Golden Gate Park! Aah - so much excitement!
And then I don't know exactly what happened.
Or rather, I know exactly what didn't happen.
There was no massive cosmic war.
There were no more Valkyries.
The Frost giants didn't do anything more than show up to be the Generic Bad Guys.
Loki makes an appearance and he's kind of a dick, but that doesn't really make him "ultimate villain who will end the world" material.
Some "special" mortal characters are introduced, but their talents don't make a ton of sense in driving the plot.
Then I got to the finale, and without trying to spoil anything, I can't say that I was blown away or felt like it was a good payoff. Sure there was a "reveal" about Mist and her abilities, but it's not like that couldn't have been thrown into the "booyah" first half, progressing the plot along a little farther than Not At All. The whole book, the whole set up about the missing Treasures of the Gods, all of this book is there to setup our heroine to make her the most badass thing since a shark with a laser beam attached to its head. Once that's done, though, there's nothing left to really drive the plot.
It's like this volume is so twisted up in setting up a series that it forgets to tell a complete story by the time the reader gets to the final page. There's plenty of plot promise, but not a whole lot of plot delivery. There are fight scenes, one which quickly blends into the next, and a few new characters introduced - not that they are vastly different from one another. So yet another book falls to the Setting Up a Series Syndrome, and I am vaguely disappointed.
I can't anti-recommend this book, because I did enjoy the concept and for all that it felt like a series premiere of a new SyFy show, my time was not wasted. I would tentatively recommend for die-hard Norse fans, and probably for Krinard fans (this is the first book of hers I've read). I'll be a bit more cautious about reading the next book, whenever it comes out.
You know, I think vampires have had their day in urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I totally got on the Greek mythology bandwagon (and positively squee'd when Sherrilyn Kenyon combined both vampires and Greek mythology in one series). But I think it's time for me to respectfully bow out. It's not you, vampire fiction; it's me.
And then I saw Mist sitting in my favorite bookstore, with a kick-ass heroine holding a sword with one hand while grabbing friggin' lightning with the other. When the blurb was all "You know what I got? Norse Valkyries in San Francisco - that's what!" it was a few quick skips to the checkout counter.
I'll admit, I got a little twitchy with excitement while reading the first chunk of the book. Valkyries. Lost artifacts. Missing gods. Ragnarok! Frost giants in Golden Gate Park! Aah - so much excitement!
And then I don't know exactly what happened.
Or rather, I know exactly what didn't happen.
There was no massive cosmic war.
There were no more Valkyries.
The Frost giants didn't do anything more than show up to be the Generic Bad Guys.
Loki makes an appearance and he's kind of a dick, but that doesn't really make him "ultimate villain who will end the world" material.
Some "special" mortal characters are introduced, but their talents don't make a ton of sense in driving the plot.
Then I got to the finale, and without trying to spoil anything, I can't say that I was blown away or felt like it was a good payoff. Sure there was a "reveal" about Mist and her abilities, but it's not like that couldn't have been thrown into the "booyah" first half, progressing the plot along a little farther than Not At All. The whole book, the whole set up about the missing Treasures of the Gods, all of this book is there to setup our heroine to make her the most badass thing since a shark with a laser beam attached to its head. Once that's done, though, there's nothing left to really drive the plot.
It's like this volume is so twisted up in setting up a series that it forgets to tell a complete story by the time the reader gets to the final page. There's plenty of plot promise, but not a whole lot of plot delivery. There are fight scenes, one which quickly blends into the next, and a few new characters introduced - not that they are vastly different from one another. So yet another book falls to the Setting Up a Series Syndrome, and I am vaguely disappointed.
I can't anti-recommend this book, because I did enjoy the concept and for all that it felt like a series premiere of a new SyFy show, my time was not wasted. I would tentatively recommend for die-hard Norse fans, and probably for Krinard fans (this is the first book of hers I've read). I'll be a bit more cautious about reading the next book, whenever it comes out.
August 12, 2019
I will also do a video review here at my channel: http://www.youtube.com/magicofbooks
Read the full written review here: http://www.readdreamrelax.com/book-re...
My second time reading this book as I head into my binge-read, since I never did get around to reading books 1 and 2. And looks like my original review no longer exists, which sucks, so I'll just do a quick review here.
What you need to know about "Mist" is that it is book 1 in the "Midgard" series following a woman named Mist who is a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. She's hundreds of years old, but currently lives in present day San Francisco where she lives a calm, normal life with her boyfriend Eric. Turns out her boyfriend is actually the god of mischief, Loki, who is on the hunt for important items from the various different Norse gods and goddesses. Mist no longer has her normal life and has to swing back into action and stop Loki from harming the people of Earth (or Midgard). She's helped by an elf named Dainn who has a dark backstory and is fighting his own demons. Mist also learns some things about her own past and parentage that she never knew before, but may come in handy with this battle with Loki.
Overall, I did enjoy this book when I originally read it, and I still liked it here during my re-read. I guess you could describe the series as urban fantasy. This first book is light and fun. It's not great literature, you don't have to think much about it, but the point is that it's fun. I recommend this series if you love all things Norse mythology, especially in a modern setting. The characters are interesting and I loved all the easter eggs to the mythology. It probably will help if you are familiar with something like the Prose Edda. If all you are familiar with is Thor and Loki from the Marvel comics or Marvel movies, that will only help you so far because the comics and original mythology are two totally different things. I also recommend this if you are just a fan of the character of Loki in general. Sometimes I would get a wee bit of a giggle here and there because sometimes I felt like I was reading Loki fanfiction (and yes, I absolutely have Tom Hiddleston pictured in my head as I read. He will always be Loki to me). So if you like Norse mythology, the action/adventure genre, lots of magic, a strong female heroine, and sexy Loki, then this series is for you.
Read the full written review here: http://www.readdreamrelax.com/book-re...
My second time reading this book as I head into my binge-read, since I never did get around to reading books 1 and 2. And looks like my original review no longer exists, which sucks, so I'll just do a quick review here.
What you need to know about "Mist" is that it is book 1 in the "Midgard" series following a woman named Mist who is a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. She's hundreds of years old, but currently lives in present day San Francisco where she lives a calm, normal life with her boyfriend Eric. Turns out her boyfriend is actually the god of mischief, Loki, who is on the hunt for important items from the various different Norse gods and goddesses. Mist no longer has her normal life and has to swing back into action and stop Loki from harming the people of Earth (or Midgard). She's helped by an elf named Dainn who has a dark backstory and is fighting his own demons. Mist also learns some things about her own past and parentage that she never knew before, but may come in handy with this battle with Loki.
Overall, I did enjoy this book when I originally read it, and I still liked it here during my re-read. I guess you could describe the series as urban fantasy. This first book is light and fun. It's not great literature, you don't have to think much about it, but the point is that it's fun. I recommend this series if you love all things Norse mythology, especially in a modern setting. The characters are interesting and I loved all the easter eggs to the mythology. It probably will help if you are familiar with something like the Prose Edda. If all you are familiar with is Thor and Loki from the Marvel comics or Marvel movies, that will only help you so far because the comics and original mythology are two totally different things. I also recommend this if you are just a fan of the character of Loki in general. Sometimes I would get a wee bit of a giggle here and there because sometimes I felt like I was reading Loki fanfiction (and yes, I absolutely have Tom Hiddleston pictured in my head as I read. He will always be Loki to me). So if you like Norse mythology, the action/adventure genre, lots of magic, a strong female heroine, and sexy Loki, then this series is for you.
July 20, 2013
MIST is urban fantasy in the most classic application of the genre, taking the intricate mythology and tropes of classic Fantasy and transporting them to the streets of San Francisco. Reminiscent of Mercedes Lackey’s Bardic Voices, but with a Nordic twist, Krinard brings frost giants and ancient godlings to life in the modern world.
While the Krinard’s premise and mythology worked really well for me, the heroine Mist was the confluence of several mechanisms that fell flat. As a Valkyrie with intimate knowledge of the history an politics of the gods, Mist had many expository conversations that poured all of that knowledge into the narration, too much and for too long to keep me interested. At the same time, the heroine is also experiencing changes in her magic, lifetime secrets are being revealed. Fated, innate magic that swoops in to save the day distanced me from the story as well, as the mechanics of these transformative events are beyond the character’s grasp (or being kept from her) and thus not interesting to unravel.
In addition to Mist’s developing magic, both the hero and lover-turned-villain points of view make it clear that there are a lot of machinations behind the scenes of which Mist remains unaware. Though the story initially paints Mist as a strong, kick butt Valkyrie, these key elements of the story repaint her as progressively more vulnerable and oblivious. The narrative took on flavors of an old school romance, complete with a damsel in over her head, a hero with a tortured past and a secret, and Loki providing the sexually depraved villain point of view. Unlike a romance, however, this urban fantasy series has a long road to go before happily-ever-after, making this particular installment fall flat for me.
Despite a strong start and original mythology, the mechanics of how Krinard’s characters unfold didn’t work for me. The cast of characters expanded before I was particularly invested in the hero and heroine, and as the narration followed Mist, Dainn and Loki, I found myself equally alienated from hero, heroine, side kicks and villain. Fans of classic fantasy will enjoy this modern take on Norse mythology, but the excellent world building wasn’t enough to keep me anchored in the story.
Sexual Content: Non explicit sex and rape scenes.
While the Krinard’s premise and mythology worked really well for me, the heroine Mist was the confluence of several mechanisms that fell flat. As a Valkyrie with intimate knowledge of the history an politics of the gods, Mist had many expository conversations that poured all of that knowledge into the narration, too much and for too long to keep me interested. At the same time, the heroine is also experiencing changes in her magic, lifetime secrets are being revealed. Fated, innate magic that swoops in to save the day distanced me from the story as well, as the mechanics of these transformative events are beyond the character’s grasp (or being kept from her) and thus not interesting to unravel.
In addition to Mist’s developing magic, both the hero and lover-turned-villain points of view make it clear that there are a lot of machinations behind the scenes of which Mist remains unaware. Though the story initially paints Mist as a strong, kick butt Valkyrie, these key elements of the story repaint her as progressively more vulnerable and oblivious. The narrative took on flavors of an old school romance, complete with a damsel in over her head, a hero with a tortured past and a secret, and Loki providing the sexually depraved villain point of view. Unlike a romance, however, this urban fantasy series has a long road to go before happily-ever-after, making this particular installment fall flat for me.
Despite a strong start and original mythology, the mechanics of how Krinard’s characters unfold didn’t work for me. The cast of characters expanded before I was particularly invested in the hero and heroine, and as the narration followed Mist, Dainn and Loki, I found myself equally alienated from hero, heroine, side kicks and villain. Fans of classic fantasy will enjoy this modern take on Norse mythology, but the excellent world building wasn’t enough to keep me anchored in the story.
Sexual Content: Non explicit sex and rape scenes.
Read
July 8, 2017If you're a fan of Norse mythology and looking for something to read, the first book in Susan Krinard's new urban fantasy series may be just what you need. MIST is an adult novel, so I wouldn't recommend it to a kid looking for a Percy Jackson-esque story (And for that, we have Rick Riordan's own Norse mythology series due out in 2015 anyway!).
Mist was one of three Valkyrie to escape her dying world during Ragnarok. She escaped to our world and no longer holds the same beliefs she once did. She never ages, and has lived through unspeakable horrors such as the Holocaust. One day on her way home from working out, she stumbles into an angry Jotunar (frost giant) and Alfar (elf). She realizes that Ragnarok never happened. Loki is back, seeking Odin's Gungnir, which is in Mist's possession. The only problem? Loki was also disguising himself as Mist's boyfriend of the last six months. The jig up, Loki steals Gungnir and runs. It's up to Mist and the all-knowing Alfar Dainn to follow Freja's will from beyond and save Midgard before Loki brings the real Ragnarok down and destroys our world.
There's a lot of Norse mythology going on here. I'm not as familiar with Norse as I am other mythologies, though I wish I knew more. The book was rich with this information, and brought in many types of creatures and gods. There's so much more to Mist than what meets the eye, and she learns a lot about herself that was kept hidden from her over the centuries, information that changes everything. Her love interest, Dainn, knows more than he shares with her, and at first, he's dislikable, but once readers get a glimpse through his eyes, he becomes more endearing. I also sort of envisioned him as Legolas. Sorry, Orlando Bloom. There's so much world-building going on in MIST, and at times, I question the rhyme and reason of things, but I'm hoping these matters become more fleshed out in future books. MIST is still a great fantasy novel for fans of Norse mythology or those looking to learn more about it!
June 3, 2013
Note: I received this as a free eARC through Netgalley
I’ve never read any of Susan’s book yet, so I didn’t know what to expect from her writing style, but what I hoped for was an enthralling, fast paced, compelling story with a strong, smart and dignified heroine, a crafty, so-much-more-than-simply-evil REAL villain and plenty of Mythological references.
What I actually got, fortunately, doesn’t alter much from those above. I got what I expected and I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to read this wonderful book, despite the issues I had. One of my eyes is smiling, while the other is crying over the fact that it's going to be a trilogy, because waiting for the next one is one of the worst kind of tortures, but I'm also happy because there's so much more to explore of this amazing world. I highly recommend the book to anyone who like the genre. Absolutely stunning storytelling!
Aaaaaand Cliffhanger alert! Yes, there is NO END yet, so I should start crating a survivor plan, because the waiting for the next book is already killing me, and this one isn't even out yet!! Oh Odin's hairy balls!
Read my full review here!
I’ve never read any of Susan’s book yet, so I didn’t know what to expect from her writing style, but what I hoped for was an enthralling, fast paced, compelling story with a strong, smart and dignified heroine, a crafty, so-much-more-than-simply-evil REAL villain and plenty of Mythological references.
What I actually got, fortunately, doesn’t alter much from those above. I got what I expected and I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to read this wonderful book, despite the issues I had. One of my eyes is smiling, while the other is crying over the fact that it's going to be a trilogy, because waiting for the next one is one of the worst kind of tortures, but I'm also happy because there's so much more to explore of this amazing world. I highly recommend the book to anyone who like the genre. Absolutely stunning storytelling!
Aaaaaand Cliffhanger alert! Yes, there is NO END yet, so I should start crating a survivor plan, because the waiting for the next book is already killing me, and this one isn't even out yet!! Oh Odin's hairy balls!
Read my full review here!
July 17, 2013
I did expect more from this cos it had such a cool premise with Norse Mythology. The myths of my genes (my soul is another business). But I just never connected with Mist. For someone that old she was not very smart.
I know I read an ARC but I just came across such an unforgivable thing. "The Border of Norway and Switzerland", oh I did not now that. Has Norway moved? And do not give me the they both begin with Sw. I expect more from an ARC that deals with Norse mythology. I wondered how others would feel about this book, strange words and things are scattered through out it I know Norwegian, I know my myths so that was not a problem, but did others feel the same? Or would it be confusing?
Still it had its good moments. Action with frost giants, a strange Elf, and of course the great trickster Loki causing havoc. And I know he is a lusty devil, but enough is enough. It just got icky and he was not a baddie I was scared of. But there is a good cliffie ending that promising bad things to happen. How on earth Mist will get out of this one I do not know. Maybe Ragnarök will finally happen.
Conclusion:
But for me connection is important and sadly it did not happen for me this time. But the story was promising.
I know I read an ARC but I just came across such an unforgivable thing. "The Border of Norway and Switzerland", oh I did not now that. Has Norway moved? And do not give me the they both begin with Sw. I expect more from an ARC that deals with Norse mythology. I wondered how others would feel about this book, strange words and things are scattered through out it I know Norwegian, I know my myths so that was not a problem, but did others feel the same? Or would it be confusing?
Still it had its good moments. Action with frost giants, a strange Elf, and of course the great trickster Loki causing havoc. And I know he is a lusty devil, but enough is enough. It just got icky and he was not a baddie I was scared of. But there is a good cliffie ending that promising bad things to happen. How on earth Mist will get out of this one I do not know. Maybe Ragnarök will finally happen.
Conclusion:
But for me connection is important and sadly it did not happen for me this time. But the story was promising.
July 18, 2013
... the idea that fuels this book is a unique one that will appeal to all the people who look for unique urban fantasy books to read. There’s a huge amount of promise here, but unfortunately Mist just doesn’t deliver any of it. Krinard has a clunky execution. Her characters are underdeveloped. The world barely exists in my mind’s eye. There’s no emotional appeal due to a tell-rather-than-show style of writing. Infodumps and overly long scenes are distracting and wooden dialogue makes whatever interest that could exist nonexistent. In the end, I must commend the author for the effort it takes to write a book, while admitting that I just can’t recommend this one.
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2013/07/...
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2013/07/...
September 14, 2013
My rating is probably really only a 3.5 on this one. I love all kinds of mythology and wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. There were parts I realky enjoyed but then I felt that there were so many parts where the characters would dodge the truth to one another and that only served to make things a little more dull and drawn out to me. It was frustrating because I thought this had so much potential. So, I don't know if I'll read the next one or not...it really depends on the synopsis and if it sounds better.
May 24, 2014
Odin's hairy balls! Freya's tits! Loki's piss! The interjections come fast and furious when Norse gods run amok in San Francisco.
Full review here: http://superheronovels.com/2014/05/24...
Full review here: http://superheronovels.com/2014/05/24...
July 16, 2013
Not a new series I'll be following. See the full review here:
http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2013/0...
http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2013/0...
April 16, 2020
There’s been a resurrgence in interest in Norse mythology these days, and Mist is primed to take advantage of that. Taking place in San Francisco, the story centres mainly around Mist, a Valkyrie who no longer has much of an association with the deities she once served, due to believing that they all died after Ragnarok. She spends her time just living life, going through day-to-day mundania, with some breaks for training in order to keep her weapons’ skills up to snuff.
And that’s where the plot twists start. The old gods are alive and well, but most of them are simply residing in another plane of existence. Except for Loki, the smooth-talking tricksy bastard that he is, who’s very much present on this plane and making use of his time by trying to provoke Ragnarok. Yes, it turns out that what the surviving Valkyrie thought was Ragnarok actually wasn’t, because not all the signs were right, and so now that actual Ragnarok is coming, and signs are starting to be felt.
Or so we’re told, because the biggest tip-off to Mist is supposed to be the fact that San Francisco is getting colder and it’s been snowing more, signalling an unusual winter. But aside from a first mention where she makes that connection, that fact gets relegated to something that’s only mentioned in passing from then on, completely ruining the urgency that’s supposed to be felt over the changing times. It seemed a leap of logic to start with. I know it doesn’t see snow often, but it’s not like it’s completely unheard of. Definitely remarkable, though, if not a herald of the end times, but nobody else seems to actually remark on it. Even the completely mortal characters who get dragged into things later on don’t give it a mention, and seeing as how those kids lived on the street, you’d think that they might have mentioned it as a concern.
Mist herself alternates as an interesting character and then a bog-standard one. She has strength, and it’s not just pseudo-strength that’s passed off in a lot of urban fantasies. She knows how to use multiple weapons, she’s not afraid to lay physical and verbal beatdowns when needed, and she’s throws herself into danger more often than not. Occasionally stupidly so, but I found that actually added to her interest, because it was a major flaw. She was used to standing alone, and it showed. On the other hand, besides those things, I can’t actually think of a single thing that could describe her. I have no idea what there was to Mist beyond what I mentioned. Her favourite drink, whether she slept on her back or her side, where she liked to order take-out from. Stupid little things, but they flesh out a character to a large degree. We get to see that the persona Loki adopted enjoys diet colas, even, but not the same thing for Mist. She became a character of ideas, more of an archetype than a real person, and that took a lot away from what could have been a truly awesome character. The fact that she’d lived for thousands of years was not evident in her personality at all; she was in nearly every way a perfectly modern woman at home in America, and maybe she’s just that fluid and adaptable, but I doubt it.
Honestly, I think Krinard put more time developing Loki and his habits in the modern world than she did for Mist. Loki is more fleshed out and real than any other character in the book, and I looked forward to his point-of-view chapters more than any other.
In terms of the inevitable romantic aspects of the book, there were actually surprisingly few. Dainn was obviously intended to be her love interest, and he had a clear thing for Mist, but Mist was actually more focused on other issues to give time to budding attraction. I’m not sure if that contributed to the realism of the situation or detracted from the connection between them, though. It could go either way. Really, I felt more chemistry between Dainn and Loki (and that’s not just my slashdar acting up; that was canon!) than between Dainn and Mist.
In the end, this was an okay piece of fluff reading, but nothing much beyond that. I was expecting something a little different and the book didn’t deliver. The writing didn’t stand out as being particularly good or bad, the characters were hit-or-miss, and aside from Loki, I felt very little interest for the affairs of any of them. Not bad, but nothing I can really recommend unless you’re looking for some fluff reading with a touch of unclassical mythology.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
And that’s where the plot twists start. The old gods are alive and well, but most of them are simply residing in another plane of existence. Except for Loki, the smooth-talking tricksy bastard that he is, who’s very much present on this plane and making use of his time by trying to provoke Ragnarok. Yes, it turns out that what the surviving Valkyrie thought was Ragnarok actually wasn’t, because not all the signs were right, and so now that actual Ragnarok is coming, and signs are starting to be felt.
Or so we’re told, because the biggest tip-off to Mist is supposed to be the fact that San Francisco is getting colder and it’s been snowing more, signalling an unusual winter. But aside from a first mention where she makes that connection, that fact gets relegated to something that’s only mentioned in passing from then on, completely ruining the urgency that’s supposed to be felt over the changing times. It seemed a leap of logic to start with. I know it doesn’t see snow often, but it’s not like it’s completely unheard of. Definitely remarkable, though, if not a herald of the end times, but nobody else seems to actually remark on it. Even the completely mortal characters who get dragged into things later on don’t give it a mention, and seeing as how those kids lived on the street, you’d think that they might have mentioned it as a concern.
Mist herself alternates as an interesting character and then a bog-standard one. She has strength, and it’s not just pseudo-strength that’s passed off in a lot of urban fantasies. She knows how to use multiple weapons, she’s not afraid to lay physical and verbal beatdowns when needed, and she’s throws herself into danger more often than not. Occasionally stupidly so, but I found that actually added to her interest, because it was a major flaw. She was used to standing alone, and it showed. On the other hand, besides those things, I can’t actually think of a single thing that could describe her. I have no idea what there was to Mist beyond what I mentioned. Her favourite drink, whether she slept on her back or her side, where she liked to order take-out from. Stupid little things, but they flesh out a character to a large degree. We get to see that the persona Loki adopted enjoys diet colas, even, but not the same thing for Mist. She became a character of ideas, more of an archetype than a real person, and that took a lot away from what could have been a truly awesome character. The fact that she’d lived for thousands of years was not evident in her personality at all; she was in nearly every way a perfectly modern woman at home in America, and maybe she’s just that fluid and adaptable, but I doubt it.
Honestly, I think Krinard put more time developing Loki and his habits in the modern world than she did for Mist. Loki is more fleshed out and real than any other character in the book, and I looked forward to his point-of-view chapters more than any other.
In terms of the inevitable romantic aspects of the book, there were actually surprisingly few. Dainn was obviously intended to be her love interest, and he had a clear thing for Mist, but Mist was actually more focused on other issues to give time to budding attraction. I’m not sure if that contributed to the realism of the situation or detracted from the connection between them, though. It could go either way. Really, I felt more chemistry between Dainn and Loki (and that’s not just my slashdar acting up; that was canon!) than between Dainn and Mist.
In the end, this was an okay piece of fluff reading, but nothing much beyond that. I was expecting something a little different and the book didn’t deliver. The writing didn’t stand out as being particularly good or bad, the characters were hit-or-miss, and aside from Loki, I felt very little interest for the affairs of any of them. Not bad, but nothing I can really recommend unless you’re looking for some fluff reading with a touch of unclassical mythology.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
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