Lovely narration by Dan Stevens, as always. Not a big fan of the translation though. Even having never read the Iliad before, the liberties taken wereLovely narration by Dan Stevens, as always. Not a big fan of the translation though. Even having never read the Iliad before, the liberties taken were obvious....more
’…they were about to ride into battle with Valkyries, Berserkers, and… goats. It was pretty epic.’
Odin’s RavensMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
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’…they were about to ride into battle with Valkyries, Berserkers, and… goats. It was pretty epic.’
Odin’s Ravens, the next installment following Loki’s Wolves, picks up right where the last left off with Matt and the gang setting out to save their deceased friend Baldwin from an eternity in Hel. This is no easy feat as along the way they encounter fire giants, Viking zombies, a seemingly innocuous river that turns out to be made up of acid, a cave bear, a Hel chicken, and Laurie and Fen’s Aunt Helen who rules Hel. Baldwin is the descendant of Balder and according to mythos, his death was the start of Ragnarök. Saving him from Hel would change the myth and hopefully stop Ragnarök. But will that single act be enough to stop the end of the world?
The story of Odin’s Ravens is once again written as a shared point of view between the three main characters, Matt, Fen and Laurie but we’re also introduced to a new character: Owen; the descendant of Odin. Odin was the All-Father and was said to be all-knowing of future events to come. Owen is blessed with this gift of prophecy as well as long as he wasn’t an active part of the mission so he has stayed away from the descendants in order to glean as much information as he can. Unfortunately, staying away from the other descendants has resulted in his capture by the wulfenkind. His two ravens, Thought (Huginn) and Memory (Muninn) are his sole companions until he’s able to escape so he sends them out into the world acting as his eyes and ears. It was incredibly interesting reading about the mythology behind Odin and remains one of my favorite aspects of these stories. The details of Norse mythology is incorporated into the story in a manner that makes it vastly interesting and educational yet still immensely entertaining.
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In addition to the action and adventure of the story itself, the book also contains amazing black and white illustrations that truly bring the story to life. The interior illustrations were all done by Vivenne To.
Odin’s Ravens is a pleasing follow-up that will certainly leave readers of the series anticipating the final book in the trilogy. The action and adventure is intense, the humor is plentiful and the character development is well-done, although I can’t say I’m completely invested emotionally in these characters but their story is still very much intriguing and I’m eager to find out the result of their journey....more
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars A copy of Loki's Wolves was provided to me by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for review purposes.
Matt Thorsen has alwaMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars A copy of Loki's Wolves was provided to me by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for review purposes.
Matt Thorsen has always had big shoes to fill considering his family are the descendants of the Norse god, Thor. When he has a dream of Ragnarok, the battle leading up to the end of the world, he doesn't consider it being anything but a dream. Soon after, a town meeting is called and everyone is told that signs point to Ragnarok happening, and soon. When Matt is named champion he realizes he must seek out other descendant's of the Gods if he has any hope of saving the world from destruction.
Regardless of the fact that this story closely resembles a Percy Jackson storyline and even Harry Potter at times, there are sufficient enough differences to make Loki's Wolves stand apart.
First of all, I loved that the story wasn't told solely through the POV of the 'main character', Matt the descendant of Thor. The POV was shared between the three main members of their team including Fen and Laurie, descendant's of Loki. Each character was distinctive and well-written and it was enjoyable seeing the story from a set of different eyes.
Then there was also, of course, the difference that this book deals with Norse mythology. This was an exceptionally fun aspect for me considering I haven't read too much relating to Norse mythology before so it was a bit of an educational experience for me.
This was an extremely fun and exciting thrill-ride of a novel; I enjoyed every minute of it. The ending was slightly abrupt, however, this is a trilogy and I do realize it had to end somewhere. There was a bit of a cliffhanger and no real resolution as their adventure is far from over. Highly recommended for adventurous Middle-Graders and Adults alike!
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