A review by barb4ry1
Mjolnir by Brian James
2.0
As fantasy books inspired by Norse mythology are still in short supply, I was happy to grab Mjolnir copy. I didn't know a lot about the book but I'm always open for a fun ride.
And it was fun.
Way too much, actually.
Mjolnir plays with Norse mythology, twists and rewrites it in, mostly, entertaining way. Because of a series of unfortunate events Norse Gods have to live on Earth and have real jobs. Their jobs reflect their personalities.
Thor is an NFL football player that wreaks havoc amongst other teams. He's feared by all and hated by most professional players. Let's look at him through the eyes of one of his football opponents:
Odin owns a company that could build him his own personal Death Star - Aesir Engineering is a primary USA defense contractor. The company has revolutionized the art of weapon making to a degree that companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics simply could not attain.
Freya is a premium escort. Prostituting herself is something that disgusts her tremendously but she had never learned to live within her means. In fact, the very concept of a budget is alien to her. Budgetary issues and her desires are often at odds because she wants the best of everything and "the best" usually has a fairly hefty price tag.
Loki owns a company that sells something but no one knows exactly what. It seems, though, he's managed to trick everyone and he has plenty of fun along the way.
Other gods from Norse Pantheon appear but the main personages of this drama are Freya, Loki, Odin, and Thor. In order not to spoil things I'll summarize the plot shortly. Odin, Loki, and Thor hate each other. Odin and Loki have nefarious plans involving Thor and Freya. Other forces are at play but, basically, the plot is quite simple. Odin gets Thor. Loki tries to kill Freya. He doesn't succeed. Freya tries to find Thor and then to free him up. They run. They get caught. Twists and other gods and goddesses appear. The plot is resolved. And then we can enjoy Epilogue.
The writing is clearly inspired by Douglas Adams. And this is the main problem. I appreciate a healthy dose of humor in the story, but I'm not convinced that every single paragraph needs to contain an anecdote or pop culture reference. The book is 375 pages long. I'm not sure if there would be enough material for a novella after cutting out all jokes, anecdotes, meaningless digressions and banter.
Some jokes and descriptions were funny, some cheesy, other simply bad. I'll just quote some examples:
These were rather bad but it would be a lie to say they were Legion. Some of the quotes made me laugh and some of the scenes were written well and in an imaginative way.
The writing is mostly clean, although there are some awkward sentences with missing or repeated words. Not many of them.
Characterization is rather weak. The book was supposed to be entertaining (I believe) and character development is almost nonexistent and the changes we get lack psychological depth.
Overall, the book is violent, action-packed and humorous, but also too long. It's cool to have plenty of jokes to tell but a quarter of what we got would be more than enough. In my opinion, constant anecdotes and long sentences are tiring and serve as a way to mask, unsuccessfully, a weak plot.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. It hasn't influenced my opinion in any way.
And it was fun.
Way too much, actually.
Mjolnir plays with Norse mythology, twists and rewrites it in, mostly, entertaining way. Because of a series of unfortunate events Norse Gods have to live on Earth and have real jobs. Their jobs reflect their personalities.
Thor is an NFL football player that wreaks havoc amongst other teams. He's feared by all and hated by most professional players. Let's look at him through the eyes of one of his football opponents:
Thor just stood outside the huddle and stared back at him. Trent could feel Thor's icy blue eyes piercing him. There was a dispassionate sort of hate and malice in the stare. It sent the clear message that Trent would soon have a greater understanding and appreciation for the whole "lamb to slaughter" cliche.
Odin owns a company that could build him his own personal Death Star - Aesir Engineering is a primary USA defense contractor. The company has revolutionized the art of weapon making to a degree that companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics simply could not attain.
Freya is a premium escort. Prostituting herself is something that disgusts her tremendously but she had never learned to live within her means. In fact, the very concept of a budget is alien to her. Budgetary issues and her desires are often at odds because she wants the best of everything and "the best" usually has a fairly hefty price tag.
Loki owns a company that sells something but no one knows exactly what. It seems, though, he's managed to trick everyone and he has plenty of fun along the way.
Other gods from Norse Pantheon appear but the main personages of this drama are Freya, Loki, Odin, and Thor. In order not to spoil things I'll summarize the plot shortly. Odin, Loki, and Thor hate each other. Odin and Loki have nefarious plans involving Thor and Freya. Other forces are at play but, basically, the plot is quite simple. Odin gets Thor. Loki tries to kill Freya. He doesn't succeed. Freya tries to find Thor and then to free him up. They run. They get caught. Twists and other gods and goddesses appear. The plot is resolved. And then we can enjoy Epilogue.
The writing is clearly inspired by Douglas Adams. And this is the main problem. I appreciate a healthy dose of humor in the story, but I'm not convinced that every single paragraph needs to contain an anecdote or pop culture reference. The book is 375 pages long. I'm not sure if there would be enough material for a novella after cutting out all jokes, anecdotes, meaningless digressions and banter.
Some jokes and descriptions were funny, some cheesy, other simply bad. I'll just quote some examples:
(...) is still looking a little rough, and as our resident hooker, she has one client left to service. And believe me, he won't be happy if she looks like she's been dating Mel Gibson.
"Got your nose!" Loki said with the sort of smile that could have charmed a couple of nuns into an enthusiastic threesome.
Thor was acquainted with at least half the cheerleaders in the NFL in ways that only their gynecologists should know without at least having to buy dinner first.
These were rather bad but it would be a lie to say they were Legion. Some of the quotes made me laugh and some of the scenes were written well and in an imaginative way.
The writing is mostly clean, although there are some awkward sentences with missing or repeated words. Not many of them.
Characterization is rather weak. The book was supposed to be entertaining (I believe) and character development is almost nonexistent and the changes we get lack psychological depth.
Overall, the book is violent, action-packed and humorous, but also too long. It's cool to have plenty of jokes to tell but a quarter of what we got would be more than enough. In my opinion, constant anecdotes and long sentences are tiring and serve as a way to mask, unsuccessfully, a weak plot.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. It hasn't influenced my opinion in any way.