Alis Franklin

My Burgoine Review: I'm on record as a fan of the Kiwi fantasy/sitcom hybrid The Almighty Johnsons, a treat when I discovered it and a loss when the Netflix folk gave up the rights...it's back now on IMDb TV, follow the link. I've also warbled in the past about the delights of [[Thorne Smith]]'s absurd gods-walk-among-us books (eg, [Nightlife of the Gods]), written in the waning days of Prohibition and suited to that time's slightly hallucinatory entertainments. (Watch any of the Broadway Melody flicks...no one can tell me peyote was unknown to these men!)

I was hoping that, given those tastes and the specific aiming of Cupid's Dart at a mortal man's heart for a specific Asgardian, I'd be over the moon about this read. I was quite pleased instead. As a purchase will set one back 99¢, I think you're good to go if you want a pleasant diversion that doesn't quite know if it wants to be doom-y or dream-y. I chuckled, but I doubt I'll seek the next one out.… (más)

Reviews of stories read so far:

“Full Steam Ahead” by Alexander Hardison - A sweet story of friendship between a voidbeast and their human captain riding within.

“Truth Be Told” by Louise Pieper - A skinwalker-type monster finds common ground with its intended prey.

“Transcendence Inc.” by C.H. Pearce - A weird story about uploading consciousness to an artificial heaven and a monster in a skin suit who funded the venture.

“Trench” by Nathan J. Phillips - The opening caught my imagination, but overall I felt it could’ve been tighter. An interesting take on the hive mind idea, though.

“Emergent” by D.L. Fleming - A cute story about a sort of AI getting itself out of long term storage, with the inadvertent help of a warehouse worker.

“Mother of the Trenches” by Grace Chan - A story of a tentacled behemoth from the deep and their sort of-rescued human. I found the start a bit confusing to follow, but the ending was amusing.… (más)

If you haven't read Liesmith, the first book in this series, get yourself there right now.

This book picks up not long after the first book, with Sigmund and Lain both still reeling from the events at the end of book 1. Sigmund has nightmares of killing and Lain's got the voices of two other people in his head.

With everything unsettled, there's a power vaccuum. Baldr's children and Thor's children are all looking for power, and Loki's child, Hel, is seeking a huge change in the status quo.

There are some fascinating twists here, almost all coming from women, including Sigyn who, through Sigmund, plays a part of her own.

Also, this is the book that taught me about bogan rock, so yay for that.

I'm in for however long this series goes on. I love the way Franklin combines traditional mythology in new ways and makes something totally fresh.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]… (más)

Ragnarok has come and gone, and, thanks to Sigyn, Loki has survived. He's built a new life for himself as the CEO of a major technology company, and now he's falling in love with one of his employees, Sigmund, who happens to have been Sigyn in a past life. And Sigmund, quiet, nerdy, game-designer with issues about performative masculinity is falling in love right back. It's all going great until Baldr arrives, wildly angry with Loki and ready to destroy everyone and everything he cares for.

Don't think this book has made Loki into a woobie, because it hasn't. He's still Loki, though he's changed somewhat over his thousand years of torture. And he's changed even more because of a long-ago secret that he can't remember, but which if he could would change everything he believes.

I cried when that secret was revealed. Seriously cried. Teared up for Sigyn and Loki and Baldr and everyone else caught in the fallout of an old god's plan. This book was great. It was sweetly romantic, and exciting with high stakes. Highly recommended. (Provided by publisher)… (más)