When I was a kid, I was fascinated with ancient mythology. My favorite myths were those from ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, but I tried to read everything I could get my grubby little hands on. I thought that myths provide a deeper understanding of a particular culture, specifically their understanding of self, their environment, and their place in the universe. For example, isn’t it interesting that the “great flood” is a recurrent theme in myths cross-culturally? And what about the common theme of resurrection, […]
I think I have been bamboozled by this series
I had an unexpectedly bad reaction to this book, considering that I had relatively enjoyed the previous two books in the Call of Crows series. My impression of The Unyielding was so bad, in fact, that I don’t just think this was a bad installment in the series, but it has me questioning my taste over my higher ratings of the first two books. I’d re-read them to be sure I’m not crazy, but I don’t want to be proven right. I re-read my old […]
Missing the Beatles and Norse Insults
First, I’ve gotta say that I’m glad I got the Barnes and Noble exclusive on this one; the Norse insult generator in the back is fun if a little limited. So overall, the third book in the Magnus Chase series is pretty standard Rick Riordan fun. There’s plenty of action, and some touching moments mixed in. Seriously, if you don’t at least internally have an ‘awww’ moment when Hearthstone gets his othala rune back, there is something wrong with you. That part of the story […]
This is the last book! I thought there were two more!
Well, if this is the last new Riordan book I ever read, it’s a great one to go out on. Despite my fatigue with Riordan’s shenanigans, I’ve actually really enjoyed this series. It was *just* fresh enough, with the Norse mythology and some all-time great characters of types he hadn’t written before to make it worth my time (Hearthstone and Alex Fierro are my children). I also appreciated that it was a trilogy, and not a stretched out quadrology (I was super surprised several weeks ago […]