I received an advanced reader copy ofLiesmith: Book 1 of The Wyrd<. Over the past year or so I’ve read several novels that included the Norse god Loki and saw both Thor movies, which induced a disjointed sense of deja vu reading book by new writer Alis Franklin. She brought a unique look to the character with her back story and setting.
It’s refreshing to read a story that treats multi dimensional Loki as a complex, complete character; several books, including Hammered in the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne, treat him more as an insane force of nature, a foil for the good guys. In Liesmith: Book 1 of The Wyrd Franklin presents Loki living in Australia as mega rich founder and owner of the world’s largest IT company, that is when he is not being the non-human, Jotunn / feathered 7 foot tall creature with a tail.
Franklin has done her homework, researching Loki and the Norse tales, and developing a back story to explain Loki’s presence in Australia and his non-participation in Ragnarök. (She equated Ragnarok to World War 2.) I found the back story stretched and unconvincing, and I’m not sure why she included it. Possibly it will be relevant in future books, since as we see in the title, Liesmith is meant to be only the first book in a series.
Liesmith hinges on its characters, mild-mannered Sigmund Sussman (who is actually Sigyn, Loki’s wife), Loki himself, Sigmund’s friends and dad. The characters were interesting, but not compelling; ultimately I did not care much about any of them. Sigmund and Loki are at the very beginning of a gay relationship, while meanwhile Sigmund’s friends and dad fight off demons.
I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit more than the last half when the plot got twisty. I didn’t quite follow why Loki and Odin would have done what the shadowy maybe-Odin implied, nor did the switch between Sigmund and Sigyn and Loki. The plot in the first half was good but the transition from normal, mundane corporate life with Dungeons and Dragons on the side to the nightmarish second half just didn’t work for me.
Given the plot complexities, the strange back story and the good but not great character building, I doubt I will look for the rest of the books in the series. Liesmith was an OK read, maybe a 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5. The novel was good enough to finish, but I won’t be keeping it on my Nook to reread.
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