Saturday, June 1, 2013

Book Title: Slaves of Valhalla (The Prometheus Wars - Book 2)

Book Title:  Slaves of Valhalla (The Prometheus Wars - Book 2)
Author:  Luke Romyn
Genre: Historical/Sci-Fi/Mystery


Slaves of Valhalla leaves off directly where Beyond Hades leaves off....  kinda. ;)  We still have Greek Mythology, however Norse Mythology is now added as well.  The characters are as loveable/laughable as they were in the first book.  The ability to laugh and cry in five minutes while reading, is a major feat.  

As a woman, in both books I can tell, Mr. Romyn was a "Mr." and not a "Ms.".  As I've said before, I do not read the name of the author until I'm finished reading the book.  In my Kindles I have books listed by NAME only.  I find a title I like, and start reading.  Mr. Romyn seems to really like his guns and toys. He really goes into some detail about all the guns and toys, names, makes, models, etc.  I mean, in some cases that's necessary.  But to the layman...  I don't care.  You shoot a GUN.  It has bullets.  I don't need to know when it was made, the model of it and how it fits in your hand.  I need to know if it's a pistol or a rifle, simply because I know how each shoots.  The caliber of the gun might be good to know, because that indicates the damage the gun might inflict as well as being automatic or semi-automatic. However I really don't like hearing a paragraph about how this gun makes you feel _______ (fill in the blank).  I've read a couple other books that go into some really deep detail about the weapons used, and yes, they were written by men too.  I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying, I can tell the difference.  Moving on...

I was able to tell through this book (which was much shorter than the first) that Mr. Romyn's knowledge of Norse Mythology was not as well versed as his knowledge of Greek Mythology, which leads me to wonder why Norse Mythology was used.  There were so many other ways the book could have gone, interspersing the Norse Mythology within the story, given the superstitions and Celtic/Pagan Beliefs of the time.  Instead, some token comments were made, and had people in the book not mentioned certain things that were indicative of the time and beliefs, you wouldn't have a clue Norse Mythology was even the back drop for the story.

The ending, for me, was a shocker.  At first I just sat there, going, "no way".  Then after thinking on it, it made sense to me.  The "series" seems pretty much finished by the end of this book though.  So, I'm wondering why they're marketed as a "series" instead of just "Books 1 & 2" but I'm not the author nor am I the publisher.  Unless of course, there's more coming, and I'm thrilled if there are.  I just hope the setting under which they're suppose to be has as much detail as the first book, rather than the second book.  When you're talking Mythology of any kind, and intertwining it in a story, really put it in there, don't just stick your toe in the water and find it's too cold to jump in all way.  If more research is needed, then do it.  If you can't get the characters to meld in that time frame, you another time frame.  But don't let the book and story suffer because there just isn't enough meat to go with the potatoes.

3.5 out of 5 Bookmarks  (Because I really liked the ending.)

Book Review: Beyond Hades (The Prometheus Wars- Book 1) by Luke Romyn

Book Title:  Beyond Hades (The Prometheus Wars - Book 1)
Author:  Luke Romyn
Genre:  Sci-Fi/Historical/Mystery


This was yet another Indie Freebie.  I'm so glad there are so many independent authors finding their way into my Kindle!  I'm getting to read MANY different authors and MANY different genres, though I'm sure in the "genre" category it doesn't seem like it on the blog.  LOL

I really liked this book.. REALLY liked this book.  The characters, wow...  The characters are interesting, deeply thought out, funny and inspiring.  The bad guys...  well, they are GREAT bad guys!  Luke Romyn has taken Greek Mythology, a bloke from Australia and a Paleontologist and made a fast paced, emotion packed, rollercoaster ride!  Then on top of that, you also get a lesson in history.  I LOVE BOOKS THAT DO THIS!  

This is a unique book, in many senses of the word.  I mean, what would you do if you met Prometheus?  How about Zeus?  Hades himself?  Are they even real?  Could our own government know of an existence beyond where they DO exist?  Such an intriguing book I had to immediately buy the second book in the series!  So, first one's free... second one I actually paid for.  I think those that like Greek Mythology, mysteries, and a ticking time clock you have to beat, this is definitely a good read for you!

4 out of 5 Bookmarks