Review of "The Wheel of Osheim (Red Queen's War)" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Best book of the series.
Published July 9, 2001 by HARPER COLLINS.
The Wheel of Osheim (Red Queen's War)
4 stars
(16 reviews)
All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki's key is all that matters. Loki's creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan's fortune back in the living world. Jalan plans to return to the three w's that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate however has other plans, larger plans. The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it's stopped. When the end of all things looms, and there's nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jalan and Snorri face many dangers, from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue, …
All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki's key is all that matters. Loki's creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan's fortune back in the living world. Jalan plans to return to the three w's that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate however has other plans, larger plans. The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it's stopped. When the end of all things looms, and there's nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jalan and Snorri face many dangers, from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue, but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim always pulls you back. In the end it's win or die.
Review of "The Wheel of Osheim (Red Queen's War)" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Mark Lawrence's second trilogy is kind of OK, but less gripping than his first. The hero is more purely literary device than was Jorg - one part Flashman, two parts Rincewind, with an occasional zest of Viking berserker. His musings on his own flawed character are, by the third volume, repetitive and tedious. The story itself is well plotted, and if the central character had been a little more complex and rooted, the novel might have worked. There are no female characters worthy of note; the women in this novel are all seen through the red haze of the hero's lust, and react either by bedding him or by breaking his nose. On the whole, this was a rather disappointing follow-up to an excellent debut.
Review of "The Wheel of Osheim (Red Queen's War)" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
You're asking yourself, how did someone who really had character issues in the last book not only survive this but give it 5*.. Well, like life, there is no straight path.
I entered this final tome with a little trepidation. Jalan's squealing was really grating on me last round we weather on because...the writing is really, really good.
To Hel and back, to solve the riddle of the Wheel and put things in order so Jorg can finish his job in ([b:Emperor of Thorns|15985373|Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)|Mark Lawrence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352546239s/15985373.jpg|21528629].
I would really enjoy a novelette on the days before the 10,000 suns. There are a handful of characters that make it through in their spiritually distorted counterparts after all of this but a small story on the turning of the Wheel would be, awesome.
Anyhow--you get more history here and it's great to fill in some gaps, you …
You're asking yourself, how did someone who really had character issues in the last book not only survive this but give it 5*.. Well, like life, there is no straight path.
I entered this final tome with a little trepidation. Jalan's squealing was really grating on me last round we weather on because...the writing is really, really good.
To Hel and back, to solve the riddle of the Wheel and put things in order so Jorg can finish his job in ([b:Emperor of Thorns|15985373|Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)|Mark Lawrence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352546239s/15985373.jpg|21528629].
I would really enjoy a novelette on the days before the 10,000 suns. There are a handful of characters that make it through in their spiritually distorted counterparts after all of this but a small story on the turning of the Wheel would be, awesome.
Anyhow--you get more history here and it's great to fill in some gaps, you get more slices of the things we tell ourselves and how they influenced the world. All things that you'll grin to read.
Jalan was a man caught in the ocean. He would peak and I cheer his cleverness and steadfast hold--then in the trough of a swell I would curse his cowardice. Yes, cowardice is a foundation principle in this series and I've come to accept it but I do not relish it.
Lawrence does a fantastic job with his words and wraps you up as good as Snorri does in his own tales around the fire or through the wastelands before the Wheel. You just find yourself re-reading some eloquence and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I feel at peace with this book and knowing the other series. I don't know if it can be lifted up again but between both series works you find a really round picture and might be, like myself, content with it.
One other thing that does itch at me is--this all takes place in Europe. What happened to America? Even with all the fallout the world did repopulate. Do they/us get these boons/banes? Do the Native American histories and the histories of the hodgepodge America's see something like [b:American Gods|30165203|American Gods|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462924585s/30165203.jpg|1970226]? Curiosity causes me to ponder..
