Not your average tale with a mythological twist, Mjolnir is funny, irreverent, dark, and bloody. from a freak incident to all out war, only one can hold Mjolnir and shape the destiny of the gods and in the end the world itself. But who has the best intentions and who will come out on top?

This one was interesting and exciting but also occasionally felt a bit gratuitous with the sex and violence. And the pop culture references. Eek, the pop culture references! I am a fan of the well-placed snarky comparison or social commentary bit that picks up on pop culture (contemporary or historical). But there is definitely such a thing as overkill in this type of drop-in, particularly when the references are so wide-ranging in their fields and timeframes that they require regular Google searches to comprehend their relevance... To be fair, each time the reference was appropriately made - but they were sprinkled into every other paragraph at times, and it just felt like the author was trying to prove he was clever and well-versed, rather than that he was trying to highlight something important in the story itself.

Speaking of the story itself - I enjoyed it. I think there aren't enough fictionalized tales that take on the Norse pantheon, and have never understood why. There are myriad characters and tales that would lend themselves brilliantly to spin-offs, and when I find one I usually try to pick it up. I liked the concept here - the gods have come to Earth to make their way while Odin attempts to wait out Ragnarok. It felt fresh and interesting and lent itself to lots of intriguing geopolitical and sociopolitical commentary and drama-humor-comedy. I do think the book could have used a slightly more aggressive editing though... The story would click along beautifully, then hit a plot point where it felt like pages and pages were spent in imagery or redundant explanations of how far the mighty had fallen. The occasionally over-gratuitous feeling sex and violence played into this as well. I understand the appetites of the gods, and that there was rather a lot of sex and violence in the original mythology. It just felt like the story occasionally got overly graphic for the sake of shock value rather than to promote the story line. This may just be my personal taste, but it was one of the few issues I had with the story.

All in all I enjoyed it quite a lot, and given the way it ended, I'm thinking there may be a sequel in the works. If so, I'm definitely interested in taking a look. I liked the personalities of the gods and the level of action was engaging on the whole. A slightly crisper edit and this would be a killer series...

I almost gave this two stars but ...it was just so bad. I mean I could see how other people might enjoy it, but I just absolutely hated it. The whole thing is entirely reference-humor based, which basically means it's like reading a really long episode of Family Guy with the Norse gods. I know some of you [who are possibly stuck in some kind of time warp] are saying 'I love Family Guy! That sounds amazing!', in which case I would totally recommend this book to you. But I think it's just the lowest most annoying form of comedy there is, and honestly it's exhausting and sometimes baffling to read. Also some of the references were just weird. Like Orlando Bloom was mentioned at one point. How long has it been since Orlando Bloom was relevant? 10 years? 12?

Other than that all the gods just seem wildly out of character to me but I guess a lot of liberties have to be taken in order for them to act stupid enough to actually propel the plot forward. Also I hate that Freya was basically reduced to 'the goddess of really good sex' and was [SPOILER] literally raped at the end by Surt in order to [I think, I was pretty out of it at this point] use his DNA to create some kind of weird fighter monster. The whole thing was just such a bizarre experience. Do not recommend.

Brian James has created a world full of mystical lore that strings together cohesively. The characters came alive right away and I was immediately taken with them. James' humor is prevalent throughout, which played well with the rest of the book's characteristics.

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Mjolnir by Brian James is a fictional book telling about the old Norse gods, now living on Earth trying to make ends meet. Mr. James is a seasoned writer, Mjolnir is his second novel.

Odin has kicked out the Viking gods from Asgard, now they are trying to survive on Earth as mere mortals. Thor found a place in the NFL, Freya is a high end prostitute, Loki is successful salesperson on TV and Odin is the richest defense contractor in the world.

They all live in fear that a prophecy which declared the end of time, known as Ragnarok, is about to come true. The key to survival is control of Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer.

I liked the concept of Mjolnir by Brian James, telling of the Norse deities to living as us mortals, although keeping their god like powers. I would have assumed that with old age comes wisdom, but it doesn’t seem like the Norse gods have learned much over their long life span. Thor, Loki and Frey are still acting as if they just graduated college, trying to figure things out.

This book straddled the funny – cheesy borderline, but this is on purpose as the author clearly set out to write a fun story with tongue firmly held in cheek. I enjoyed reading the book and loved the pop-culture references, but it almost seems as if the author tried too hard. Not every paragraph needed a joke or an off the cuff reference to work, I enjoy those things work a lot better if they are sprinkled in the narrative and not force in.

The plot is weak, the perspective reader will know what’s going to happen pages in advance, but the jokes and dialog keep you reading regardless. The story-line turns dark and violent here and there, nothing that you wouldn’t read, or worst, in the actually mythology stories though.

This is an imaginative and funny book, much of it is well written in a crisp narrative. The characters are the way they are in Norse mythology, there isn’t much development or introspection but to be honest, I didn’t really expect it or missed it.

The Asgardians have left Asgard. Now they play professional sports, run companies, or sell their skills to get the worship they crave here and now.

Ragnarok is coming and the prophesy that predicts their deaths and the end of the world throws them back together to battle.

I was hooked from the start. Norse mythology and current events are beautifully entwined, along with the complexities, loaded pasts, and interactions of the Gods and Goddesses. Mjolnir kept the action coming and I couldn't read it quick enough. There's action, humour, mythology, and dragons. Think Magnus Chase for adults.

Brian James is firmly on my authors to look out for list. I look forward to more.

As fantasy books inspired by Norse mythology are still in short supply, I was happy to grab Mjolnir copy. I didn't know a lot about the book but I'm always open for a fun ride.

And it was fun.

Way too much, actually.

Mjolnir plays with Norse mythology, twists and rewrites it in, mostly, entertaining way. Because of a series of unfortunate events Norse Gods have to live on Earth and have real jobs. Their jobs reflect their personalities.

Thor is an NFL football player that wreaks havoc amongst other teams. He's feared by all and hated by most professional players. Let's look at him through one of opponent team players:

Thor just stood outside the huddle and stared back at him. Trent could feel Thor's icy blue eyes piercing him. There was a dispassionate sort of hate and malice in the stare. It sent the clear message that Trent would soon have a greater understanding and appreciation for the whole "lamb to slaughter" cliche.


Odin owns a company that could build him his own personal Death Star - Aesir Engineering is a primary USA defense contractor. The company has revolutionized the art of weapon making to a degree that companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics simply could not attain.

Freya is a premium escort. Prostituting herself is something that disgusts her tremendously but she had never learned to live within her means. In fact, the very concept of a budget is alien to her. Budgetary issues and her desires are often at odds because she wants the best of everything and "the best" usually has a fairly hefty price tag.

owns a company that sells something but no one knows exactly what. It seems, though, he's managed to trick everyone and he has plenty of fun along the way.

Other gods from Norse Pantheon appear but the main personages of this drama are Freya, Loki, Odin, and Thor. In order not to spoil things I'll summarize the plot shortly. Odin, Loki, and Thor hate each other. Odin and Loki have nefarious plans involving Thor and Freya. Other forces are at play but, basically, the plot is quite simple. Odin gets Thor. Loki tries to kill Freya. He doesn't succeed. Freya tries to find Thor and then to free him up. They run. They get caught. Twists and other gods and goddesses appear. The plot is resolved. And then we can enjoy Epilogue.

The writing is clearly inspired by Douglas Adams. And this is the main problem. I appreciate a healthy dose of humor in the story, but I'm not convinced that every single paragraph needs to contain an anecdote or pop culture reference. The book is 375 pages long. I'm not sure if there would be enough material for a novella after cutting out all jokes, anecdotes, meaningless digressions and banter.

Some jokes and descriptions were funny, some cheesy, other simply bad. I'll just quote some examples:

(...) is still looking a little rough, and as our resident hooker, she has one client left to service. And believe me, he won't be happy if she looks like she's been dating Mel Gibson.


"Got your nose!" Loki said with the sort of smile that could have charmed a couple of nuns into an enthusiastic threesome.


Thor was acquainted with at least half the cheerleaders in the NFL in ways that only their gynecologists should know without at least having to buy dinner first.

These were rather bad but it would be a lie to say they were Legion. Some of the quotes made me laugh and some of the scenes were written well and in an imaginative way.

The writing is mostly clean, although there are some awkward sentences with missing or repeated words. Not many of them.

Characterization is rather weak. The book was supposed to be entertaining (I believe) and character development is almost nonexistent and the changes we get lack psychological depth.

Overall, the book is violent, action-packed and humorous, but also too long. It's cool to have plenty of jokes to tell but a quarter of what we got would be more than enough. In my opinion, constant anecdotes and long sentences are tiring and serve as a way to mask, unsuccessfully, a weak plot.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. It hasn't influenced my opinion in any way.