| Title | : | Monsters (I Bring the Fire, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1500858714 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781500858711 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 264 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2012 |
Too bad her day boss is unbearable...
Agent Steve Rogers has political aspirations, but when a suitcase nuke turns out to be something much worse and so-called Norse gods start showing up in his life, he has a priority shift.
Meanwhile, Loki’s priorities and plans haven’t changed at all. He wants Asgard to burn. Of course, earthly pleasures can be so distracting.
These three disparate characters have little in common, but they’ll have to join forces to save earth from trolls, wyrms, frost giant invasions, and an old evil growing beneath Chicago’s streets.
In this second volume of “I Bring the Fire,” chaos comes to our world and decides to stay. The nine realms will never be the same.
Monsters (I Bring the Fire, #2) Reviews
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I cannot wait to read the next book.
I am still unsure about Rogers but I do like the role he is playing currently. At the start of the book I thought the author had made him pretty close to being the same as the Marvel comic's Rogers, but as I continued to read it couldn't be further from the truth. Roger's is a man with a far bit of depth, the author has taken care in creating him for this role that he is now in and he has a background story; it's not indepth but we learn the basics of him.
Amy of course, is back and is niavie as she was before, although she isn't foolish, it's just that she is so trusting and she has a lot of faith in Loki, even though he did take all her money away at the end of the first book.
It's also rather sad about Beatrice, she was such an amazing character in the first book, to see her in just a few pages and become a shadow of her former self is harrowing.
Loki of course is back and this time he isn't as unsure about technology, heck he could drive a car and not think it's a real thing. Also we learn a lot more about his past in this book, about his first wife, his daughter and the history he has with Prince Baldur.
The tension of sorts between Amy and Loki was heightened in this book, adding to the drama, although I hope they remain friend's since it's clear that they're good for each other. They essentially balance each other out.
I do miss the amount of interaction that was in the last book between these two, however with new characters coming in and the plot thickening it can't be helped. Any interaction between them was good to read and there was a lot of tension between them too, with Amy falling out with him and actually demanding him to leave her home. The humour is still there, Loki, though older than many of the characters that we know fairly well in the book, still has a rather childish sense of humour.
The cliff-hanger to this book just makes you NEED to read the next one.
Now excuse me, I must buy the next one. -
(3,5 ☆)
It was fun seeing Amy and Loki again, and agent Rogers was a nice new character. Still, I don't think it was quite as good as the first book in the series, Wolves. Maybe because I now knew what to expect (somewhat), whilst I didn't when I read the first one. I can't really put my finger on it.
I enjoyed the flashbacks we got from Loki's life in Asgard, and it was lovely to see how much he cared for his daughter, Helen, despite her being born disabled. You can't really say if Loki is friend or foe, the hero or the villain; it's not that black and white, and it's quite refreshing. We all have both good and bad traits, don't we?
I recommend this for those who enjoy the fusion between Norse mythology and the modern world! -
Ends in a cliffhanger
I get that this is a series but a cliffhanger? Really? Loki goes from like able to unlikeable in two seconds flat. The flashbacks into his life are amazing and well written. The ever evolving door of characters gets irksome. Seriously, you have to keep up with over 20 characters and sometimes it's just plain taxing. I'm not sure if I'll continue. I said I wouldn't read past the first book but Loki's story kept calling. I'll see if the same happens with book three. -
Another ripper! I love these books. And Loki. Wow. He's written so perfectly. Not sure how I'll cope with the Bhodi situation, but C. Gockel is such a fantastic writer that I'm definitely willing to give it a go. Can't wait, in fact!
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Wait! what? It can't finish there, I thought the pages were torn off or something. The book finished right when it just started. Nice read, but the book felt like an addon instead of a full book. The new characters are a welcomed addition, most especially Steve Rogers (Captain America just kidding), hope he has more role to play in book 3. Loki and Amy's relation is now getting annoying, please kiss and get it over with.
Thanks, C. Gockel, now I have to get book 3 as soon as possible. -
Mischief Intensifies
"A Caucasian male, about 50 years old with a gray beard and an eyepatch. He’s dressed in armor that looks like renaissance fair meets SWAT. Circling around him are the two ravens. Oh. Shit".
Loki continues to intrigue and amuse, as he grieves for his shattered family, avoids his feelings for Amy, and evades capture by the FBI. This installment features a particularly interesting version of the story of Angrboda, Loki, and their child Hel. Gockel has both a wonderful empathy for the trickster and a grand imagination. -
Usually when I read some series books I say there isn't a need to read the previous ones because each stands alone. While this book can stand alone, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you didn't start with part 1. The author has not only put together an excellent series but her tiered pricing marketing approach makes this a very affordable and highly readable series. Did I mention the first book is free on Amazon?
Now, picking up soon after Loki leaves us in part 1, he comes back to more mayhem in this humorous and action packed sequel. The God of Tricks continues to prove he can offer treats as well in that most of the chaos isn't from his tamperings but a skein of larger proportions that everyone, Loki included, is caught up in.
This story draws heavily on true Norse mythology, not Stan Lee's version (which is cool too). You'll find yourself rooting for Loki. He's had some truly hard times, and he shows amazing humanity both in the mythological back stories and here on Midgard.
Similar to mythological writing, this story doesn't flow with lengthy descriptions and verbose dialog. Instead, the sentences come rapid fire staccato. Once you settle into the structure, your brain fills in the decorative bits while you mesh with the characters.
You'll also learn much about Norse mythology along the way. The research is impeccable and the dedication the author has to this group of Gods shines through on every page. -
I thought Wolves was funny and endearing in its own, strange way. "A veterinarian with a feral dog, her Ukrainian grandmother, and the God of Mischief walk into a bar" is infinitely more enjoyable than...whatever this was.
Reading Monsters is realizing that Beatrice was the best part of Wolves. She was done dirty in this one. Amy went from naively charming to the stupidest woman in the Nine Realms. JFC.
Also does Loki have to keep smirking? "Smirk" is used 64 times in a 15 chapter novel!
This was such a chore to get through. It's a damn shame. -
Oh Gockel sure knows how to leave you hanging. ANd then wanting more.. This series sure has you laughing and seeing a different side to Loki that you don't see in other stories. And I can not wait to read the next book
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This is a pretty interesting book. I do like how the author "humanizes" the Norse gods. If you like mythological fantasy, I recommend this series.
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It's such a nice surprise to see sequels that elevate the whole story! ^^
We continue following Loki as he deals with Cera, ADUO and the Norse Gods. We also have Amy who starts to have a more active role! I'm really glad I gave this series a chance! ^^
After the events of the first book, Amy's life comes crashing down on her... we get to see her struggling to accept that she was completely naive..even foolish... when it comes to Loki for the entire installment. I'm happy she's not breaking character at all AND simultaneusly growing as a person.
I cannot wait to see if she'll play an active role in saving Loki in book 3 with Steve.
Speaking of Steve Rogers...our FBI agent...who happens to be a black man(yeah!..finally some colour!)..he's such an interesting individual..his sense of justice, patriotism and judgement of others who don't express his views (he's kind of a jerk with Amy in the beginning..>..>), his lack of priorities when it comes to personal life...yeah...a complex man with lots of qualities and flaws! ^^
Hope he'll play an even more active role in the next books and be a better person overall...Amy got the correct impression of him...his interest in everything is proportional to the gains he stands to have! ^^
The use of flashbacks was exquisite! We got fundamental scenes with Loki and his family, we got memories of friendship, relationship development, tragedies and rays of hope (the scene with Helen, Loki and Thor at the festival was superb!), not to mention, lots of new info when it comes to Loki's behavior now! ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! (P.S. Baldur is the worst!)
We have great representation (in my opinion as a simple bystander) of parents with a disabled child and how society sees that.
The atmosphere is tense and the pacing is quite fast. The plot is way better with less meandering and more points of view that create an ever-growing picture!
Other than that..I wonder what Odin is doing...and what's the role of the Jotuns in all of this...and finally...how on earth Cera came to be?
Finally...I don't have much to say in terms of what I didn't like: maybe Loki still has some amazing luck when it comes to avoiding police etc., and the last scene with Loki as per Jameson's plan...really not a fan..after all I find it hard to believe our alcohol is soo strong when compared to mead...but oh well...>..>
In conclusion, I highly recomend reading this series if you're a fan of Norse Mythology, Loki and/or human-god interactions due to some imminent disaster!
Enjoy -
Oh! It ended.....ummm, ok
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I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book. This series is simply amazing. I will highly recommend this series to anyone who's a fan of Norse mythology and enjoys a book full of great characters.
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In Monsters: Bring the Fire, Part II, the story's tone, though still fun, starts to take on a slightly darker tone. Amy Lewis, formerly a veterinary student, is now working two jobs in hopes of recouping her losses from her last run-in with Loki, he of mischief and miscommunication (taking her offer for financial assistance too literally, he ran off with everything in her bank account). Working nights as a veterinary assistant, her day job is as an administrative assistant with the FBI, which would probably be a decent gig if anyone actually gave her something useful to do.
Truth is, she was hired because ADUO, a secret branch of the FBI that deals with paranormal occurrences, wants to keep tabs on her due to her previous association with Loki. Her new boss, Steve Rogers, however, thinks she's the stereotypical federal employee, i.e., worthless.
All that changes when the mysterious World Seed appears in the subterranean tunnels beneath the Chicago Board of Trade, growing larger each day and threatening to devour important chunks of Chicago's real estate. Soon after, Loki, who has been flitting around Europe on Amy's dime, pops up in Steve's office and subsequently, back in Amy's life.
Loki is clearly interested in the World Seed, and Amy, as his main point of contact, becomes much more useful to the FBI/ADUO. Amy's happy to finally be earning her paycheck, and even sort of pleased to see Loki again. Despite his flexible definition of property rights, he's fun and when not being a pervert, kind of cute.
In this installment, the reader sees the more melancholy aspects of Loki's backstory in Asgard and gets a deeper look into his current motivations. Loki has moved from being a dad searching for a way to help his sons, to vengeful father who'd like to see Asgard burn and do the dance of happy in the ashes. He hasn't entirely gone off the deep end, and is still frequently distracted by the "shiny" on Earth, but revenge is now his driving motivation. He sees the World Seed as his means of turning Asgard into a glass parking lot.
There are often two approaches taken when telling the stories of immortal, godlike beings. The first is to make them irreproachable, perfect beings. Of course, more often than not, this doesn’t make a lick of sense, since their actions are anything but perfect.
The second, more old-school approach is to make them overly capricious, erratic and operating entirely in their own self interests. This isn’t an entirely unrealistic viewpoint, since they are immortals, and very much Not Like Us. But it doesn’t leave much room for characterization.
The I Bring the Fire series takes the approach that our gods are made in our image. I.e., give a bunch of immortals the capacity to love, then they will hate; imbue them with compassion, and they will be cruel. Ultimately, any immortal being who is interested in interacting with mortals is operating within the same emotional and intellectual framework as said mortals. Just for a much longer time. The result is a realistic depiction of the cultural and political machinations of an immortal context.
The Loki shown in flashback is odd-man-out in Asgard, but for the most part, he shrugs it off and goes with the flow. The turning point is when his daughter Helen is born, at which point, he and his wife, Aggie, find themselves raising a severely handicapped child in a world where imperfection simply isn't tolerated.
I'm not a fan of the "cute kid" as a plot device because it's usually a lazy way to manipulate reader emotion. Here, however, it works here because the story's tone stays in poignant and sometimes sweet, without descending into contrived or maudlin.
Where in the previous story, Amy had an equal share of the character arc, this time, in Monsters, the bulk is given to Loki, with Amy as more of an observer. She isn't passive, but in this, the mid-section of the story, the meat of the character arc is given to Loki. As a narrative device, it's effective, with Amy's mundane and relatable problems serving as a counterpoint to Loki's much more emotionally compelling struggle.
Cute series with just the right mix of angst and funny. -
See my other reviews at
Never Enough Books
The last few months have been rather difficult for Amy Lewis. After being attacked by a serial killer and saved by Loki – the aptly titled God of Mischief, Lies, and Chaos – dragged to Aflheim and back, having her bank account drained by the aforementioned god, and taking care of her elderly grandmother, she had lost her scholarship to veterinary school.
It’s okay though, as Amy Lewis has a plan. All she has to do is hang on to her day job as a receptionist and her night job as a vet tech, and hopefully her scholarship can be reinstated before accruing too many “additional fees”.
Agent Steve Rogers (not Captain, thank you very much) has major political aspirations. Yet when what is believed to be a suitcase nuke turns out to be much, much worse, and when so-called Norse gods start turning up in his bathroom – his priorities soon make a drastic shift.
Loki, the God of Mischief and Lies, has his own plans and priorities. He is still intent on seeing Asgard burn but isn’t against enjoying a few earthly pleasures along the way.
As different as these three are, they’ll have learn to work together – and maybe even get along – to take down a bevy of mythological creatures along with an ancient evil that has taken resident beneath Chicago’s busy streets. Because chaos has come to town and has decided to stay.
Monsters is the second book in the I Bring The Fire series and picks up several months from where the first book left off. With Loki having disappeared in to seemingly thin air, Amy is doing her best to try and get her life back together. Of course this isn’t easy with Loki having cleaned out her bank account and her grandmother now in a care facility after having a stroke. She is determined though and isn’t about to let a little thing like a house crashing god to stand in her way.
As I have said before, I am always interested in how authors can take such well known individuals and make them their own. It is as true for the Norse gods and goddesses as it is for Sherlock Holmes.
With Monsters, Gockel has brought back familiar characters introduced in the first book and added new faces to the group. Readers who are familiar with the original Norse gods will surely see names they recognize though not in the way they are familiar with. Their stories have been changed in small but noticeable ways.
I found it very interesting and enjoyable to see the subtle ways Gockel changed these characters. The flashbacks she gives to Loki gives us more insight in to him and allows us to understand him a bit better. One might even begin to sympathize with him, but those thoughts are short lived.
Because, in all honesty dear reader, this Loki is at times a dick.
Going in to my reasoning behind this will unfortunately give too many spoilers. Just believe me when I say there were a few times where I found myself quite aggravated by how he was treating Amy and any one else trying to help him.
This is not to say I did not enjoy reading Monsters. Far from it in fact. I enjoyed it very much, there were just a few times that I was gripping my e-reader just a little too tightly.
It is necessary for readers to read Wolves, book one of the series, before reading Monsters. Characters and events from the first book are referenced and someone who is not familiar will only be confused. Otherwise, I recommend this book to my readers. Those who enjoy unique twists on well known characters will likely enjoy it. -
Monsters, I Bring The Fire Part 2 is the amazing continued story of Amy and Loki by C.Gockel.
Again I loved this book from the beginning to the end but the one thing I really wasn’t sure of was the introduction of Agent Steve Rogers. I just think of my least favorite Marvel character ever. But I overcame this very quickly as he is no where near the same Captain America character.
This book doesn't lull at any point and the author grabs the readers attention with the relationship between Loki and Amy and Loki's back story.I am amazed at the amount of research that must of gone into Norse mythology.
I must admit that C.Gockel is fast becoming one of my favorite authors ever. I love her style of writing and she manages to keep me on the edge of my seat with this series, mostly me shouting at my kindle, either at Loki calling him an idiot or screaming at Amy and Loki to get together, this is much amusement to my husband.
If you haven't read I Bring The Fire Part 1 go get it!! You need to read book one before book two. My only concern is, what will I do once this series is over?? -
I could not put this book down, even if it meant neglecting my spouse and child. I was actually relieved to contract a bit of mild food poisoning (dining out being necessary because I was too wrapped up in the story to go grocery shopping or come up with a creative meal plan with what was left in the cupboards) because it gave me a great excuse to tuck myself onto the couch and finish the book. Enthralling, enchanting, exciting. It's been a while since a book captured me like this series has.
Not suitable for children, primarily due to the lewdness of the Æsir In this installment, the sex is mostly fun sex rather than rape, but the the sexual "banter" would be more appropriately described as sexual harassment. -
Loki As The (Sorta) Hero.
Loki and Amy continue to dance about each other as we get more flashbacks to Loki's past. There are more hints that Loki's past is more convoluted than even he knows. Trolls, Wyrms and other bizarre creatures continue to invade the world of men, Midgard. ADUO attempts to keep the supernatural incursions quiet while dealing with internal conflicts.
The second installment of this series expands and continues the mythic story of Loki's life begun in _I Bring The Fire I_. This is an excellent read. -
I am really loving this series though I do feel like I should take all the myth retelling with a grain of salt! I marked down book 2 of the series to a 4/5 because it was so short and I wanted more out of it. Just bought book 3 so I really do hope it's longer.
Loki in this series has just been so fun to follow and his interactions with Amy are so hilarious!! LOL @ all the boob comments from all the characters; and just overall there are so many witty lines. I definitely recommend this series for a fast and unique read! -
I have really fallen in love with this series and started the third book as soon as I finished this one. Ms. Gockel has done a great job with her character and story development, she makes me want to read norse mythology so I know what the myths are and what she has taken creative license with. Ms. Gockel is proof that the self published authors can put out something every bit as good as the big name publishers. I'm keeping this author on my watch list.
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Adventures of Amy and Loki continue. But rather than being just the two of them (plus Amy's grandmother and her dog) now FBI special division gets involved. Chaos and hilarity ensues, as was probably's Loki intention all along.
Gockel continues with her unique take on Norse mythology and how in interacts with modern America. However book goes in slightly different direction than previous one, it's not just Loki and Amy now.
Entertaining read. -
After reading the first in the series, I immediately bought the second and devoured it. I'm a huge fan of Loki and I wasn't disappointed. He is a complex, charming/infuriating character with a sad and horrific past. Amy is the perfect counterpart to Loki, and together they make an improbable and yet sweet couple of misfits. I already bought the third title and I'm very much looking forward to reading how the story ends.
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A bargain price and well worth the read if you like adventure stories. The author is self-publishing her stories. Check out part one to see how it all began. She's currently working on the next installment.
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This series presents Loki as he should be: sympathetic and infuriating, sometimes doing things that are quite wrong but not evil by nature, sometimes on the side of good but with selfish motives mixed in.
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I thoroughly loved this book. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel is better than the original!
I can't wait to see where Loki and Amy's travels and adventure lead. It was the best ending because it left me wanting more and more!
