Giants of the Frost

I have had this book to read for quite some time. I first read Kim Wilkins in the Dreaming Again anthology released in 2008. I immediately went out and picked out Giants of the Frost and The Autumn Castle. I thought the Autumn Castle was okay, but not great. Giants of the Frost was also in the “okay but not great” category. It moves pretty slowly. It’s advertised as an urban fantasy but really doesn’t fit in that genre all that well.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay. Some of the characters voices were really well done and some were very annoying. For example the character of Aud had a very scratchy annoying voice. However, the main character’s voice was incredibly well done and nice to listen to. So I show more guess there was some good and some bad here.

Victoria Scott is trying to recover from breaking off her engagement and just wants somewhere quiet to finish her thesis. She takes a job on an isolated island in the Sea of Norway with a small group of weather researchers. Vicki is a logical woman and isn’t prepared for the stick like man who haunts her doorstep or the terrifying Hag that tries to suck the life out of her. Unknown to Vicki she has a history with this island, a history from a past life.

Meanwhile in Aesir lands Vidar is waiting for his true love on Midgar to be reborn. Until that time he is living away from the rest of his family (Odin, Loki, etc.) in a simple farmhouse with the slave Aud. Odin wants to keep Vidar close because of the prophecy that Vidar will one day save his life. However, Vidar is determined to be reunited with this true love once she is reborn.

I enjoyed the Norse mythology here and the beautiful writing style. I love the setting of the lonely Norse island in the sea; it’s very atmospheric and Wilkins makes it easy to picture. However, this story is very slow. Not a lot happens given how long the book is; midway through the book I was just plain bored.

I really enjoyed the characters on the research island in Midgard; Vicki and her coworkers were doing interesting work and were interesting to read about. However, I thought the portions of the book that took place in Asgard were boring and childish. I really disliked the character of Aud who made numerous poor decisions and then ended up being one of the only characters to get a happy ending. I cannot begin to go into the depths of my dislike for Aud and her childish and selfish decisions.

Overall this was an okay read. There were parts of the book I really liked (the mythology, Vicki’s character, writing style) and parts that I absolutely hated (how slow the middle of the book was, Aud’s character, the scenes in Asgard). It was just a very uneven read for me. I think from now on I will stick to Wilkins short stories and skip her books; I seem to enjoy her short stories a lot better than any of the books she’s written. show less

I picked it up because of the Norse mythology - I re-read it because it's a beautiful love story set between worlds, with enough fantasy and excitement to make it palatable to anyone, even cynics.

This book was okay. The pacing was good, and the characters seemed realish most of the time.

It kept tantalizing me by hinting that it would be a sort of Norse ghost/horror story, and while there was a little of that; the dual love stories completely eclipsed the horror story. And I'm at a place where I just can't be bothered to care about straight people's love stories, even if one of the lovers is the son of Odin.

I finished it and if something else by Kim Wilkins finds it's way to me, I may read it as long as there's an absence of sappy love story.

Norse themed horror/romance, with supernatural and time-travel threads.

Honestly not a bad book, but very much not not to my taste.

I almost DNF this book ... several times. I'm not exactly sure why. There were times when it grabbed me, but then I'd loose interest.

Good writing, heavy horror vibe in the first half of the book at least. In my opinion a weak, unsatisfactory ending.

Giants of the Frost is a book like none other that I have read. It has strong roots in Nordic mythology, which is something I have never experienced.

The book takes place in modern times, where Victoria Scott, and English scientist takes a position on a tiny island on the Sea of Norway. She's looking to escape her life and finish her doctoral thesis. She's a non-believer in everything but science, so when weird things start to happen to her, she tries to explain them all away. During her stay in Norway, she is on an island with 7 other people... some of whom she likes, and some she doesn't. The other seven end up going on a trip, and Vicky is ecstatic to be on the island by herself and have some solitude. Unfortunately, this is when the show more weird things start to happen to her, including meeting a stick-man, and a hag that sits on her chest, trying to suck the life out of her. She tries to explain that as imagination or dreams, until she meets Vidar. Vidar seems infinitely familiar to her, and she falls in love pretty quickly.

Up to this point, we have had a couple of chapters with Vidar, who is of the Aesir, a race of people who are extremely long lived, and who live in an alternate plane (pretty well), but can cross over to Midgard (our world) when they like. We know that he is the son of Odin (the "god" or king of Aesir), cousin to Loki, and brother to Thor. He is a powerful man who hates his family.

She eventually finds out that she and Vidar have been connected in a past life, which ended with Odin killing her. They scheme to break the cycle and find a way to be together.

I found this book to be gripping, fast paced and interesting. Ms. Wilkin's didn't delve into the science too deeply (of the meteorology), but enough that her conversations and circumstances were believable. I thoroughly enjoyed each character, being fleshed out appropriately for the story, but without superfluous detail. I found the descriptions good, the world described accurately and with interest.

While I didn't know anything about the Norse gods and their relationships, I still found myself very interested, and I found them relatable. Some times I feel like if I didn't know the basic Arthurian story, I would be lost reading some of the adaptations. I didn't feel this way at all. I think that anyone could pick up this book and catch on pretty quickly. It did leave with interested in the Norse god structure, and relationships, but again, not imperative to the story. Nothing is more frustrating then having to study before reading a book of fiction.

Kim Wilkins is one of my favourite authors. She did not dissapoint in this story. It wasn't as dark as some of her other work, but was just as thrilling. I would rate this book with a 14+, as there is brief and somewhat non-descript sex in it (most teens wouldn't feel that it was graphic), and there is some violence, but not excessive. It is all related to the story, and not described in detail. Not knowing what 14 year olds can relate to as far as parents losing children, consequences for your actions, etc. I think that if I had read this at 14, I still would have loved it.

I recommend this book to everyone who wants something fantastical, but slightly different then the norm. show less

Norse God falls in love with a mortal woman who is then murdered by his father, Odin. One thousand years later, she is reincarnated and Vidar is determined to make it turn out better this time. This was just okay for me. My favorite character in the book was Aud and I enjoyed the Asgard parts of the book far more than the Midgard sections. Loved the Norse mythology aspects, but I am just not a romantic, so that was really lost on me.

A story about the 'gods' of old and their immortal life intertwining with modern-day humans. The power struggle of a father wanting to be remembered by mankind (by killing those who don't obey) and a son who wants nothing to do with his evil family and would give up everything in the world, even immortality, to be with the woman he loves.

The book took awhile to get into, very similar (I thought) to Lord of the Rings genre. Once it got moving, though, it was hard to put down. The writing style jumped around a lot and sometimes caused you to have to go back and re-read a paragraph at the initial switch so that you could switch over characters in your mind. The ending...not all that great. Very much a cliffhanger headed towards happiness.