Bloodsong

That's how Sigurd began his first adventure - in disguise, on a horse that wasn't a horse, with a saddle-bag full of science and a sword forged with grit from the godworld.

Sigurd's story starts with Regin reforging Sigmund's knife and trying to persuade him to kill the dragon Fafnir, just as it does in The Saga of the Volsungs, although this retelling takes place in a decayed future Britain where halfmen descended from animals and gods who may be part machine roam the land. The story continues to follow the saga closely as it tells of Sigurd's relationships with Bryony (Brynhild) and Gudrun, and the author finds an interesting and non-magical way for Sigurd to lose his memories of his first love.

Poor Sigurd is doomed from the start by show more the weight of expectations on his shoulders, and by the dragon's blood that makes him both more than and less than human. He understood now why Odin interfered and fouled things up. He was jealous. All gods are. Their lives, so diluted by endless time, are worthless; they have nothing. show less

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

In this post-apocalyptic world, war and corruption thrive, as the innocent people who occupy it must adapt. England has been torn apart and two families, Niberlin and Portland, are still worrisome toward one another, even though there is a truce intact.

The answer to saving this chaotic world lies with one person, the "chosen one," "the hero," - Sigurd, son of King Sigmund. The only surviving Volson, Sigurd's only chance in reuniting this torn country is by doing one simple thing...slay a dragon. Simple? Not so much.

Throw in three lovely lady distractions, resurrections, technologically-based animals and humans who aren't so human (including a human-turned-dragon) and a show more protagonist who is part lion, and it's all a little complicated.

On the surface, BLOODSONG looks like the normal adventure based on the heroic cycle, where the main character goes on a journey to accomplish one thing, slay the nemesis. However, in this case it's a technologically advanced dragon.

BLOODSONG begins a generation after BLOODTIDE. But nothing is different from the first time period. There is still blood, war, and love. With those elements, Melvin Burgess creates a complex world that is so imaginative and advanced that it feels like you are in an action-packed video game. And when you finish, you just have to sit back and say WHOA! show less

SOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than Bloodtide--a coherent storyline, interesting characters. I almost skipped it because I disliked the first book so much (I actually was calculating how the author could kill off a major character after her second scene).

Burgess, Melvin. (2007). Bloodsong. New York: Simon Pulse, Simon & Schuster. 384 pp. ISBN 1-4169-3616-5 (Paperback); $7.99

Bloodsong is like reading a cosmology tale that asks: How do we balance our personal needs with the demands of society? Sigrud is destined to save the world. Fargut is a technological, biologically engineered evil being who has skin that cannot be pierced by anything except a blade that has been destroyed. Sigrud, however, has the help from Odin and the remnants of the sword that can cut through anything except itself. With the help of Ragut and Odin, Sigrud defeats Fargut. In the aftermath, however, he is cast into Hel, where he meets Byrony, his soul mate. Hel, however, is too hot for Byrony to escape without show more Fargut's leftover dragon skin. Sigrud leaves Byrony to go back and get the skin that will allow Byrony to escape with him. Sigrud longs to give the world to Byrony. The ties to Norse Mythology are interesting as is the idea that Hell comes to Earth because of love and then falls in love so that love can come back to Hell with her. The dog-like voices are fun. show less

I didn't get further than 10 chapters in on this one. I really liked the concept in the first in this series as it had a solid base in reality - as such - if you can class half half animal breeds reality ;)...This one, however, went a little more into a mythology side which was the part of the last novel that didn't appeal to me.
Also, the characters were not as well rounded as the first book and not much seemed to happen in the beginning to grip me.
This could have been so much more...

I didn't get further than 10 chapters in on this one. I really liked the concept in the first in this series as it had a solid base in reality - as such - if you can class half half animal breeds reality ;)...This one, however, went a little more into a mythology side which was the part of the last novel that didn't appeal to me.
Also, the characters were not as well rounded as the first book and not much seemed to happen in the beginning to grip me.
This could have been so much more...