Friday, September 12, 2014

Book Beginning and the Friday 56 12/09/2014


Book Beginning is a meme hosted on Rose City Reader. To partecipate, you have to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 



Friday 56 is a meme hosted on Freda's Voice. To participate, you have to post one or a few sentences from either page 56 or 56% of a book of your choosing. 











The book I chose to use for this two memes is "The Gospel of Loki" by Joanne M. Harris

The first sentence(s):
I know a tale, o sons of earth.
I speak it as I must.
Of how nine trees gave life to Worlds 
That giants held in trust. 
Ok. Stop. Stop right there.

That was the Authorized Version. The Prophecy of the Oracle, as told to Odin Allfather by the Head of Mimir the Wise, and dealing, in thirty-six stanzas, with all the history of the Nine Worlds, from "Let there be light" to Ragnaròk.
Pretty neat, don't you think?
Well, this isn't the Authorized Version. This is my version of events.
I actually really like this beginning. It does a wonderful job at setting the tone for the rest of the novel, and it teases the reader with what will happen next enough to make them want to keep reading. In fact, the whole first chapter is one of the better written in the entire novel. 

Taken from page 56 of the book:
Nevertheless, I approached the four smiths and gave them my most winning smile. "Greetings, sons of Ivaldi," I said, "from the gods of Asgard." 
In the light of the fiery forge, they turned their faces towards me. The sons of Ivaldi are almost identical: sallow-skinned, hollow-eyed, stooped and scorched with labour. 

What about you?  Let me know in the comments!

17 comments:

  1. I've seen this book around. Not sure if it's my kind of read but your 56 is a good choice. You've got me curious:) Have a great weekend.

    Here is my 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2014/09/12/the-friday-56-36-a-crafty-christmas-by-mollie-cox-bryan/

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  2. It reminds me of Thor movie! :D I hope you enjoyed this book! :) Thanx for stopping by my blog


    Book Maniac Reviews

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  3. Intriguing...you definitely got my attention. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

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  4. I really enjoyed the opening of this book.

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  5. Interesting. I have to admit that my eyes started to glaze at the very beginning of the beginning but I like the stop right there and the switch to more conversational speech. Definitely sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Is this novel really based on Loki....Marvel's Loki? Thor's brother Loki!? Even so, I love the introduction, the fantasy world is there; thanks for sharing!

    Here's mine:

    Sparrow's BB & Friday 56

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  7. They must work very, very hard. I would like to read this one.

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  8. Not really: this book is based on Norse mythology. Marvel borrowed from Norse mythology when they created the Thor comics and the movies (which is why some things are similar, like the Nine Worlds and some aspects of the characters). So, basically, this book's Loki and Marvel's Loki share a common root, but are different characters with different stories :) (For example, this Loki is neither a Frost Giant nor Thor's brother, he's Odin's blood brother...).

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  9. Probably because they are both based on Norse mythology :)

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  10. I love the beginning. It does set a tone.

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  11. I love the poetic beginning... to bad it didn't stay that way throughout. :-)


    Happy weekend!

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  12. Hi Sofia,

    Thank you for stopping by Fiction Books today. I love 'meeting' new people, so your visits will always be welcome and your comments always appreciated.

    I had to do a double take on this book, as it seemed to be so far outside author Joanne Harris's usual remit. Sure enough, Goodreads describes this as:

    "The first adult epic fantasy novel from multi-million copy bestselling author of CHOCOLAT, Joanne Harris."

    I have very eclectic tastes in my reading, but if there are two genres which I always struggle to read, they are science fiction and fantasy, so whilst I really did enjoy the poetic first few lines, I don't think I would be hooked enough to keep on readng.

    Have a great weekend and enjoy the book!

    Yvonne

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  13. LOVE the cover.

    It is not in my preferred reading genre, but I hope you enjoy it.

    Thanks for sharing. NICE BLOG.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  14. That was a pretty good beginning.

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  15. I;m with you---the opening of the book is quite fantastic. I think I'll take a look for it next time I;m at the book store. Here are my quotes---Anne

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  16. Wow, that beginning line is pretty good!

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