Early Review: Mist

Mist

Susan Krinard

Publisher: Tor Books

E-Arc Courtesy of Netgalley and Tor Books

Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors. 
Or so she thought.
When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years. Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive...

Mist is a Valkerie – one of the few immortals who survived the Last Battle, when the Norse Gods faced the Trickster, Loki’s armies and both vanished forever. Ever since Mist has lived in the human world, protecting the one gift the gods had left her, and has finally managed to build a life for herself. Unfortunately, not all the Gods and Immortals are gone for good – and Mist finds herself in the middle of a new game and the possibility that the Last Battle may be continued in modern day San Francisco.

This is a slightly different shade of Urban Fantasy than I’ve read before. Our kick-ass heroine is thousands of years old and comfortable with who she is – even if she has suffered and lost during her time in the modern world. While she discovers some big secrets about herself during the course of the story she doesn’t really doubt herself and I like that confidence. Unfortunately not all her allies are telling her the truth...some of story is told is told from other points of view so we know more than Mist does about what is happening which gives me a real pantomime feeling – like I should be shouting “Look behind you!”.

There is plenty of action with Mist getting involved in ice-giant fights as well as magical battles as Loki attempts to establish himself in San Francisco. I also liked the Norse Mythology which makes a difference from the vampires and werewolves that so populate Urban Fantasy. It feels fresh and different especially Mist’s sister Valkeries who don’t appear much in this story but I hope will make more appearances in the next story. There is a lot of ground work laid for future stories which does slow down the story once in a while, but that is common in first books and there is a very unique and intriguing set up.

Recommended for fans of Suzanne Johnson and Chloe Neill. 7 out of 10