Beyond Ragnarok (Renshai Chronicles)

A wonderful adventure with Norse mythology as the foundation, a very entertaining and fun read that I strongly recommend to readers that enjoy a great adventure.

I have followed the Renshai Saga from the very beginning. I anxiously wait for the next installment. If you like adventure, excitement & graphic battles & sword play. You'll love the series. The Author spins an intricate web of violence, honor and dedication, combining elements of past story lines with the present day. Mickey Zucker-Riechert is truly a gifted story teller.

Overall this was a great book. It is full of deception and heroism. Some of the characters seem to act irrational sometimes, but this is how it would work in real life. The plot is defined and developed, and the characters have strong values which they usually stick. I also enjoyed it because I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. This book is definately a good read, but I would not put it in my top five.(This book was great, don't get me wrong, but after this book definately read the Iron Tower Trilogy {The Dark Tide, Shadows of Doom, and The Darkest Day} by Dennis L. McKiernan. Especially if you liked LOR.)

Just finished it for the 3rd or 4th time. I always enjoy each reading of this particular series. I have discovered that there is a new book and can’t wait to read it after I read the next 5.

Nostalgic read of a series based on norse mythology. Just as good as it was 20 or so years ago.

Great thank you

Is the author not a woman? I'm male, and not one of these picky feminists, but give Mickey her dues, she is female. The book itself is OK, I;m looking forward to the next one to see if it reaches the same quality of character and plot as the original three.

This is a young adventurer quest book, where a group of young teens venture off into the world in an effort to save the kingdom. As they progress through their mission, they are forced to make tough decisions and learn what growing up is all about. Unfortunately, this book is far from epic. It's the type of story where the heroes are more likely to get saved by a snarky talking cat than a regiment of heavily armored cavalry or dragon riding warriors. To make matters worse, the pacing sluggish and there are quite a few tangents that hurt the momentum of the story.Story:Angered over the destruction of their homeland, the elves decide to topple the human kingdoms by kidnapping the heir to the throne. A band of young teens form a party and covertly attempt to save the imprisoned prince. There's a princess, a knight, a thief, a Renshai, a bard, and a talking cat. (Yeah, the talking cat is going to be a deal breaker for many of you.)World Building:The world takes place after the mythical Ragnarok, the Viking End of the World, when the world is thrown out of balance and is consumed by demons and flame. Generations later, humanity is rebuilding, the wizards are no more, and the remaining gods must preserve a balance between good and evil and law and chaos. This book features more of the elves, who are magical, immortal, and incredibly naive.Characters:The strongest part of the book is the character development. Because they are all around the age of 15-16, they have a lot of growing up to do and this is a book about self discovery. The characters throw themselves into a difficult situation and realize who they really are in the process. They fight, argue, bond, and build friendships on their quest and they're all likeable in their own way.Writing Style:The weakest part of the book is the writing style. The plot seems to sputter as the story arcs skip from the elves to the party to the gods to the kingdom and due to the slow pacing of the book, you tend to forget what is happening in the world. You start asking yourself, "Where are they going, again?" "What were the gods doing?" etc... The other problem is that all of the dialogue scenes are painfully slow. In every scene, the author writes the dialogue, the character's emotions, and their gestures, so it ends up taking 3 pages to write, a very short and seemingly simple conversation. All of this is unnecessary. The reader will understand what the characters are feeling by the dialogue and the gestures. You don't need an entire paragraph of feelings for each line of dialogue."Fine, we'll go East," Tae reluctantly agreed."You have no honor!" snarled Ravn through gritted teeth.These things work just fine. The only time you need to write the dialogue, gestures, and feelings are when they conflict. But to do this every time, in every scene, just feels tedious.Action:There is some good descriptive swordplay in the book and it's not overly gory. The book opens with a massive gods vs demons battle, but after that, there are just a few duels and skirmishes. Unfortunately, most of the swordplay scenes are the Renshai practicing their weapon katas. Every day... even when poisoned... even when imprisoned... 5 minutes after being tortured... they practice their flawless forms. This gets boring after a while because every time, it's the same: Perfect. This book could really use a montage.Maturity: TeensThe themes and lack of sex and gore suggests Teens! The main characters are young teens who are venturing out into the world and learning about themselves, so this is the right audience.Overall:There are some good parts in this book, the world is interesting, and there's an original portrayal of elves, but the story is bogged down by unnecessary tangents and the dialogue hampered by loads of unnecessary detail. If you're the type of reader who likes to visualize the story in your head, then you'll find this book very frustrating. If you love to read words and you want a young adventurer story, then you may like this book.Read it if you like the idea of young heroes on an important quest.Read it if you loved the first trilogy and want another one aimed at a younger audience.Avoid it if you like gritty action like the worlds of David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie, or Warhammer.Avoid it if you like fast paced stories with momentum.Avoid it if you love the traditional portrayal of elves as wise acrobatic hunters adept with bows. You may not be able to accept these elves.

This is my second time around for these books. My first time around was library rental !!! Fantastic story.

Great book, can't stop reading it !

ok