This second Loki adventure is set centuries after the fall of Asgard and the defeat of the old gods. Many are dead, while the others are in eternal torment in the netherworld, including the legendary trickster, Loki. There they have lain forgotten as time has passed and humans have moved on to new beliefs, idols and deities… But now mankind has begun to dream of the Norse Gods once again, through comics, films and video games, bringing the river Dream closer to the gods’ dark prison, and of course Loki is ready and waiting for just such an opportunity to escape.

Without giving too much away to Loki’s intricate journey, he quite literally manages to force his way through a computer game into the player. Awaking in the youthful body and angst-ridden mind of a young woman called Jumps. Being a teenager can be difficult enough and in Jumps’ case she is already struggling with friendships, exams, body dysmorphia, self-harm, mother issues and her sexuality; so discovering another voice in your head, one claiming to be a Norse god, is just last the straw really!

If I am honest I found it a bit annoying to be inside a teenagers’ mind, but then I could sympathise with Loki more, and as they struggle against each other, open up each other’s horizons and begrudgingly find common ground, it was nice to get to know and grow to like Jumps more along with Loki. However hormones turn out to be the least of their worries, when they discover that Loki is not the only one to have escaped the netherworld – other, darker, things have reached this new world, too.

If Loki wishes to continue to enjoy his new found freedom, he will need allies, an audacious plan and a hatful of tricks! Things he is obviously renowned for and it was fun to be swept away on another fantastical scheme with him. My only issue was there is a lot of characters (often within other characters like Loki is in Jumps) and worlds to get my head around, and that is before we enter the many-faceted levels of Dream!

So this wasn’t such a straight forward, Norse inspired, adventure as the previous book was. Even Jumps’ world is akin to our own but not quite right. You certainly need your wits about you when reading this one. However Harris brings each element eloquently to life from her amazing imagination. We also get a glimpse of Loki’s own world after the Fall and I enjoyed seeing the threads come together that link this story to Harris’ Runemarks series.

Overall, I thought The Testament of Loki by Joanne M. Harris was another imaginative and fun adventure with this infamous trickster, in a strange time of new beliefs, teenagers and video games.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

It took a while to get into this, but this may be because I went straight into it without knowing about the other book in the series, and that is why it is 4 stars. Other than that, it was a well-written book, with an interesting and unique premise - I've never really heard of anything like this plot before, so it was definitely a new reading experience for me which I loved.

I think my favourite character was the MC Jumps, she was so well written and you really got a feel for her and her problems and how she overcome them while she has Loki with her. I just really connected with her, and through her with Loki.

Definitely a good read.

I’ve been enjoying Joanne Harris’ Norse myth based works for a while, but this one just seemed a bit too goofy for me, for all that I like the characters and the idea. In this book, after Ragnarok, Loki finds a way out of Chaos through… a mythology-based video game, and then the brain of a teenage girl. He quickly finds that Odin has also found the same way into the world, and of course, Odin also wants to bring his son Thor through, and he’s already found the perfect host for Freyja…

Honestly, the possession bit just freaked me out: Loki’s tendency to take over Jumps (his teenage host) when he feels like it is just squicky to me, while the Aesir in the bodies of teenagers is also a bit cringy. It’s a shame, because Harris’ take has been generally clever, funny and transformative in a good way; her Loki voice is great. But this specific story just really does not work for me.

This book was alright. I much prefer the first book in the series, The Gospel of Loki, but i did like this one as well. I appreciated the f/f romance and the framing the Norse mythology through the lens of technology. I'm excited to see if there is a third one as this could be a strong trilogy.

What an outrageous, ludicrous and pretty preposterous romp this was! I absolutely loved this irreverent and irresistible tale of the Trickster, Loki and his exploits in the body of a 17 year old girl. I had not read the previous book but it didn't deplete my enjoyment of this one so it can be read and adequately understood as a stand alone story. While this book would win no prizes for accurate representations of the Norse pantheon, it is obviously the author knows the subject matter well enough to be confident playing fast and loose with it. The writing style is fun and immediately engaging and I particularly enjoyed the many anachronisms that in a more straight laced setting would've driven me mad. The character of Jumps was a joy and I feel really sad that her story ends so suddenly - I'd love to know what became of her and Meg. In all, a fun, funny and clever read that I'd recommend to general readers and Norse mythology fans alike.

An excellent and fun return of everyone's favourite mischievous Norse God, Loki. Where the Gospel of Loki dealt with the traditional canon in a wry and unique way, The Testament of Loki gives us a completely new take on Prince of Lies, now resurrected as a 17 year old girl!

Another playful portrayal of The Trickster, Harris once again cleverly captures the sly and contriving character of Loki. Such an entertaining read.

I wasn't a massive fan of the first book but thought I'd give The Testament of Loki a go. I didn't really like it much better. This suffered from the same issues as the first, and I found myself completely unable to connect to the narrative. It feels like an experimental retelling of a well-known mythology given as a high-school English assignment. Or like a YA addition to The Gospel of Loki without, but without any real depth. Not only was it a relatively ordinary example of YA literature, but it was an ordinary example of mythology retellings. It was certainly fine, but not a book I'll be shouting praise over.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2018/06/11/the-testament-of-loki-loki-2-by-joanne-m-harris/
I just loved The Testament of Loki. It was such good fun, a really quick read and jam packed with humour and goodness. Arguably, I would say that this is even better than The Gospel of Loki, although it does have a younger feel which might not appeal to everyone. Where the Gospel of Loki was a retelling of Norse mythology and the fall of Asgard told from the tricksy perspective of Loki, Testament goes a step further. With this book Ms Harris opens up a whole new realm of possible stories. Of course, I have no idea if that was the intention but I would love to think that there are more Loki stories yet to come.

Personally I don’t think it’s necessary to have read The Gospel of Loki before reading Testament however, I would suggest you do so as it helps to build up the characters and whilst you might already have some knowledge of Norse mythology I still think the extra time spent with the characters, particularly Loki, can only be of benefit.

I’m going to give very little of the plot away so I’m sorry if that’s what you’re hoping for here. Suffice to say, and no real spoiler, Loki manages to escape from his dark prison. Of course if he can escape then others can surely do so too. And, whilst he begins to form a plan, and enjoy all the things denied him over the centuries it seems that others of the same nature have similar designs and Loki could be the key in bringing those plans to fruition. It simply doesn’t bode well – and just as he was enjoying cake, and pizza and girlfriends!

In terms of the world building, well, Loki find himself in our modern world and he’s prepared to enjoy himself enormously. Of course he has certain restrictions that I won’t elaborate on only to say that I loved this particular aspect of the story. Obviously there’s more to the world building. The realm of dream plays a fairly strong role in the overall story arc and things certainly become quite fantastical, not to mention twisted, as Loki begins to scheme and then scheme some more.

The characters. You may be pleased to hear that Loki isn’t the only one who has escaped. I won’t tell you who else joins the cast but I will say I don’t think readers will be disappointed. The rest of the cast are fairly young, teenagers around 17 ish. Jumps is particularly great to read about with all her trials and tribulations and fortunately she shares great chemistry with Loki which makes for some highly entertaining dialogue.

There really isn’t too much more I can say without giving things away and I realise that this makes for a rather short review however I can promise that it isn’t a reflection on the book. This is creative, entertaining and fast paced. The characters are diverse and the storyline allows for focus on teenage issues such as acceptance, self perception and eating disorders to name a few. but, more than that, Loki – do I really need to say more.

A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. The fun feels almost comic like and the dramatic finale has a fantastic feel that goes a little batshit crazy. What is not to love. Really?

I received a copy through Netgalley courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Apologies for the delay - I posted this over two weeks ago and thought I'd given feedback. So sorry for the delay. My link is posted above.

The series steps up a gear with Testament of Loki. Transported into a world like out own via Asgard the computer game (stay with me), Loki finds himself in the body of a teenage girl. What ensues is the humanisation of Loki complete with hilarious teenage consequences and a big battle with his old foes. Like Gospel of Loki, this is very funny and Loki is as delightful a narrator as ever; the step up is the unique concept. This is a celebration of the juxtaposed fragility and strength of teenage girls, of love, and of cake. Also, Thor ends up in a small fluffy dog. The most original reworking of mythology I’ve read for a while.

Aha! The trickster returns!

You can’t keep a good Frost Giant/Norse God down. Especially when it’s everybody’s favourite trickster God, Loki. After Ragnarok, The End of Days, the age of the Norse Gods was over. Well that’s what we thought but Joanne Harris brings the gods back to life in a most interesting and surprising way.

In the first book, The Gospel according to Loki, we were walked through the now familiar Norse myths from creation through to the climatic epic battle Ragnarok and the end of the mythical cycle all narrated by Loki himself.

In The Testament of Loki it’s post Ragnarok and Loki uses the computer game Asgard! to escape from purgatory and eternal torment in the netherworld and into the body of a teenage girl in the present day. He soon discovers that Odin and others have already found similar hosts, and the drama of the gods has followed him into this new world.

As per Gospel, Loki is our narrator again. It’s a modern setting Loki easily transfers into and, of course, he feels quite at home.
The first half of the book is really interesting with Loki coming to terms with his host ‘Jumps’ and also his host dealing with a Norse god inside her head.
Whereas the gods were the main event in the first book, it is the human, Jumps, who is the standout character in this book.

Pairing Loki with a character undergoing the trials of being a female teenager, coming to terms with bullying, belonging, sexuality, self esteem and some uncomfortable moments relating to self harm is inspired!
These two have great chemistry together and interact really well and are the heartbeat of the book. It’s unfortunate that this relationship wasn’t examined further. This is where the book comes to life and perhaps should have remained.

The supporting characters, especially the humans, are superfluous and don’t add a great deal. The gods are there but don’t have the same magnificence as in their ‘proper pantheon’. It did make me chuckle to see Thor return in the body of a fluffy dog though!

The second half is full of betrayal and bluff and counter bluff in so much that it becomes overly confusing and complicated. I admit to getting getting lost at times.The once promising relationship between Loki and Jumps ends up being a little forced to carry the plot along and a bit of a complicated mess.

It’s not as good as the first book and although a sequel, totally different and could stand alone. Testament to Loki reads more like a YA novel and offers itself to a wider audience. There are more YA titles in the author’s Runemark series where this novel sits better. If you enjoyed this, check them out

It helps If you have read the sequel, Gospel but not essential. A little knowledge of Norse Mythology may help you along though.
It’s fun and a bit silly but just lacked the charm of its predecessor.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, in return for a honest review.

Content warning: Eating disorders, self-harm, possession

Those expecting this to have been another Norse mythology retelling will be sorely…not disappointed (because I still think this is an excellent book), but they will have to reframe their expectations. This is a book set in the modern day, some hundreds of years after Ragnarok at the end of The Gospel of Loki. While there is some continuation of characters between the two books the most important one is, of course, Loki himself. In the first book, Loki’s voice was always quite ‘modern’ so the character slides easily into this modern setting.

The character that truly shines, in my opinion, is not actually Loki himself, but the human host he ends up in, nicknamed Jumps. Jumps is a lovely character to read, though she has struggles that some readers may find troubling. I thought that the way Joanne Harris wrote her in such a way that as a reader you could almost sense how amazing she was before the character actually did was impressive and subtle. I could have read an entire book of just Jumps and not worried about all the Norse nonsense going on around her.

Incidentally, this book does open up the can of worms around possession and how someone can consent to activity (not necessarily sexual) when their body is not solely their own. I’ve gone into this in my review of The Wicked Deep and it isn’t quite so extreme in this title but it’s always something I have on my mind in situations such as these. I don’t want to dwell on this here but the thought wouldn’t leave me alone.

Compared to the first book which, while it is a cohesive novel, does have a number of self-contained stories, this is more of a linear narrative. I actually think this plot, or some of the things about it, may have been a little bit overcomplicated, particularly towards the latter end of the novel. There are some rather ephemeral ideas that the reader is expected to grasp and I’m not sure I understood all of them. There is a lot of betrayal and two-facedness on top of multiple realms to think about and it made things just a tiny bit too intense for me at times. That’s mostly a matter of personal preference and the way in which I read things so you may experience this differently.

Overall this is a strong novel, I enjoyed reading the two books in quick succession which I wasn’t expecting given how different they are. I feel as though The Gospel of Loki is kind of a primer for some of the characters in The Testament of Loki. Both books stand alone perfectly well, but to read them together is to truly get a sense of the inner workings of these characters.

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Testament of Loki is a sequel to The Gospel of Loki and are a part of the Runemarks universe, I haven’t read the Runemarks books yet but still enjoyed Gospel immensely and to be honest you don’t necessarily have to have read even that to enjoy Testament because it recaps most of, if not all of the important information. That said, The Gospel of Loki is pretty good (My spoiler free review can be read here) and it does help set the tone for some of the characters so if you get the chance I recommend it.

This sequel does have a very different feel to its predesscor however, in Gospel your humble narrator often tells you how it’s all going to end and it feels very much like a story being told whereas in Testament it feels more in the moment. There is also the fact that Gospel is set mainly in Asgard and features heavily on the interactions between the different gods but now The Trickster is stranded in the world of the folk, our world and he’s about to discover pizza.

The first three-quarters of this book is great fun, a little silly and almost deep at times in its own way. Loki still has the great voice Harris brought him to life with in the first book and this is a whole new level and a glimmer of a slightly different (but not too much) side to our beloved red-haired, silver-tongued devil. I love the way Loki interacts with Jumps, his relationship with the other people in her life and his perspective on the way many of us live today, seeing our insecurities through his eyes was quite enlightening. We get to see a f/f relationship from a (I believe) bisexual character and we get a bit of a glimpse into another character suffering from a chronic pain disorder who is often confined to a wheelchair without making a huge deal of any of these things outside of the story. Just a warning there is a scene involving self harm, it didn’t trigger me personally but I was made away before hand and prepared for it so I feel it’s right to pass this on to my readers as well. I honestly think this aspect of Loki was my favourite parts of the story and I would have quite happily had a whole series of this side of things.

Sadly I felt again a few of the characters, bar perhaps Meg (in addition to Loki and Jumps) were a little flat and a bit lacking in the fleshing out department out but I like to think this is such Loki thing to do, he’s so self-absorbed and doesn’t have time for hardly anyone else. I found other than Loki and Jumps I didn’t give much of a hoot about anyone else.

I will say that although I enjoyed Testament a few things let it down for me, hence the XXXX rating and not XXXXX but I will say the good for me outweighed the bad by far but a few things still niggled me. There is a fair bit of repetitiveness and perhaps its to make sure things make sense and because things get a little twisty but after a little while it started to bug me and I could feel myself rolling my eyes every time it happened. Somehow though my other problem was that for the last quarter of the book I was pretty confused. I got the jist of things and understood most of the story but things would get skimmed over and then sometimes we found of what was said or happened later or sometimes we wouldn’t. This is quite possibly just a problem I’ll encounter because I often have a terrible attention span and I might not have been taking things in properly but towards the end I kept feeling like the final exam was here but I’d skipped a few classes. That being said it was enjoyable over all and I hope/wonder if there will be more. I’d certainly like to see more and I believe that the (I’m not quite sure on because it felt a bit weird) ending has been left in a way that we can have more of my favourite Norse god. (Yes please).

I didn’t realise this was a sequel to another book, having said that this can be read as a stand alone , just!
The story is very interesting and very well written. The narrator has a very sarcastic manner that makes him likeable. A good read.

This is the sequel to The Gospel of Loki although it could be read as a stand-alone book if you know enough of Norse mythology. Asgard is destroyed during Ragnarök and Loki finds himself in a new, modern world. The trickster god must find his footing in the new world while making new friends and finding some old ones. This book read more like YA than the first one, but I liked that quality and really enjoyed this story.

"Why not just keep it simple? There were enough pleasures in this world to fill every hour of a human's life. Why waste so much precious time with doubt, and pain, and loneliness?"

2.5 stars, rounded up
Ragnarok came and went centuries ago, and after Asgard fell the old gods were either dead of stuck in the Netherworld for eternal torment. That is until Loki found a way to escape the Netherworld and into ours... but is he the only god to have found his way to freedom? And will Loki be yet again the pawn in the plans of other gods?

sigh. I feel like 2018 is shoring up to be the year of disappointing mythology stories for me. When I saw this title available for request on NetGalley, I screamed to the Valkyries in hopes of being accepted for this arc. I love mythology, and Norse mythology in particular has been deeply interesting to me since childhood.

This is a story with an incredibly interesting premise, but unfortunately this is another book that I struggled with nearly from the beginning. I initially was hooked with the sarcastic voice of our narrator Loki and enjoyed the folding of mythology and Oracle prophesy; however, for some inexplicable reason I never connected with the story and found myself dragging on this book. It took me ten days to read the 320 pages, and the fact that I finished this at all rather than a DNF speaks to the overall premise and my wanting to see how things ended.

Sadly I was not aware that this book was part of a series until I received the mobi file (I really with NetGalley would list series information as this isn't the first time this has happened), but since it appears to be a prequel of sorts I didn't think it would be an issue -- I admit that may be a reason for my having issues connecting with the story. I found the writing a bit difficult to understand at times and I felt like I was being told a lot of information rather than being shown it. Due to Loki's trickster nature, as the narrator he kept things from the reader without really saying so until later. I didn't really enjoy this writing device as I found myself confused quite often thinking that I missed something... and I did... it was just not revealed to the reader. It may be more successful if Loki simply said something like "but I'll tell you more when you need to know." Then again, others may very well enjoy this writing style!

There are themes of acceptance, self-love, and coming of age that will resonate well with a young adult audience, and I think a lot of readers will relate to Jumps. I wish that was more developed, I feel like there was more there to be discovered with Jumps and her friends.

cw: eating disorder, body image issues

Following The Gospel of Loki the naughty Norse demon/god is back and up to his old tricks again. Messing with humans in the modern world this time. I don't want to spoil anything for folks who haven't yet read the earlier book (or give too much away in this new one), so I will simply say that our (anti) hero finds himself somewhat displaced at the beginning of the new story and he teams up with a 17 year old human girl by the name of 'Jumps' in an attempt to put right earlier wrongs.

The teenage human characters in this book give the story a much younger feel than 'Gospel', which could give it wider appeal to include a young adult audience, especially with all the gaming references. It may also be a good one for fans of the Marvel movies that have been popular over the last few years, though I personally prefer the Joanne Harris Loki to the Tom Hiddleston version.

This book is very different to The Gospel of Loki. Like I said, it has a much younger feel, with teen characters and all the trappings of the modern world including gaming and social media. The story also deals with the trials of growing up, including school, body image, identity...

The Testament of Loki is not what I was expecting it to be but I still enjoyed it immensely. It is quite surreal at times with alternate or parallel worlds/realities, but it is always highly entertaining. The story is very clever, hilarious at times, but it is also has some very touching moments. I highly recommend this book, and now I really fancy a jam tart ;)

The Testament of Loki is the fourth book in Joanne M. Harris' 'Rune/Loki' series, and like its predecessors, its a hugely enjoyable ride.

This story picks up the from the ending of The Gospel of Loki, and fills in the blanks, as it were, before the start of the 2 Rune books. The wonderful Loki is back as our narrator, and he speeds us through a fun tale, with cameos from Thor, Odin, and few other characters. Having recently finished Runelight, it was great to have some gaps in the story filled in, with a good few 'ahhh now I see!' moments. Clever stuff from the author.

The standout point of the book, and the series so far, was the character of Jumps. She's a slightly melancholic and troubled teen, struggling to find her place in the world. However, having met our erstwhile narrator, she learns to accept who she is in the most wonderful way. Its a very apt and meaningful story in today's world, and it hits all the right points. I really hope there are further books to come.