Customer Reviews

Mortal Coils

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fiona and Eliot Post are two orphans on the cusp of their fifteenth birthday. Living with their grandmother in a strangely strict regimen of rules, their lives are relatively dull and uninteresting. The myriad non fiction books (fictional books are forbidden!) provide much of the entertainment and life for these homeschooled twins, whose only outside outlet is their work in a nearby pizza parlor.

Their fifteenth birthday, however, coincides with the discovery of them by outside powers, and the discovery by them that their parents are scions of competing supernaturally powered families. Now at the center of a custody fight between gods and demons, set on trials by the gods and tempted by the demons, Fiona and Eliot soon realize just how protected and safe their previous, constricted existence really was.

Wow.

The novel reminded me of<a href="http://www.skyseastone.net/jvstin/unjvst/007759.html"> L Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero's Lost</a>. It's clear that both novels have read, and been influenced by Roger Zelazny. The tone and the worlds created, though, are somewhat different and I think a good analogy is to think of another pair of writers, C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien. With her explictly Christian framework to the mythology of her supernatural modern day universe, Lamplighter's Prospero's Lost is the C.S. Lewis in this formulation. Nylund's novel, on the other hand, does not have that explicit framework. In fact, the novel seems to suggest that the appearances of supernatural beings throughout history have all been members of the various families depicted and hinted at in this book. In this way, its a more, for lack of a better work, pagan formulation than Lamplighter's.

Turning aside from the comparison, the novel itself is replete with all sorts of delights. The twins are well drawn and have a complicated sibling relationship which I found believable and a delight. I particularly liked the vocabulary/reference game that the two play. Only having had years of non fiction volumes to read for recreation, the twins are perfectly comfortable in making obscure references. For example, early in the novel, Fiona refers to Eliot being sick by asking if he has<em> Nagleria fowleri</em>(a type of amoeba contracted in water).

Another delight in the novel is the footnotes. While he doesn't pepper the text with the frequency of, say, Jack Vance, the novel's text and narrative is replete and enriched by the occasional footnote which makes observations from what seems to be the future of the events depicted. This further enriches and complicates the world and its narrative in a way that helps suggest that the world "continues" beyond the borders of its pages. The Playground of the Imagination, as Larry Niven calls it.

The characters themselves, beyond the Twins, on both sides of their relations, are a host that are complicated, complex and completely well drawn. Not all of the Gods could be considered good by even the most charitable reading of the text, and not all of the Infernals can be considered completely and irredeemably evil.

The novel is clearly and explicitly the first in a series, and I do hope that the novel sells well enough that Mr. Nylund has the opportunity to write and publish more of the books. I definitely will be looking forward to reading the subsequent volumes. As I implied before, people like me, who love Zelazny are going to cotton to this novel very well. (Hey, it has a character named *Fiona* who winds up having supernatural abilities. How can you say no to that?!). Nylund, thankfully, has had his time in the wilderness of media-tie-in novels not go to waste. The writing is engaging, inventive and enthralling.

Highly Recommended.

A truly fabulous book. It moves slowly but with a ton of detail. I ordered it for my 45 year-old self and had it snatched from my hands by my curious 12 year-old son as soon as I finished it. I have to forcibly remove it from his hands so he will sleep.

We have had great discussions about the multiple god personas, about possible plot twists, and about how parents should never make their kids wear dorky clothes...

A novel that appeals to young adults without pandering to them - good work!

I just finished reading Mortal Coils...once I started, I couldn't put it down! I have been looking for another good series to get into, and it looks like Eric Nylund's new series, about twins who must deal with somewhat...abnormal...heritage (what with their mother being a goddess and their father being Lucifer and all), will fill that void quite nicely.

I don't think there's anyone out there who won't be able to relate to the twins in this story--I mean, who hasn't felt like a complete loser with a crappy job and crazy family?--which is what makes this book so engaging. Despite the crazy adventures the twins get involved with, they are still relatable and human. (Well, maybe not ALL human...)

The pacing of the book perfectly mimics what's going on in the twins' lives. The earlier chapters reflect the twins' life prior to their trials, and as the story unfolds the chapters get more and more intense. Too many books involving kids skimp on the darker stuff, but I'm happy to report that this one didn't...there were some moments that actually had me creeped out. Awesome!

All in all, a great start to what promises to be an exciting series!

I was a huge fan of the novels based on the video game Halo, and that served as my introduction to Eric Nylund. I loved the characters (not just because of the game), the action, and most importantly the writing.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, knowing really only that it was a fantasy novel. And, as you may be able to tell from the '5 Stars' in my review, I really, really loved it.

The story focuses on Eliot and Fiona, twins who live with their grandmother and great grandmother and live very boring lives. They are forced to wear homemade clothing that barely fits, they only ever get out of the house to go to work at a pizza joint, and their grandmother gives them long essay projects as homework night after night. But really, Eliot and Fiona are not what they appear to be, and finding out what they really are is half the fun of the novel, so I won't spoil it here. And the other half of the fun is, of course, simply reading the book.

Eliot and Fiona are eminently relatable characters. They have traits and thoughts and ideas that are unique and at the same time universal, so right from the get go there's a connection between you the reader and them, and, like all great novelists, Mr. Nylund uses this connection to the fullest, so that you are completely hooked on not only the plot (which is crazy and amazingly awesome) but you deeply care about the characters that you are reading about, especially (although not exclusively) the twins. And the background of the book, which intertwines different mythologies and mythological figures and creatures, is a joy to delve into.

And the writing of the book makes it spectacularly easy to get into and fully enjoy. It is truly an extremely fun book to read, written without much of the heavy-handedness that pervades much fiction today. But of course, this isn't a light and frothy book either, it's a novel about choices and serious consequences, and those choices and consequences make for some very interesting sequences within the book, sequences that were tense and well thought out and, as I said before, great fun to read.

In summary, Mortal Coils is really a fantasy for all ages. The characters are brilliantly worked and the plot, while deep and intricate, is at the same time extremely accessible, and there are a great many surprises along the way, with each and every little twist and turn along the way adding to the intense frenzy of action that is the finale. And trust me, that's one finale that you don't want to miss. If you are a fan of Mr. Nylund through the Halo books, buy this book even if you are not a fan of fantasy. Honestly before this I enjoyed Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and that was about it in the fantasy department, but this book has actually forced me to reconsider my position and it's actually broadened my palette quite a bit. And if you are a fan of Mr. Nylund from the pre-Halo days, knowing him only as the author of fantastic works like A Game of Universe, Dry Water, and Signal to Noise (which, I've read all of them so I'm allowed to call them fantastic; I'm not lying), you will also not be disappointed by this purchase.

With the Harry Potter series ended, the reading world is ravenous for the next great fantasy series that can be enjoyed by (almost) all ages. That appetite will be sated, I predict, by Eric Nylund's new novel, "Mortal Coils."

Simply put, "Mortal Coils" rocks. I can't recommend this book too highly. Comparisons to Harry Potter are, of course, both unfair and inevitable. "Mortal Coils" is a fresh, original story that would stand in the world just fine if there had never been a Harry Potter. What it shares, though, is the classification of a book marketed for younger readers that will no doubt become the secret (or open) pleasure of millions of adults.

The premise of the book is amazing. Two fraternal twins (a boy and a girl) who have led an EXTREMELY sheltered life, learn that the sheltering is to protect them from a dangerous secret of their heritage: they are descended both from the classical gods and from demons, two kingdoms with a fragile truce that is now threatened. The combination of heroic quests and infernal trials they must endure chains together a series of extraordinary adventures that will keep you stuck to the page through the entire book, and leave you hungry for more when it's done.

I've long been a fan of Nylund's "Halo" novels, as well as his earlier science fiction, like "Signal to Noise." I can say, though, as an early reader of "Mortal Coils," this is his best work yet. I was having a great time on literally every page. It was a world so magnetic, so magical, that I didn't want to leave it at the end of the book. That's the best thing I can say about any novel.

I didn't know what to expect when I was handed a copy of Mortal Coils by Eric Nylund. This was a new type of fiction that I had never explored (I'm a 43 year-old woman, while the target audience for this book is, I suspect, teenagers). While it took me a while to get a handle on the large cast of characters that Mr. Nylund introduces, once I did, I found that I became very interested in not only the main characters (Fiona and Eliot) but also in the side characters (the supernatural creatures who make up both sides of Fiona and Eliot's family). Mr. Nylund creates wonderful stages on which his young protagonists face challenges and depend on one another to overcome them. The author effectively captures the love/hate relationship that teenage twins often have. He handles this in very subtle and touching ways. It's often the quiet moments in this book that really allow you to appreciate the complexities of the characters and their relationships. As in real life, no one is simple and it's delightful to learn more about each character as you make your way through the story. I found myself very much in the twins' corner and turning each page to anxiously see how they were going to deal with their next predicament. I also took great glee in the antagonists that Mr. Nylund has created. They are deliciously decadent, scheming, threatening, and most importantly, empathetic and sometimes very likable in surprising ways. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel so I can find out what happens not only to Fiona and Eliot, but the rest of their family (including their first teenage love interests). I enjoyed the book very much. I hesitate to put this in the same category as Harry Potter because they are very different works and Mr. Nylund's book deserves to be evaluated on its own merits rather than trying to pigeon hole it into boxes with other fantasy books. Thank you, Mr. Nylund, for writing such an engaging and exciting book. I'll be there to support Fiona, Eliot, and the rest of their family as they move through the world of the supernatural.

Odds are a lot of people will come across this booking hoping it's another Halo book. Some might stick around and give it a chance anyway because Nylund is one of our more brilliant sci-fi/fantasy authors as of current and we need to support him to keep that hope for this genre alive. Others might view it with disdain because they've marked him as The Halo Guy and refuse to let him budge from being that guy. Those people will be cheating themselves with their tunnel vision. This is a good book. A great book. Everyone needs to pick it up and read it.

As a geek who wasn't exactly in the popular clique at school, I immediately related to the Post siblings, though I'll admit I didn't have it nearly as bad as they do. It's an impressive feat to still be the lowly dog in your peer group when you're home schooled and not really allowed to have friends. For Eliot, it seems his only friend may be the drunken homeless man with the violin they pass every day on their way to their terrible job with their terrible boss. Fiona's only friend is chocolate, though it's a fleeting friendship. Still, these are friendships that change their lives, both for the better and the worse, and very permanently.

While this seems to be cut and dried gods vs. devils, the gods aren't entirely pure goodness and the devils aren't pure evil. There's a balance in this book--a grasp of reality that deserves a lot of respect. Nylund is able to take real characters shaped by their lives as they would be in real life and make them interesting. These people are nuanced, flawed, characters in a book, yes, but appear molded by their histories more than the plot driven whims of the author. This book is presented as a retelling of a "true" myth complete with footnotes and references to sources. Reading it, you honestly feel that is exactly what Nylund's doing. It's as though he actually did the research, met the Post family, and they're letting him tell their story. You will go to Google in search of the referenced books and towns, just in case they might actually be there.

With all the drivel out there on the sci-fi/fantasy shelves, this book should stand out as a bastion of hope that this genre hasn't completely lost all respect for itself. It's also proof positive Nylund can stand on his own. I'm to understand this is the first book of a series. That means everyone should read it and tell their friends to read it to keep the series going, keep the publishers willing to let him write it. It would be a horrible shame to let it fall to the publishing scrapheap.

I lucked into reading a pre-release copy of Mortal Coils, not knowing anything about it. Given Eric Nylund's range of other work, I figured it would be good, and I was not disappointed!

From the introduction of the Post twins' odd life, to the events which expose their true identity, to the twists and thrills of their trials and adventures of meeting and trying to survive their families, I was hooked. Nylund delivers great characters, an intriguing, layered and well-paced story, and a richly realized world that I am looking forward to revisiting, both when I get to re-read this book and -fingers crossed- its sequels!

Eric Nylund has written his first non gaming-related novel in a few years, and it's well worth it. 15-year-old twin orphans Eliot and Fiona live a boring, rules-filled life with their overly strict grandmother. Things change rapidly, however, as they discover their father is Lucifer and their mother is a goddess... and both sides want to test them to see which side the two favor.

I could not put it down after the first few chapters. Lots of action, discovery and treachery, and some serious plot twists. Part of the fun is figuring out which characters are gods or Infernals. A non-spoiler is Perry Milhouse, a fire-obsessed serial killer - or Prometheus.

I can't wait for the next installment in 2010.

It may seem strange to give a 4-star rating to a review titled "Glad it's over" but, I feel like the failure is more my own. The book was well-written, had brief flashes of humor, lots of action and suspense, moved well, had some characters developed, etc. It just didn't grab me. Also, it made the small things, like repeatedly calling self-defense "murder" just to manufacture a moral quandry for Fiona, irritating. I wanted to like the book, partly because it's thick and took a slice out of my life and partly because I was hoping for another good series to start. I'll keep looking, but elsewhere.