Customer Reviews

MythOS (Ravirn, Book 4)

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

 

 

Switching to another pantheon? In this installment, Ravirn is transported from the Greek pantheon to the Norse pantheon. I'm not sure if McCullough has run out of ideas when it comes to the Greek, but mixing the Norse mythology added new characters and new ideas.

Generally speaking, I liked who the Raven became and some of the things that he was able to do. I liked the idea that the Raven did things that Odin couldn't/wouldn't do. On the other hand, I can't understand why Tisiphone went along. True, she did some fighting, but since she was outside of Necessity's domain, she wasn't a fury. Without wanting to spoil things too much, I didn't like what Tisiphone became. I also feel that the new characters involved just didn't develop like they should. Maybe, McCollough is setting us up for his next book. I hope so. I loved the first 3 books.

If you ever grow weary of vampires, werewolves, and empowered females behaving badly in pseudo-historical settings, you might be pleasantly surprised, delighted even, by MythOS, a hacker's take on Greek and Norse mythology. This is one for the gamers, computer nerds, mythology geeks, and anti-heroes. And that's all of us, isn't it, one way or another?
The protagonist, Ravirn, usually inhabits and hacks in a universe where the Greek myths are the One True Reality - in fact, he is a descendant of Lachesis, one of the three Fates. For reasons that remain inscrutable, the goddess Necessity, who the Greeks, by the way, referred to as `harsh necessity' (her name'shares a root with the words 'anguish' and 'angst'), has sent Ravirn to an alternate Norse reality. Seeing how several Greek deities want Ravirn dead, Necessity might be doing him a favor. On the other hand, she may be throwing him to the wolves, quite literally. Or, possibly, she sent him to disrupt the predeterminism of Norse mythology with its inevitable progression to Ragnarok, the last battle in which the gods themselves, and all their champions, (living, dead, and undead), everybody dies a final time. In any case, Ravirn finds himself petitioned by both opposing sides, by Odin and by Loki, Order and Chaos personified, to do something to avert their doom.
Ravirn had slept through most of his mythology classes, so he is at a loss until he realizes that these deities have their counterparts in the familiar ones of home. At the same time, he is perceptive enough to realize that the differences may be even more significant than the similarities between, say, Zeus and Thor, or Ares and Tyr. Ravirn is especially intrigued by local differences in primal chaos, the stuff from which all existence derives, and the programming languages of computer networks that the Aesir employ. Chaos is the direct source of his power, as well as his regenerative abilities, and Ravirn finds himself much more vulnerable in this new reality. Then the operating system poses a serious challenge to his hacking skills. The most important variable is that in his world, AIs give computer systems a soul, complete with personality, while the MimirNet is the sole - and soulless - functioning system in the nine worlds of Norse reality.
The supporting cast of characters is fantastic. The Fury Tisiphone accompanies Ravirn, and his sidekick is a net-goblin named Melchior. Like Ravirn, both Tisiphone and Melchior find their powers are muted in the Norse alternate reality, where they meet the aforementioned gods, plus Loki's sons: the Fenris wolf and the Midgard Serpent, and Odin's ravens, Thought and Memory - Ravirn's counterparts. McCullough has a fresh take on all the gods and `monsters.' Additionally, he brings Tyr's severed hand to life a la Thing from The Addams Family.
Can Ravirn the Trickster introduce an element of Lucretian swerve to the Norse myths, or will he get devoured by the Midgard Serpent, killed by Tyr, caught by Odin's Wild Hunt, or die in a systems crash while he's hacking the net?
I enjoyed this book so much, I promptly bought its predecessors: WebMage, Cybermancy, and CodeSpell, which explain how Ravirn got to be so very unpopular with his home gods.

This is the first time I've reviewed a book ever. I've revised an earlier review I had worked on.

MythOS is the fourth installment in the masterful Web Mage book series written by Kelly McCullough. Over at the NYC Resistor workshop, we are no strangers to this series, and anyone who has ever spent considerable time in our bathroom is well acquainted with the books. Blending ancient Greek mythology with modern technocracy has produced a profound work of literature that finds a balance in classical interpretation of drama and tragedy with the common parlance of our times. As true today as it was two millennium ago, the Greek's hallmark style of story telling and character development has inspired Ms McCullough to craft a masterwork in the genre of science fiction. As we follow the lead character "Ravirn" we are taken through a roller coaster of love affairs with Hellenic age foes, and divine heroines whose allure wafts from the pages like a fine perfume. As you are introduced to this magical world of web goblins and code spells, you find yourself gripping the pages like the last stable purchase holding you to your mundane reality and saving you from the adventure within. But you wish for nothing more than to let go.

MythOS is a real gem in the series as the author has decided to temporarily depart from the Greek mythology and tell a tale that occurs in a new magical operating system or "MythOS" that is governed by the rules of Norse mythology. Trading classical drama for the infusion of the epic tales of Norse bards and some of the most primal tales we have preserved through the ages of human existence offers a unique opportunity to blend three cultural dichotomies across the expanse of time and space. And Kelly does not disappoint. The fatalistic war addled gods of Valhalla provide a jaw dropping backdrop of adventure, intrigue, and insight into a cultural divide that is too often left unexplored. However the taint of Greek tragedy is never far from Ravirn as he faces off against impossible odds to defy the fate of Ragnarok that dooms this new MythOS. His only allies are the forces of chaos lead by the devilish Loki himself, renowned god of mischief. And facing them is a mountain full of histories greatest warriors lead by Odin himself. Added into the mix of Norse myth and modern technology is a familiar face from the Greek past. Tisiphone the Fury of Vengeance as well as Raven's strong armed girl friend is left coming to grips with the loss of her mother ( and the mother of invention ) necessity. Also returning to the story line is an old web troll ( main frame ) that is responsible for a revolution of sorts of AIs against the sisters of fate. And of course the now quantum processing Melchior, who is Raven's sidekick and webtroll.

While the interplay between Norse and Greek gods is in and of itself a merry intellectual pursuit, and fodder for a truly entertaining story what really makes this book worth mentioning is the attachment to technical nuance. For instance the conversion from kerberos to heimdal in this new mythos parallels our own technical past as europe developed it's own kerberos variant aptly named heimdal. Today we see these technical divides in our own lives, and provides a believable thread upon which to weave a modern myth.

Ultimately though you'll find yourself laughing to the tune of fantastic otherworldly uses of technical jargon. The nerd in you will cringe with delight, and your better self will find a perverted sort of enjoyment in the play on words. Just remember to leave your skepticism and attachment to the more subtle plot and character development techniques of the past century at the cover, and just try to honestly enjoy what the author has produced for you.

As our story opens, Ravirn is about to attempt hacking into Necessity, the computer-goddess. Why? One: Ravirn feels responsible for what has happened to Shara (once a webgoblin). Two: He wants to find out what happened to Ahllan (a webtroll and former leader of the "familiar" underground). Three: Just to see if he could. Ravirn cannot help himself. It is in his nature to attempt any hacking challenge he comes across. You see, Ravirn is now a "power" of Chaos. Raven is the name of Ravirn's soul and power. The name makes him more impulsive, sarcastic, and prone to risk-taking (like hacking Necessity). He is one face of the Trickster and is able to (painfully) shapeshift into a giant raven at will.

The result of the hacking attempt sends Ravirn, Melchior (his familiar/webgoblin), and Tisiphone (one of the three Furies and Ravirn's sometimes lover) into a totally different mythos - or reality. The trio is found by Ahllan, who has learned enough about the reality to survive. However, Chaos is not abundant here and the group's powers are vastly diminished. Even worse, it is the Norse gods present instead of the Greek. (Neither of whom believed the others were anything but myths.) Worse still, the gods have taken sides and a war is imminent.

Odin may see all and know all, but Ravirn is a wild card. Odin cannot see Ravirn's future or what would happen should he decide to simply kill Ravirn or let him live. Either choice could have Ragnarok (the end of days) happen sooner than expected. Yet on the other side of the draw battle line, Loki sees Ravirn as potential he could use. Perhaps Ragnarok could be totally avoided. If not, perhaps a split can be made so other mythos could have happier endings than they.

Caught between two sides in a god war, Team Greek needs to find allies quickly if they do not want to be crushed. And no one knows what is happening in the Greek panthon, but the few clues they find whisper of horrible things.

***** FOUR AND A HALF STARS! A few sub-plot strings are left loose as hints to what readers may find in the Greek reality when the next installment of this series continues. I am especially interested to find out how the spinnerettes are involved, as well as about a certain icy lady. I can say no more about them without minor spoilers.

After three novels set in the Greek reality, I found it strange to be suddenly reading about Norse gods and goddesses. I missed many of the previous characters and look forward to hearing what has been happening while the trio was absent. Yet I found the Norse characters to be interesting as well and would not mind returning to the Norse reality in some future story. As always, this author writes a smooth flowing tale that entices the imagination and leaves me hungry for more. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

What should be done when divine magic alone is not enough to keep track of all creation? Why, enlist the aid of computers, of course, turning hacking and programming into required skills for Gods and Demigods alike. This is the central conceit of Kelly McCullough's series featuring Ravirn, hacker, sorcerer, descendant of Fate and nascent power of Chaos, of which MythOS is the fourth volume. This is certainly an original idea, and McCullough has managed to create some engaging and intriguing characters over the past three books (WebMage (Ravirn, Book 1), Cybermancy (Ravirn, Book 2) and Codespell (Ravirn, Book 3)), ranging from Melchior, Ravirn's goblin cum laptop sidekick, to Eris, the Goddess of Discord with her server farm of Golden Apples. The plots have been intriguing, too, with Ravirn defending the free will of humanity against the machinations of Fate, unwittingly breaking Persephone out of the underworld with a computer virus, and having to hack Necessity, the ultimate arbiter of reality, in order to fix the virus' damage.

When MythOS opens, Ravirn is up to his old hacking tricks again, trying to break into Necessity again in search of his friend, the webtroll Ahllan, who vanished sometime before. Almost immediately, however, he finds himself catapulted into an entirely different `pantheoverse', where the Norse deities rule, along with Melchior and the fury Tisiphone, guardian of Necessity and Ravirn's current lover. Now, he has to learn a new form of magic and a new form of programming in order to find out where he is, and how to get home, all while trying to avoid being entangled in the conflict between Odin, and Loki, his fated destroyer, and worrying about what is going on back home, where all is clearly not well.

Ravirn fans may miss the presence of some of the characters from previous books, in particular the mischievous Eris, but by taking Ravirn into a new reality McCullough has given himself full rein to introduce a range of interesting new ones, while maintaining his trademark humorous style. There's Odin, controlling his realm through his domination of the magical software market - with MimirSoft; Fenir, the wolf of world's end, operating a computer company from an Icelandic volcano; and Jormundgand, the world-circling Midgard Serpent, conducting civilised discussions and reminiscing about listening to Homer. All these make for entertaining reading, and mean that fans are unlikely to be disappointed. I'm certainly looking forward to the new developments in the next book, and will be putting in a pre-order as soon as it's available.

Excellent book. I have enjoyed the whole series. From start to finish, one of the better books I have read.

I love Ravirn. He's the soft-spoken, well-mannered guy who just happens to be a demi-god of chaos who regularly tells people (and I use the term very generally) who are way too powerful for him to f-off. He can do diplomacy but he doesn't tolerate bullies if he can help it. He's honest, gets in deep doggy business regularly and you root for him all the way. In a way, he's everyone; just trying to have a good life with the people he loves and cares about but he's got lousy luck; he may win the battles, but he probably will never get the girl (at least not a human, normal one and maybe not even a sane one) or have an easy time of ANYTHING.

In the twenty-first century, magic has gone digital. Ravirn is a talented sorcerer, a computer hacker, and umpteenth great-grandson of one of three Fates, who don't like him much and the feeling is rightfully returned by Ravirn. Ravirn has had to deal with some difficult in the not so distant past and then to seriously complicate things, he and his best friend, who is a goblin and a laptop, Necessity, who is the sentient computer that runs everything, is broken and Ravirn has to fix it.

But that's kind of hard to do when he's thrown in a totally different place: a parallel world called Asgard where there's no Greek Gods, and it's run by the Norse-pantheon. At least he's not by himself, he's got his best friend, Melchoir, and sometime lover, one of the furies born to protect Necessity, Tisiphone. This Norse-run world is run on magical system that's completely different from what they're used to. And let's not forget that the people in this world are not so welcoming, in fact some of them are down-right hostile!

To return to their home universe, Ravirn and his allies are going to have to try to hack into this strange magic-operated system, and also tried not to get killed by the big players who call Asgard home.

MythOS is the first book by Mr. McCullough I've read and the fourth following Ravirn and his adventures. I really liked how the Greek gods, and mostly the Norse gods, features in the story. It's a very creative addition and it's what originally made me want to read this book. While I found myself a little bored at the technical description parts, because while McCullough is very thorough explaining how the magical computerized system works, it sometimes felt a little overwhelming to me. However, that certainly didn't subtract from me enjoying the book.

Ravirn's got this dry sense of humor that comes out at what seems the worse times and those light-hearted moments balanced nicely with the most sort of suspense atmosphere. He's being through a lot and that seems to only made him more determined to survive this strange world he suddenly founds himself in. While I haven't read the previous books, there was enough back story for me to nicely be able to follow the story and understand what was happening. I thought Tisiphone was great, her one purpose in life is to protect Necessity and now that she can't do that, she doesn't let that deter her from helping Ravirn found a way home. While she's dealt a huge shock that changes her entire life, she also manages to deal with it. She's strong but then again, she is a Fury so that's not very surprising. Melchoir, the goblin/laptop, is the perfect sidekick. He's definitely needed and adds funny comments when the situation really doesn't call for it.

Anyone yearning to read a book about a world where Gods rule and magic is in metal and wires, you will definitely enjoy MythOS.

ok norse gods and greek gods just dont go together. should of had roman gods wich are greek gods but with different names becouse th romans stole all other beliefs in gods from who they counquerd like that goddess of life ires or something is a egypon goddess. norse gods were a very bad idea.