7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Romp Through Norse Mythology, September 26, 2007
This review is from: Pyramid Power (Hardcover)
Flint and Freer once again craft another fun-filled (or is it pun-filled) tale in their sequel to 2001's
Pyramid Scheme, which skewers and roasts Norse mythology with as much good humor and irreverence as they did to Greek and Egyptian mythology in the first book. It has all you could ever ask for in a book: alcoholic gods, scheming government bureaucrats, and lovesick flatulent dragons!
A thoroughly enjoyable tale by the same warped minds that brought you
Rats, Bats & Vats and
The Rats, the Bats & the Ugly. Recommended!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ragnarok Revisited, September 1, 2008
This review is from: Pyramid Power (Hardcover)
Pyramid Power (2007) is the second SF novel in the Book of the Tail duology, following
Pyramid Scheme. In the previous volume, Jerry Lukacs, Liz De Beer, Lamont Jackson, Sergeant Anibal Cruz, and Corporal Jim McKenna return to the real world in Las Vegas with assorted girlfriends, children, dragons, and a sphinx. The Luxor Hotel has a field day with the free publicity.
In this novel, Miggy Tremelo is now head of the National Science Advisory Council with an out-of-sight security clearance, but he just cannot seem to get anything done without his secretary. Marie Jackson is on sick leave. Her temporary replacement is pleasant enough, but just doesn't have the aggressive power of Marie and certainly doesn't know how to make coffee.
Liz De Beer is considering whether to wake Jerry Lukacs when the phone rings. Tremelo's secretary is calling for Jerry, but Tremelo comes on the line when Liz explains that Jerry is not yet fit to talk. Miggy apologizes for calling so early and explains what he needs.
Liz mentions her appointment with the INS and Tremelo suggests that he handle the situation. They exchange pleasantries and then Liz begins to wake the night owl. Jerry believes that he is easy to awake.
Helen Garnett is Director of the Pyramid Security Agency. The President and congress had created the agency to show that something is being done about the Krim device. At least they have stopped throwing nuclear weapons at the probe.
James Horton is Assistant Director, Operations, of the PSA. He wears sunglasses even in his own office. Apparently he hasn't recognized that Men In Black is a comedy.
Sergeant Cruz and Corporal McKenna are requisitioned by PSA agents. The agents seem to think that the PSA is all powerful, but Cruz is calculating how to take out his three and decides to let Colonel Frank McNamara have the other four. Medea assumes that PSA Special Agent Ledbetter was hired for nepotic reasons.
Odin is the head of the Aesir, the Norse gods. He is willful, cunning and an oath-breaker. He is also an agent of the Krim device, but soon becomes a loose cannon.
Loki is a shapechanger and the embodiment of fire, the trickster god of the Norse. He is sometimes malicious and impulsive, but not really evil. He really doesn't want to rule the Aesir.
Thor is the thunder-god of the Norse. He is probably the most honorable of the Aesir and is one of the few who defends Loki from the disparagement of his fellows. Yet he is a little slow in his thinking and keeps getting persuaded by Odin to do regrettable things.
Sigurd is a Germanic hero later immortalized in the Nibelungenlied, Wagner's colorful -- but long -- musical extravaganza. It all started with a curse on the ring of Andvari. Sigurd carries Gram, a very sharp sword.
In this story, the PSA is looking for Tom Harkness. The Krim device had taken Harkness and his assistants during the first day of its operation on Earth. Presumably, the NSC man is somewhere in the Greek mythworld. They have a plan to retrieve Harkness. Unfortunately, it is a very bad plan.
When Liz and Jerry reach the professor, he spends most of the time cussing the PSA. Then Lamont and Marie Jackson arrive with bad news: Marie has cancer. Apparently she has three months to live.
When the PSA agents enter the snatch zone of the Krim device, they are initially ignored. When they get into a fight with Jerry and his friends, however, the Krim probe vanishes them. They find themselves in the Norse Ur-mythworld.
This tale retells the Norse myths in a somewhat cynical way. Neither of the authors seems to have Nordic ancestry, so maybe they are neutral observers to the conflict of the gods. In any case, this is NOT a regurgitation of the Nibelungenlied. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Flint & Freer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of mythological adventure, Norse magic, and true love.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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