Hotel Fen (The Prophecies of Ragnarok #1), by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan
The Book
Synopsis:
The Shining meets Norse mythology in this tale of star-crossed romances, ancient prophecies, and revenge.
Are you ready for the vacation of a lifetime?
Victor has always had a passion for Norse history and mythology, but after hitting a dead end with his book on valkyries, not even that passion is enough to move him forward. Just when he's ready to abandon the project, he receives an he's won a free trip to Hotel Fen, a remote vintage resort in the Scandinavian Mountains.
Silje has always felt that her life was fairly unremarkable. She cares deeply about people and that has led her to find her purpose at a nursing home in Oslo. When a resident dies and leaves her an all-expense paid vacation package to Hotel Fen, however, she takes the opportunity to experience something different.
It all starts innocently enough, with a little meet-cute in the hotel elevator that takes forever to arrive on their floor. But the longer Victor and Silje remain together, the more dangerous the hotel becomes, and the more they question where reality ends and the impossible begins.
My Review
Hotel Fen is the first book in the Prophecies of Ragnarok series, written by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, which gives a new twist to Norse mythology in this urban fantasy proposal which also gives homage to The Shining; a contained story inside the mysterious Hotel Fen, where Viktor and Silje meet, because of a series of apparent coincidences.
Shortly after Viktor and Silje have a rather uncomfortable encounter on the lifter, they start discovering that Hotel Fen, where they are staying due to their apparent good luck, is not exactly what it seems to be; danger is surrounding them, and escaping from this place has become their priority.
In a well-paced story, we become spectators of how Viktor and Silje descend from the eighth floor to the lobby, while having several encounters with creatures that come directly from the Norse mythology; each one will reveal them more about their pasts and their true nature.
I found quite enjoyable how the authors slowly introduce more references to the mythology, without overwhelming you; and while you can feel a bit of plot armor for the characters, the fights are still tense, especially once we discover the mind behind the hotel.
However, I feel the short length of this book also plays against it, because our main characters could have been better developed; the world seems to be rich in details, but we don't really have the time to explore it much, as it is quite frenetic.
In summary, if you are looking for a short novel that blends Norse mythology and a bit of horror, I think you will like this book; it sets up perfectly for a sequel that I will be reading soon.
The Author/s
Meri Benson
Meri Benson is a Chicago-land native, and storyteller for as long as she can remember. She’s always had an extremely vivid imagination, leading to the creation of imaginary friends as a child, and characters that live in a variety of worlds of their own as an adult. Most of her characters tend to stay locked up in notebooks, their worlds spun and developed carefully until she feels that they are ready for family and close friends; though occasionally developed further into stories for writing contests and classes, including a Best Mystery win during grade school.
Her preferred writing genres are science fiction and fantasy; coming as no surprise to those aware that she’s been attending sci-fi conventions since the age of four---adorned in hand-made costumes, no less, thanks to her talented family. The artist halls of these conventions were filled with dragons, fairies, and other mythical creatures that only fueled her imagination and stories she developed both on paper and in her head. This is also her preferred choice for a quick read as well, thanks to growing up around her parents’ massive library ranging from mystery to fantasy and beyond.
While she graduated with a BA in psychology, Meri is an artist at heart and is always looking for new ways to create and has a myriad of things to keep her busy. When not writing, she is usually found behind her camera capturing the world one shutter snap at a time, or drawing it onto a sketch pad; though she’s also been known to be bent over a potter’s wheel, molding the world to her liking. Her favorite distractions from creative endeavors and writing are her two cats that enjoy ‘helping’ by settling themselves on her, or whatever project has stolen her attention away from her number one “fans”.
Marie Sinadjan
Marie is a Filipino fantasy author, singer-songwriter, and musical theatre actress. She is the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok series, and her short stories have appeared in anthologies, magazines, and literary journals. She mainly writes fantasy of the mythology, fairytales, and folklore variety.
When not crunching numbers for her full-time job or spending time with her family, she’s traveling, drinking coffee, reading and reviewing books, dreaming up more worlds, writing more songs, or serenading vegetables. She currently lives in the United Kingdom with her husband.