Gockel, C. --Ragnarok( I Bring the Fire #6) informal buddy reads starts October 14, 2019

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

This thread is open to discuss Ragnarok by C. Gockel.


Synopsis
Loki vowed Asgard would burn.

Bohdi Patel, latest incarnation of Chaos, wants nothing to do with Loki’s psychotic oath.
Stranded on the icy world of Jotunheim with Amy Lewis, his friend Steve Rogers, and an unlikely band of civilians, magical beings, and elite military, Bohdi just wants to keep himself and his friends alive … but when you’re Chaos incarnate, even the simplest goals are complicated.

If Jotunheim doesn’t kill them, Odin will, and if Odin doesn’t, the secrets they harbor might.

In the final installment of I Bring the Fire, Bohdi, Amy, Steve, and their companions learn that Chaos cannot be contained, some secrets cannot be kept, and some vows cannot be broken.

The I Bring the Fire Series:
I Bring the Fire Part I: Wolves (Free eBook!)
Monsters: I Bring the Fire Part II
Chaos: I Bring the Fire Part III
In the Balance: I Bring the Fire Part 3.5
Fates: I Bring the Fire Part IV
The Slip: a Short Story (mostly) from Sleipnir's Point of Smell
Warriors: I Bring the Fire Part V
Ragnarok: I Bring the Fire Part VI
The Fire Bringers: a Short Story

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Devann]

when do you guys think you will start this? i might start tomorrow or i might wait to let you guys get ahead lol

[Cathy M.]

I planned on starting tonight! After that cliffy of an ending, ready to get back to it.

[Claudia]

I am a bit behind but starting tomorrow.

[Devann]

i'm currently slogging my way through the audio of Kraken which i would have 100% dropped if not for tower teams. kind of almost dreading this one too even though i'm also excited but just since it's so long lol. oh well, at least it's a book i know i like and maybe i can even turn the speed up to 2x, or 1.75x at the very least ;)

[Cathy M.]

That's too bad that Kraken isn't appealing to you too much. But you've got that right, this one is REALLY long!

I am now thru Chp 12 and I must say that it is flying by so far. It's even more action-packed then the last one, it's like one action scene right after the other.

I really hate that Claire is there. She's a little bratty at times and is not at all endearing. And Steve, ugh. In the 1st chpt, I was so mad when Steve felt that they (Amy/Bodhi) deceived him by keeping some vials of the serum just in case. Like really? YOU feel deceived? Does he not remember how the serum was even made? With Amy's unborn baby's cells that HE stole???? Oh my god, I was livid at that. And no matter what he does, I just can't find it in me to like him.

(view spoiler)[This is a little further along but I didn't get it. What is Amy's magic? If we take into consideration the parallels with Hoenir think it has something to do with creation but I don't get what Brill saw when he was dying. That she was breathing life back into him?

And why does Beatrice dislike Bodhi so much? I can't quite remember. (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

i put kraken on pause so i'm in chapter 3ish i think and i CAN listen to it on 2x speed so that brings it back down to like 'normal' audiobook length lol

i actually like claire, which is weird because i almost never like kids in adult series lol and i also give steve a bit more slack than you but it's mostly like 'ok he is trying usually and he at least realizes when he's a dick generally even if he might not regret it' ...although also i think it's more like 'hey he's not as much of a dick as odin' and that is just the lowest bar anyone could ever clear -_-;

i'm not as far as you so i don't really remember about either of those things, but the whole beatrice not liking bodhi is so weird to me. i mean ...she liked loki didn't she? i guess maybe she changed her mind when he 'turned evil' but she KNOWS he saved the city and just because bodhi is reincarnated loki doesn't mean he IS loki so i feel like it's unfair that she doesn't like him so much.

[Devann]

i finished this last night. have you guys been making any progress?

[Cathy M.]

I suck. Sorry, I pretty much read thru in 1 sitting until I had about 90% left. Then figured I'd just finish and then comment. Especially with so much going on with TT (trying to read too much like usual, coming up with DQs for the BOM).

So, this one was definitely the best one! So much happened and it really did fly by without realizing how far I had gotten.

Let's see.

(view spoiler)[Bodhi/Loki - the reveal didn't happen exactly as I thought it would but when he started reading that journal, I knew the cat would be out of the bag. Didn't expect the whole team to overhear them to find out. Loved how him & Amy finally coupled up & fell in love. It took a while (couple books) but by the end, I so loved them. BUT how they hell after being beheaded did he still live?!?!?!?!?! WTF!!!!

Amy/Hoenir - ok, didn't realize that Hoenir pretty much gave his power to Amy. So that makes him just an immortal, without any powers? Even if she saved Brill earlier, how would Odin have known?

Tucker - didn't expect him to be the one to betray them. Quite frankly, he got what he deserved.

Thor - NNNNNOOOOOO!!!! How can Thor die???? That was lame (just because I really liked him).

Claire - still didn't like her. Thought it was crazy that Thor pretty much handed his mantle of power to her. Dude, she's like 10. And the whole "I'm so strong" thing just had me rolling my eyes. Sorry, she just irked me. And don't get me started when she ran away from the team to follow Thor & Loki to the gate to Asgard. Oh my god, I was so annoyed.

Steve - Ugh, another character I ended up hating. And that end? At least he was honest enough to know that there would come a time when he would let the power get to him. This trinity thing came full circle but a new cycle began.

For a series that was so-so to start (for me), it ended on a high and I was happy with it. (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

yeah i kind of can't believe how action packed this one was! you definitely don't notice that it's almost 700 pages.

(view spoiler)[the whole bodhi is loki reveal is kind of ??? to me because it's like ...ok y'all KNEW for ages now but for some reason none of you were really admitting it even though everyone basically found out independently but yeah it was good that everyone was finally clear on it lol and i guess amy is just so good at healing she can put people's heads back on XD probably one of the less believable parts of the book but i love bodhi so i'll let it pass ;)

and yeah i'm still not 100% sure on how hoenir passing on his powers works. i'm guessing he just doesn't have creation powers anymore but will still live if he eats the apples? i think it's interesting that loki reincarnated so many times while hoenir and odin have had their same bodies for much longer.

i always get all the surplus army people confused but yeah the guy who betrayed them was a dick and the misogynist guy was also a dick. she kept saving him and i'm just like PLEASE LET HIM DIE. like if you're a dumbass who doesn't want to be saved because it's a woman helping you then we'll just let natural selection take you lol but that would have been very un-amy-like of her.

i guess i cut claire some slack because she's like 12 or something lol. mostly i just like the idea of this little girl that can beat everyone up and wield an awesome hammer though.

i think i could easily hate steve as well and i've definitely got some issues with him but i think i appreciate that if he's gonna be a bit of a tool at least he KNOWS it and is trying to set up some checks and balances for himself before it is too late. i definitely think he is a better option than odin at any rate. i would have liked to see a short story where it deals with steve having all of odin's memories though and what - if anything - that would do to him. i mean odin was an awful person and also basically a serial rapist on top of everything else so like does steve have memories of odin raping women and enjoying it in his head? that would be super messed up for him. (hide spoiler)]

i agree that the series was a bit slow to start though. i think i didn't notice it the first time because i read the first four books all in a row but it's definitely more obvious when reading them one by one.

[Cathy M.]

Can I just say that I don't really like the cover model for Amy. She doesn't look anything like what I think Amy looks like. That cover model looks Indian which works for Bodhi but not her.

That's so true. (view spoiler)[Sigyn pretty much figured it out from the start, though Nari & Valli didn't until Nari had that scuffle with Bodhi and felt his aura. Valli was funny when he 1st found out. He was all grinning at Bodhi making Bodhi feel all uncomfortable. He was a little too happy :P

Even Amy thought that initially a couple books back but then can't remember what happened so 2nd guessed herself (was it because of what Thor told Odin?). But because deep down she did know, or at least had those suspicions, would've thought that she'd handle it better. Side note - it was hilarious when Bodhi said "I'm not Loki! We just share a condition!"

It seems to me that they are passing on their essences. Like Hoenir passing on his powers to Amy, or even at the end with Steve, they kept all their memories, they were still who they were before, just enhanced with these additional memories and powers of the others. So why was Bodhi the exception? I did remember someone saying that Loki always messed up the transformation so just another mess up? It's weird because whenever I think about previous incarnations of Loki, I think of him starting as a child, not as an adult. And good point about Hoenir & Odin staying in the same bodies for thousands of years while Loki is reincarnated much more often.

Rush (the misogynist) was an ass but for some reason he didn't bother me as much. Maybe it was the mommy issues, or just because he was there at the end helping Amy. But hahaha natural selection :D

Yea, Steve is a step-up from Odin. I didn't even think about how Steve would get those memories! Hopefully that will set him straight. Also if him and Sigyn start something, she will hopefully keep him in check. (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

i agree that the cover model doesn't seem accurate to me either. i was picturing her with lighter hair personally and also bigger. for authors in large companies i know they often don't have control over the covers but gockel is self published so i assume she chose this one herself. although one of the things that kind of bothers me about the series anyway is that amy always thinks she is ~sooo fat~ but i get the impression that really she just has huge tits and ass lol but yeah i like the cover model for bodhi but not so much the ones for loki or amy.

(view spoiler)[i liked when one of them started to call bodhi father and he was like UM NO lol. like you guys are hundreds of years older than me i'm not your father! and i think amy did decide it wasn't true because of thor, funny how thor turned out to be the really tricky one

and i think loki not having his memories is just another part of the whole chaos thing, like he can't get it right and have it to where he can remember them.

and i agree that if anyone is going to keep steve in line it would be sigyn lol i can just imagine her calling amy and bodhi like 'get over here we have to beat up my husband' (hide spoiler)]

[Claudia]

Hey guys,
Sorry this week has bene busy so I’ve only read till chapter 5. I will probably read more tonight and then finish on Sunday which is my day off work. Just wanted to update you guys and let you know I’m still reading…just slowly.

[Devann]

haha i was wondering what happened to you.

do you guys know what you want to do next? do you want to try white trash zombie or something else?

[Claudia]

I think we were going to try white trash zombie

[Devann]

ok, i'll just request the thread for as soon as possible since i'm sure it will take them several days anyway, but we can wait til you finish this one to start it of course. i'm hoping it's good! i've been in kind of a slump lately. i'm still reading a lot because tower teams but it seems like i don't actually like most of what i'm reading lol

[Devann]

are you still reading this one claudia? or did you finish?

[Claudia]

Right sorry I finished yesterday but haven’t popped in to comment on it.

Honestly I kind of struggled through this whole series because I never really warmed up to Amy. And I get why she was the way she is because she ends up becoming the Creator. I do like that I was right about how it would end with a new trio of Steve, Bhodi and Amy. Totally called it. I was however wrong on Hoenir dying but that he willingly transferred his power to Amy.

The whole Bhodi reveal was like really that’s how you found out. Then Amy’s freak out about it when she knew Bhodi has amnesia was kind of dumb. Both her freak out and how quickly she turned around and was like we’re good. Also I found it hilarious how everyone reacted and how Bodhi had to keep repeating he wasn’t Loki.

Beatrice also really annoyed me for most of this book with how she acted. She’s till one of my favorites but she was also super overbearing in the book.

Nari & Valli were like super annoying. I found myself laughing on Bhodi disliked them and found myself thinking Loki probably only loved them cause they were his son’s. I can’t see him tolerating them any other way.

I went back and forth on Steve but I like that he was self aware enough to tell Bhodi and Amy that one day they were going to have to take him out too. I seriously would have moments where I liked Steve and then others when I was like ugh what a manipulative d-bag. @Devann we seem to have pretty similar views on Steve and how he is trying to set up checks and balances for himself.

Like @Cathy I was super sad Thor died because he totally grew on me. I also found it insane he passed his power on to Claire of all people. Like I get she was only 10 but she was such a brat and kind of selfish. Like I get not wanting to be weak and making allowances for her immaturity but she kept doing really stupid things. I did find it hilarious that she popped up on Selpnir and basically blasted everyone back and shocked everyone with a timely rescue.

I think my favorite part of the book was that Odin finally died. He had it coming and while Hoenir mourned who he was in the end he was this awful person and he totally planned to rape Amy to have powerful kids.

Overall I did enjoy this last book but not going to lie I’m kind of happy it’s over.

[Devann]

haha yeah the whole time you guys were like 'ugh why is amy like this' and i was sitting here like 'well because she's hoenir basically' but of course i couldn't say that

agree that beatrice was kind of weird in this book, mostly just with how she kept trying to get amy together with nari because i feel like that was so OOC of her i was just like ??? why ??? i mean even if we're gonna get past the whole 'she totally had sex with his dad and that is WEIRD' thing ...it just makes no sense really

and yeah steve is not my absolute favorite but he does have his moments so i appreciate that.

hopefully white trash zombie will be more your speed. i asked again today for the thread so hopefully it will be up soon.

[Claudia]

Yeah her pushing Amy at Nari was weird and uncomfortable. Like who wants to hook up with the son of someone they once loved who also happens to look like him. Like so off and uncomfortable.

[Devann]

i asked my team captains if there was any way they could tell the mods in the captain group to check the buddy read request thread lol. i'd really like to get this one in before this week of towers ends :(

[Devann]

if they don't put it up by tomorrow morning i guess we could just use this thread?

[Claudia]

I'm okay with that.

[Devann]

ok thread is up now, i'll definitely be starting in the morning!