Review: Irreverant and delightful!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 21, 2013
Although Hank Quense states in his foreword that this book was inspired by the Rhinegold myth - certain elements of which were used for the Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien - within just the first couple of pages, Wotan's Dilemma immediately reminded me of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.  There's a distinct wry sense of humor about the story, and I found myself smiling while reading much of it. The story includes aliens but also loops in figures from Norse mythology, including Loki, which takes the story in a very interesting direction.  The protagonist, Fafner, is a cephalopoid criminal who's stranded on a planet and sets out to get back to business.  Things don't quite work out the way he planned as he winds up the evil god-king of the very planet he was stranded on, thanks to some super-powerful pilfered technology.As the saying goes, the most advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and so his subjects cater to him rather than be destroyed. This is a very interesting fusion of mythology and genre fiction. You can almost get a whiff of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in the progressively silly honorifics Fafner's aides and subjects use to address him.  It's a nice change, to have a particularly wicked character as the protagonist, but it's a switch that's a delight to read about. This adventure is definitely one you'll want to savor.  This is a story that doesn't take itself too seriously, which makes sense, given the subject matter and the set pieces included.  Usually anything to do with Norse mythology is all sturm und drang, but unlike the Rhinegold myth, this book has a much lighter touch to it, which make it a great deal of fun to read.  Highly recommended!​