Black Wolf: The Binding of Loki by Una Verdandi

I liked a lot of things about this book (4/5). I think it's a worthwhile read despite me disliking some decisions and aspects. I would only avoid if some of the topics are triggering or if some of the things I mention in the "Cons" list are deal-breakers for you. My main complaint is how LONG this book is. 900+ pages! I would not recommend to people who prefer softer depictions of Loki. He spirals into something akin to the Joker in this one, still a very compelling depiction regardless and I enjoyed it (I do like the Joker as a character).

Loki is not soft or silly in this book. He terrifies pretty much everyone (to the point where they don't taunt him much despite them disapproving of his lifestyle and choices, and I'd argue Thor gets taunted more over being unmanly over his beard being burnt off by Loki). What softness he had gets lost in the end. And he is impossible to humiliate because he just doesn't give a fuck about anything or how he's perceived. With the exception of Sleipnir ( it wasn't rape in this book, he spends a lot of time as an animal and wanted a child), the myths that made Loki seem like a silly fuck-up (such as the goat CBT) were omitted. He's an unnerving and unpredictable force in this re-telling.

Warnings: There's physical abuse, period-typical queerphobia, referenced miscarriages, child abuse, rape, domestic violence, lots of murder, referenced genocide, and questionable use of binding oaths. There's referenced/implied underage sexual activity, implied CSA. The morality is rather "period-typical."

Pros:

• It has probably the best Sigyn characterization I've ever encountered in a book. She feels realistic and complicated. She's pragmatic and very strong and independent, and also has a history of being an abuse victim, and she takes no shit. This is coming from the blog that constantly trashes a lot of her characterizations.This book wrote women rather well and that's very unusual in Norse myth re-tellings.
• I liked how Loki's shapeshifter powers work here. He basically has to make himself again back from scratch (he can heal himself in that way), and this book also plays with body horror (looking at his transformations is very disturbing and it's painful for him). Loki is shown to have a very high pain tolerance for this reason.
• I think this book's messy dynamics and portrayals are compelling and interesting. Odin manipulates his sons and destroys their relationships in doing so while trying to avoid the Prophecy of Ragnarok.
• Loki was not boring. He's compelling despite being VERY awful. The Aesir killed off his people ( a clan of Jotnar that are referred to as "Nomads") and "adopted" him, thinking they would avoid the Prophecy of Ragnarok in doing so. He's very much aware of his history and rightfully resents the Aesir for it. He spends a lot of time in animal form, and this is something Jotnar are known to do and how most of his children came to be. Loki reads like a domesticated force of nature more than anything.
• I liked the Cain and Abel dynamic established between Balder and Loki. And Balder being a dumb-ass indestructible child taunting Thor into hitting him by telling him that Loki was right about Thor "having fat tits" was hilarious and got me to read the damn long-ass book.
• I liked the idea of the Gods navigating modern day post-apocalyptic Midgard trying to catch Loki, and criticizing the lack of housing casually (because Rules of Hospitality).
• The Jotnar are portrayed in a sympathetic light rather than evil monsters that must be vanquished.

Cons:

• I liked the Logyn in this book a lot and was disappointed to see Loki evolve into a VERY abusive asshole to his wife and children. The one time I thought it plausible and found Logyn compelling, this happened! Basically, Loki's marriage to Sigyn was arranged by Odin to avoid intrafamilial conflict. Sigyn gained Loki's respect with her wit and pragmatism. Loki gained Sigyn's with his parental love towards Sleipnir. They bonded over Sleipnir, and I thought that was beautiful. But in the end, it went to shit...
• I know this will turn a lot of people away from this book, which is why I mention it here.I admit I would not mind as much it if I wasn't annoyed by the overall Jokerification of Loki commonly seen in media depictions. I was expecting Loki to be a very shitty husband like Thor was depicted here, but not to the extent of marital rape and physically abusive to Sigyn, Vali, and Narfi. After his downfall being caused by the loss of some of his children and establishing Loki as very parental and protective of his children earlier in the narrative, the way he treated his less unusual children due to a "spiral into madness" makes for a loss of payoff. And the one thing that really annoyed me is that they implied he raped underage Roskva because "he went mad". This is not in the myths. And IDK, the Jokerification thing bugs me. The Roskva thing felt like it was just for shock value rather than to establish more plot points (which is why I am a bit more forgiving of the "Loki is an abusive husband/father" thing in here since it has relevance to Vali's characterization).
• Loki feels like a different character in the second half of the book "because madness."
• Keep in mind the book is mostly from the POV of characters on the Aesir's side. They do reference Odin's myth-accurate rape of Rindr, but it's focused less than with Loki's retelling-only ones. There's not as much focus on the Aesir's actions of similar weight to Loki's cruel misdeeds. It's just mentioned Thor kills Jotnar women very casually, and a Jotnar in cahoots with Loki refers to putting an end to the constant "raping of Jotnar women" by the Aesir.