The Fire in the Frost is the fourth and final chapter in Lyra Wolf’s Norse fantasy series The Nine Worlds Rising. I have eagerly awaited each of these books, starring Loki the Trickster front and centre and with a supporting cast of gods and monsters. As with the other books in the series, the question of who the actual monsters are is to the fore.
To get back at Loki for Ragnarok (the end of the worlds) and for killing her son, Balder, Odin’s wife, Frigg, has cast an extremely powerful curse with the support of Freya: The Salvation Weave. The other gods are now all held hostage, and the curse drains their powers, with Odin suffering the worst as Frigg makes him pay for his love affair with Loki. This story has many emotionally-charged layers!
In the previous books, we learned that Freya, the goddess of love and sex, is actually a crazy cat lady and that Fenrir, the gigantic wolf, shifts back into a man-bun-wearing vegan with a penchant for posting foodie pics on Instagram. This wry humour is still present in the finale, but less pronounced, since the situation for Loki and his family is dire, so there are fewer opportunities for laughs.
The story is told from two points of view: those of Loki and Odin’s son Balder. This allows us to see what is happening to the gods in Asgard while also keeping the focus on the main strand featuring Loki. A now mortal Loki, whose fire has been dowsed following Ragnarok, and his son, Fenrir, have been banished temporarily to the Underworld, his daughter Hel’s realm, where his other son, Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is already a prisoner. This gives the family a chance to reconnect and, once again, air their grievances, but also builds some new foundations in their relationships without which this next chapter could have ended very differently.
The author’s knowledge of Norse mythology bleeds through as stories from their past are shared, and Loki desperately tries to rebuild a relationship with Jorg and Hel. Fenrir’s doglike devotion helps him crack through Jorg’s reptilian coldness – but it takes a lot of time and seemingly Sisyphian effort.
Loki’s nemesis, Balder, is now Hel’s beloved, and this causes a whole lot of soul searching for Loki. Meanwhile, Sigyn, the ultimate love of Loki’s life, has had her memory wiped by Frigg’s curse and has been sent back to Basel, Switzerland, where their story began. Loki’s only hope is to end the Salvation Weave and save the nine worlds from being eaten by Frost Giants, all while being chased by draugr. As can be expected, chaos ensues, even with the absence of Loki’s chaotic element.
Lyra Wolf’s characterisation and worldbuilding are excellent and expertly set the scene, whether Loki is living a life of Gucci loafers in Malibu or secondhand orange Crocs and Garfield T-shirts, ecology-conscious Fenrir makes him thrift in Basel. The firsthand knowledge of Basel’s sights, sounds, tastes and smells helps depict a medieval city in modern times, and Sigyn’s small life in this beautiful location pulls on the heartstrings.
I have thoroughly enjoyed every chapter in this series, where enduring love and inescapable chaos are presented through an often hilarious and sometimes unexpectedly spicy window into the lives of these impossible characters and will miss them. The Nine Worlds Rising will be one of those series I return to again and again.
