Mortal Coils

by Eric S. Nylund

Book Overview

Nothing interesting ever happened to fifteen-year-old orphans Eliot and Fiona while they've lived in the strict, oppressive household of their grandmother. A chance visit, however, reveals that there is much more to the twins. They are the offspring of a goddess and Lucifer, Prince of Darkness. Now, to settle the epic custody battle between these two families, the fallen angels create three diabolical temptations, and the gods fashion three heroic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765317974
• ISBN13: 9780765317971
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous

This book is absolutely fantastic. I couldn't set it down; I finished it in 2 days flat

Nylund returns to original fantasy fiction inspired by Zelazny

Fiona and Eliot Post are two orphans on the cusp of their fifteenth birthday. Living with their grandmother in a strangely strict regimen of rules, their lives are relatively dull and uninteresting. The myriad non fiction books (fictional books are forbidden!) provide much of the entertainment and life for these homeschooled twins, whose only outside outlet is their work in a nearby pizza parlor. Their fifteenth birthday, however, coincides with the discovery of them by outside powers, and the discovery by them that their parents are scions of competing supernaturally powered families. Now at the center of a custody fight between gods and demons, set on trials by the gods and tempted by the demons, Fiona and Eliot soon realize just how protected and safe their previous, constricted existence really was. Wow. The novel reminded me of L Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero's Lost. It's clear that both novels have read, and been influenced by Roger Zelazny. The tone and the worlds created, though, are somewhat different and I think a good analogy is to think of another pair of writers, C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien. With her explictly Christian framework to the mythology of her supernatural modern day universe, Lamplighter's Prospero's Lost is the C.S. Lewis in this formulation. Nylund's novel, on the other hand, does not have that explicit framework. In fact, the novel seems to suggest that the appearances of supernatural beings throughout history have all been members of the various families depicted and hinted at in this book. In this way, its a more, for lack of a better work, pagan formulation than Lamplighter's. Turning aside from the comparison, the novel itself is replete with all sorts of delights. The twins are well drawn and have a complicated sibling relationship which I found believable and a delight. I particularly liked the vocabulary/reference game that the two play. Only having had years of non fiction volumes to read for recreation, the twins are perfectly comfortable in making obscure references. For example, early in the novel, Fiona refers to Eliot being sick by asking if he has Nagleria fowleri(a type of amoeba contracted in water). Another delight in the novel is the footnotes. While he doesn't pepper the text with the frequency of, say, Jack Vance, the novel's text and narrative is replete and enriched by the occasional footnote which makes observations from what seems to be the future of the events depicted. This further enriches and complicates the world and its narrative in a way that helps suggest that the world "continues" beyond the borders of its pages. The Playground of the Imagination, as Larry Niven calls it. The characters themselves, beyond the Twins, on both sides of their relations, are a host that are complicated, complex and completely well drawn. Not all of the Gods could be considered good by even the most charitable reading of the text, and not all of the Infernals can be considered completely and

Snatched from my hands

A truly fabulous book. It moves slowly but with a ton of detail. I ordered it for my 45 year-old self and had it snatched from my hands by my curious 12 year-old son as soon as I finished it. I have to forcibly remove it from his hands so he will sleep. We have had great discussions about the multiple god personas, about possible plot twists, and about how parents should never make their kids wear dorky clothes... A novel that appeals to young adults without pandering to them - good work!

Pleased to be introduced to Eliot and Fiona. (caution, might contain spoilers!)

I just finished Mortal Coils, and I must say it was excellent! The story of Eliot and Fiona held me captivated to the very end, and I was very pleased with the setup for the next work in the series. Louis turns out to have a great deal of depth and complexity to him, something I really did enjoy, watching Eliot become something really special with the way that he is linked with his music, was also a nice touch and Annon, God of War, I found myself relating to his struggle at the end of the book, I look forward to there adventures in high school. On another note I found myself sucked in just like I was many years ago when I first read "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind, Yes it is a completly diferent series, but just like then I found that once i started reading I couldn't put the book down until I was finished. All in all a excellent read and i'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

Engaging, intelligent...and just the right amount of creepy!

I just finished reading Mortal Coils...once I started, I couldn't put it down! I have been looking for another good series to get into, and it looks like Eric Nylund's new series, about twins who must deal with somewhat...abnormal...heritage (what with their mother being a goddess and their father being Lucifer and all), will fill that void quite nicely. I don't think there's anyone out there who won't be able to relate to the twins in this story--I mean, who hasn't felt like a complete loser with a crappy job and crazy family?--which is what makes this book so engaging. Despite the crazy adventures the twins get involved with, they are still relatable and human. (Well, maybe not ALL human...) The pacing of the book perfectly mimics what's going on in the twins' lives. The earlier chapters reflect the twins' life prior to their trials, and as the story unfolds the chapters get more and more intense. Too many books involving kids skimp on the darker stuff, but I'm happy to report that this one didn't...there were some moments that actually had me creeped out. Awesome! All in all, a great start to what promises to be an exciting series!

A Very Promising Start

I was a huge fan of the novels based on the video game Halo, and that served as my introduction to Eric Nylund. I loved the characters (not just because of the game), the action, and most importantly the writing. I went into this book not knowing what to expect, knowing really only that it was a fantasy novel. And, as you may be able to tell from the '5 Stars' in my review, I really, really loved it. The story focuses on Eliot and Fiona, twins who live with their grandmother and great grandmother and live very boring lives. They are forced to wear homemade clothing that barely fits, they only ever get out of the house to go to work at a pizza joint, and their grandmother gives them long essay projects as homework night after night. But really, Eliot and Fiona are not what they appear to be, and finding out what they really are is half the fun of the novel, so I won't spoil it here. And the other half of the fun is, of course, simply reading the book. Eliot and Fiona are eminently relatable characters. They have traits and thoughts and ideas that are unique and at the same time universal, so right from the get go there's a connection between you the reader and them, and, like all great novelists, Mr. Nylund uses this connection to the fullest, so that you are completely hooked on not only the plot (which is crazy and amazingly awesome) but you deeply care about the characters that you are reading about, especially (although not exclusively) the twins. And the background of the book, which intertwines different mythologies and mythological figures and creatures, is a joy to delve into. And the writing of the book makes it spectacularly easy to get into and fully enjoy. It is truly an extremely fun book to read, written without much of the heavy-handedness that pervades much fiction today. But of course, this isn't a light and frothy book either, it's a novel about choices and serious consequences, and those choices and consequences make for some very interesting sequences within the book, sequences that were tense and well thought out and, as I said before, great fun to read. In summary, Mortal Coils is really a fantasy for all ages. The characters are brilliantly worked and the plot, while deep and intricate, is at the same time extremely accessible, and there are a great many surprises along the way, with each and every little twist and turn along the way adding to the intense frenzy of action that is the finale. And trust me, that's one finale that you don't want to miss. If you are a fan of Mr. Nylund through the Halo books, buy this book even if you are not a fan of fantasy. Honestly before this I enjoyed Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and that was about it in the fantasy department, but this book has actually forced me to reconsider my position and it's actually broadened my palette quite a bit. And if you are a fan of Mr. Nylund from the pre-Halo days, knowing him only as the author of fantastic works like A Game of Universe, Dry Water, and Sig