Truth and Other Lies is the story of Loki, Norse god of chaos and lies, prophesied bringer of destruction to the Nine Realms and therefore also to the gods in the form of Ragnarok. Truth and Other Lies is also a story of love, and tragic loss. It’s a story of the remnants of the uncompromising, heartbreaking love shared centuries before this story between Loki and Odin, of Loki and human woman Sigyn’s all-consuming passionate, pure, romantic love in 16th Century Basel and the immediate unconditional love Loki has for their twin babies. Loki the lover is thwarted from every angle by the jealous gods who, by being dead-set on their own self-preservation, set in motion events which will only bring about their inevitable destruction. The story begins in a modern day setting in the Münster Cathedral of Basel, Switzerland. A tormented, raving Loki is encountered standing naked on the altar by a modern day human. The human, scared for the safety of this lunatic, engages him in conversation while awaiting the police - who never show up- and Loki explains that he plans to destroy the universe and recounts his story via a flashback to 500 years ago: “Isn’t wanting such destruction extreme?” “I only know extreme” (Loki) The flashback begins in Asgard 500 years previously and from this point the story is told from Loki’s point of view, until the final chapter which jumps forward to modern day in the cathedral again, and the point of view of the man in the cathedral. In Asgard, we are treated to the well-known humorous Norse myth of Thor’s wedding to Thrym. Loki’s mischievous sense of humour is laid out for us, as is the amusing banter between Thor and Loki. There is plenty of humour to be found throughout the book: “You leave all my bits and pieces as they are,” he spat. “I don’t trust your magic, lie-smith.” (Thor) The aim of the wedding is to regain Thor’s stolen hammer and once they are successful, Odin decides he and Loki should go away from Asgard to celebrate. This leads to Odin taking Loki to sixteenth century Basel, Switzerland. It is carnival time, the perfect opportunity for Loki’s mischief and mayhem to be unleashed, but Odin gets more than he bargained for - Loki encounters the beautiful Sigyn, who is blessed with the element of fidelity, in a way that only a goddess ought to be. Odin has heard the name Sigyn before, in a witch's prophesy and it strikes fear in him. This chance meeting means the ball has been set rolling towards Ragnarok. He has to try and stop the inevitable and tries to stop Loki from spending time with her, but soon Loki is in love with Sigyn and begins a simple life with her, living in her house while rebuilding her family’s printshop. There is some lovely evocative descriptive detail in these scenes of simple human life: ‘Warmth hugged the room from a green tiled stove of lead-glazed earthenware standing in the corner...’ Loki describes himself as the trickster, a liar and the god of chaos, he is full of fire from the chaotic element within him. He is witty, intelligent, full of quips, passion and love. He does not know how to temper and control his feelings. Sigyn is a conundrum. She is human and yet she carries an element within her, much like a goddess. Her Fidelity, the element within her, allows Loki to make her into a goddess to save her from death. She is brave, fierce and bold (Loki encounters her bathing naked in a river), a loyal sister and daughter, hard-working and determined. She puts her dying father first, before her own needs and will not sell out her dead-beat brother Simon. She is also kind, she cares about Frau Annan getting home safely despite the Frau's meanness to her. Sigyn is loving, independent, too proud to accept help. She is the perfect woman - is there any wonder a god falls in love with her? We learn about the other characters in the book purely from Loki’s perspective. Odin is portrayed as a "a masterful con”. He is a natural leader and his element is ambition. Odin will do whatever it takes to save his skin and that of the other gods, but he is a fair god and is extremely angry when his wife Frigg breaks his word to Loki. 'You are a trickster and a liar, as I am a killer and a deceiver. This is what we are, and we cannot change what is our very essence.' (Odin) Thor’s depiction in this book is of a big, strong, not too smart god of thunder and strength. Loki is bored by Thor's lack of intelligence and sees him as an obstacle who must be manipulated or overpowered to get to the outcome he desires. Tyr is described fairly stereotypically as fair, yet boring. The dull peacekeeper. Frigg is shown to be a heartless bitch of a goddess with zero compassion for human life. Loki believes she never loved her husband Odin but was entranced by his power and therefore her own by association. Loki has been having headaches which lead to visions and eventually he is shown a vision of The Destroyer of worlds. It is a vision of inevitability in a place called Vigridr, or “Fate”. Loki then discovers from Golda the witch that he is The Destroyer who will bring about Ragnarok the destruction of the 9 realms. 'You will descend upon the Nine Realms, and your children will end the reign of the gods in a final, glorious battle on Vigridr.' (Golda) His children were taken away by Odin not for their own safety but for the safety of the gods - to delay the inevitable, but by doing so Odin sets in motion the events leading up to Ragnarok that he has been striving to prevent. Lyra Wolf's is a great version of these well-known Norse myths. Full of wit, intelligence, passion and romance. There is tension thrown in along the way and I found myself shocked at some of the things Loki does (without giving away any spoilers here). He is the god of chaos, after all, and as such it wouldn't do to be predictable. I am eagerly looking forward to the two remaining books in this series and would recommend it to adult lovers of Norse mythology and love stories.