Because there ARE no Valkyries in the book - the entire subplot was thrown out - and the throw-away line makes absolutely zero sense for someone who's never seen the game or played it, because ... what about the Valkyries? The statement goes something like 'if what Mimir said about the Valkyries was true ...' But Mimir doesn't say anything about the Valkyries, in the book. He does in-game (and a lot!), but the book leaves it all out, and shoving that one statement in at the end only confuses the reader. The setting is Ancient Greece during the height of the Greek gods rein. Ares is no longer content with the status quo on Mt. Olympus and has started to stir things up and cause trouble for his sister Athena and his father Zeus. This altercation draws in the other gods as each side attempts to garner support for the others downfall. A degree by Zeus that no god may slay another god brings Kratos front and center as he will be Athena's secret weapon and ultimately Ares' downfall. I did get to hear audio of Ben Prendergast as Týr and view a rough render of Ragnarok’s dinner scene in Sindri’s house — the one where nobody likes Brok’s cooking — so I had a sense of Týr’s voice,” Barba said. “We also had a great video meeting with [Game Director] Eric Williams, who helped me hone aspects of Týr’s sensibility and gave us a brief tour of the newly available realm regions. But overall, revisions were minimal — they trusted me, and that was a lot of fun.” Sometimes it felt as though the author didn’t know the map of the game. The characters were in the Bridge of Yggdrasil, then crossed “a forest” and reached the horn to call for the World Serpent – all those who played the game know that both the World Tree and said horn are within meters away above Tyr’s vault. With. No. Forest. Whatsoever. It’s unprecedented since it’s obvious that the writer had access to the game and to in-depth information about the game, so… what? In fact, a fair amount of Týr’s character comes through in the book. It makes sense that a peaceful god of war would have a story for all his favorite recipes, especially with how many of the stories involve finding peaceful solutions while bonding over food. For example, in his recipe for köttbullar, he mentions sharing the dish often with Mimir while they discussed how to “protect Odin from himself.”

And regarding world-building, there’s nothing. No one explains anything. I’m not ignoring Mimir’s trivia, I’m talking about that the game creates world-building with everything it has at its disposal: sounds, ambiance, environment, music, little bits of lore found by Atreus, monuments that you come across, runes, gameplay included, and a little more through dialogue and character interaction. The author decided that the only viable way to convey world-building in a book was through dialogue, forgetting that he has at the tip of his fingers the ability to also translate all those things I enumerated and integrate them gracefully in the narration and actions of the characters. Well, I was wrong. There are many main courses throughout the book. The Kofta (pg 51) and Venison Stew (pg 132) are perfect starting points. They don’t require too much work to prepare and have relatively simple cooking steps. I’m sure many of you are going to be eyeing the Freakin’ Gratitude recipe (pg 108). It is labeled as a medium difficulty recipe because of working with such a large chunk of meat. I do think it is a perfectly fine recipe to start with; just make sure to not divert too far from the recipe to avoid any issues. Enter the world of Santa Monica Studio's beloved video game franchise with God of War: The Official Cookbook. This cookbook is filled with recipes inspired by the nine realms Kratos and his son Atreus travel through in 2018's Game of the Year, God of War. Craft mouthwatering dishes from the Norse realms of Midgard, Alfheim, Jötunheim, and beyond as you explore the food of this striking game. With step-by-step instructions and full-colour photos, this cookbook will guide and inspire fans on their culinary quest through the nine realms."I liked a lot, since it's a fresh take on the Greek mythology and certainly the lead character of Kratos is very different from the usual lead characters that I have read before. Enter the world of Santa Monica Studio’s beloved video game franchise with God of War: The Official Cookbook. This cookbook is filled with recipes inspired by the nine realms Kratos and his son Atreus travel through in 2018’s Game of the Year, God of War. Craft mouthwatering dishes from the Norse realms of Midgard, Alfheim, Jötunheim, and beyond as you explore the food of this striking game. With step-by-step instructions and full-color photos, this cookbook will guide and inspire fans on their culinary quest through the nine realms. The book starts on the hunting expedition and not Faye's funeral. This was probably for time constraints, but it does kind of remove the somber, contemplative game start that made the GoW opening so emotionally impactful (especially compared to the other games). Several of the recipes were developed in collaboration with a few of the members of Santa Monica Studios,” she said. “While I was working on the overall recipe list, the team provided a large collection of recipes they were hoping to include in the book.” The photography in the book is beautiful, and the detailed illustrations by award-winning artist Iris Compiet really heighten the overall presentation.

There is a story in God of War: The Official Novelization. The story has twists, tries for poignant moments, and most of all: I could not bring myself to care. This is a ghost of God of War. The novelization manages to visit most of the main moments from the game all while sapping the life and magic from it. I don't want to be down on this book. God of War is a game about father and son made by a studio with a director thinking a lot about how his life has changed since becoming a father. His father wrote the novelization, and that is a very special thing indeed.Kratos, the God of War, has left behind Olympus and his vengeance. For years he has been living in the realm of the Norse Gods hidden far away from the world. Believing that his past is well behind him Kratos has married again to a woman named Faye and they have son together, Atreus. Faye is the one who taught Atreus the most like hunting and archery while Kratos mostly went hunting by himself, which meant that he was pretty much absent for most of Atreus' life. In my opinion, you can enjoy this book very well without having played any of the God of War games or being a gamer at all. It is a great fantasy taking place in Norway, including the amazing Norse mythology. It has all sorts of mythical creatures, the Norse gods and the nine realms and all of that is written so well, you don't need any knowledge about it before hand. Everything is explained along the way, so everyone can enjoy it. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves a good (fantasy) story, not just to gamers and players of God of War I had a lot of questions about the God of War cookbook, one burning question in particular which people who finished Ragnarok will likely be wondering themselves. Thankfully, I had a moment to ask Rosenthal and Barba about their work. To this day, Týr is still a pretty big fan of baklava mini tarts. After all, who isn't? Why Make a God of War Cookbook?

These recipes come from a variety of world cultures. You’ll find fish banh mi, yakitori, and avocado eggs benedict in here, each of them categorized under a different realm in the book. Kratos decapitates Mimir at his request and let his head dangle on his belt. Mimir tells them that the highest peak of all the realms isn't in Midgard, but in Jotunheim. That means that they still have a long way to go before they scatter Faye's ashes. Only from there Mimir joins them, and the head proves to be of much value since he knows the answer to every question.I have a feeling that I can easily sit here writing about my love for this game and this book, but I don't want to extend this review for that much longer. Still I want to mention some of the characters that make this story memorable and that played a part in it. However, I think that this is plagued by more problems than solutions, and actually manages to ruin what's probably one of the best stories told by a game in the last ten years or so. So do yourself a favour, and play the game - or watch gameplays on Youtube. However, I liked a lot the character since I think that it's not so hard to plot a story around a character that he/she is of good nature and noble motivations, however when he/she is arrogant, despective for other people and with a very dark feeling of vengeance in his/her soul. As a huge video game player and fan of the God of War series I was really looking forward to the latest adaption of the game by Matthew Stover. However, after a few chapters in I realized that I was not going to get what I was hoping for.

Mimir is the one who makes the most jokes of everyone and who doesn't hesitate to show his disdain for the gods. His conversations with Kratos and Atreus are funny and never failed to make me laugh, even when I read about them. As they travel across the Lake of Nine they encounter the World Serpent, Jörmungandr, which is still the best part. The serpent speaks to them in the ancient tongue and reading about that part still gave me some chills. Kratos past will never stop hunting him and he has sworn for the wellbeing of his son to maintain his past a secret, deferent paths and creatures will slowly unveil his past and his capabilities while a whole new world of gods and mythology unveils. Despite all I said, it’s not the worst book I’ve ever read, hence my two star rating. It made me want to replay the game and reaffirm my position here that the videogame is a far, far, far greater and better crafted experience, and the only good way to experience this story. God of War 2018 is a story of self-discovery and parenthood, combined with satisfying gameplay and challenges, and excellent acting. The book, the book is… non existent for me.

The evolution of God of War's Atreus

Speaking of, the novelization changes Kratos's final line to Baldur from "The cycle ends here. We must be better." to "You chose this end", therefore robbing the scene of its thematic relevance to Kratos's character development since GoW III and his desire to spare others from the cycle of violence that destroyed his life, and instead it's like...yeah, okay, he killed Baldur because if he didn't Freya would die and that'd make Atreus sad I guess? Literally robs the entire death of any emotional impact (save what impact is left from Baldur's final words, which still get me a bit). The initial idea for a God of War cookbook came from Sony’s end of the deal. According to Rosenthal, the PlayStation company reached out to Insight with the idea, and an editor who previously worked with Rosenthal thought of her. It becomes evident that Matt Stover put a lot into this book though, and I don't envy anyone the task of adapting a video game into a functioning novel, so the three stars comes from his writing and the effort involved. The little man slid from his hiding place, stopping beside Atreus. "Ya see what my touch brung!" Brok boasted with a broad smile. As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...