Desire of the Gods (Yaoi) [Kindle Edition]

I was happy with what I found with Desire of the Gods. What drew me to this manga in the first place was the fact that the characters in the main story were based on those from Norse Mythology (Loki, Baldur, Odin), and this premise doesn't disappoint. Even if you have less than the faintest inkling about these Gods and their origins (mythologically, etc), the story should not be noticably less enjoyable for it, but if you are familiar, you'll find yourself rewarded here. The art is quite good (through it does seem to fluctuate minorly in quality in some places) and I really enjoyed the character designs. The Yaoi content is through the roof here as well. However, and without spoiling the story, I will say I disliked the way the ending of Desire of the Gods was handled. It seemed abrupt and in my opinion, could have been better developed (especially in the case of the reader knowing little on Norse Mythology, as the ending will make more sense if you do and less if you do not). However, barring the slightly sharp ending, I found this to be on the whole a very engaging Yaoi tale.

-----Rating Breakdown-----
Storyline: 4/5. This yaoi tale had a very good premise and was nicely executed. I have few complaints except that the ending and the event leading upto the ending could have been better fleshed out.

Characters: 4/5. I do wish this story had been atleast a dozen or so pages longer so as to provide more character development and interaction between Loki and Baldur.

Yaoi Content: 5/5. Plenty of scenes and well-done, visually interesting detail that stays that way. It should be noted that there are some non-consensual acts in Desire of the Gods but if you aren't bothered by this aspect to a few scenes this can just be taken as another portion of the story. This is not hardcore yaoi by any means, but all scenes are definately on the more graphically detailed side of things.

Artwork: 4/5. The character designs are very appealing but the artwork quality seemed to fall (but not by much, just noticably) in a few places. Very attractive artwork overall.
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Bonus Stories:

Modern Vampire: Excellent short story about a man who works at a large company who falls into the rapture of his vampiric boss. In particular, I really loved the artist's drawing style in this one. My rating: 4.5/5

Scarlet Serenade: This had unusual art that took some time to get used to (and consequently made what was going on visually confusing in a few places), but the storyline was executed well enough for a short yaoi tale. Perhaps the story's turn of events was just not to my tastes, but I just did not find myself particularly engaged by Scarlet Serenade. My rating: 2.5/5
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All in all, Desire of the Gods is a manga that I can reread every once in a while and still find to be an enjoyable read. This is a more than worthy addition to my Yaoi manga collection.

Court

Alright, first I would like to note that while this book does have a Mature Reader's warning, it does not have violence warning for either "Desire of the Gods" or "Scarlet Serenade."

While "Desire of the Gods" does resemble "Prisoner of the Immortal," it makes more sense then its predecessor. There are some confusing parts, which I think would be eleviated if I knew the original norse tale, but most of the story is easily understandable. I really am fond of the plot and, being fond of stories of domination and overpowerment, I enjoyed this story up until the ending. I really didn't like how it ended, and was confused as to WHY this event happened (don't want to give the ending away, sorry. I will not that while I like domination and power trips, I do not like violence, aka pain).

The story "Scarlet Serenade," while having unique art, isn't one of my favorites. The art is just not...concise? I am a fan of japanese anime style art, and so this is probably why. The art is unique, however, which is always good for an interesting read. Personally, I didn't like, but I'm not a fan of murder or death in a yaoi story. Over all the plot was good and the characters were interesting. Again I didn't like the ending, but that depends on the person reading. If you don't mind a little blood, then you'll like this story.

I liked "Modern Vampire" the most, mainly because I devour vampire stories and have been engulfed in Anne Rice (who I only recently discovered, unfortunately, as I had thought her stories to be like Stephen King who I don't read) for the last 2 weeks or more. I was a bit unhappy that "Modern Vampire" was so short, and there was no background to the vampire or to the lover. I would love to see more of those two, personally, but the story was an awesome read!

Overall, this book is a good buy and a very good read. I didn't like some parts of the stories, but I still liked the book overall :) Best book yet, and I can't wait for the next one!

Update: I read on the story of Baldur, and apparently his mother had seen him dying in her dreams, and it was told by a seer of sorts that he would go into Hel at the hands of his brother Hod (warriors go into Valhalla, others go to Hel). To save him, his mother and father ordered all things living and unliving to vow not to harm him. For some reason his mother left out mistletoe and Loki, being the more crafty of the gods, decided to join in on the fun of Baldur's invulnerability. He got the blind Hod to shoot his brother with the mistletoe, thus killing him. Baldur's wife died of a heart attack on his funeral ship (his own boat), and so was burned along with him. Anyway, the story is longer if you just search for "Baldur in Norse Mythology."

When I set in mind the purchase this, I was a little worried. Considering I am Ásatrú, which is an Ancestoral religion, and the God my lover honors is Loki I was more than a bit worried he'd have a cow. So when it arrived I was worried until opening. Then he could have had a cow, a duck, and two chicken for all I cared, but this was art! The first story was too short for me though, ended to abruptly and you don't get why this killed Baldur if you know nothing of Norse mythology. The second story was great as well, even though, again, so very short! The third story did....bothered me. They looked like frog people. But overall, totally worth the buy!