Norse Mythology

Good stories well written

Very good book

This is a new retelling of Scandinavian Mythology. It follows the familiar pattern from origin myths to Ragnarok. Most of the stories follow Odin, Thor and Loki as there is the most material on them according to the author. I always loved reading about these myths when I was a kid, more so than the Greek or Roman ones, so I had high hopes for this, particularly as it's written by Neil Gaiman. And it was perfectly fine. Nothing especially wrong with it but nothing that stood out either. I was expecting more, what that more is I don't know but I wanted it nevertheless. It's also a very short read. The book is circa 260 pages but with normal formatting it could have been 100.

I thought Gaiman would make these stories to flimsy and whimsical to enjoy, but he does a great job. It THUNDERS along at LIGHTNING pace. Covers all the main stories in an engaging way, and Gaiman didn't stomp all over them to make them his own. I wouldn't say he fully steps aside, but that's the charm of the collection.There are probably more stories that could have been included, but he cherry picked the important ones so that's fine.Naturally the hardback was in enormous print with nice thick pages, to make us think it was a more substantial book, but I got it half price so who cares. You'll probably finish it in 3 sittings and really enjoy yourself. Feel free to add better puns when you comment on this glib review.8/10David BrookesAuthor of 'Cycles of Udaipur'

I bought this book last year when it was still hot off the press simply because it contained the words Norse and Mythology in one title. I’m a huge, HUGE mythology fan and Norse Mythology is on of those lesser known gems that have not yet been completely discovered and talked about as much as Greek or Egyptian Myths. To me, the fact that this was one concise guide to another beautiful, obscure culture and it’s roots was more than enough an incentive to buy it.Norse Mythology is a collection of stories that explain in detail important concepts and foundations of the North Germanic people. Although with the uprising of Christianity, most of the literature and scriptures have been lost but a few passed on works have still survived through the concealment of the Gods as kings and princes so as to appease the Christian rule. Neil Gaiman has taken the stories from the poem called Edda and put through the situations through a little fictional magic of his own.He goes on to explain the conception of the world according to Norsemen and how the use of pagan symbols and worship slowly formed a full fledged religion. The importance of the world tree Yggdrasil is understood as it marks the centre of the Norse Universe, stemming 9 realms from it. The Gods are born of a giant called Ymir and it’s his sons, Odin, Vili and Vè who later on slay him to create the remainder of all in existence, including Asgard and Midgard. The beginning also marks the existence of the end, Ragnarok. The Norse Universe exist on this very phenomenon that one day, the fire demon Surtr will bring the Norse Universe to an end with his flaming sword as it will slash through gods and mortals alike to lay it all to ruin.The myths of Thor, Loki, Balder, Heimdall and other gods are presented through stories and narratives also highlighting all the important incidents such as Odin becoming an All-Father, how Mjollnir became Thor’s weapon, the creation of beasts and Hell and Valhalla, etc.My main fascination was with the differences between the actual myths and the ones portrayed by pop culture. The following are the major points of differences:In the Marvel universe, Loki is referred to as the adopted brother of Thor but in reality, he is the blood brother of Odin instead.Hela is shown as a beautiful creature that rules the darkness and is the firstborn of Odin but infact, Hel is one of the offspings of Loki with the giantess Angrboda and is half corpse and half alive. It is Odin who sends her to rule the land of the underworld where she takes care of all the souls who didn’t die in battle and greatness and go on to Valhalla, the Norse Heaven.Thor is handsome and built and strong, is good at heart even if impulsive. However, unlike the suave Chris Hemsworth, he is also, to put it politely, dimwitted.Fenris the wolf is not a pet adopted by Hela/Hel but is one of the 3 monster children of Loki and Angrboda.The fact that you get to meet another set of Gods according to a culture that basically thrived and flourished on battles and plundering, it is not astonishing to see that they are not perfect. The stories often drip of betrayal, jealousy, hatred and cunning which were obviously very essential qualities for a culture such as that. The Gods aren’t picture perfect and show through their own human traits which is what makes it as engaging and realistic as it is.This was my first ever Neil Gaiman book and Needless to say, I am spellbound. The manner in which the stories are narrated actually feels like an age old storyteller, sitting in the woods in front of a bonfire to speak of the Gods and their long forgotten tales of valour, humour and cunning.Often when a culture and it’s myths are retold, there remains the risk of either overdoing the creativity or understating the actual facts. This book was the perfect example of what literary and creative restraint look like. Gaiman made sure you got all the facts, a laugh and then some but without disturbing the credibility of the actual mythology. He has tried every possible way to maintain the sanctity of the culture without making it too factual and boring.If you aren’t a non fiction lover and would not want all the extra information but would like to skip over to the stories, you can simply skip over the first 20 or so pages but don’t. YOU NEED ALL THE INFORMATION FOR IT ALL TO MAKE SENSE!!!A 5 star read that actually made me smile and laugh after so long. Definitely a read worthy of all the hype.

This book is absolutely lovely to read, the retelling of The Norse myths is simple, easy to understand, but still very interesting to go over. I’m glad that Neil wrote this book in a magical sort of way, a way that shows his interest and also a respect for the myths. While other authors seem to have this tone that these myths are childish and don’t have significance in our modern world. I would highly recommended this to a person just getting into Norse mythology as it’s language isn’t over the top.Also it’s a great book to get your friends into Norse mythology. I gave this book to a friend and in the next few days him and I were talking about the Norse myths with wonder in our eyes.10/10 - From an average reader.

Norse Mythology – Neil GaimanI’ve always loved mythology but am much more knowledge about Greek and Roman than Norse, so when a friend recommended a book about Norse mythology and written by the incredible Neil Gaiman, then I jumped at the chance and even bumped it up to ‘to read list’.The book itself is an easy read and as it is a collection of myths, you can quite easily stop between myths, if for example you have to go to work and actually do something rather than just read – I know, it’s wrong but it’s where we get our money for to buy more books! The myths cover a range of Norse Gods and their adventures, obviously a lot of the focus is on Odin Thor and Loki but its great to read about Tyr, Freya, Hod, Heimdall and Frey. I’ve certainly learnt more than I knew, and they were told in a fast and fun way. As a teacher I can definitely take these myths and make them into a child friendly version, the mead coming out of a god’s bottom, may have to be left out, but we’ve all had pints that tasted like that!It’s an easy read but not what I’d call spectacular, it’s fun but not funny, it’s got action but not action packed, the myths are interesting not page turners, the gods are humanly heroic not godlike. Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller; I just feel he could have made more of the material he had here.Well worth a read but not the end of my quest for more knowledge on Valhalla and its residents.