Norse Mythology
Ratings772
Average rating4
It was interesting. My first foray into Norse Mythology and the stories were quite good. The audio narration (by the author) was great and I wouldn't have known how to pronounce half the characters/places/things and would've stumbled too much.
This is... fine? Weirdly simplistically written for Gaiman but a decent introduction. In some places it's written with the kind of self-awareness I'd expect from a Marvel Thor movie, and it's odd to see it here.
If you like Norse mythology in general, this is a fun retelling. I want to emphasize Gaiman's reading of his own material. It is excellent and really sold me on the book. He does a great job and I would argue that it is worth the price of admission alone - even if you are only marginally interested in the mythology presented.
An excellent modern telling of the old Norse legends
Neil Gaining spins a great yarn. Here he retells the tales of the old Norse Gods in everyday modern language.
“There are so many Norse stories we do not have, so much we do not know. [...] It is, perhaps, as if the only tales of the gods and demigods of Greece and Rome that had survived were of the deeds of Theseus and Hercules. We have lost so much.”
This quote from the book's introduction (p. xv-xvi) stopped me in my tracks. As a kid I devoured Greek mythology, and those stories shaped me in the way that great stories have always shaped people. Imagining their ranks being thinned to just Theseus and Hercules stunned me, and drove home the cultural loss we've suffered by losing so many of the Norse myths.
I'm quite grateful for this book. Reading Gaiman's “American Gods” got me interested in Norse mythology and gods, but when I attempted to read some other books on the topic I was discouraged by the flatness of the writing and the pages upon pages listing the gods, goddesses, giants, and other beings. It just seemed rather boring. Then, this book happened. All the superfluous characters were neatly brushed into the glossary at the end. Energy and life were poured into the stories by a master storyteller. This book helped me understand “American Gods” a bit better, and connect with the stories that my ancestors told each other. A fantastic beginner's set of mythology from the Nordic world.
3.5 stars, really. There were times I laughed out loud, for sure. And I enjoyed learning more about a mythology I'm not very familiar with. I liked the story about Fenrir the a lot - partly because Neil Gaiman does a great voice for him. But at the same time, similar story elements recur constantly, and listening to this straight through became a little boring at times.
I feel like the best way to read this would be to read it aloud, a bit at a time, with a child. I guess it's not unexpected that myths would show to their best advantage when being told at bedtime as individual stories with a recognizable cast of characters.
I've always wanted to read norse mythology, but always found it to dry to actually get through. Niel Gaiman manages to bring it to life to a degree that others haven't been able to do. It's still not the most exciting books, but its a fun read.
This book was amazing. Neil Gaiman is perfectly suited to the retelling of the old myths. So many gems to be found here. Each story is quirky, strange, unbelievable, and absurd, just the way a book of tales should be. The Wedding of Freya is my favorite! I guarantee fits of laughter with that one.
couldn't have been done better! this was well done a complete story from beginning to end. and what an end it was! ❤⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❤
btw - the gods of aesir are assholes
“Had Ragnarok happened yet? Was it still to happen?I did not know then.I am not certain now.”
Disclaimer–Offensive comments regarding which country has the “best and most diverse mythology in the world” (yes, there were people actually writing about and fighting over that (!) or comments regarding religion in general will be immediately deleted and flagged. There's YouTube and Facebook if some want to engage in such nonsense as fighting over thin air....
Norse myths (aka Odin,Loki,Thor,Freya,the giants,the dwarves, etc.) + Neil Gaiman equals instant,certain, glorious success.This review will be short because what can I say that hasn't been said? And consider yourselves warned because I am going to sound like a major fangirl and I regret nothing:)
World mythologies can be tricky,in my opinion.They're alive,well-known,interesting by themselves.Choosing to use them as a retelling can become a boomerang in the hands of an incompetent author.Naturally,this isn't the case here.Neil Gaiman takes the Norse legends and transforms them into a sequence of tales that may be episodic but are linked to each other in a coherent way, written in a beautiful language that is contemporary and poetic.And most importantly, he approached his material with the utmost respect and wasn't influenced by recent popular teenage notions and Marvel abominations....(I hate those things,sorry....)
His introduction is a wonderful text in which Gaiman explains his deep fascination with the myths of the lands of the North.Let us not forget that in Mr.Wednesday,Gaiman has created a version of Odin that would have satisfied even Grimnir himself.Had he existed,of course.The journey starts with the tale of the creation of the world by Odin,Vili and Ve after the killing of the giant Ymir.Then,we come to know the importance of Yggdrasil,the sacred tree, and the way the Norns hover over the past,the present and the future.All the beloved myths are here.Loki's cute children, the building of the Wall, the marriage of the false Freya,Idunn's apples,the trials of Loki and Thor in the Hall of the Giant king,Frey's search for happiness and the tragic tale of Baldr and many other legends are given new life in Gaiman's masterful hands.And of course,the shadow of impending doom,the Ragnarok, is always present, every time Loki speaks,every time he works on his tricks.The chapter that talks about the Twilight of the Gods is the most chilling description of Ragnarok you will ever read....
The narration is smoothly divided between the major deities,even though the Big Three are the focus.Gaiman is the omniscient narrator and allows the reader to sit back, enjoy the tales and contemplate on their epicness.It is not dry or disengaged. It is storytelling in the good, old-fashioned way. Although I was very familiar with the vast majority of the myths, I felt as if I was reading them for the first time.The dialogues are beautiful,without being modernized and each God and goddess have their own distinctive voice.The spirituality that inevitably escorts every mythology of the world is present and the deities are portrayed as complex characters,unlike other recent attempts that tried to portray them as sarcastic,stupid archetypes.Gods are anything but archetypes. People's minds created them to invoke and communicate all the traits of mankind, the good and the bad, and I don't think mankind is supported on archetypes.We just have to look closely.After having read The Gospel of Loki, which was a major disappointment,Norse Mythology is more than fresh air.It is Mythology at its best.It is a creation as beautiful as its cover on which Thor's Mjøllnir invites us to enter a realm of beauty,strength and deceit.
“That's the joy of myths.The fun comes in telling them yourself something I warmly encourage you to do,you person reading this.Read the stories in this book,then make them your own, and in some dark and icy winter's evening, or on a summer night when the sun will not set,tell your friends what happened when Thor's hammer was stolen, or how Odin obtained the Mead of poetry for the gods....”
Neil Gaiman
This was great! I loved all of the stories. I haven't read much Norse mythology before this, but I'll certainly look into it. One of the things that made this great was how Gaiman made the stories' writing sound modern- so it was both easy to understand and humorous.
I just really enjoy mythology and the humor and humanity Gaiman injects into the stories.
This is a great book, and it's great that Neil Gaiman decided to write it. It's great that Mythology is being seen as cool again, it really is. My experience, however, wasn't the greatest. I believe that's only because I'm not a Norse Mythology beginner, this ain't my first time at the rodeo. I do know most—if not all—stories that are told here, and this is a book that doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I mean, by all means, read it and enjoy if you're starting, but don't expect much if you've read any of the Eddas.
I grew up fascinated by Norse Mythology (thanks to Thorgal), and Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite author, so encountering both combinated was already marvelous. And I was not disappointed, Norse Mythology offers myths I knew and some I discovered, it offers stories of human-like gods, with their errands, mistakes, trials and foolishness. It's easy to read and offers a great overview of the northern gods, at least what we have retrieved. I just wish there has been more :)
Gaiman does a great job putting his own spin on classic myths. Norse mythology is one of the ones I am least familiar with, so I appreciated his glossary and inclusions of stories from beginning to end.
Short Review: I love Gaiman and I would read pretty much anything he writes, although I am not particularly a fan of short story collections. This reads like a short story collection because it is collection of various myths. But I was interested in part because there are so many places where I could see parts of Gaiman's other books shining through. And I also enjoy Rick Riordan's books and his Magnus Chase series is based on Norse mythology. Between Riordan and Gaiman's other books at least a third of the stories here I was vaguely familiar with.
But this is also an introduction. If you are pretty familiar with Norse mythology, then you are probably going to be bored with this because Gaiman is doing a pretty straight retelling.
Gaiman is also an excellent narrator. So I tend to listen to any of his books if he is the one narrating.
My slightly longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/norse-mythology/
The Norse myths are awesome enough without Gaiman's touch. These tales are told masterfully.
This is my first experience with Gaiman, and I'm excited to read more of his work.
A fun introduction to Norse mythology, but don't expect this to be on par with Neil's other work.
Oddly, though, I quite liked Tyr.
Neil Gaiman makes an assortment of stories from mythology his own with his own telling. Very enjoyable, as if you are sitting around a fire and ask “Neil, tell me a story,” and he does.
