Norse Mythology

I enjoyed this! I probably wouldn't have picked up a book of straight-up Norse myths if it hadn't been written by Neil Gaiman, and uhh it helped me contextualize Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series? So...there's that. IDK, it was a fun, quick read and I appreciated the flow of the myths–it's not exactly a full narrative arc but they do call back to each other in a pleasing way.

If you're like a hardcore Norse mythology fan you probably already know all this stuff but it feels like a good introduction to me. There's some ~crude humor~ but an interested teen (ie a reader of Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase books) would probably enjoy this just fine. (I mean, they'd prob enjoy it more due to the crude humor, just pointing out for parents/librarians.)

This was quite a fun (yet short) read! Essentially this is a book that combines a bunch of stories about the Norse gods (Odin, Thor, Loki and the like), all leading up to its final chapter/battle: Ragnarok.

The stories are all great and easily accessible, making them a good entry point to more on Norse mythology. All of them are also structured in a way that they'd make for great (albeit slightly cruel) bedtime stories, and of course, as a great inbetween when you want to take a break from another book for a bit.

What an immensely enjoyable and satisfying collection of words. Gaiman has taken the stories of Norse mythology and imbued them with his inimitable style.

Surprisingly faithful re-telling of the myths. Not worth your time if you know them from before (but outside of Scandinavia that may not be a problem).

An entertaining retelling of the stories I already loved from numerous other times I've heard and read them. Also they are a lot easier to read in modern English

In het vierde leerjeer ontdekte ik tegelijk Edgar Allan Poe (nachtmerries, jaren lang, ik moet het u niet vertellen), de Vliegende Hollander en een dik boek met vlaamse volksvertellingen. In het vijfde en zesde leerjaar las ik alles wat er van Gustav Schwab en Onno Damsté te vinden was, en kon geen mens mij verslaan in nutteloze kennis van Griekse en Romeinse mythen en sagen. In het zesde leerjaar won ik de verkleedwedstrijd voor karnaval op school (ik was een zigeunerin, don't ask), en mocht ik als prijs een boek kiezen. Ik koos, in dezelfde reeks als Schwab's vertaalde magnum opus, een boek over Egyptische mythen en sagen.

Het heeft geduurd tot het eerste middelbaar dat ik de Germaanse kant van de zaken ontdekte, in een dik boek op zakformaat met zeer dun papier. De naam ben ik vergeten, maar het was iets in de zin van “encyclopedie van de wereldmythologie” – tienduizenden lemma's, een korte omschrijving per god of figuur.

Ik zat in de studie op school en elk excuus om niet te studeren was goed, dus maakte ik – Hesiodus achterna – stambomen van mythologische systemen. Griekenland en Rome, dat lukte redelijk. Egypte was gemakkelijk. Maar dan kwam ik bij Odin en de zijnen terecht. Ik had geen overzicht gelezen zoals voor Griekenland/Rome of Egypte, en ik was verloren.

Ik dus op zoek naar meer, en gevonden in de bibliotheek. Geen idee meer wat het boek was en van wie, maar wat er wél bleef hangen, was dat het zó een totaal anders aanvoelende wereld was. De goden zijn niet zo onbereikbaar vreemd als Egyptische goden, niet zo verheven onbereikbaar als de Grieken in de boeken van Damsté en Schwab (ik had geen andere versies gelezen toen), maar veel menselijker. Thor is niet de slimste ter wereld (understatement). Loki is grappig maar ook zoals de schorpioen die niet anders kan dan slecht zijn. Odin lijkt verschillende personen te zijn in zijn verschillende vermommingen.

En dan zijn er de rare dingen: Heimdall met negen moeders, Loki die een merrie wordt en zqanger raakt, Loki's kinderen de wereldslang Jormungandr, de Fenriswolf en Hel, met één gezonde en één rottende kant.

En van het hele begin af hangt voortdurend het einde boven het hoofd van alles. Ragnarok komt, in de toekomst. Odin zal opgegeten worden door Fenrir, Thor verslaat Jormungandr maar valt zelf dood, Freyr en Surtr doen elkaar dood, de zon dooft uit, de aarde wordt verzwolgen door de zee, de sterren verdwijnen alles staat in brand.

Maar niet alles en iedereen is dood. Er zijn twee mensen overgebleven, en er zijn nog een paar goden, en de hele wereld begint opnieuw.

Ik weet niet meer welk boek ik in 1982 vond in de bibliotheek. Ik heb sindsdien wel meer gelezen. Ergens in de bibliotheek staat een versie van Snorri Sturluson's verzameld werk, en Noorse mythologie komt hier en daar terug in allerlei. Niet in het minst in Neil Gaiman's Sandman en vooral American Gods, waar Odin en Loki (en Baldr, shh) hoofdrollen spelen.

De originele teksten zijn ondertussen allemaal online te vinden, maar wie een inleiding Noorse mythologie wil, moet niet verder kijken dan Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology.

Het begint zo:

Before the beginning there was nothing—no earth, no heavens, no stars, no sky: only the mist world, formless and shapeless, and the fire world, always burning.

To the north was Niflheim, the dark world. Here eleven poisonous rivers cut through the mist, each springing from the same well at the center of it all, the roaring maelstrom called Hvergelmir. Niflheim was colder than cold, and the murky mist that cloaked everything hung heavily. The skies were hidden by mist and the ground was clouded by the chilly fog.

To the south was Muspell. Muspell was fire. Everything there glowed and burned. Muspell was light where Niflheim was gray, molten lava where the mist world was frozen. The land was aflame with the roaring heat of a blacksmith's fire; there was no solid earth, no sky. Nothing but sparks and spurting heat, molten rocks and burning embers.

In Muspell, at the edge of the flame, where the mist burns into light, where the land ends, stood Surtr, who existed before the gods. He stands there now. He holds a flaming sword, and the bubbling lava and the freezing mist are as one to him.

It is said that at Ragnarok, which is the end of the world, and only then, Surtr will leave his station. He will go forth from Muspell with his flaming sword and burn the world with fire, and one by one the gods will fall before him.

A collection of short stories based on the Norse mythology. From the creation of the world, the Giants, the Gods and humankind, until their ultimate destruction, Ragnarok.

Not a great book, but there is something enticing in Neil Gaiman's prose. It is accessible, very easy to read and understand. The stories are short and amusing. Nothing exceptional, but the familiar characters add an instant feeling of kinship with them. Thor, Loki and Odin are known and beloved figures that need no introduction.

As it is the case with ancient myths and legends, there is a lot of things that make absolutely no sense. Like a human sized God being able to hold open the mouth of a colossal wolf that stretches from the earth to the sun.

I love Gaiman, I love mythology, especially that of the Norse. This was an excellent telling of some of my favourite stories, I specifically enjoyed Loki's punishment.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Neil Gaiman himself. Besides being one of my favorite authors, he has a very good voice. I hope that retelling the old myths was just a fun diversion for him, and he'll have a new original novel soon.

Excellent collection of stories. will definitely read again

I like Neil Gaiman. I like Norse myths. I like this book.

Honestly, Neil Gaiman and Kevin Hearne are responsible for pretty much everything I know about Norse myths, so most of my knowledge is second hand filtered through other, more modern stories. This collection is nice because it reads in that signature Gaiman style of modern prose soaked in classical themes. I'd be curious on the take of someone who has actually read the Poetic and/or Prose Edda, but as a layman, I really enjoyed the sense of humor and pacing in Gaiman's retellings. It's a short read, and certainly well worth your time if you are at all a mythology fan.

This was my first foray into Norse mythology and it was enjoyable. I'm saddened by myself how much I have let Marvel movies dictate my imagination on this one. I can't seem to shake Tom Hiddleston as Loki.

Thor is rather, “I pick things up and I put them down”, isn't he?
Fun read.

Neil Gaiman was responsible for first getting me interested in Norse mythology, so I was very excited when I heard about this book. I'd read Thor comics from Marvel before that, but their Thor always seemed Arthurian, if not Olympian. Gaiman helped me to better understand characters like Loki and Odin, and the culture that spawned them.

In this volume, Gaiman goes back to the original stories of the Norse gods, retelling them in a folksy, campfire-story style that suits the material perfectly. The stories themselves can be rather epic and terrifying (as stories literally dealing with the creation and destruction of the universe are wont to be), and Gaiman's grandfatherly way of delivering the stories helps stop them from descending in to melodrama. Between the beginning and the end, we're also treated to a greatest hits of the mythology – Thor battling the giants of Jotunheim, Loki becoming mother to an eight-legged horse, betrothal through ankle admiration, and the battle over the apples of immortality. The stories are funny, exciting, and through reading them we can see why they are stories that have appealed to so many for so long.

Long story short – if you're someone who loves Norse mythology, you'll likely appreciate the care, respect, and love with which Gaiman retells these stories. On the other hand, if you're someone that can't tell Gleipnir from the Gunningagap, Gaiman provides an approachable and fun version of these classic tales.

An excellent and enjoyable retelling of the old Norse myths.

Neil Gaiman has encountered the Norse gods before - using them in past works... but this is the first time he's been able to really indulge in their sagas. The book is arranged as a collection of short stories, covering various well known myths. Odin, Thor, Loki, Tyr, Frigg, Balder... they're all here, but their legends, while mostly intact, are embellished with Gaiman's unique voice and particular flourishes. Gaiman's gods often sound like school children, bickering over who gets to do what on the playground, but in this case, the playground is typically filled with frost giants or massive sun sized wolves. The book starts with a rather dense introductory chapter, but then flows into a set of short stories that are mostly gems. Finally, things escalate as you near the end of the book; as you approach Ragnarok... and beyond.

Short but involving, instructive, fun. Obvious a work of love.

In his introduction, Neil Gaiman acknowledges the roots of his fascination with Norse Myth, namely Marvel's Thor. [book: Myths of the Norsemen: Retold from the Old Norse Poems and Tales 3126160] Roger Lancelyn Green's tellings for children and Kevin Crossley-Hollands more “adult/academic” prose. I acknowledge all three myself but hours spent in the school library reading and re-reading Green was what captured me. Later Lee and Kirby gave flesh to my imagination but it was Holland that gave me the depth these tales have and deserve to be displayed to the reader. Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman's retelling of the acts and lives of the Northern Gods: is it any good?Short answer yes. He writes in a style that is short pithy somewhat close I suspect to how he would pen a graphic novel. A style suited to myth and faerie. Leaves a feeling that he truly has a love for the content and the characters whose story he tells. I can't find my copy of Green but I remember it as illustrated woodcuts or pen/ink black white drawings but it's almost 50 years! Gaiman needed illustrations. [Infact I'd like to see this as a series of Graphic Novels].I think its a great 21st Century introduction to the nine realms and as such is at least as good as Green, which without re-reading, I hesitate to de-throne. But I suspect Gaiman has the edge.Crossley-Holland is an exquisite writer. Search out his British Folk Tales; there is a similarity of styles and excellence shared by both he and Gaiman. His, The Norse Myths and Axe Age, Wolf Age are my favourites, but were I a child again or just wanted a good read in which I was to paddle then Gaiman is where I'd start. Having done so, I think you will want to dive headlong into the waves and Crossley-Holland beckons. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3129514-norse-myths