Norse Mythology
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4.5 • 689 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and “one of the modern masters of fantasy writing,” (Huffington Post) a dazzling, witty telling of the Norse myths.
"A lively, funny, and very human rendition of Thor the thunder god, his father Odin, and the dark-hearted trickster Loki (plus countless other gods and monsters)." — Petra Mayer, NPR
Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok.
In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.
Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Thank our lucky stars that Neil Gaiman chose to do something with his keen interest in Norse mythology. We devoured this strange and wonderful book packed with stories about intimidating giants, messed-up gods, and shamanism. Witty and stunning, Norse Mythology is an author–subject matter match made in heaven; reading it made us very happy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Having already appropriated Odin and Loki for his novel American Gods, Gaiman turns his restless imagination to a retelling of Norse folklore (a youthful interest of his). He begins by introducing us to the three main mythological figures: Odin, the highest and oldest of the gods; his son, Thor, who makes up in brawn what he lacks in brains; and Loki, offspring of giants and a wily trickster. In a series of stories, we learn how Thor acquired his famous hammer, Mjollnir, how Odin tricked a giant into building a wall around Asgard, the home of the gods, how Loki helped Thor retrieve his hammer from the ogre that had stolen it, and how a visit to the land of the giants resulted in the humbling of Thor and Loki. In most of the stories, a consistent dynamic rules as one god tries to get something over on another god, but novelist that he is, Gaiman also provides a dramatic continuity to these stories that takes us from the birth of the gods to their blood-soaked twilight. Employing dialogue that is anachronistically current in nature, Gaiman has great fun in bringing these gods down to a human level. Like John Gardner in Grendel, a classic retelling of Beowulf, and Philip Pullman in his rewriting of Hans Christian Andersen stories, Gaiman takes a well-worn subject and makes it his own.
Customer Reviews
pleasing
overall this book was entertaining and informative, providing great detail regarding the tales of Norse, however the reason my review is not fulfilled to its maximum of five stars is because I expected more info regarding ragnarok.
Gaiman Magic
From stories told around cooking fires on winter nights to the decks of salt-sprayed Viking longships centuries ago, who better to bring the ancient heroes and villains of Norse myth to our iPads and bookstands than Neil Gaiman? His love for Norse mythology and genius ability to weave rich stories that capture the imagination and open up the mysterious are a gift. Ragnorok will have to wait- Gaiman has breathed new life into the Gods, giants, monsters, creatures, and humans that live on Yggdrasil. This book is wonderful!
Amazing Stories!
Reaching beyond moral, the stories told are very entertaining and move our hearts with emotion, primal at times, with wittiness and humor, drama, all with beauty.
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