Norse Mythology book review | 3 star read

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
on February 7, 2017
Pages: 299
Goodreads

Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales.
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. Once, when Thor's hammer is stolen, Thor must disguise himself as a woman—difficult with his beard and huge appetite—to steal it back. More poignant is the tale in which the blood of Kvasir—the most sagacious of gods—is turned into a mead that infuses drinkers with poetry. The work culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and rebirth of a new time and people.
Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge these gods 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.

Norse Mythology is not the first Neil Gaiman book I’ve read and I doubt it will be the last. There is something special about the way Gaiman builds stories and characters that I have very rarely seen before. I picked up Norse Mythology expecting something over the top amazing, and unfortunately this one fell flat for me. I enjoyed the individual stories and but I think the writing is informative. However I just felt disconnected and it didn’t feel as though the whole piece worked together. I don’t think this changes my opinion of Gaiman, I just think this one book unfortunately didn’t work for me.

Characters in Norse Mythology

As a story of all of the myths the main characters in Norse Mythology follow Odin and his many relatives. I loved reading about the family dramas that ensue. I also think the writing really showed Loki off well. The stories in which he took a big part in were definitely my favourite. They showed the family dynamic the best and point out the different parts of the mythology. I was definitely introduced to a great many new characters which was lovely. Each of them had a great selling point and I adored learning about where they stood within the world around them.

What I wasn’t expecting however was to love Thor’s and Loki’s relationship as much as I did. I am a massive fan of the Marvel films so seeing some of that same banter on the page was impressive. I loved seeing how each of them bounced off of each other and the using of the other’s strength. Another thing I didn’t realise was just how much Loki decided to destroy for no other reason but for good measure. It was a brilliant dynamic and one which I really enjoyed all the way through.

Good and the Bad

For me the characters drive Norse Mythology. In terms of the plot there isn’t an awful lot going on. I did feel as though I learnt a lot about the different worlds they all live and governor over. It was interesting to see how much of a difference there was between the Marvel characters and the original mythical characters. It was really well written and some of the atmosphere was beautiful. There is so much I love about this book, and most of it has to do with the setting and the characters.

After hearing me gush, why was this not a 5-star read? Because I am sorry to say, it feels very disjointed when you’re reading it. I understand myths are very short and can be quite jarring. However my issue is the lack of finality after each of the myths. Also there wasn’t ever a nice flow between the stories and I would have loved that. Overall the way they have set the stories out had an impact on my reading experience. It definitely lowered the rating.

Recommendation

As I said before I’m a massive fan of Gaiman’s work. This one just didn’t work for me unfortunately. I am definitely recommending it to any one interested in Norse Myths. Its really informative and the stories are well constructed. It was just the overall flow for me that threw me off.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.