Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
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 fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge the 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.
Why has it taken me so long to indulge in this book?
I have zero good answers to this question, yall.
When my friend Jamila introduced me to the wonderfulness of Neil Gaiman a few years ago, I quickly dug into as many of his books as I could find.
How and why did I pass this one up?
There are 3 things that I totes love up in here:
- Neil Gaiman who can do ABSOLUTELY NO WRONG in the literary arts in my humble opinion
- Thor
- LOKI
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A trifecta of amazingness to enjoy.
Thor is the strong, handsome god who can be quite foolish and kinda dumb…
And Loki is the mischevious and misunderstood god who is quite cunning and kinda evil yet kinda not at the same time.
(In my opinion I feel like he is one of the most intelligent gods as the rest are ALWAYS falling for his tricks)
I admit the Marvel movies interpretations of these characters are what made me fall in love with them.
But listening to Neil’s interpretations of the original myths made me love them EVEN MORE.
I must say that I could listen to him read stories out loud ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY.
His voice is lovely and just PERFECTION for storytelling.
He is just as good at telling stories outloud as he is on paper.
I couldn’t help but picture Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as he read this though…they will forever be Thor and Loki to me in any way, shape or form 🤣
This was just a super fun and entertaining read….I completely loved it.
But I love all Neil Gaiman’s books…so this is not surprising.
Definitely recommend if you are into mythology or Neil himself…you’ll have a blast, just like I did.
That really sums up my entire feelings about this book so this is my shortest review in quite some time LOL
Soooo… TA DA!
On to the next…..