Outside of Neil Gaiman’s own novel, American Gods, which features several of the Norse gods, this is my first real encounter with Norse mythology beyond comic books. Of course, the resemblances to other cultures’ myths is apparent, but nevertheless, Gaiman has managed to humanize Odin, Thor, and Loki somehow, and show a vulnerability in them that doesn’t seem to be present quite the same way in the Greek and Roman myths.
Strictly as a collection of stories, however, Norse Mythology is a wonderfully readable and enjoyable “introduction” to the tradition. Discovering how Thor gets his famous hammer, how Asgard gets its wall, even how the final battle of Ragnorak plays out, this collection is a pleasure to read.
I’ve read a number of works by Gaiman while simultaneously listening to him perform the audio version and I think he’s a magnificent narrator. I didn’t do that for this book, and now I wish I had. The book is a quick read, and one thing I found in listening to his other audio editions is that they slowed me down and I got more from the reading experiences.
And that leads me to my one complaint with Norse Mythology; I wish it had been longer. I would have enjoyed having even more tales to flesh out this picture of the Norse stories. But that’s not much of a complaint, really. I thoroughly enjoyed what’s there.
Strictly as a collection of stories, however, Norse Mythology is a wonderfully readable and enjoyable “introduction” to the tradition. Discovering how Thor gets his famous hammer, how Asgard gets its wall, even how the final battle of Ragnorak plays out, this collection is a pleasure to read.
I’ve read a number of works by Gaiman while simultaneously listening to him perform the audio version and I think he’s a magnificent narrator. I didn’t do that for this book, and now I wish I had. The book is a quick read, and one thing I found in listening to his other audio editions is that they slowed me down and I got more from the reading experiences.
And that leads me to my one complaint with Norse Mythology; I wish it had been longer. I would have enjoyed having even more tales to flesh out this picture of the Norse stories. But that’s not much of a complaint, really. I thoroughly enjoyed what’s there.
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