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    Norse Mythology
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    Norse Mythology
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    Norse Mythology
    Ebook238 pages3 hours

    Norse Mythology

    By Neil Gaiman

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF NETFLIX HIT THE SANDMAN

    'With the deftest of touches, the characters are once again brought to life' JOANNE HARRIS
    'The halls of Valhalla have been crying out for Gaiman to tell their stories' OBSERVER

    The great Norse myths, which have inspired so much of modern fiction, are dazzlingly retold by Neil Gaiman. Tales of dwarfs and frost giants, of treasure and magic, and of Asgard, home to the gods: Odin the all-father, highest and oldest of the Aesir; his mighty son Thor, whose hammer Mjollnir makes the mountain giants tremble; Loki, wily and handsome, reliably unreliable in his lusts; and Freya, more beautiful than the sun or the moon, who spurns those who seek to control her.

    From the dawn of the world to the twilight of the gods, this is a thrilling, vivid retelling of the Norse myths from the award-winning, bestselling Neil Gaiman.

    *This book has been printed with two different cover designs. We are unable to accept requests for a specific cover. The different covers will be assigned to orders at random*
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateFeb 7, 2017
    ISBN9781408887028
    Author

    Neil Gaiman

    Neil Gaiman is the celebrated author of books, graphic novels, short stories, films, and television for readers of all ages. Some of his most notable titles include the highly lauded #1 New York Times bestseller Norse Mythology; the groundbreaking and award-winning Sandman comic series; The Graveyard Book (the first book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie Medals); American Gods, winner of many awards and recently adapted into the Emmy-nominated Starz TV series (the second season slated to air in 2019); The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was the UK’s National Book Award 2013 Book of the Year. Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett a very long time ago (but not quite as long ago as Don’t Panic) and for which Gaiman wrote the screenplay, will air on Amazon and the BBC in 2019. Author photo by Beowulf Sheehan

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    Reviews for Norse Mythology

    4/5

    2,121 ratings158 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I don't love fantasy or mythology, but it was a challenge prompt for Book Riot Read Harder. I will listen to Gaiman read anything, and he proved again that genre matters not when the mellow strains of Gaiman are the delivery system. He is a wonderful storyteller and has updated these stories in the best way. He makes them charming and relevant and engrossing. Yesterday I had a 2 hour 10 mile commute (I love NY except when I hate it) and I did not mind it because I had time to listen. That is a ringing endorsement.
    • 4/5
      After listening to Circe on Audible, I decided to venture further down the mythology road and listen to Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. Since these stories were originally passed along orally, this was a great decision.All the pagan gods had remarkably human frailties, and the Norse gods seem much more human than the Greek and Roman gods. Thor is like some big bumbling bear who does everything through brute force; Loki, in this iteration, is more sinister than just the joker as he is often portrayed; and all the male gods are more than ready to use the female gods as pawns in their power plays with the giants. Luckily , Freya, appears to be a proto-feminist and is more than able to stand up for his rights. The rest of the Norse world is full of evil giants, and underworld dwarves All of whom seem to exist solely to make life difficult to the gods.Gaiman traces the Norse world from the beginning to its Götterdämmerung end. You will stay interested for every minute.
    • 4/5
      I never knew vengeful gods could be so fun!
    • 3/5
      Primary gods in Norse mythology include Odin, Thor, and Loki. Many/most of these stories focused on them, but there are a few others thrown in to the mix, including the beautiful Freya, in many of the stories, as well. Neil Gaiman does have a nice voice and is a good narrator (I listened to the audio), but somehow he doesn’t always hold my attention. Seems to depend what else I’m doing at the time, though. At home/housework, I’m fine; walking somewhere – too many distractions and I lose focus. I’ve listened to a few he’s narrated, but I think it’s all been short stories, which I think is also harder on audio because when you lose focus (or when I do, anyway!), it’s harder to catch up again. I do wonder if I would have a better time listening to him read one of his novels. I’m also not always a short story fan, though the first ones in this book (when I was focusing) were good. The rest, I missed too much to really say. Overall, I’m rating this ok.
    • 4/5
      A retelling of the Norse myths mostly concerning Odin, Thor, and Loki, giants, dwarfs, an ogre or two and the Loki's monstrous offspring. The sources have been combined to give a smooth narratives and there is some softening for younger audiences. Readable, but my first introductions the the magic of northern realms by Poul Anderson and then L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt though thoroughly bastardized, were much more compelling.
    • 4/5
      Neil charmingly reinterpreted the strange stories of Norse Mythology and then read them to me. What's not to like?
    • 5/5
      I liked it so much that I immediately bought it for the ten year old child of a friend. He was telling me how much he loved Greek mythology, so I'm hoping he'll love this too.
    • 4/5
      Neil Gaiman dances on the edge of theology quite often, most notably with his "American Gods". Taking the materials that he salvaged from the "Prose Edda", and the "Poetic Edda", and, to a certain degree from the "Marvel Universe", he has attempted a coherent and entertaining account of the Norse pantheon's tales. To some degree, he has succeeded. There are several caveats I should like to raise. The "Marvel Universe" has a need to sell comic books, and so the general thrust of their publications is the use of "Loki", the God of intelligence, and mental agility as a far more Satanic and Christian Devil figure. In my reading of the earlier translations of the Norse Canon, he is far more of a "Trickster God", a deity like “Coyote” in North American Native fables, or like "Anansi" the Trickster God of West Africa...far more likely to do things out of boredom, than from a plan dedicated to the destruction of "Goodness" and order. Gaiman seems to draw Loki as a deliberate plotter, rather than a "What if?" kind of guy.Also, telling these myths in a roughly chronological order is not the way in which they were presented to their original audience. Mythic information comes to its hearers on a "Need to Know" basis. The question comes up and then the Skalds provided suitable information from the stories they themselves had heard from other skalds, or sometimes, possessed by the spirit of Loki, they made stuff up. This produces a mythology that, if you have more than one source, you have differing accounts, as parts of one myth are shifted from tale to tale, and new elements are added to existing stories to explain new phenomena, or to provide new stories to suit new circumstance, including political purposes. To move to another cultural matrix, the Greek Travel writer Pausanias, moving from temple to temple in the Hellenic world of the second century AD. heard quite different stories about the same Pagan God, to explain the same questions, differing from one temple to another temple of the same God somewhere else in the Roman Empire.We need to see the Norse corpus in the same light, because the Christian Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, author of the "Prose Edda" and the "Poetic Edda", and the “Heimskringla" was looking to transform the Norse theological whirlwind into a coherent theology on the lines of the Christian Theology that had framed his education. When Snorri collected and tried to codify those stories it had been two hundred years since Christianity had been adopted as the Icelandic official religion. It is difficult to believe that the materials Sturlson collected and chose to pass on were unchanged in the two hundred years.There exists differing materials, found quotes in Sagas not written by Sturluson, but in other Teutonic poetry and tales, like Scandinavian inscriptions, and in the stories of Siegfried, and the other Nibelungs. This body of work is often at odds with Sturluson quotes. Thus, while Stan Lee's world and Sturlson's works are possible versions of what the pre-Christian Scandinavians heard, and possibly tried to live by, they are very likely not, in Christian terms, "Gospel Truth." Lacking a divine Canon of irrefutable truth's given in a clear revelation, the Nordic Myths do not have a bias towards the rigidity found in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic theologies. The Norse, in this case, had a far more Hindu attitude to religious diversity than Saint Augustine, or Saint Dominic. But Gaiman is looking for coherence and a plot line rather than an accurate version to preach from. Thus, we have what is a Neil Gaiman Edda, rather than an exacting collection of Norse myths It is also a pretty good time for the reader and contains a bang-on version of Thor, the God of Thunder.
    • 4/5
      Gaiman reads this retelling of the Norse myths in a most entertaining style, lending them more of a folksy air than Wagner, for instance! It was great company on the treadmill this week.
    • 5/5
      First book finished for 2018 with this audiobook read by the author himself! In this Neil Gaiman talks about these tales needing to be told more than read, and the way he wrote this book and tells them he achieved his aim with great aplomb! This is an excellent piece of work and I am glad I chose the audiobook route because of what has just been said. It is clear how these tales have spread in variation into fiction through the ages. I definitely recommend this book, and it does make for a quick read.
    • 4/5
      Neil Gaiman explores Norse mythology in a fantastical way, writing each legend into short stories that are funny, or serious, and always amazing. His depth of knowledge on the Norse mythology is remarkable and these stories prove it.
    • 4/5
      Norse version of D'Aulaire's Greeks, but instead of the cool pictures we get Neil Gaiman's narration. Loved the sound of the names of the gods and giants.
    • 4/5
      I was going to describe this as "Neil Gaiman's retelling of the Norse myths," but on reflection I'm not sure that's quite the right word. "Retelling" covers a lot of territory, including works with only a vague resemblance to their source material, and I have the strong impression that Gaiman is sticking very close to the originals. So it's probably better to call this a "telling" of the Norse myths, one more among the many that people have done over the centuries. And it's fairly simply told, without lots of novelistic elaboration, but Gaiman does bring a subtle and entertaining sense of humor to it, as well as perhaps bringing a little bit of humanity to the characters. (Well, all right, "humanity" isn't quite the right word either, when applied to gods, but it's close enough.)I think I had read other versions of most of these myths before, at some point or another, but not recently enough that I remembered too many of the details about them, and I found them very interesting to revisit. Some of the stories are strange and deeply mythic, some silly, and some dark, but on the whole they're all interesting and imaginative, sometimes in ways that leave me wondering at how humans even came up with them and what creative genius lost to the mists of time invented this or that particular detail.I'm also a little amused at how strongly my main takeaway about Norse mythology here is just that the Norse gods are dicks. Entertainingly so, often enough, but dicks nonetheless. Especially Loki, the patron god of internet trolls, who is hilarious until he isn't... and then really, really isn't. (I just kind of wish I could have kept him from being Tom Hiddleston in my head. I mean, I like Tom Hiddleston, but it was just distracting.)
    • 2/5
      Dull and uninspired.
    • 4/5
      Loved the re-telling of these old myths. Despite the fact that they are broken into individual stories, the arc lets you get to know the personality of several of the gods through great development from one to the next
    • 5/5
      An excellent retelling of some Norse myths, from "before the beginning" to Ragnarok. Professor Gaiman injects the characters with personality and wit, making the stories that much more enjoyable.--J.
    • 4/5
      this is a collection of stories, arranged chronologically to a point. What makes this book so wonderful is that it takes the original stories and delivers them in a more straight-forward way, making it more accessible to readers. Gaiman takes away a great deal of flowery language that is usually seen in these types of stories and reimagines the gods in a more modern and interesting way. He highlights each god's strengths and weaknesses, and makes the conversations easier to follow while not losing any subtle nuance. It goes to show why Gaiman is considered a master storyteller! This was a short read, mainly because a lot of the less important jargon was removed, but also because the stories itself were presented in a more interesting manner. If you have read other works by Gaiman, you can see how Norse mythology has inspired him in other original works by him! All in all, this was just a fresh take on classic mythology and it was highly entertaining and worth reading!
    • 4/5
      I have always loved the Norse myths, much more than their Greek counterparts; who knows why. The big d'Aulaire picture book of Norse Myths & Legends was one of my prized possessions as a youngster.These retellings are, as one might expect, quite good. Gaiman is very good at his craft, and clearly loves the material. There's a certain amount of "quippy" dialogue that makes me think of the way these characters have been portrayed in the Marvel movies lately, but it's only a little distracting and probably more or less accidental.Definitely recommended.
    • 4/5
      Took me a while to get used to the language. My mind somehow expects characters in myths to speak in slightly old-fashioned English. Gods, as someone once said, have the manners and morals of a spoiled child, and the Norse Gods are no exception. Don't expect morality from them! Loki is entertaining precisely because he'll do absolutely anything if it amuses him. Thor is slower of thought, but very strong.
    • 3/5
      I loved the humor present in a lot of these stories. If you like Thor and Loki you'll have a lot of fun reading this book. If you're unfamiliar with norse mythology, the name dump may be overwhelming at first, but you eventually get used to it- plus the book has a nice glossary at the end.
    • 4/5
      Neil Gaiman says he first encountered the Norse myths in the pages of Marvel Comics. I first encountered the Norse Myths in the pages of school textbooks. I later discovered livelier versions, and he later discovered more complete versions, truer to the original sources.

      One important difference is that Gaiman is an excellent writer, and he became interested in researching the myths and presenting them to new generations in a form both true to the sources and engaging for modern readers.

      Or, in this case, as is most appropriate for ancient myths, listeners.

      In his introduction, he discusses what we do, and tantalizingly, what we don't know, about the Norse gods. We know Odin and Thor and Loki, the Norns and the giants, and others, but there are also gods for whom only and some bare details remain, with no surviving stories to retell.

      Both his words and his reading of them breathe life into the stories we have. None of the Norse gods are simple and straightforward evocations of merely a few traits, nor are they what we'd consider fully rounded characters. They are, nevertheless, compelling, especially with Gaiman, an excellent oral storyteller as well as an excellent writer, reading his own retellings of their tales.

      It's a very good few hours' listening.

      Recommended.

      I bought this audiobook.
    • 5/5
       NEIL GAIMAN is a god!! Only fitting that he retell the ancient myths of the Norse Mythologies and in with his narration magic, brings to life each and every god in all the stories he presents. This is how mythology was meant to be passed down, orally, and no one could have done a more fantastic job than he does!!!
    • 3/5
      Readable but not particularly inventive retellings of familiar Norse legends. If you've read D’Aulaires you won't find much that's new here.
    • 4/5
      Loved listening to Gaiman read this book.
    • 4/5
      Odin, Thor, Loki and all the Norse gods make an appearance. An ill-humored bunch, for sure.
    • 4/5
      Loki steals the show in this masterful retelling of Norse myths.
    • 4/5
      Seems like a great place to start to dip one's toes into the Norse mythology stream. Entertaining reading with wry humour sprinkled throughout.
    • 5/5
      "Had Ragnarok happened yet? Was it still to happen?I did not know then.I am not certain now." *Disclaimer--Offensive comments regarding which country has the “best and most diverse mythology in the world” (yes, there were people actually writing about and fighting over that (!) or comments regarding religion in general will be immediately deleted and flagged. There’s YouTube and Facebook if some want to engage in such nonsense as fighting over thin air….*Norse myths (aka Odin,Loki,Thor,Freya,the giants,the dwarves, etc.) + Neil Gaiman equals instant,certain, glorious success.This review will be short because what can I say that hasn't been said? And consider yourselves warned because I am going to sound like a major fangirl and I regret nothing:)World mythologies can be tricky,in my opinion.They're alive,well-known,interesting by themselves.Choosing to use them as a retelling can become a boomerang in the hands of an incompetent author.Naturally,this isn't the case here.Neil Gaiman takes the Norse legends and transforms them into a sequence of tales that may be episodic but are linked to each other in a coherent way, written in a beautiful language that is contemporary and poetic.And most importantly, he approached his material with the utmost respect and wasn't influenced by recent popular teenage notions and Marvel abominations....(I hate those things,sorry....)His introduction is a wonderful text in which Gaiman explains his deep fascination with the myths of the lands of the North.Let us not forget that in Mr.Wednesday,Gaiman has created a version of Odin that would have satisfied even Grimnir himself.Had he existed,of course.The journey starts with the tale of the creation of the world by Odin,Vili and Ve after the killing of the giant Ymir.Then,we come to know the importance of Yggdrasil,the sacred tree, and the way the Norns hover over the past,the present and the future.All the beloved myths are here.Loki's cute children, the building of the Wall, the marriage of the false Freya,Idunn's apples,the trials of Loki and Thor in the Hall of the Giant king,Frey's search for happiness and the tragic tale of Baldr and many other legends are given new life in Gaiman's masterful hands.And of course,the shadow of impending doom,the Ragnarok, is always present, every time Loki speaks,every time he works on his tricks.The chapter that talks about the Twilight of the Gods is the most chilling description of Ragnarok you will ever read….The narration is smoothly divided between the major deities,even though the Big Three are the focus.Gaiman is the omniscient narrator and allows the reader to sit back, enjoy the tales and contemplate on their epicness.It is not dry or disengaged. It is storytelling in the good, old-fashioned way. Although I was very familiar with the vast majority of the myths, I felt as if I was reading them for the first time.The dialogues are beautiful,without being modernized and each God and goddess have their own distinctive voice.The spirituality that inevitably escorts every mythology of the world is present and the deities are portrayed as complex characters,unlike other recent attempts that tried to portray them as sarcastic,stupid archetypes.Gods are anything but archetypes. People’s minds created them to invoke and communicate all the traits of mankind, the good and the bad, and I don’t think mankind is supported on archetypes.We just have to look closely.After having read The Gospel of Loki, which was a major disappointment,Norse Mythology is more than fresh air.It is Mythology at its best.It is a creation as beautiful as its cover on which Thor's Mjøllnir invites us to enter a realm of beauty,strength and deceit."That's the joy of myths.The fun comes in telling them yourself something I warmly encourage you to do,you person reading this.Read the stories in this book,then make them your own, and in some dark and icy winter's evening, or on a summer night when the sun will not set,tell your friends what happened when Thor's hammer was stolen, or how Odin obtained the Mead of poetry for the gods...." Neil Gaiman
    • 5/5
      SUCH an enjoyable read. A very approachable introduction to Norse Mythology, would highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the topic.
    • 5/5
      Simple yet brilliant tellings of the Norse mythos. Not composed in his usual satirical style, but beautiful stories.