Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

35 reviews

garinatorsch55's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed learning more of the Norse stories reading this book, but I would have liked to see a more creatively written approach to these stories.  Gaiman notes at the beginning that he has written this book to be as close as possible to the research he had done of Norse Mythology, but also taking some slight creative liberties.  I would have liked him to lean into those creative liberties further, more in the sense of creating suspense, engrossing the reader to connect with the gods in a more humanistic, "mortal" approach.  Not to necessary change the mythos, but grasp the reader to almost feel like they were there.  It seems like Gaiman was a bit indecisive in this approach.  I am still interested to learn more about this mythos, similar to how I strive to learn the extent of the Middle-Earth universe.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, and Murder

redhothabanero's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I listened to the audiobook and I can't recommend that enough. Narration was great and the stories were very engaging and funny at times. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Excrement

2shadowsdeep's review against another edition

adventurous informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, and Violence

nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastic rendering of the Norse myths. Eminently readable, broke me out of a months-long reading slump. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Excrement

izzykai's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A fun & easy read, great for mythology beginners, broken up into easy to digest short stories

Warning: it is pretty violent so don't read if you're not ok with that 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

a_random_fangirl's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

samchase112's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I had an absolute blast listening to Neil Gaiman regale me with stories of the Norse gods, goddesses, giants, and many other creatures. Gaiman, as expected, is an absolutely fantastic narrator, and it shone through in his impressions and engaging tone. My biggest complaint: too short! There were far too little stories in here — I would’ve happily listened to twice as many hours. Highly, highly recommend! And I sincerely hope Gaiman writes more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Sexual content

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I went into this book with the assumption that it is at least somewhat accurate to the myths, and while there are elements that are, this is very much a Christianised Loki-Bad-Odin-Good portrayal of those myths.

Taken in isolation, it is as well written and mildly comical as Gaiman's other works, but within the context of it being a retelling of the Norse myths, it just missed the mark on so many points for me.

As example:

the legions of Hel are described as being "the evil dead", which to my knowledge is not only a Christian concept, but also unjust. Those dead are simply people that didn't die in battle, so while there will be "evil" among them, they're not intrinsically so. Such phrasing also implies that Odin's warriors are equivalent to the angels of Christianity, something made ironic when you realise it's possible for "evil" people to die in battle.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

freschne's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

A collection of repetitive tales that celebrate cruelty, selfishness and betrayal

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Alcohol

alexandrathegreat89's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War