Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

5 reviews

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.

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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

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

4.75

I loved this retelling of Norse Mythology. The beginning was a bit slow and dense for me but it picked up very quickly, and I can't believe how fast I devoured it! Neil Gaiman's narration definitely made it ten times more enjoyable than if I had read it as a text. Pleaae read the content warnings before reading/listening if you are sensitive to descriptions of torture and gore, they are behind the spoiler tag.

CW: eye trauma, intestines/entrail, genital mutilation/torture, graphic descriptions of death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

yrlaevelyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

atlanticgiantpumpkin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Blood, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Gore, Incest, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Abandonment

There’s also bestiality.