mushroomfairy02's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
fidoe's review against another edition
4.0
Week 9 Book 4
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Rating 4/5
The year began sluggishly but I'm glad I'm catching up.
Happy to finish my 4th book of the year. Which also happens to be my first Neil Gaiman, a gift from my friend Mohit.
NM is a beautifully crafted compendium of stories from folklore of Asgard, Aesir, Odin, Loki, and Thor.
Carefully researched and articulately woven into stories written in simple to understand language, the stories are a delight to read, and a wonderful look into the world Norse Myths.
My only grouse is that despite being easy to read language wise, the content may not be suitable for youngsters, as there is some amount of blood and gore. So I'd have to wait before I could introduce this to my daughter.
But apart from that, it's a great introduction to Norse Mythology, and a must read for all who are interested in this area.
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Rating 4/5
The year began sluggishly but I'm glad I'm catching up.
Happy to finish my 4th book of the year. Which also happens to be my first Neil Gaiman, a gift from my friend Mohit.
NM is a beautifully crafted compendium of stories from folklore of Asgard, Aesir, Odin, Loki, and Thor.
Carefully researched and articulately woven into stories written in simple to understand language, the stories are a delight to read, and a wonderful look into the world Norse Myths.
My only grouse is that despite being easy to read language wise, the content may not be suitable for youngsters, as there is some amount of blood and gore. So I'd have to wait before I could introduce this to my daughter.
But apart from that, it's a great introduction to Norse Mythology, and a must read for all who are interested in this area.
ikon_biotin_jungle_lumen's review against another edition
5.0
Gaiman has created something wonderful in this brief yet brilliant tribute to Norse mythos. In the words of Lewis, "It's only flaw is that it is too short." It was a special joy to listen to the author himself, a master storyteller, perform the audiobook. I asked myself multiple times during the first hour of listening if I could imagine a better performance from any other narrator, and could think of none.
This work lends itself exceptionally well to being read aloud, and I think I shall do so for my children at some later time. I regret not having appreciated Gaiman's merit as an author and storyteller up to this point, but highly anticipate reading more of his works.
This work lends itself exceptionally well to being read aloud, and I think I shall do so for my children at some later time. I regret not having appreciated Gaiman's merit as an author and storyteller up to this point, but highly anticipate reading more of his works.
cernunnos's review against another edition
3.0
Old rope. Pleasing, well made old rope, but old rope nonetheless.
christin_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ffilippa's review against another edition
2.0
TWO STARS • I was a little disappointed with Norse Mythology, even though I read it with no expectations whatsoever. It was my second book by Neil Gaiman (I read Coraline last year). I don't really know what to make of my thoughts on this book, but I can at least say that Norse Mythology wasn't my cup of tea (but I can see that a lot of people loved it, so give it a try!). I can't put my finger on what it was that I didn't like, but I suppose it was the "oldish" writing style and the short story format (I'm not the biggest short story fan). I don't remember Gaiman's writing like this from reading Coraline, but that's possibly because the two books are as different as two books can be. Also, I was confused by the similar character names, places and to be honest, at times I just wished for the book to be over (mainly because I wasn't attached to the story). But, I'll admit, I am impressed by Gaiman's informative writing and that he seems to be able to write books in every single genre. I will still probably read other books by Gaiman (I'm interested in some of them) in the future.
llmacrae's review against another edition
4.0
Another brilliant narration from Neil Gaiman, although I didn’t enjoy this read nearly as much as Neverwhere.
It reminded me of reading Aesop’s Fables - a collection of short stories depicting the adventures (and mostly hubris) of the Norse Gods and their various quarrels and vengeances, promises and oaths. Mostly falling in love immediately on sight/wanting to marry various other gods/mortals/giants, and the havoc they and their kin wreak.
I have a passing familiarity with the Norse Gods and it was very interesting to read about some of their family trees/who disliked who etc.
There is a degree of absurdism that reminded me of children’s fairytales (a giant with 900 heads, everything is the biggest/strongest/fastest/most beautiful etc. thing that had ever been or ever would be, that sort of thing), which brought an element of humour to the tales.
To be honest, I was quite glad it was such a short read because I did find my mind wandering quite a bit. I wonder if I would have preferred a single novel of one of the stories, with more fleshing out? But tbh, these remind me of the “lessons” in children’s stories, so it probably would work in that format.
It’s very clear a huge amount of research and passion went into the creation of this, which is absolutely commendable! A few moments did make me laugh out loud :D
Still very curious to read more of Gaiman’s words!
It reminded me of reading Aesop’s Fables - a collection of short stories depicting the adventures (and mostly hubris) of the Norse Gods and their various quarrels and vengeances, promises and oaths. Mostly falling in love immediately on sight/wanting to marry various other gods/mortals/giants, and the havoc they and their kin wreak.
I have a passing familiarity with the Norse Gods and it was very interesting to read about some of their family trees/who disliked who etc.
There is a degree of absurdism that reminded me of children’s fairytales (a giant with 900 heads, everything is the biggest/strongest/fastest/most beautiful etc. thing that had ever been or ever would be, that sort of thing), which brought an element of humour to the tales.
To be honest, I was quite glad it was such a short read because I did find my mind wandering quite a bit. I wonder if I would have preferred a single novel of one of the stories, with more fleshing out? But tbh, these remind me of the “lessons” in children’s stories, so it probably would work in that format.
It’s very clear a huge amount of research and passion went into the creation of this, which is absolutely commendable! A few moments did make me laugh out loud :D
Still very curious to read more of Gaiman’s words!
paulgrostad's review against another edition
5.0
Short, but oh so sweet!
The original is quite inaccessible to most people as it is written in Old Norse. Neil Gaiman's version stays quite true to the original, but is infinitely more entertaining.
The original is quite inaccessible to most people as it is written in Old Norse. Neil Gaiman's version stays quite true to the original, but is infinitely more entertaining.