A different set of gods

I am one of those rare birds who have not yet read the big works of Neil Gaiman that made him such a big deal in the public sphere - American Gods or The Sandman graphic novels, for example - although I have read The Ocean at the End of the Lake, and I did love that book, very very much indeed. I am also currently listening to the audiobook of Good Omens, co-written by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and which is absolutely and indisputably the most hilarious book I've ever read (listened to), so thanks to the Penguin Podcast for the recommendation.

I've had my eyes on Norse Mythology for some time and, although I knew it would be good, I didn't expect to open it at 9am on a sunny Saturday and to finish it by 2pm, only getting up for tea and occasional toilet breaks.

Much like Stephen Fry's Mythos, Neil sets out to retell the stories of the gods - except the gods of a slightly different world. These are the stories of Thor, Odin, Loki and the likes from Asgard, Yggdrasil (the world tree), the stories of frost giants and plotting dwarves, and of course, Ragnarok - the end of days and a new beginning.

What did I like about it?

Seeing as I enjoyed reading the Greek myths so much as retold by Stephen Fry, I can't help but compare Norse Mythology to Mythos. This was a hugely enjoyable retelling of stories from Nordic mythology, and while Stephen Fry takes a somewhat cheeky, tongue-in-cheek approach, often even picking sides, Neil writes his stories with a degree of seriousness, as if we're really gathered around a fire on a frosty winter's night, retelling tales of the old. "Nothing there is that does not love the sun," he writes. "Now I shall tell you of the days to come," he says as he guides us into the story of Ragnarok.

Nordic mythology is incredibly different from the Greek world. Nordic gods seem less capricious, less interested in unnecessary drama; they don't seem to regard humans as their plaything, a species to be meddled with for their own entertainment. In fact, they hardly come into contact with the human race at all. They'd rather keep to themselves and their realms: the land of the dwarves, the light elves, the frost giants or the land of the dead - ruled by the most terrifying character of all: Loki's daughter, Hel, with half a healthy, beautiful face and half a face of a corpse, long dead. There is much less coitus than in the Greek tales; Nordic gods are more interested in adventuring, slaying beasts, wrestling giants, outsmarting each other and dealing out horrible punishments.

It has to be said, though, that Nordic gods aren't the brightest, either; even though Odin gave an eye for wisdom and hung himself from a branch of Yggdrasil in exchange for powers, they still seem quite gullible and can easily make the same mistakes over and over. Thor himself isn't the brains of the operation - as often reflected in the Marvel films too - although he is certainly the strongest. But the characters are complex, curious, proud and incredibly competitive, providing endless joy for readers of these stories.

What was I not massively fond of?

Annoyingly, much like my last review of a Neil Gaiman book, I've not much to add here. It's not Neil's fault that, as he points out in the introduction, stories of the female gods have not been as well preserved as those of the men - perhaps it's out turn to make some of these up.

I would have liked to see a graph of the gods to be able to place every one of them, although this family is much smaller and easier to trace than that of the Greeks. There is a helpful glossary at the end though, as to be expected.

Overall...

"The Norse myths are the myths of a chilly place, with long, long winter nights and endless summer days, myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them." How different, then, to think of the god-fearing Greeks who were expected to make sacrifices before and after any journey, for any feast, for any event really.

I find there is something so compelling, so magically binding and attractive about the Norse world - the cold, the Northern lights, Valhalla in a plain field under misty skies, gifts of gold from highly skilled dwarves, ships that fold into handkerchiefs and a giant, monstrous wolf that will one day swallow the moon and the sun... No wonder I was addicted to playing Skyrim for so long.

There is everything and more to love about this book, and if you're like me, you can easily read it in a few short, delightful hours. If you can, aim to have an open fire nearby.

9/10