This was not what I was expecting.

I had made the assumption since Neil Gaiman is a well known fiction writer that this would be a new fiction story based off the Norse Pantheon. I was sadly mistaken. This is a collection of the famous Norse stories basically just re-written in Gaiman's writing style.

Now I will say that this did make reading these stories very easy and enjoyable. He took all the research he did into that culture and made it more assessable for the main stream public. But I already know the tales, and to me this was missing the spark that I get from his writing.

If you are looking for a good introduction to Norse Mythos, this is a great beginning; just not what I was looking for.

I'd say either borrow it from the Library. It does not need to come home with me. ( )

This book tells a few select stories from Norse mythology. Neil Gaimon brings a well-told and enjoyable story to what I’ve found to be a usually stale telling.

This tells some of the more common stories and involves all the more familiar gods and giants as well as a few other key ones. The book provides a good overview of Norse mythology. ( )

Actually gave up on this after awhile & just skimmed to the end. Made the myths sound pretty silly, which maybe they are, but surely not this silly.

A master storyteller interprets the ancient legends of the North. I listened to this book in audio format, and it went down remarkably smoothly, especially considering that I had relatively low interest in the subject. (I've always been more of a Greek mythology kind of girl.) Gaiman's retellings have a great deal of humor and wit, and I appreciated his narration of the audiobook as the perfect interpretation of his writing style (and a helpful guide to pronunciation, as well). The stories flow perfectly together, from the beginning of the world to Ragnarok. I found as I listened that I have absorbed bits and pieces of the mythology from popular culture, but this helped me set the individual pieces within a framework. Recommended. ( )

Interesting - a hug departure from Gaiman's normal writing style and plot, and probably not something for all of his fans. But very well told all the same. These are re-tellings of the Norse myths, of Odin, Thor and the rest, the Anglo-saxon equivalent of the greek legends, with morals and meanings that are not lost on modern life.

It's an area of history that has apparently always fascinated Gaiman, and he provides copious notes on the research he's read. But in the end these, are his versions of the tales, no more authoritarian sources than that. They read very clearly. ( )