Norse Mythology, and why is it always Loki's fault?

In the interest of complete transparency, I must start by saying I only got into this book on my second attempt. Maybe the timing wasn't right the first time, or maybe I wasn't used to Neil Gaiman's style of writing, but I only got about halfway through the first chapter when I originally started the book. A couple of years later, after having heard a couple of Norse Myths, read Good Omens (a fantastic masterpiece by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett), and gone into Marvel withdrawal, I picked the story up again, and this time it stuck.

My favourite thing about this book is the way Neil Gaiman masterfully weaves the various myths into a narratives which flows, and makes linear sense, complete with callbacks to previous stories later in the novel, and even the odd recurring characters. It takes a great amount of skill to take a jumble of disjointed tales and scramble then together into a gripping story, but Gaiman succeeds, largely through a combination of classic 'legendary' storytelling peppered with wisdom, humorous quips and clever winks to the audience done through subtle innuendo or sarcasm.

He groped about, reaching for the comfortable and familiar shaft of his hammer.

I am hard-pressed to find a fault with this book. We've got everything - from the origins of the world to its end and rebirth. Although I should warn you, the Ragnarok chapter of the story is nowhere near as cheerful as the MCU movie would have you believe. In fact, it's very serious and very epic and much like the Trojan War it sees all of our favourites from the story so far getting their butts kicked in quick succession.

And then there's exquisite world-building. One of the most appealing aspects of Norse mythology for me is how completely unique it is compared to other cultures. Maybe this speaks more to how over-saturated my pop-culture knowledge is with Greek, Medieval and Christian motifs than anything else, but I'd like to think myself worldly and choose to believe these myths are an imagination masterpiece. We get to see different races and worlds, all tied together in a historic tapestry that spans the entirety of time. Also, the names of all the things are very cool and actually make sense, which is an added bonus.

The cool features are too numerous to count, so I'll just drop my favourite - the entire universe is centred around a giant tree. As a budding tree enthusiast, I'm here for it!

Loki’s green eyes flashed with anger and with admiration, for he loved a good trick as much as he hated being fooled.

Everyone we know and love is there, plus some new faces. If you're thinking I picked up this book because I'm obsessed with Marvel's depiction of Thor and Loki, you're absolutely right. And let me tell you, although the portrayal of the Norse Gods is different, I was not even remotely mad, which is a testament to the quality of writing. Thor is a bit more of a humourless oaf in this compared to the MCU, and he sure loves to show off his muscles. Very much your standard uni lad who likes to go out, drink loads and get into fights. Except, you know, with giants and godly powers and some goats.

I would actually like to take a second and talk about Thor's goats. Snarler and Grinder are an absolute joy to read about, and a missed opportunity for comedy gold on MCU's end. I would pay good money to see Chris Hemsworth heard a couple of goats, and get wound up when his brother cripples one of them. The laughs!! Maybe one day ...

Speaking of Loki, he features prominently in many of the myths, much to my delight. We've got famous highlights such as mare Loki, Loki the bridesmaid to 'Freya' (Thor)'s wedding, and of course the unfortunate business with his Ragnarok-ready children. Oh, and there's some blinding venom torture involved, it's all very unpleasant.

But I digress. In Norse Mythology, Loki is depicted as much more villainous than the morally grey image Marvel have created for him on the big screen (or maybe that's just Tom Hiddleston). In the story he's at the core of every mischief, all the way up to Ragnarok, and he's rightly punished for his more serious offences. Once again, despite being a bit of an MCU Loki stan, I was here for Gaiman's portrayal of the Trickster God.

It would not surprise me if Freya had her own opinions about the matter.

Much to my enjoyment, we also have a whole bunch of kick ass ladies in this book, including Freya and Sigyn (Loki's wife), as well as a couple of giantesses who, despite being the antagonists in the stories, are fearsome and empowered. What really gets my goat (this would be a great line for Thor!) about Greek mythology is how bitter and competitive all the goddesses are - from Hera, who is constantly trying to out-douche Zeus, to self-obsessed Aphrodite.

Give me a break! I know it's literally ancient history, but these are mythological creatures we're talking about - if we can suspend disbelief about Zeus giving birth from his forehead and fucking in swan form (EW!), imagining women not being petty and horrible to each other shouldn't be beyond our capabilities.

So in that sense it's super refreshing to just have powerful women who are standing up for themselves and not letting men walk all over them without turning into the stereotypical image of nagging, nasty women people like Donald Trump like to promote as the truth about the gender.

This is perhaps of little consequence in the grand scheme of the story, but there's also a big floofy dog.

Image by theperfectbromance

Okay so maybe he's actually a giant wolf and Loki's son from a giantess, but I still feel bad for Fenrir (also, observant Harry Potter fans would note that JKR is not particularly creative with her naming - she just went around picking famous mythological wolves and use their names for her werewolves). In a nutshell the poor floof just wants to belong and play and live his best life, but the gods, being obsessed with preserving their power and feeling threatened by his strength, decide to chain him. So, rightfully, he turns against them when Ragnarok comes. Should have just kept him as a pet!

In the end, geeking out about characters aside, the best thing about Norse Mythology is definitely the way it combines a series of myths into a cohesive overarching narrative which has a satisfying payoff at the end. Each story contains its own hero's journey and mini adventure, so they can be read in isolation, but following the timeline and seeing the fates of the gods play out from beginning to end adds another layer to the narrative.*

* It's also great D&D inspiration, if you think about breaking down a campaign into different adventures. Okay, enough nerd for one review.

5/5 stars