Norse mythology has an epic grandeur. Gods, giants, and looming over all of it, Ragnarok. Neil Gaiman was drawn to Norse mythology at a young age through The Mighty Thor comics. He reinvented Odin in American Gods. And in this book, he returns to the Eddas to offer his own interpretation of the sagas.

As always, Gaiman is a pure delight as a wordsmith. In his version of the story, Loki is the protagonist, a force of chaos who gets the gods into trouble and then out of it, until they imprison him, and he turns against them in the final battle. I grew up on Greek myths, and while all true myths resonate, Norse mythology has a very different feel. The Norse gods are a family, but it's less intense than Olympus, so often defined by Zeus' lust and Hera's jealousy. The world of Norse mythology is wild and forbidding, full of giants cannier and stronger than the gods. Mortals appear infrequently, and almost almost as the subject of moralizing messages about not transgressing cultural norms.

Any modern retelling is a matter of interpretation, and an actual scholar may have some quibbles. I don't. This book is delightful.