Stars (Out of 10): 8/10 Stars

Favorite Character: I loved the personality of Freya in this retelling!

Spoiler Free: Ever since I was a kid, I loved all sorts of mythology. A lot of this was due to just always growing up with the tales of Greek gods, whether it be in cool elementary school projects (my class hosted its own set of Olympic Games + learned a lot about Ancient Greece) combined with the constant presence of Rick Riordan stories (even now!) When I heard Neil Gaiman was coming out with his own retelling of Norse mythology, I was super interested. I hadn’t read any of his work before (only a short story in a college class a few weeks back), but I knew he was popular. I recently picked up this super pretty version of it in the States, and just now was in the mood for it!

First off, the main thing that surprised me was how much I already knew. I’m by far no expert on any sort of mythology, especially Norse, but I have read Riordan’s series set in it, and was surprised by how much that one series had taught me. Additionally, it was also just interesting to read Gaiman’s note in the beginning, and to learn that so much of this mythology has been lost over time.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. It was really just a collection of stories loosely tied together by the overarching presence of Ragnarok to come, but I still really enjoyed each one. I think almost every single story held my attention, and while there were no characters there to really “bond” or connect with, I still found myself saddened when reading their final chapter, Ragnarok.

I also really enjoyed the way Gaiman told the stories. It was fairly informational, and didn’t focus much on use of emotion or scenery, but I still found myself really liking it. In the end, it was a bit dry, but that’s also just the best way to present these sorts of stories!

In the end, I do not regret picking this book up at all, and really enjoyed the afternoon I spent reading it! It’s honestly exactly what you should expect from a book of myths!