YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Introducing an instant classic—master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great Norse myths.

Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of giants, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerges the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

Loki (view spoiler)[I've never read anything or watch any of the movies that have him in it, but I can see why people like this character. He's funny. (hide spoiler)]

Stories (view spoiler)[I enjoyed that the book was broken into many different tales. I didn't love any of love any of them, but I did enjoy reading them. (hide spoiler)]

Norse Mythology (view spoiler)[I didn't know much about Norse mythology before reading this book, and I'm not sure how much of it will stick with me but I did like learning a little bit about it. (hide spoiler)]

Overall Thoughts (view spoiler)[The story wasn't the most enjoyable read, I don't know if it was the subject matter or the way it was told. Not sad that I read the book but it's not one I'll read again. (hide spoiler)]

Megan, sorry I'm going to read it way later than our schedule. But I'll discuss it with you once I get my hand on the book :)

Megan wrote: "Loki [spoilers removed]"

Me neither. And yes it's including the Marvel's Thor. He's pretty annoying too though.

Megan wrote: "Stories [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[The writing style reminds me of The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien though it isn't as epic and complex as The Silmarillion. Love them just the same though :) (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Norse Mythology [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I guess we're share that similarity. I don't know much Norse mythology, moreover if I compare to Greek mythology. But after reading this one I will definitely look forward to other book about Norse mythology (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Overall Thoughts [spoilers removed]"

We're definitely the opposite in this one, as I loved and enjoyed reading this book and I can imagine I reread it in the future :D

I have one question though. Hopefully you can help me with it. In The Apple of Immortality chapter. It said(view spoiler)[Thianzi saw a falcon's feather on the ground, [...]

So where is the falcon's feather now Loki and Idunn are in Asgard and Thianzi is dead? (hide spoiler)]

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting April 20th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Literally only at the introduction and this is already so interesting

I don't know too much about norse mythology so this book is going to be interesting. That introduction was very interesting indeed

^ sorry the Easter weekend was so busy I've had no time to read anything

Me too I ended up driving the 5 hour drive so wasn’t able to get any more done

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting August 18th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The treasures of the gods (view spoiler)[ Wow I'm loving these so far! They've actually been lining up with what I know of Norse myth so I guess I'm not completely clueless about this stuff. And I'm really not sure what to feel about Loki--I want to like him but he's also such a pain in the ass. (hide spoiler)]

Freya's Unusual Wedding (view spoiler)[ HAHAHA THOR IN A WEDDING DRESS-- I remember this from the magnus Chase series. Damn Rick you're so good. I'm so glad Freya doesn't let the Aesir push her around and is like 'you guys fucked it up--you get to fix it (hide spoiler)]

The Story of Gerd and Frey (view spoiler)[ All I think about is Frey being Magnus's father and the sword of summer aka Jack. I like the little bits of romance that are thrown in between the Aesir and Vanir (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Fucking Heimdall is a damn badass!! Taking down Loki and being like "No bitch you didn't win, life won". I like that rebirth always follows death. I hadn't heard the ending to Ragnorak that was portrayed here before. (hide spoiler)]

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Date changed. Restarting October 26th 2020. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

I'd love to join you for this one :)

Yess! Join us dannii!

Thank you! :D I bought it right as it was released and left it linger unread on my shelves, since then.

Same! I've owned it on kindle since it came out. I'll probably be listening to the audiobook for this one though since its narrated by Neil Gaiman! I really liked his narration for neverwhere.

Neha wrote: "Same! I've owned it on kindle since it came out. I'll probably be listening to the audiobook for this one though since its narrated by Neil Gaiman! I really liked his narration for neverwhere."

Oooh I'll have to see if I can get my hands on the audio too, if that's the case!

Yess! Hope you can find it :D

Starting on this one now as it's just slightly after 26 Oct here XD I'll preface this with saying that most of what I know about Norse mythology came from the Marvel movies.

I love how concise and direct Gaiman's is deliberately making his writing style here. It really has the vibe of a folklore being told. ("Players" spoilers) (view spoiler)[I also love his description of Loki being "handsome" and how he "makes the world more interesting but less safe". (hide spoiler)] I've always had a fascination with Loki since I was a kid because I think he was the god referenced in that Jim Carrey movie, The Mask.

"Treasures of the Gods":

(view spoiler)[

"Why do you say [it's Loki's fault]?" said Sif ...

"Because," said Thor, "when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki's fault. It saves a lot of time."

I love that XD and it's so true. I never knew that Mjollnir was the direct result of Loki's meddling. Hats off to his crazy convoluted plot though, I kinda lost it for a bit when he was challenging the two rival bands of dwarves to a competition in making treasures for the gods. (hide spoiler)]

I'll be jumping in tomorrow. I can't wait to catch up with your thoughts :)

"The Master Builder":

All right, now *this* is what i signed up for. (view spoiler)[Loki transforms himself into a mare, has sex with the mountain giant's stallion, gets pregnant and gives birth to the eight-legged foal Sleipneir bahahahaha before ofc presenting it to Odin as a gift. i love how crazy and gender fluid Loki is! (hide spoiler)]

"The Mead of the Poets":

(view spoiler)[Wow, I was *not* expecting this story to get wilder and wilder until it ended with a great big mead-fart on another eagle's face LOL. I didn't like how poor Gunnlod was characterised here though, like women are so easy to fool by appealing to their vanity and can't be trusted for a simple task of guarding two vats of mead. (hide spoiler)]

Halfway through chapter 5 and I'm really enjoying the style here. It's perfect for audio, and yesss, really has that folktale, sitting around a fire at night listening to someone spin stories kind of mood.

"Thor's Journey to the Land of Giants":

(view spoiler)[I quite enjoyed that one, I liked how the story kinda wound up in a very classic parable fashion, with Thor, Loki and Thialfi battling things like fire, Jormungundr, the sea, and old age. In my head, all these stories and folklore were crafted not just for fun and games, but also to help people make sense of the natural world around them, and I loved how this one explained things like tides in the ocean, earthquakes, and the certainty of old age and death. (hide spoiler)]

I'm done with this one! Hoo boy, the last 3 chapters got real dark, but overall I enjoyed it immensely. This was such an accessibly enjoyable romp through Norse mythology.

My review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dimin - Mead of the poets (view spoiler)[ THAT ENDING WAS AWFUL HAHAHAHA. Agree about the giantess but oh well (hide spoiler)]

Thor's journey to the land of the giants (view spoiler)[It was one of my favorites. I loved how he ended that, with thor thinking about the things that even he with all his strength could not completely defeat (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ The minute he read the title - the death of baldur, I KNEW WHAT WAS COMING :(((
I think it's fascinating that ragnarok comes with a built in end for their gods. A lot of religions have apocalypses for mortals, but the fact that they have one for their GODS was always fascinating to me. I loved the ending with the chess pieces though.

All the gods here were capricious and casually cruel but Loki is fascinating because he seems to create chaos just to create chaos - to the point where he plots to create children who will be the death of the gods, and orchestrates baldur's death just because. I don't think norse mythology would be as fascinating without him and the stories would definitely be less fun. And the chapter where he finally pushed too far was probably my favourite because it got so BRUTAL. Gotta give him a reason to come out of that wanting to end the world... though did he ever need a reason.
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

I'm sorry I'm late. I've just started this and am looking forward to catching up with both of your thoughts :)

Mandy wrote: "Starting on this one now as it's just slightly after 26 Oct here XD I'll preface this with saying that most of what I know about Norse mythology came from the Marvel movies.

I love how concise and..."

Everything I know abour Norse Mythology comes from the TV show, The Vikings. It is difficult to read this and not view the characters as the gods.

I never knew Loki was referenced in The Mask. I used to love that film!

Mandy wrote: ""Treasures of the Gods":

"Why do you say [it's Loki's fault]?" said Sif ...

"Because," said Thor, "when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki's fault. It saves a lo..."

That quote made me giggle! I love how this feels so accessible and yet so informative. I'm slowly piecing together a picture of who the gods were and what their personalities was like. The writing style makes it feel almost like a collection of tales for much younger readers, but I'm enjoying it no less for that.

Yes! The writing style is simple and concise, so it really felt like I was listening to someone telling me stories that had been passed down for generations.

Neha wrote: "Yes! The writing style is simple and concise, so it really felt like I was listening to someone telling me stories that had been passed down for generations."

That is definitely how it is feeling for me, too. I'm listening to the audiobook as I read it physically and it is the cosiest way to spend a Saturday.

Mandy wrote: ""The Master Builder":

All right, now *this* is what i signed up for. [spoilers removed]"

I loved this story too. The next one, The Children of Loki, was probably my favourite so far, though. (view spoiler)[I love how sneaky and clever these gods are. Also, how crazy their tactics to get what they want. Each one is even more hilarious than the next and I might have even laughed out loud when reading of Thrym oggling 'Freya' eating during their weeding feast in Freya's Unusual Wedding. (hide spoiler)]

OH I LOVED that one. (view spoiler)[I loved all the explanations. Her eyes are that fierce because she hasn't slept! She's eating so much because she hasn't eaten in DAAYS (hide spoiler)]

Neha wrote: "OH I LOVED that one. [spoilers removed]"

It honestly had me giggling so much. It was so silly but also so clever. I could imagine reading this out loud to small children and them greatly appreciating it.

Neha wrote: "Dimin - Mead of the poets [spoilers removed]

Thor's journey to the land of the giants [spoilers removed]"

I knew I was going to love Mead of the Poets (view spoiler)[from the first line - 'Do you wonder where poetry comes from?' So intriguing! (hide spoiler)]

I loved Thor's Journey to the Land of the Giants (view spoiler)[Thor became one of my favourite characters, throughout this collection, and that was definitely cemented here. He was so full of his own self-importance and I kinda loved that about him. (hide spoiler)]

YES to that being a story kids would enjoy hahaha.

And agree! He gave mead of the poets such a nice introduction. It really made me look forward to the rest of the story and i wasn't disappointed.

Land of the giants - yes! He's the perfect foil for loki, (view spoiler)[the golden, shining, self important, brash and not very smart but still extremely dangerous god (hide spoiler)]

Neha wrote: "YES to that being a story kids would enjoy hahaha.

And agree! He gave mead of the poets such a nice introduction. It really made me look forward to the rest of the story and i wasn't disappointed..."

My favourite aspect of folklore and legends is when they attempt to describe how very real things came to be in a fantastical way. The end was so willy with (view spoiler)[bad poetry stemming from Odin's arse. (hide spoiler)]

Yes! it's also fascinating to see how the environment people grew up in, the dangers they faced, and their own culture and society and what they considered important, etc all influence the explanations they come up with!

Neha wrote: "Yes! it's also fascinating to see how the environment people grew up in, the dangers they faced, and their own culture and society and what they considered important, etc all influence the explanat..."

Definitely! (view spoiler)[The final story, which showed the end of the gods and the old ways of living for the new world that was being born, was quite sad to read about. I felt I'd bonded with this dysfunctional family of gods and it was quite a poignant way to close the book to witness their reign end and the mortal reign begin. I really like the line that talked about something being reborn from every death so no death was ever final. (hide spoiler)]