Standalone Sunday is a weekly feature created by Megan at Bookslayer Reads which aims to showcase standalone books which you loved or would recommend.
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
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 a giant, 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.
To make a change for this week’s Standalone Sunday I’m featuring a book that I haven’t read yet, but that I’m very excited to get around to and that I’ve heard some great things about so far. Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite authors, and despite not picking up Norse Mythology yet it is high on my to-read list.
I love books on mythology, mainly Greek mythology though so I haven’t read anything that centres around Norse mythology. This will be a change for me but as it’s been written by Neil Gaiman, who has written some of my all-time favourite books so far, I already know I’m going to love this one as well.
“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.”
What did you think of Norse Mythology? Have you read it yet or is it still on your to-read list? Let me know in the comments and let me know if you took part in this week’s Standalone Sunday as well.
Well I’m in love with Greek Mythology but I still didn’t read about Norse Mythology, Iris Mythology and other mythologies.
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Greek mythology is always going to be my favourite, no doubt about it, but I like reading mythology based stories in general so I guess it’s about time I got started on Norse mythology stories as well. 🙂
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I haven’t read much about Norse mythology, but I totally want to! I love mythology in general so I can’t wait to delve into this book sometime. I hope you enjoy it once you get around to reading it!! 😊
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No neither have I, but I love all kinds of mythology and I love Neil Gaiman so this is kind of like a dream combination! 😀 Thanks Analee, I hope you enjoy this book too when you get a chance to delve into it. 🙂
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Can you believe I have yet to read Gaiman? Lol shame on me! I haven’t read much reviews on this one BUT the ones I have read are all amazing reviews. I hope you get to this one soon like you want to. I love mythology, it’s very fascinating.
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Oh my god I can’t believe that! Still you have plenty to choose from if you’re looking to get started on his books. 🙂 Yeah I’ve heard plenty of amazing things about Norse Mythology as well, I’m excited to get around to it for the same reasons you seem to be. 🙂 ❤
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Would you recommend any to start with?
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I’d say Stardust because I love the movie just as much as the book, but Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett, is amazing as well.
Honestly I don’t think you can go wrong no matter what you pick. 🙂
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Thank you so so much Beth ❤
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That’s all right! 😀 ❤️
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I haven’t tried reading anything from the author but I admit I find this book appealing, and not just because of the cover!
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It’s largely the cover for me, but also the fact that Neil Gaiman’s wrote this because I’m a massive fan of his work. I hope you enjoy this book as well Donna! 😀
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I got my hands on a copy of this one and definitely plan on reading it before the end of the year (it seems like a super fast and short read. 😀 Hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to read it!
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I still need to get my hands on a copy so you’re a step ahead of me there. Thanks Lashaan, I really hope you enjoy this book as well! 😀
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This sounds really cool! I love Greek mythology but I’ve always had an interest in Norse mythology! It’s so different from the others I’ve studied 😀 And it’d be kind of cool to try out something new with an author I haven’t read just yet! I hope you get to this one soon! It sounds really interesting and I’d love to read your thoughts on it before I picked it up myself haha. Great post, Beth! Thanks for sharing!
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It really does, and I’m exactly the same Azia. There are plenty of Greek mythology books out there already but I’m interested in all kinds of mythology. Also I’ve loved what I’ve read by Neil Gaiman so far so I’m sure I’ll love this book by him as well.
I’ll try and get around to it soon so I can post a review in that case. Thanks Azia, I’m glad you liked this post! 🙂 ❤️
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Mythology is just the most amazing thing isn’t it? I find it all fascinating. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, African, Hindu. All of it is so strange and compelling. And I’m sure it’ll be fantastic. I haven’t read his works just yet but I’ve heard so many good things about him. Looking forward to that review! 😀
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When it comes to mythology I’m always going to love Greek mythology more than anything else but I’m branching out more now and I’ve found I really really love all kind of mythology.
He writes amazing books, I’m sure you’ll love them Azia! 😀
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Oh, yes, most definitely. Greek mythology is my favorite, too, but all the others are so interesting as well! I love studying them all 😀
I’m sure I will, too! Thanks, Beth ❤
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Plus there are so many different versions of mythology it can never get boring can it? 🙂
That’s all right! ❤️
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Exactly! 😀
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I haven’t read this book yet – actually, I only read one or two of Neil Gaiman’s books, I don’t remember the titles now ahah, but I really like his universe and writing style. I heard good things about that one so I really hope you end up enjoying it! 😀
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I haven’t read all of Neil Gaiman’s books myself, but the ones of his I have liked up have been amazing so I want to try and get around to Norse Mythology soon. I haven’t heard much about this one actually, but it’s by Neil Gaiman so I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant. Thanks Marie! 🙂 ❤️
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I really want to read this book. I’m super intrigued about Norse Mythology since I watch Vikings lol. So I die to know more about that 😍😍
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In that case I hope you manage to get around to it soon, and I hope you really enjoy it as well. I haven’t seen Vikings but I’m a massive fan of mythology in general so this is a must for me! 🙂
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I hadn’t heard of it before, but this sounds fascinating. I’ve always been interested in mythology, but I’ve only read / studied Roman & Greek mythology so far. I think I’ll be adding this to my TBR! 🙂
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I’ve always been interested in mythology as well, and as this is by Neil Gaiman who is a brilliant author in my opinion, it’s a must for me! 🙂
That’s great to hear, and in that case I really hope you love this book. 😀
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I’ve never read this book, or heard of it before! But I think I recognize the name Neil Gaiman — I’ll have to take a look at his books! 🙂
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Neil Gaiman is quite a popular author, and one of my favourites as well, but I haven’t heard much about this book since it’s release either come to think about it.
That’s great May, I’m sure you’ll find something he’s written that you’ll love! 🙂 ❤️
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I have recently become totally obsessed with Norse Mythology! I loved Jessica Day George’s take on a classic Norse Myth and went on from there. I had a little trouble with this book (but I haven’t given up!) because I didn’t know how to pronounce all the names. Do you have any workarounds or recommendations for this?
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I’m obsessed with all kinds of mythology really, but I haven’t read much Norse mythology myself yet. 🙂
It’s good you haven’t given up on Jessica Day George’s book, unfortunately I can’t say I have any workarounds because as I said I haven’t read any Norse mythology yet. If I think of any once I start I’ll be sure to let you know though. 🙂
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I love mythology in general and definitely Norse, I’m going to have to pick this one up soon!
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I’m the same, a massive fan of mythology in general, can’t say I’ve read any Norse mythology books yet though. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this one when you get around to it Emma.
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Thanks Beth!
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That’s all right! 🙂
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I really enjoyed this book, but I wish it was longer! There was certainly room for more stories. I love Neil and he can do no wrong in my eyes, so of course I loved it
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Oh I’m really glad to hear you loved this one, and I guess if your only issue with it is that it wasn’t long enough then that’s got to be the sign of a great book right? 🙂
Neil Gaiman’s one of my favourite authors actually, so I really want to try and get around to this soon. Hopefully I’ll love it as much as you did! 🙂
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Okay, I just laughed when I saw that you decided to feature this book as I literary posted a review for it a few minutes ago! 😀 It’s such a coincidence! Norse Mythology was such an interesting book, I had no idea about that mythology before reading this book and it was really great learning about it. It was a lot of fun reading Gaiman’s take on these myths. Great pick for this week Beth! ❤ 😉
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Ohh, in that case I need to go and check out your review for this book Anna. I haven’t actually seen many reviews for Norse Mythology yet but I’m sure it’s an amazing one because it’s by Neil Gaiman! 😀
I don’t know much about Norse mythology myself but I’m definitely interested to learn about it and this book seems like the perfect way to start that.
Thanks so much Anna! 🙂 ❤️
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I don’t think Neil Gaiman can write a bad book! 😀
This is definitely a perfect book if you want to learn about Norse mythology – since it dives into the main gods, creation of everything and such things.
You’re welcome! ❤ 🙂
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No neither do I, and oh that’s great to hear. I know pretty much nothing about Norse Mythology so this will be a learning experience for me. 🙂
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