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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Probably I don't know enough Norse mythology! Always interesting to read the "other" side of a story.
This book was fantastic!
As a fan of Loki in both Marvel form and Mythological form, this story was a pleasure. There were moments when I could imagine Tom Hiddleston in all his glory as the God of Mischief and other times when a more traditional Loki was being put across.
(Full review to come)
As a fan of Loki in both Marvel form and Mythological form, this story was a pleasure. There were moments when I could imagine Tom Hiddleston in all his glory as the God of Mischief and other times when a more traditional Loki was being put across.
(Full review to come)
Joanne Harris, of Chocolate fame (which you knew already, right?), has written her first adult fantasy novel, which introduces us to the life of the world’s most infamous trickster, Loki.
I know what you’re thinking and it starts with H cough Hiddleston cough and as great as the on-screen version of Loki is Harrison recounts of life with the Gods of Asgard as if you were having a drink with him in a pub, which is something you’d never get from Hollywood.
And what a tale it is. Odin calls forth Loki and is bound to him as a brother (yes BROTHER) and takes him to Asgard though Loki never quite fits in. But the Father of Lies isn’t EVIL as such he’s just misunderstood plus it’s in his nature to be disruptive.
Harris sets the tone at the start with Loki’s slightly snarky though charming introduction of the cast of characters we’re going to encounter before interrupting the recounting of the ‘authorised’ version of events of told by ‘The Prophecy of the Oracle’ (her (very loose) verse translation of Voluspá) before moving on to the main event and telling us all the lessons he’s learnt from his life as the Bringer of Light.
It’s a big task for Harris to introduce readers to a whole pantheon of characters who may be unfamiliar when compared to the likes of Loki, Thor and Odin but she manages it with ease. And then manages to recount Asgard’s entire history without it feeling like a stale history lesson. Quite to opposite.
Loki is a silver-tongued storyteller as each mini-tale (or lesson as he frames them) builds and builds revealing more and more of the Loki’s nature and his motivations but also sets out the tests and trials that Odin has him endure for the good of Asgard.
He does bring a fair bit of it on himself but you are left wondering how much of what happens is the gods’ own self-fulling prophecy and how different it would have been if they’d just built him a hall of his own treated him as one their own instead of a constant scapegoat?
I dare you not to fall for his charms and feel sorry for him by the time this tale is done. Though you may not agree with what he ends up doing especially when you how lovely his wife.
There are some amazing set pieces, which I’ve been very tempted to research and compare but you know I’m just going to enjoy the ‘reality’ The Gospel of Loki for a little bit longer.
It’s hard to convey in this review how enjoyable Loki is but hopefully a bit of his ‘wisdom’ via his lessons will give you an idea:
Love is boring. People in love even more so …
&
Friendship is overrated. Who needs friendship when you can have the certitudes of hostility. You know where you stand with an enemy. You know he won’t betray you. It’s the ones who claim to be your friends that you to beware of.
&, finally
Never Trust a wise man to do the work of a felon.
And on that note I’ll wrap up. Harris’ Loki has redeemed what has started off as a bit of a shaky reading year with an epic tale of Gods, demons, and the end of the world. I couldn’t be happier or more enthralled by The Gospel of Loki and his bringing of Ragnarök to the gods of Asgard.
I know what you’re thinking and it starts with H cough Hiddleston cough and as great as the on-screen version of Loki is Harrison recounts of life with the Gods of Asgard as if you were having a drink with him in a pub, which is something you’d never get from Hollywood.
And what a tale it is. Odin calls forth Loki and is bound to him as a brother (yes BROTHER) and takes him to Asgard though Loki never quite fits in. But the Father of Lies isn’t EVIL as such he’s just misunderstood plus it’s in his nature to be disruptive.
Harris sets the tone at the start with Loki’s slightly snarky though charming introduction of the cast of characters we’re going to encounter before interrupting the recounting of the ‘authorised’ version of events of told by ‘The Prophecy of the Oracle’ (her (very loose) verse translation of Voluspá) before moving on to the main event and telling us all the lessons he’s learnt from his life as the Bringer of Light.
It’s a big task for Harris to introduce readers to a whole pantheon of characters who may be unfamiliar when compared to the likes of Loki, Thor and Odin but she manages it with ease. And then manages to recount Asgard’s entire history without it feeling like a stale history lesson. Quite to opposite.
Loki is a silver-tongued storyteller as each mini-tale (or lesson as he frames them) builds and builds revealing more and more of the Loki’s nature and his motivations but also sets out the tests and trials that Odin has him endure for the good of Asgard.
He does bring a fair bit of it on himself but you are left wondering how much of what happens is the gods’ own self-fulling prophecy and how different it would have been if they’d just built him a hall of his own treated him as one their own instead of a constant scapegoat?
I dare you not to fall for his charms and feel sorry for him by the time this tale is done. Though you may not agree with what he ends up doing especially when you how lovely his wife.
There are some amazing set pieces, which I’ve been very tempted to research and compare but you know I’m just going to enjoy the ‘reality’ The Gospel of Loki for a little bit longer.
It’s hard to convey in this review how enjoyable Loki is but hopefully a bit of his ‘wisdom’ via his lessons will give you an idea:
Love is boring. People in love even more so …
&
Friendship is overrated. Who needs friendship when you can have the certitudes of hostility. You know where you stand with an enemy. You know he won’t betray you. It’s the ones who claim to be your friends that you to beware of.
&, finally
Never Trust a wise man to do the work of a felon.
And on that note I’ll wrap up. Harris’ Loki has redeemed what has started off as a bit of a shaky reading year with an epic tale of Gods, demons, and the end of the world. I couldn’t be happier or more enthralled by The Gospel of Loki and his bringing of Ragnarök to the gods of Asgard.
I loved it. It had humour, it was easy to read. The Norse mythology isn't on point but it tell the main aspects of it. It's a great YA book.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read it in Italian, but since most of my problems are not with the writing but with the content, it doesn't matter.
I didn't expect much of this book, I'm used to mythological retelling that barely has anything in common with the original mythos and I was ready to enjoy it but this book isn't even that.
This book is the more tedious and Christianized version of pop-culture nordic myths + a narrator (that is Loki) that tries to be sarcastic and unreliable but is only vaguely edgy and verbose. It is like listening to someone talking about their first D&D character: "They're so eviL! A demon! A lone wolf, who thinks only to themselves!!"
The myths in themselves aren't technically wrong, there're some changes but they're well within the author's freedom when writing a retelling, but for being a book about Loki, grey morality or just conflict is underwhelming. Loki is an egoist, the gods are dumb and Odin is a scheming b*stard and all the myths are at face value. It's like reading "All nordic myths for your children" but with more complicated prose.
Loki, in general, is an interesting figure because as a trickster and as a deity of which we know very little (even by Norse religion standards) is open to interpretation: is he a misunderstood hero? An antihero? A mother of monsters? A fire god? The source of all evil? Who knows.
But until this book, I never thought he could be boring.
I didn't expect much of this book, I'm used to mythological retelling that barely has anything in common with the original mythos and I was ready to enjoy it but this book isn't even that.
This book is the more tedious and Christianized version of pop-culture nordic myths + a narrator (that is Loki) that tries to be sarcastic and unreliable but is only vaguely edgy and verbose. It is like listening to someone talking about their first D&D character: "They're so eviL! A demon! A lone wolf, who thinks only to themselves!!"
The myths in themselves aren't technically wrong, there're some changes but they're well within the author's freedom when writing a retelling, but for being a book about Loki, grey morality or just conflict is underwhelming. Loki is an egoist, the gods are dumb and Odin is a scheming b*stard and all the myths are at face value. It's like reading "All nordic myths for your children" but with more complicated prose.
Loki, in general, is an interesting figure because as a trickster and as a deity of which we know very little (even by Norse religion standards) is open to interpretation: is he a misunderstood hero? An antihero? A mother of monsters? A fire god? The source of all evil? Who knows.
But until this book, I never thought he could be boring.
I’ve read a lot of book based on different myths ( mostly Greek myths). I think Norse mythology has to be my favorite. Like most people I like Loki’s sarcasm and pranks he pulls. I also enjoy Tom Hiddleston’s portrays of Loki in the movies. But as far as where he came from and the rest of the background to his stories and pranks I knew little about. ( I’m a bigger fan of Odin and Freya out of all the Norse Gods)
That all being said. I LOVED this book. I thought it was funny and a great read. It brought some wonderfully funny and intriguing incite to why Loki acted the way he did and told stories from his side of things. I’m not sure how all this compares to the actual Norse myths but it did make me want to read more of the actual myths just to compare them to Loki’s versions.
You got your wonderful mythology, humor, crazy antics and of course Loki’s poor me attitude ( He really does try to make it seem like everything his did wasn’t all his fault) I found this to be a fun entertaining read. It was rather long and wasn’t one of the books I could sit and read all night but I would enjoy two to four chapters a day. When I get a chance to read all the Norse Myths I plan on revisiting this story again.
Fun but lacked character depth. I liked the fast-paced run through the mythology and I liked Loki's perspective, but I found at times his voice was jarringly modern. The supporting cast was also a little one-dimensional, Odin got a bit of depth but the others were one-note inclusions (though this could just be Loki's perspective of them, I guess).
I enjoyed reading this - it was fast, it hit all the right mythological notes, and the perspective was interesting, but it needed more emotional core and character depth for me to really find it better than 'good'.
I enjoyed reading this - it was fast, it hit all the right mythological notes, and the perspective was interesting, but it needed more emotional core and character depth for me to really find it better than 'good'.
Ideally I would have liked to give it 3.5 stars. The book started out really great and I knew from the beginning that I was going to enjoy it. Unfortunately the story didn't manage to grab me in the same way towards the end. Not that it wasn't enjoyable (because it was), but I found my attention slipping a bit more when I reached the end of the book.
Have to say that I enjoyed the narration a lot though. All in all a good book and I will definitely be reading the sequel.
Have to say that I enjoyed the narration a lot though. All in all a good book and I will definitely be reading the sequel.
I was completely in love with this book by the end of the first few pages. The narrator is clever and mischievous and keeps you compelled to read on. Harris gives new life to Norse mythology and shows the story of Loki in a remarkable way.