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riverofhorton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I went into this book with the assumption that it is at least somewhat accurate to the myths, and while there are elements that are, this is very much a Christianised Loki-Bad-Odin-Good portrayal of those myths.
Taken in isolation, it is as well written and mildly comical as Gaiman's other works, but within the context of it being a retelling of the Norse myths, it just missed the mark on so many points for me.
As example:the legions of Hel are described as being "the evil dead", which to my knowledge is not only a Christian concept, but also unjust. Those dead are simply people that didn't die in battle, so while there will be "evil" among them, they're not intrinsically so. Such phrasing also implies that Odin's warriors are equivalent to the angels of Christianity, something made ironic when you realise it's possible for "evil" people to die in battle.
Taken in isolation, it is as well written and mildly comical as Gaiman's other works, but within the context of it being a retelling of the Norse myths, it just missed the mark on so many points for me.
As example:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Torture, Alcohol, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Murder, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, War, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Blood
renpuspita's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Di situlah letak kebahagiaan menguasai mitos. Kegembiraan untuk bisa menceritakannya kembali- sesuatu yang sangat kuanjurkan pada Anda, pembaca buku ini. Bacalah cerita - cerita ini, jadikanlah milikmu pribadi, dan pada suatu malam musim dingin membeku, atau malam musim panas saat matahari tak mau terbenam, ceritakan pada teman - temanmu apa yang terjadi...
Hanya selang tiga bulan setelah gue baca buku Mitologi Norse karya Donna Jo Napoli , kali ini gue mencoba penceritaan kembali dari salah satu novelis fantasy yang minimal pembaca fantasy pasti tahu yaitu Neil Gaiman. Walau di belakang buku ini disebut novel fantasy, bagi gue Mitologi Nordik lebih ke setengah fiksi dan non fiksi karena isinya sebenarnya lebih ke penceritaan kembali dari Gaiman, berdasarkan risetnya pada Mitologi Norse, terutama dari Puisi Edda yang ditulis kembali oleh sejarawan Islandia, Snorri Sturlusson. Baik Napoli maupun Gaiman sama - sama mereferensi Puisi Edda ini, karena memang semacam "kitab suci"nya mitologi para dewa dewi Norse. Gue ga heran kenapa Gaiman menulis buku ini karena American Gods sendiri sangat terpengaruh oleh mitologi Norse dan karakter - karakter utamanya sendiri juga dari mitologi itu. Membaca kata pengantar dari Gaiman sangat mengasyikkan dan memberi gambaran apa yang akan kita dapat dari buku ini.
Gaiman sendiri mengingatkan kalau akan ada beberapa inkonsistensi dan hal itu emang terjadi. Seperti kisah cerita ketel raksasa Hmyr. Pada kisah pertama, ketel Hmyr diambil berkat kedekatan Tyr dengan ibunya yang adalah istri Hmyr dan kecenderungan Thor untuk menyelesaikan masalah dengan kekerasan. Tapi di kisah selanjutnya, yang mengambil ketel Hymr adalah Loki. Awalnya gue ngira apakah Gaiman ini typo dan lalu teringat oleh kata pengantarnya bahwa kisah - kisah mitos jaman dulu emang banyak versi. Ada juga versi nama yang berbeda untuk si ular raksasa Midgard, dimana yang gue tahu namanya Jormungand tapi di buku ini Jormungurd. Selain itu di buku ini juga antara dark elf atau svartalfar dengan dwarf atau kurcaci itu ternyata sama. Gue kirain beda karena kurcaci tinggalnya di Nidavellir, sementara dark elf itu penampilannya persis light elf (ljosalfar). Mayan lah dapat ilmu baru lagi nih.
Mitologi Norse (atau Nordik) memang ceritanya muter - muter antara tiga tokoh besar yaitu Odin, si Allfather (atau Maha-bapa) yang berpengetahuan luas, Thor yang mudah lapar, bodoh dan berprinsip kalau kekerasan menyelesaikan semua masalah. Tak lupa, Loki yang licik, penipu handal, suka merepotkan para dewa tapi juga di suatu waktu menyelamatkan mereka (meski masalahnya juga semuanya karena Loki). Buang jauh - jauh image Odin, Loki, apalagi Thor yang kamu tahu dari Marvel. Ini adalah para dewa yang sesungguhnya. Odin meski bijaksana, tak lupa kalau di awal cerita dia membunuh raksasa Ymir untuk membuat Asgard, mengawetkan kepala Mimir untuk menjaga sumur pengetahuan, menyamar menjadi raksasa bernama Bolverkr untuk merayu Gunnlod demi mendapatkan mead yang terbuat dari darah Kvasir, si dewa kecerdasan. Thor sangat gegabah, glutton thy name ist Thor, dan kalau tidak bisa memecahkan masalah, pokoknya ayunkan saja palu Mjolnir dan semuanya beres. Hanya Loki yang setidaknya masih sesuai karakter, jahat, licik, bedanya Loki versi mitologi tentu saja tidak semanusiawi versi Marvelnya.
Namun Gaiman juga tahu, kalau dewa - dewi Nordik tidak hanya tiga dewa itu, walau memang ketiganya nyaris ada di semua kisah. Ada kisah tentang Freya, Frey, Tyr, Heimdall, Idunn, dan terutama kematian Balder yang nantinya akan berujung pada diikatnya Loki di bebatuan yang lalu berlanjut ke Ragnarok. Walaupun buku ini tipis, tapi Gaiman cukup runtut menceritakan kembali. Dimulai dari penciptaan yang hampir sama di semua mitologi, dimana semuanya bermula dari kehampaan dan lalu menjadi ada. Dilanjutkan kisah para dewa dewi dan diakhiri dengan Ragnarok. Ragnarok sendiri memang cukup unik karena tidak jelas kapan waktunya, meski arti Ragnarok sendiri adalah "the twilight of the gods", akhir para dewa - dewi.
Gue merasa beberapa kisah di mitologi Nordik ini emang semacam alegori. Mulai dari sapi Audhumla yang susunya menghidupi Ymir, ini seakan menggambarkan dua hal. Yang pertama adalah galaksi bima sakti atau milky way, dan yang kedua adalah susu sebagai salah satu sumber makanan. Menurut gue, mungkin di skandinavia banyak sapinya jadi sapi pun masuk jadi salah satu aspek di cerita. Kemudian ada pohon Aesc atau Ash, yang menjadi dasar dari penciptaan Ygddrasil. Bahkan ada penceritaan tentang Banjir Besar, dimana nyaris di semua mitologi memang ada Banjir Besar. Ragnarok sendiri bisa jadi menggambarkan peralihan dari agama pagan ke agama Kristen, mengingat Puisi Edda digubah oleh Snorri pada abad 9-an. Walau pas baca deskripsi Ragnarok gue ngebatin ini kayak semacam bencana besar akibat gunung meletus karena hempasan api dari pedang Surtr yang membuat bumi jadi berabu emang mirip - mirip kondisi abis letusah gunung berapi. Gaiman mengatakan bahwa kisah di Mitologi Nordik terasa keras, gelap dan dingin, mungkin ini juga karena daerah Eropa Utara itu dominan malam dan juga udaranya dingin maka tak heran kalau ceritanya lebih banyak kekerasan ketimbang katakanlah, horny setiap saat seperti di mitologi Yunani. Bukan berarti tidak ada konten seksual di buku ini. Ada sih, tapi dikit dan tidak implisit. Pun jarang ada adegan merebut istri/suami orang.
Buku ini hanya ada 16 kisah pendek. Beberapa hanya narasi tapi ada juga yang dilengkapi dengan dialog - dialog, mengingatkan gue sama bukunya Napoli. Baik penceritaan kembali ala Napoli ataupun Gaiman, semuanya sama - sama menarik untuk dibaca. Ada cerita di buku Napoli yang tidak ada di bukunya Gaiman dan juga sebaliknya jadi bisa saling melengkapi. Terjemahannya Djokolelono sangat enak dibaca. Membaca buku ini seakan membaca sebuah kisah dongeng yang bisa banget dibacakan ke orang lain. Seperti kata Neil Gaiman di kata pengantar, kuasailah mitologi biar kamu bisa menceritakannya kembali. Karena mitologi memang awalnya berawal dari tradisi cerita pada malam panjang di depan api unggun, diceritakan oleh pujangga yang mungkin karena mabuk (atau entah nyimeng apa), jadi ceritanya emang beberapa cukup outlandish.
Plus, dari semua karya Gaiman yang pernah gue baca (Stardust, Good Omen, American God), buku ini malah lebih bisa gue nikmati, hahaha. Mungkin karena ceritanya dari mitologi yang gue juga suka bacanya. Sangat gue rekomendasikan kalau kamu mau tahu tentang cerita mitologi Nordik tapi ga mau baca yang panjang-panjang atau ribet.
Begitulah bagaimana dunia - dunia akan berakhir. Dalam abu dan banjir. Dalam kegelapan dan kebekuan es. Itulah takdir akhir para dewa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
kaaaaaaaa's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Infidelity, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Grief, Excrement, Child death, Animal death, Alcohol, Ableism, and Confinement
thewellbitch's review
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Cannibalism, Incest, War, Blood, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Alcohol
valpuri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Animal cruelty, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Ableism
triforcefusion's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found that Neil Gaiman is a fantastic narrator. He gave such a good characterization to Thor in the way he spoke. The stories varied wildly from snappy, and fun to long and dull. There is also a barrier to entry if you are unfamiliar with Norse words. Sometimes there were so many Norse names that I couldn't remember who was who.
I feel like Neil did a good job presenting these myths, but the quality of stories definitely fluctuated.
I feel like Neil did a good job presenting these myths, but the quality of stories definitely fluctuated.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Animal death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Gore, and Murder
yrlaevelyn's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Animal death, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Grief, Slavery, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicide
diana_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"He said nothing: seldom do those who are silent make mistakes."
Published in 2017, Norse Mythology retells 15 stories from Norse mythology, including the most famous stories like the theft of Thor's hammer and the binding of Fenrir. From the outset, it's clear that Gaiman loves Norse mythology since these are well-written stories. I will say that I don't know a lot about Norse mythology, so I don't know if the stories are "accurate", but they are very well-written.
Overall, I really liked these stories (my favorite was Freya's Unusual Wedding - there's some content that may be seen as problematic but I certainly have seen worse) but I really liked the structure of the book. Although these are short stories (with only the characters as the connection link), the way they are organized creates a feeling of continuity that may resemble the continuous narrative of a book. That's something that I don't see a lot with this type of book.
Really liked! A read that I would recommend to fantasy lovers.
Published in 2017, Norse Mythology retells 15 stories from Norse mythology, including the most famous stories like the theft of Thor's hammer and the binding of Fenrir. From the outset, it's clear that Gaiman loves Norse mythology since these are well-written stories. I will say that I don't know a lot about Norse mythology, so I don't know if the stories are "accurate", but they are very well-written.
Overall, I really liked these stories (my favorite was Freya's Unusual Wedding - there's some content that may be seen as problematic but I certainly have seen worse) but I really liked the structure of the book. Although these are short stories (with only the characters as the connection link), the way they are organized creates a feeling of continuity that may resemble the continuous narrative of a book. That's something that I don't see a lot with this type of book.
Really liked! A read that I would recommend to fantasy lovers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Gore, Murder, and War
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content
tays_books's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Infidelity
Minor: Excrement
pearrots's review
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Neil Gaiman’s retelling of Norse myths is just brilliant! He manages to translate eclectic works of prose and poetry into a single, somewhat cohesive modern work without sacrificing the cold, wry, and often bawdy humor of these peoples. Whenever an obscure term is used, he will state the term and then provide an in-text definition or explanation that keeps the wonder of a foreign language without sacrificing readability. And his own narrations bring the characters to life, you can really tell he knows his work well.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexism