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margeryb 's review for:
Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman
I waffled between three and four stars, but I decided to round up because this is wonderfully readable story. I had never heard of the Neil Gaiman title until I ran across it in the library and I wonder why it hadn't made as much of a splash as his other children's fiction. It's a charming dive into Norse mythology with an original protag leading the way.
Odd is the son of a Viking. He is also a little odd, mostly the way he is doesn't say more than he needs to say or show a lot of emotion, but he is kind, he is clever, and he is unassumingly brave, and those are the qualities that get him into an adventure and also save the day. The first chapter is heavily summary of his backstory, but after that the story dives right in, as Odd ends up befriending himself to the Norse gods Thor, Loki, and Odin, who have been transformed into a bear, fox, and eagle respectively by a Frost Giant who has stolen Thor's hammer and taken over Asgard. Thor and Loki have really strong character voices and their bickering is fun. Odd isn't some special, Chosen One hero meant to save the Gods and the world from an eternal Frost Giant-inflicted winter, but a kid who just sort of decides to help out because he can.
This rather short chapter book integrates a lot of elements of Norse mythology without getting too overly descriptive about it and I think could intrigue a reader to delve into more. There are a few references and implications that are a bit eyebrow-raising if you are an adult reader or are vaguely familiar with some of the mythos they are referencing (Loki's time as a horse, for example), but would fly over the head of a young reader (maybe).
I was kind of wondering if this was the first of a series, but it doesn't look like it, which is too bad because I would have read more about Odd and his adventures.
Odd is the son of a Viking. He is also a little odd, mostly the way he is doesn't say more than he needs to say or show a lot of emotion, but he is kind, he is clever, and he is unassumingly brave, and those are the qualities that get him into an adventure and also save the day. The first chapter is heavily summary of his backstory, but after that the story dives right in, as Odd ends up befriending himself to the Norse gods Thor, Loki, and Odin, who have been transformed into a bear, fox, and eagle respectively by a Frost Giant who has stolen Thor's hammer and taken over Asgard. Thor and Loki have really strong character voices and their bickering is fun. Odd isn't some special, Chosen One hero meant to save the Gods and the world from an eternal Frost Giant-inflicted winter, but a kid who just sort of decides to help out because he can.
This rather short chapter book integrates a lot of elements of Norse mythology without getting too overly descriptive about it and I think could intrigue a reader to delve into more. There are a few references and implications that are a bit eyebrow-raising if you are an adult reader or are vaguely familiar with some of the mythos they are referencing (Loki's time as a horse, for example), but would fly over the head of a young reader (maybe).
I was kind of wondering if this was the first of a series, but it doesn't look like it, which is too bad because I would have read more about Odd and his adventures.