"Do you wonder where poetry comes from," asks the narrator in the middle of Norse Mythology. "Where we get the songs we sing and the tales we tell...? It is a long story, and it does no credit to anyone: there is murder in it, and trickery, lies and foolishness, seduction and pursuit." Then, because the story predates the written word, a simple command: "Listen."
For newcomers and old fans, here are the classic stories of Odin, Thor and Loki, of Asgard and Midgard, of frost giants and dwarves, and of the greatest battle ever foretold, Ragnarök, recounted with clarity and utter glee.
Gaiman (The View from the Cheap Seats, Fortunately the Milk, The Ocean at the End of the Lane) is no stranger to myth. Since his Sandman comics, he has drawn from the world's folklore and fables to create his own brand of fantastic fiction. An unabashed storyteller, he re-creates the stories of Odin, Thor, Loki and their ilk into a linear, novelistic sequence in Norse Mythology. Or as sequential as they can be, given that gods have a habit of springing back to life even after they are gruesomely killed.
If the prose of Gaiman's earlier novels at times veers inconsistently between the dark and the silly, between workmanlike and ornate, here he perfects the balance. The voice is anchored by ancient oral texts, which in turn offer large enough gaps in detail for Gaiman to fill in with scene-work and his trademark wit. --Zak Nelson, writer and bookseller