Norse Myths

This is a very well-informed book on the subject, packed with information and illustration. This is definitely one of my favourite books on the subject.

This book was first published in March 2016 and is available to buy in hardback and ebook. I’m glad that Amber Books sometimes releases its older books for ARC readers on NetGalley as I get to read some amazing books that I might not necessarily see otherwise.

This book is an in-depth overview of the Norse Myths and legends. It describes the world of the gods, the characters and their relation to one another and then it briefly describes some of the most popular stories. I found the chapters relating to the written sources the most fascinating, how the Norse mythology that we know today are actually taken from Icelandic Medieval texts so they contain Christian influence. There is a chapter on Ragnarok and then end times and then the final section of the book looks at how Norse myths influenced literature and culture.

Part of the reason I chose this book is because a lot of recent fantasy and romantasy has ideas taken from Norse mythology. I recommend this book if you want a brief overview of the tales and characters. If you want a more detailed insight then I recommend reading this book alongside Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, the audiobook is brilliant. There are photographs of archeological finds, carvings, tombs and paintings throughout this book that help explain the finer parts of the mythology.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and it taught me more about a subject that I knew a little about. It also got me thinking more about retellings of stories and how maybe it isn’t always a bad thing to make classical stories more contemporary as long as we still preserve the original. Thank you to NetGalley and Amber Books for allowing me to review this book.