Myth Weaver

by David J. Normoyle

Relive Greek and Norse myths as never before.

Eighteen-year-old Jagger is addicted to his imagination. He scorns the real world and lives inside his own head. He is happy to withdraw completely until his daydream world becomes a battleground for Odin and Zeus. When Jagger actually feels his skin burning from Zeus’s thunderbolt, the edges of reality blur even further.

A contest of myths is formed where Greek is pitted against Norse. Under Loki and Prometheus’s guidance, Jagger acts as judge. He is Perseus as he cuts off Medusa’s head and Loki as he schemes against the other gods. He sees Odin face the frost giants at Ragnarok and Achilles set sail for Troy.

Inspired by his mythological heroes, he starts working for a newspaper where his investigations lead him into real danger. Prometheus tries to help Jagger, but getting aid from Loki, the trickster, could be double-edged. Will ancient truths help Jagger in the modern world? And can Jagger judge the contest of myths without further enraging the warring gods?

Genres: Mythology, Young Adult, Fantasy

177 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2012

About the author

David was born in Australia, but moved to Ireland at an early age. The early globe crossing must have gone to his head, as he has since backpacked through and lived in numerous countries. He grew up on a farm as the eldest of nine unruly siblings, but since his escape, he prefers city living. His electronic engineering degree is currently gathering dust while he tries new and strange pursuits such as novel writing.

Reviews

[Liliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book

I was so very happy when I came across this book! What can I say, I'm a HUGE mythology fan! To tell the truth, though, I didn't know what to expect from this book. But, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

You see, Jagger has a very wild and creative imagination. He prefers living in his very vivid dream world than in the dull and cruel real world. In one of his daydreams, he finds himself in the middle of a godly fight...a fight between the Norse god Odin and the Greek god Zeus. Turns out no one knows how they all wound up in this life-like daydream of these two mashed up worlds...Not even Jagger! So in order to settle the dispute between Odin and Zeus, regarding who the better god is, Jagger comes up with a contest of myths that he will be the judge of. These myths included:

~Norse mythology~

*The death of Balder
*Creation myth: Chasm that divided the fire and ice worlds; Yggdrasil- the tree of life; creation of mankind
*Hero Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir; He saves the Valkyrie Brynhild
*Gudrun and Sigurd; Brynhild marries Gudrun's brother
*Thor and his strength tricked by Utgard-Loki
*Signy's revenge
*Ragnarok

~Greek mythology~

*Achilles and the Trojan War; Paris kills him
*Creation: Chaos; Prometheus creates mankind; Pandora's Box
*Hero Perseus goes on journey to kill Medusa; he saves Andromeda from sea monster
*Oedipus and the Sphinx; Oedipus' Prophecy: He will kill his father and marry his mother (all I have to say about this is the Fates have a sick sense of humor...they are seriously messed up!)
*Heracles (AKA Hercules) and his labors; Hera drives him insane (I find it amusing that Heracles' name means "Glory of Hera" when Hera hates his guts!)
*Jason and the Golden Fleece; Medea's revenge
*Abduction of Persephone (in this version Persephone actually ends up liking Hades...YAY! Hades is one of my favorite Greek gods!)

My expertise in mythology lies in Greek mythology, but really, I love all types! To me, the Norse myths were very informative and, because I have never read them before, I got to learn some new things! All the Greek ones I was already familiar with, but I really liked that the author went into so much detail!

As I said, I loved all these myths, and I really liked how Jagger took these myths and applied them to the real world to try and solve his problems. I also liked how the author took the myths and interpreted them in his own way, yet kept the essence of the original myths. I can't say how much it bothers me when myths are retold but are inaccurate! This, however, was not the case with Myth Weaver.

I LOVED the characters! Loki, especially! Although he is very, very, mischievous, he is hilarious! An example: the gods sometimes showed Jagger the myths, instead of just telling him about them. This, for some reason, involved fire...

"Thanks for pushing me into the fire after promising you wouldn't," Jagger said to Loki.

"I never understand why people trust me even when they know what I'm like," Loki grinned.

-Later-

Jagger pointed at Loki. "No baptism by fire this time. Let's hear about hero quests."

-And a comment made by Loki, on one of the several times Jagger was "baptized" by fire, lol-

"It was funny when you screamed like a girl."

I LOVED these parts! I could NOT stop laughing! Oh Loki...*wipes tear of glee away*

As for Jagger's character, well, he went through some major character development! And not in the bad way. By the end of the book he was more confident and sure of himself, which is great for him! But I kinda wished we would've learned more about Jagger and his past and why he was so unbelievably shy.

But overall, I thought this was an amazing read! If your a fan of mythology like I am, this is a must read!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is based upon a copy provided to me by the author on July 29, 2012, in exchange for my fair, honest, and impartial review, via Goodreads Group Making Connections.


Review of Myth Weaver by David Normoyle

A lovely and lyrical reader’s hook and an endearing protagonist, pathologically shy but yet quite brilliant, commences an intriguing story line. I would judge the protagonist, Jagger, as being autistic yet functional (if he wished to be, that is). He very much lives “inside his head,” in the dream worlds that he imagines and delineates-first, managing a fictional soccer team, then later, after being shunted from his University Creative Writing & Literature program to Mythology-where he’s not wanted, either-he finds himself on the field witnessing Zeus and Odin battle it out. Clearly Jagger has a high intelligence level, but he disdains what his high-powered executive guardian terms “the realwhirl,” and I think if he could, he would ask to leave the real world entirely and just remain permanently inside his mind.
Author David Normoyle draws Jagger so sympathetically, yet makes clear the contrast between how we, the readers, see him-and the view of others who surround him. To us, he has a vivid imaginative life-is sometimes well-read, and is able to think and plan. To others, though, Jagger is practically a “dunce,” never answering, avoiding eye contact, not speaking even when addressed.
I’ve also very much appreciated the author’s clever and well-delineated rendering of the Norse and Greek myths and deity figures, and the way in which he has given mythology a solid foundation by applying it to Jagger’s life, via the discussions and narratives of the gods.
I can well recommend this book for YA readers and adults-it’s well-written, good reading-and encouraging, not to mention the education in myths we glean throughout the story. Mr. Normoyle brings to clarity the legends of both Ancient Greece and of Norse mythology.

This copy was provided to me by the author, David Normoyle, via Goodreads Group Making Connections-YA Edition, in exchange for my agreement to provide a fair, honest, and authentic review.

[Ariella · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words

Cover: Ooh.. that must be Vigrid. I see Zeus and Odin have joined the party too :)

My thoughts:

So the story begins with eighteen-year-old Jagger who has a very active imagination. He prefers to live in his imagination than the "realwhirl". One day in his daydream, he stumbled upon Vigrid. He saw thunderous (no pun intended) Greek god Zeus and the one-eyed Odin fighting. They were arguing about whether Greek or Norse myths are better. To keep them from fighting, Jagger acts as the judge under Prometheus and Loki's guidance. Both gods help Jagger relive the myths. Meanwhile, Jagger has his own quests in the realwhirl.

What I really liked about this book are the myths. I'm very familiar with Greek myths since I'm such a die-hard Percy Jackson fan :) Norse myths, on the other hand, I've never heard any. Right now, I'm still very confused about Norse myths and the only characters I may recognize in the near future are probably only Odin and Loki. It's very frustrating because lots of Norse people have names starting with Sig.. (I never knew which was which, so excuse me). I find both Norse and Greek myths to have similar morals and truths in them.

Myths contain truths, Jagger remembered the professor saying. ~Myth Weaver, David J. Normoyle

I find Jagger to be a.. nerdy boy. He doesn't want to live his life and he prefers to daydream rather than live life. Thankfully, he's got the gods to help him in his so-called quest in life. He gets threatened by bullies and doesn't want to live anymore. Another thing I found out, gods are good at giving pep talks :)

"Stop whining and grow some god damn balls," he said. "You're afraid of something or someone. What the hell can he do to you that is worse than what you are doing to yourself? Hiding yourself away." ~Myth Weaver, David J. Normoyle

Jagger continues on his quest and learns valuable lessons from the gods.

No hope, he thought. Then immediately after: To fight without hope, yet still fight--that is what it means to be a Norseman. ~Myth Weaver, David J. Normoyle

[Masquerade Crew · Rating 3 out of 5]

LINDA'S REVIEW

3 STARS

If you absolutely love mythology this is a good book for you. I do enjoy Greek mythology and could appreciate the way the main character "Jagger" assumed the role of the God/Hero in question to retell the tale. I am not as familiar with Norse mythology and did enjoy those, presented in the same fashion, very much. These stories are filled with lessons, adventure, a good amount of violence and are anything but boring. You may be disappointed, however, if you love a "Happy Ending" because as you'll discover they are few and far between.

On the downside, I had great difficulty bringing myself to feel anything for Jagger.He begins the story as a loner who refuses to engage in life. We are not sure if he is actually daydreaming all the time or interacting with the Greek and Norse legends. He is an orphan whose Aunt wants to commit him, frankly I think she may have had the right idea.He needed to be cultivated into someone we could relate to and that would have required more time on the page. I was hoping at some point he would assume his rightful place as lead character, but he remained insubstantial till the end as did his acquaintances.

Overall, the scenes of myth are well written, but the main plot and characters fall short.


ABHA'S REVIEW

3 STARS

This is a story about Jagger Burns a reluctant hero. He is a young man that finds escape in a world of his own creation. The world that Jagger created had elements of Greek and Norse mythology woven in. This was a great way to learn a little bit about both mythologies and how each has so much in common. The short stories from each were interesting but gruesome and barbaric at the same time as mythology is.

My complaint is that I just couldn't identify with Jagger, if I could have seen why he was this way or what his motivation was perhaps it would make it easier. It also took him a long time to snap out of his troubles in order to save two worlds! Overall it was an interesting concept. I would definitely say that this is a book for high school aged and older, solidly young adult.

[Rustin Petrae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. I would just like to say that this is only my honest opinion and that's it. Some people have different views and that is fine too.

First of all. The things that I liked. I thought the cover was really well done. It looks cool. Second, I did like the fact that the MC was actually put into the myths. I liked that he actually saw through Achilles's eyes. That he was Loki. Ecetera. That was about it.

Things that I didn't like. I thought that the writing style was hard to follow. There were a lot of errors and typos that I found myself stumbling over a lot. The MC wasn't very convincing (or any other character for that matter). The dialogue needs a lot of work and I would suggest that the author seek out a good proofreader. I think that there should be more definition of the "realwhirl " and the MC's imagined worlds. Sometimes it was really hard to differintiate between the two. I would've liked to see the two different plots (judging the gods contest and the "realwhirl" plot) meshed together better. It was a little confusing at times.

I liked the idea better and I think it has potential after some proofreading and re-edits.

[Mommasaysread · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Momma on April 20, 2013
Myth Weaver

Mythweaver was a fun escape, but seemed to lack the ability to really hook me. Perhaps this writing style combined with the genre just was a little too much for me to be able to appreciate. The story did have a mixed-world scenario where some of the action takes place in a fantasy, yet Jagger, the main character was still trying to eke out a normal life.

I really did enjoy the mythology of the story. Putting a spin on some tried and true myths really did work in this book. I was surprised at how easily Normoyle convinced me to suspend my belief that Jagger would be allowed to have the authority he was granted by Gods!

The way the character regarded the everyday was a bit irritating, I felt that the overall story could have benefited from Jagger learning a little more about "real life" and how he was doing it wrong.

Overall a fun read, if you like mythology I tend to think you will really enjoy this book.

What does Momma Think?

Momma gives Myth Weaver by Mr David J Normoyle 3 cookies!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was giving this book by the arthor, David for a review. So, hear it is.

I actually enjoyed this read. I'm always up for some good mythology but here we meet Jagger, a young man who likes to get out of the "realwhirl" and imagine he's in a different place. While he attends college with his Aunt Ruth pestering him left and right he starts to imagine that he's on Odin's and Zues's battleground.

Since niether god can't be killed by each other they demand that Jagger does a contest between both sides. Norse or Greek and see which one is the best out of both. Loki, the Trickster, shows Jagger the Norse mythology and legends of different hero's and Norse's peoples and Promeathus does the Greek legends.

While, Jagger struggles through the "realwhirl" he does hes own quest by writing for the schools paper and found his own courage along the way and learns that even both Norse and Greek mythology legends can happen in every day life.

I'll keep an eye out for a sequel.

[Bonnie Hilligoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like stories about the Greek and Roman Gods of mythology, this is for you. I never read much mythology and was totally entertained with the way they were presented. The stories are intertwined with the tale of Jagger, a boy who daydreams and amounts to nothing, who gets involved in something he doesn't know how to handle. He finally finds himself with the help of Loki and Prometheus.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone fascinated with the legends and myths of old. The retelling of the stores of the gods are cleverly intertwined with a student's own quest with coping with life. I enjoyed this book.