Loki: Tales of a Bad God

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide

by Louie Stowell

A collection of three short stories from trickster-god-turned-school-boy, Loki, star of the bestselling A Bad God's Guide series. In this doodle-packed diary entry, Loki recounts three spectacular stories, including:
1)Triumphs (and failures) as Loki and Thor take on three tasks for Heimdall.
2) The Norse tale of Thor almost marrying a giant.
3) Loki as a robot. Sort of…

Genres: Mythology, Childrens, Middle Grade, Humor, Fiction, Fantasy

97 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Louie Stowell started her career writing carefully researched books about space, ancient Egypt, politics, and science, but eventually she lapsed into just making stuff up. She likes writing about dragons, wizards, vampires, fairies, monsters, and parallel worlds. Louie Stowell currently works as the publisher of Ladybird Books and lives in London with her wife, Karen; her dog, Buffy; and a creepy puppet that is probably cursed.

Reviews

[Paperback Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this because it was only an hour on audiobook and I needed a quick palate cleanser. Kinda funny, but I’m clearly too old for the target crowd. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve liked it even as a kid. 2.5 stars.

[freya louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

poor thor, he's so cheeky

[Luna fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! really chaotic and has interesting and funny bits! The only bit that I didn’t enjoy was That 2 of the names are really hard to pronounce like Heimdall or Hyrrokkin.

[Prof. Electron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great references

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lastly we have Loki: Tales of a Bad God which I also gave Star rating, 4.5 stars! This was such a fun novella set in the world of Loki and it was just as if I never left! I really enjoyed the story and seeing what Loki got up to next. This time three tasks and a new parenting book. But also Loki wanting to skip school so he tries to find a way to do that. Which includes robots and magic. Yes, magic. And you can just guess what is going to happen next. I really enjoyed reading this book and while Loki at times is a bit annoying he is still my favourite character of the whole cast here. Yes, he does bad things, but I love that with each book you see that his conscience is growing.

Oh, and we also get some fun mythology when Loki tells the story how Thor almost married a giant!

Oh, and of course, there are tons of fun illustrations, a sentient diary is here again as well, and more!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather fun, if lightweight kid’s book that mixes elements of your usual adolescent humour and experiences with sincere references to Norse mythology. Coupled with plenty of enjoyable drawings that mimic the doodling and drawings of school kids, Loki: Tales of a Bad God is quite a rewarding read. It must be said that as a near 61 year old I am not going to be the target audience for Stowell’s work, yet I can acknowledge what he is trying to do and how he accomplishes his goal.

The combination of mundane and ‘normal’ life, as represented by the idea of school kids having to deal with parents, teachers, friends and rivals, with epic mythology, is hardly new, so one could argue that Stowell is not that original in his literary construct. Yet there is some genius in the idea of transposing Loki, the God of Mischief, into a suburban contemporary school and family. Furthermore, juxtaposing his qualities and behaviours as a deity with those of a wilful and naughty kid will definitely appeal to many children. There is an element of subversion in the author’s text, whilst also an affirmation of the world of mythic narratives.

The bottom line is this is a fun book that will make many kids smile, and hopefully both get them reading and also wanting to know more about mythology and the Norse Gods and Goddesses. It wasn’t as deep or as compelling as I hoped, based on my initial contact with the book. But as I said, I’m not really who Loki: Tales of a Bad God is written for. Give it to your ten year old child and see how they respond.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safely not disturbing any of the lore of the main series, yet containing more than enough flippant Norse larks, this is a fine World Book Day choice. Here we get the actual story of how Thor had to marry a Frost Giant, which does take up a fair chunk of space – and disguises the fact the book has to be flimsy and not something people only buying the main books can regret missing out on. Before that we see the trickster god tricked, and the ending chunk shows his human friends know a lot more about his character than he might admit or expect. It's all done with the same class and comedic, scatological swearing as the other books, and is therefore of pretty much the same quality. And the RRP is of course not exactly worth moaning about, either. As usual, a strong four stars.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I blooming love the Loki books and was delighted to hear there was a WBD novella! This properly had me chuckling along. Loki is such a nuisance. You’ve got clones, plots to make robots, deception and quintessential Loki brilliance here. I can’t wait for the new one!

[Alice magical library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I really thought it was a good World Book Day book, and the way that Louie writes is amazing, and I think that it definitely suits this type of book. I definitely want to read more of these books.

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do enjoy this series. Just a nice and easy read. Some giggles throughout and an enjoyable layout.

[Paxton Hall-Yoshida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Low-key good.

[Nova]

Can the Loki books fail at this point


As always, funny and cute and utterly entertaining

[Alesha Hartnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel meets the diary of a wimpy kid, very engaging and fun for all ages!

[Benedict Jiju · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book with no expectations and it was alright nothing crazy but I did enjoy some of the short stories in here especially in contrast to the movies

[DG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and easy read. I enjoyed the characters, the layout and the simple plot. Will definitely recommend to my young readers.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more myth influences and less cheap jokes. I'm not in the core demographic so it's okay.