The Norse Myths: Stories of The Norse Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold

by Tom Birkett

The great Norse Myths are among the most dramatic and unforgettable stories in all human history. These fascinating, fantastical tales have inspired centuries of art, culture and literature, including the storytelling of Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin's Game of Thrones, Wagner's Ring Cycle and Marvel Comics.The Norse Myths takes us on a thrilling journey through the Norse cosmos, from the creation of the world to Ragnarok, the final world-destroying conflict; via the Nine Worlds, and the exploits of the mighty gods and goddesses - mystical Odin, malicious Loki, mighty Thor and more - and their quarrel with the giants. Bringing to life the magical world of monsters and mythical creatures, this also introduces the adventures of folk heroes and tricksters; Sigmund's great battle in the Volsung Saga; the exploits of Kings and Princes; and Viking exploration and settlement of new lands including Iceland, Greenland, America, and Viking life in the Mediterranean and the East. As well as a treasure trove of these epic stories of heroism and cruelty, squabbles and seductions, The Norse Myths is a comprehensive study of their origins, survival and interpretations - as academically important as it is exhilarating.

Genres: Mythology, History, Nonfiction, Retellings

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2018

Reviews

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lazy sunday read. Anything Norse myths related and I'm onto it. Ive obviously read alot of novels detailing the myths before. This is one of the better ones.

[Kerstin Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice read. Giving a play by play of events and the myths to help understand the timeline better followed by an overview of historical events around the Viking raids. Finally finishing with a neat and tidy bow explaining how Norse mythology is still used as inspiration for 21st century stories, games and the ever popular movies.

[Alma (retirement at last) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting especially if you want to know a little about the Scandinavian Countries before you visit them.

[Rosemary Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birkett's retelling of the Norse Myths is the perfect choice for those interested in both good stories and Norse legends. He has made the myths accessible without fiddling with original sources as other retellings have done. Birkett also includes many of the great historical figures of Scandinavia / Iceland who claimed descendance from Odin. Beautifully written, this book requires no prior knowledge of the Norse myths, perfect for those who are not invested in academia, while maintaining an accurate depiction of the surviving sources for analysis.

[Brandon Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not knowing anything about Norse myths prior to reading - this book offers an easy explanation of the key details regarding the Gods, Ice Giants, Ragnarök, creation of realms, legendary creatures, earth realm descendants of Gods, Norse settlers of various regions in history. The art helps greatly with the flow. Sometimes the stories told are extremely simplified while other drag on forever with no interesting plot. All in all, it’s a great book to learn the general idea behind Norse myths.

[Sarah ('s Book Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked this book a lot. I thought it was very enjoyable to read. I enjoyed getting to read lots of different Norse myths and legends, some that I was more familiar with and others that I hadn't heard of before.

I feel like this is a good book for those that want to get into Norse mythology. Or for those that are somewhat familiar with the myths but want to read more of them.

Some of the myths I really loved but others I personally didn't really care for. Some of them were a little bit boring for me to read and I felt that some of the more interesting ones were too short and I would have liked more of them than of others.

I really liked that parts 8, 9, 10 and 13 went into some of the history of famous Vikings. Talking about different raids, conflicts and how the Viking Age changed parts of Europe of the centuries. As well as how the myths were recorded in Iceland. I thought that talking about the history, and some of the people that believed and worshipped the Norse gods, really rounded this book off nicely. It really cemented these stories with really people, in my mind, rather than it just being a religion.

Also I love learning new bits of history so for me it was fascinating to read about different Viking Age figures.

[Fionnuala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this book paid attention to the fact that mythology and history are often interwoven and sometimes even the same. The book goes through a selection of myths and then moves into recorded history and how some of these figures have created myths of their own, and then goes on to discuss the future according to the mythology -- Ragnarok and the world that comes after. It has a really good contained chronology and is written in a light, informative way, greatly entertaining and often with interesting context and insight. There's also a final section that looks into Norse mythology's continuing influence on the world, for better or for worse, which I found fascinating.

It's very clear and easy to follow, with the retellings woven together well from different sources. The style is a storytelling kind of narrative with great humour, and the myths themselves are brilliantly entertaining. It's a good start for beginners -- but even people with a little more knowledge would likely enjoy this too, as the writing style is descriptive and passionate and just a lot of fun to read.

[Kristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A comprehensive collection of Norse myths where you get all the key information, and it is presented in a timeline that helps with understanding Viking history. While I enjoyed a few of the stories and context, I found much of the book fairly dull. I'm not sure if this was because of the 'factual' approach to the storytelling or just the content of the stories. For me, it lacked the 'sparkle' of some of the other Viking stories and myths that I have read or watched as series on tv. It is worth reading if you want to know more about the Vikings and their culture. It was ok, but didn't really bring the stories 'alive' for me.

[Edward Woeful · Rating 5 out of 5]

В этой небольшой по объёму книге кратко пересказывается и комментируется очень широкий корпус текстов: Большая и Малая Эдды, многие главы из исландских саг, «Деяния данов» Саксона Грамматика и даже отрывки из записок о путешествии ибн-Фадлана. Конечно пересказать всё подробно в рамках трёх сотен страниц — задача непосильна, и для желающих углубить свои знания автор приводит список литературы. Но получить представление о верованиях, мировоззрении и быте древних скандинавов, как и об основных вехах истории скандинавских народов — вполне можно.
Также хотелось бы отметить иллюстрации. В отличие от многих других подобных книг, они подобраны хорошо, их много, и они снабжены комментариями.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book covers most of the major gods, heroes, and stories from Norse mythology. After that the author takes a detour into the history (and legends) of the Vikings. It becomes hard to tell fact from fiction as he alters between sagas and stories at this point. The book is filled with many pictures of paintings, carvings, etc. that reflect the stories. A few maps placed here and there throughout the book, especially during the second half, would have made for a better read. N0t bad, n0t great.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This almost became a DNF. Not because of the writing style or issues, but just because I personally realised that I find Norse mythology to be quite dull. I'm not sure why and I tried really hard. The most interesting parts involved legends and heroes as I found the actual gods to be lacking compared to other mythology.

[Joe Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Myths themselves, the stories of the heroes and the Kings in The North are great but the book, in my opinion, was let down by the sections dealing with Norse exploration of the world, especially to the East, it seemed quite disjointed.

[Jolene Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesomeness that's all I can say..... I mean it totally explained Norse Mythology to a T. If you are the type of person who likes to study all different types of mythology, then I'd suggest that you go ahead and get this one too. You will not regret it trust me!!!! 💜🕯️ 🌛🌝🌜

[Scott Breslove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t realize I never added this to begin with. Another one of my bathroom reader books. This was definitely more of what I was looking for over the last Viking book I read. Fun to read more of the mythology of it all.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great overview of Norse Myths and their impact on history and society. The fact that it has a significant amount of artwork and research behind it is an added bonus. Glad it is in my library.

[Honor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The retellings of the myths at the start of the book were quite dry. Worsened by my previous multiple readings of Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. However, the final few chapters about the ancestry, invasions and Ragnorok were very interesting, well researched and put together.

[Kyle Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're like me and you don't know much about Norse religion, this is a great place to start. A thorough and simple window into these ideas written in plain English. The beliefs themselves (of course, not attributable to the author) are very interesting, and I am glad to have read this book.

[Tom Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good insight, and fun to read. It tends to stop short of what one can only assume will be some of the best bits of the stories.

[Sophie Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, love the way the stories are split up and told. Brilliant writing, enjoyed it very much. Would recommend.

[wiks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like 3.5

[Katelyn DeMello · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really cool to read about the Norse gods and different mythology, as well as the different famous figures in history like Leif Erickson!

[Commander Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as I was anticipating.

[Martijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice combination of myth and history

[Veronica White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading it.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, introductory, romp through Norse mythology, legends, sagas and histories. The usual stories involving the various gods, goddesses, giants and whatnots are included. In addition, a collection of Scandinavian legends, sagas and historical narratives are included: the extended story of Sigurd and the Volsungs; legends of Ragnar Lodbrok, Starkad, Hervor & Heidrek, Egil Skallagrimsson; Viking explorations of the North Atlantic, the discovery of Iceland, Greenland and Vinland; expeditions to the Baltic, Russia, Constantinople and the Mediterranean; and historical summaries of the more memorable Scandinavian kings.

[Carla Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

After thoroughly enjoying the History channels Vikings series, I was keen to investigate further as to how much of it was real and how much was hammed up for TV! Being an avid fiction buff, I was a little put off by the notion that I was committing to reading a factual/historical book, and for that reason I didn’t feel as compelled to pick it up as I would usually have. That being said, the Viking history is really intriguing and the author keeps the stories flowing at quite a pace. I enjoyed reading this and it was read in less than a week! Would recommend

[Skord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction and interesting range of illustrations from all historical periods. More comprehensive than other books on Norse mythology dealing with the myths and later family stories (the Volsungs, Ragnar Lodbrok etc) and even a chapter on modern interpretations. Essential.

[Aj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good but somewhat boring at parts