The Gospel of Loki does an excellent job of stitching together many of the Norse myths into a coherent narrative. At the same time, Harris gives Loki, Odin, and (to a lesser extent) the other gods of Asgard an understandable psychology. If you've ever wondered "Why do the gods put up with Loki's constant betrayals?", The Gospel of Loki gives you a plausible answer. ( )

I won this book in a First Reads giveaway and was excited as the book sounded great. When it arrived the cover was absolutely gorgeous. Sadly this was a case of don't judge a book by its cover. I was unable to actually complete the book because I found it so boring. I love mythology, but if I wanted to read a rehash of the original saga poetry, I'd just go read the originals. It is written in the saga/epic style, painstakingly so.

It is supposed to be from Loki's PoV and that bit is correct, however, his voice just doesn't feel right. It's written as a saga but then Loki and his fellow gods use language and concepts that are from modern day, while living in a very non-modern setting. It just doesn't mix. While Loki is the trickster god, the character is just immature and whining and not at all as fascinating as he could be written.

Maybe for some people this will tick all the boxes, but for me, it didn't. I like fantasy and stories, and I just couldn't muster any excitement for this litany of tales. ( )

Review to follow ... ( )

Dit boek heb ik gelezen voor de FF-challenge, categorie Noordse Mythologie.
Ondanks dat ik er niet heel hoge verwachtingen van had omdat mijn mede-forummers er gemengde gevoelens over hadden, heb ik me er wel mee vermaakt. Het leest als een schelmenroman want Loki is nogal van zich zelf overtuigd en werkt zich regelmatig in nesten, maar weet er meestal wel weer uit te komen. Na wat googelen werd het verhaal in grote lijnen wel bevestigd. Al met al een plezierig boek om te lezen. ( )

The Gospel of Loki starts well, with an account of the Norse foundation myth and of Odin's summoning of Loki from Chaos. The two then return to Asgard, and the whole book goes to pot.

Harris's prose is overly glib and, for some unaccountable reason, infested with anachronisms and modern usage that can only have been put there intentionally, there is so much of it. Harris includes in dialogue, and in Loki's narration, terms like "so shoot me", "boxing gloves", "pot pourri", "road rash", "Choose Life", "barbed wire", "chaise-longue", "pocketknife" and countless others. She even has the gods playing football against one another! Really? It's silly, sloppy and does nothing for her story.

Other sloppy matters are occasional omissions that are highly unlikely in terms of character and scenario. Harris has Loki sleeping with Sif and then cutting off her hair. The mercurial Thor is outraged at the loss of his wife's beautiful hair. Astoundingly, it never even occurs to Thor to get upset about his wife sleeping with his despised enemy. Does that seem at all likely for a Thunder God in the height of his anger?

Another example is at the battle of Ragnarok, where Loki and his children are arrayed against the gods. Odin rides out for battle on Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse. Sleipnir is also a child of Loki but Harris makes no comment or draws any inference from Odin enlisting one of Loki's children against him. Why wouldn't Loki make some sort of comment on that?

The book redeems itself somewhat as Harris recounts the lead-up to Ragnarok and the battle. There is less of the silliness and more driving of the plot, although the anachronisms keep coming.

Overall, this is a stupid book, barely worth your time. I wan't that keen on Gaiman's version of the Norse myths, but this one is dire. ( )