Wednesday, August 26, 2015

91:120 Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris

Norse mythology told from the point of view of Loki, the trickster god.  In it are all the familiar tales of Loki and the Aesir Gods: Odin, Thor, Sif, Heimdall, Frey, Freya, Idun, etc.  We have the stories of Sif's hair, Freya's necklace, Thor's hammer, etc. leading up to and including Ragnarok.

I love mythology in general and this was held out for me as something that would likely interest me by my favorite bookstore (the last book they would ever do so as they closed soon after). I've read the author before, she has good Norse mythology credentials, and the first couple of lines drew me in so I was prepared for a good, fun romp though the legends from a witty and irreverent narrator.

I didn't get that.

What I got instead was the same basic stories that I've read before from a slightly different point of view but not with any great depth of insight, just a different camera angle.  Loki's voice was whiny without adding anything of any value. He never grew as a character. His great plans would frequently be more like a pebble in a stream than an avalanche of anything.

In short, it was boring and a slog to read.  I wanted so much to enjoy it but I had to force myself to finish it.  I kept holding out hope that it would get better and in truth, by the end Loki was a bit less whiny but really, that's the best thing I can say about it.


Page count: 280p/23,953p ytd/238,885p lifetime

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