Neil Gaiman is about to return to the world of deities, but instead of bringing them to the modern day as he did in American Gods, he’s going back to some of their origins with the upcoming hardback release of Norse Mythology. The popularity of Odin and Thor hasn’t been as high as it is now since the Scandinavian dark ages with the big budget release of Marvel movies, so it’s going to be interesting to read Neil’s interpretation of it all.
It’s scheduled for a hardback release of the 7th February 2017, and with Thor: Ragnarok also out later in the year, it’s looking like it’s going to be a big year for the Viking god. The book will also be available in ebook, but you’ll probably have to wait until 2018 for the paperback edition to arrive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though it’ll be getting an audiobook release as of yet, but we’ll update with more information if that changes.
It’s essentially going to be a conpendium of the stories at the heart of Norse mythology, retold with Neil’s own unique take on things into a novelised structure. It’ll cover everything from the beginnings of the Nine Realms to the Ragnarok itself – the end of day’s for the gods in the Norse tales – and everything in between.
With Odin, ruler of the Norse gods, at its epicentre, and a “true” interpretation of the ancient myths of the Norsemen, it’ll be steeped in the ancient world. Odin’s sons Baldr and Thor will both have big parts to play, but it’s not just the gods that come into it. Dwarves, elves and giants are also prominent characters from the Nothern tales, along with the tricksy and manipulative figure of Loki.
The book follows Neil Gaiman’s last hardback release, The View From The Cheap Seats, which combined a selection of his nonfiction writing from newspapers, speeches and book introductions. Norse Mythology sees him getting back to the creativity of fiction and with one of the oldest set of stories ever told as his inspiration, there’s a fair bit of pressure to do it all justice.
For us, he makes the perfect author to tackle the enormous challenge of taking the ancient myths and making them compelling again. It’s not Neil’s first writing to take shape from the Nordic stories as his children’s fiction book, Odd And The Frost Giants, evolved straight out of Asgardian folklore. However, this time it’s set to be more of a grown up stance on the ferocious and imaginative world of Viking gods and it should make for a thoroughly absorbing read.
