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6th out of 108 books
—
188 voters
Odd and the Frost Giants
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author),
Mark Buckingham
The winter isn't ending. Nobody knows why.
And Odd has run away from home, even though he can barely walk and has to use a crutch.
Out in the forest he encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story to tell.
Now Odd is faced with a stranger journey than he had ever imagined.
A journey to save Asgard, City of the Norse Gods, from the Frost Giants...more
And Odd has run away from home, even though he can barely walk and has to use a crutch.
Out in the forest he encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story to tell.
Now Odd is faced with a stranger journey than he had ever imagined.
A journey to save Asgard, City of the Norse Gods, from the Frost Giants...more
Paperback, World Book Day Edition, 104 pages
Published
March 3rd 2008
by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Each time I read something by Gaiman, I think, “This. This is where he excels.” Whether it's a fairy story (Stardust,) or a children's story (Coraline.) Or the melding of American Mythology with a new Mythology of his creation (American Gods, Anansi Boys.) Maybe it's something vaguely steampunkish and other-worldly, like Neverwhere. Sometimes it's when I revist the complexities in Sandman.
Or maybe I'm not actually that fickle, and I just like the way his phrasing and ideas are like mainlining s...more
Or maybe I'm not actually that fickle, and I just like the way his phrasing and ideas are like mainlining s...more
Alright, alright, I admit to ordering this book from Amazon UK. It wasn't going to be in the US until the fall, and that was just unacceptable. It's the World Book Day edition, so it cost 1 pound to buy and like 10 to ship.
It's a charming little Gaiman fable, more in the vein of Interworld than Coraline. Odd (a real Scandinavian name) has an infuriating smile and a run in with some Norse Gods. However, there's only one Frost Giant (truth in advertising people!!). But it's sweet and short and I...more
It's a charming little Gaiman fable, more in the vein of Interworld than Coraline. Odd (a real Scandinavian name) has an infuriating smile and a run in with some Norse Gods. However, there's only one Frost Giant (truth in advertising people!!). But it's sweet and short and I...more
Written by Neil Gaiman for World Book Day in the UK, Odd and the Frost Giants, seems to have been penned with a real dose of magic in the quill! From the moment I began reading this whimsical story about the son of a sea-faring Viking, set in ancient Scandinavia, I experienced an instant connection with Odd, and was transported through time to a simpler world who's inhabitants place value on craft and physical strength. Odd and the Frost Giants is a coming of age story about a young boy faced wi...more
I very much enjoy exploring the worlds that Gaiman creates, and upon first opening the pages, I was ready to be transported to these fun worlds. When Odd, a crippled boy with a vivid imagination, wanders into the world, I thought, "Okay, here it comes..." And, indeed, when Odd meets Thor, Odin, and Loki (Wow!) I thought that finally, I would get a tale worthy of these epic characters. And what did I get?
SPOILERS AHEAD................................................................
I got three wh...more
SPOILERS AHEAD................................................................
I got three wh...more
Odd is an unusual boy. He’s the son of a sea-faring Viking way back when in ancient Norway. Unfortunately for Odd, that brave father dies at sea, a tree falls and crushes Odd’s leg, and his mother remarries a less-than-sympathetic step-Viking. But Odd keeps smiling through it all—a great big cheerful smile, the kind of smile that makes you absolutely certain that not only is there more to Odd than meets the eye, but the boy’s got something up his sleeve too. In fact, it’s an absolutely infuriati...more
Sep 08, 2011
Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Norse mythology enthusiasts
Odd and the Frost Giants was a quick, but very rewarding book to listen to on audio. The author himself narrated, and his voice is very pleasant to listen to. He knows his characters best and animated them as richly as he had intended them. The Norse mythology elements were interesting, and I loved how Mr. Gaiman injects a humorous view of the constant strife between the Aesir and the Frost Giants. He embodies the traits of Odin, Thor, and Loki very well, and their animal forms fit what characte...more
Wonderful fable featuring a boy named Odd and the Norse gods, Thor, Loki, and Odin. (Just so you know, Odd means 'tip of a blade'.)
In the story, a Frost Giant tricks the Norse gods and throws them out of their Hall, closing the Rainbow Bridge in their faces. Odd meets them after he runs away from his step-father. He doesn't know initially that they are gods, basically because on top of all the other insults, they've been changed into animals.
Talking Points:::
A good read and a classic-styled fabl...more
In the story, a Frost Giant tricks the Norse gods and throws them out of their Hall, closing the Rainbow Bridge in their faces. Odd meets them after he runs away from his step-father. He doesn't know initially that they are gods, basically because on top of all the other insults, they've been changed into animals.
Talking Points:::
A good read and a classic-styled fabl...more
A short chapter book for children that Gaiman wrote (it's implied that he wrote it in one day as part of World Book Day), it's another story set in the world of Norse mythology, and reads a good deal like "The Sea of Trolls-lite."
Odd is a misfit in a Norse community, a small boy who likes to spend time to himself. His father died while viking, and Odd suffered an accident that left him lamed for life. Meanwhile, all of Midgard is suffering under an eternal winter. It turns out that the Aesir (at...more
Odd is a misfit in a Norse community, a small boy who likes to spend time to himself. His father died while viking, and Odd suffered an accident that left him lamed for life. Meanwhile, all of Midgard is suffering under an eternal winter. It turns out that the Aesir (at...more
“Odd and the Frost Giant,” is a charming book that has many similarities to the classic fairytales that you all know and love. I thought the main character, Odd, to be a very likable character for this sort of story. His dad died when Odd was ten while sailing on a longship. He died while trying to save one of the horses on the ship. When Odd heard this news he just shrugged and looked as if he did not care. This infuriated everyone in his small Norse village as most people there knew everything...more
One of the middle grade books I consistently see positive reviews and recommendations for is Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants. I shouldn’t be surprised, as it is a book by Neil Gaiman. He’s the author version of a rock star. And I have liked all of his books, though I love Neverwhere best. So now it’s Middle Grade March and I’m catching up on titles I’ve meant to read for a long while, and well, what do you know… I had a copy of Odd on my Kindle app.
Odd is a Viking boy with a lame leg, a...more
Odd is a Viking boy with a lame leg, a...more
Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman, is a quick read and a good one. Neil Gaiman is a master of writing, and I say that because it is rare that one person can successfully write in so many different genres.
Odd and the Frost Giants is about a Viking's son who just doesn't fit in (which is fun, because I just watched How to Train Your Dragon - if you haven't seen it yet, you should, regardless of how old you happen to be). After his father dies, his mother marries another man in the village,...more
Odd and the Frost Giants is about a Viking's son who just doesn't fit in (which is fun, because I just watched How to Train Your Dragon - if you haven't seen it yet, you should, regardless of how old you happen to be). After his father dies, his mother marries another man in the village,...more
This is a nice, relatively quick read that I think fits nicely into Neil Gaiman's bibliography. He has a great ability to take various mythologies and weave them into something new. This books sticks pretty closely to Norse mythology but also brings in the new element in Odd's story.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the way it resolved; I loved that Odd did not have to resort to fighting or even real trickery to 'defeat' the frost giant. It just took an honest conversation and some intelli...more
What I enjoyed most about this book was the way it resolved; I loved that Odd did not have to resort to fighting or even real trickery to 'defeat' the frost giant. It just took an honest conversation and some intelli...more
Neil Gaiman once again visits the realm of Norse mythology in this short story for children. And, at just over a hundred very spaced out pages, a “short” story this definitely is. I was able to finish this during my journeys to and from university in one day.
Gaiman is one of those rare fantasy authors who really can transport me to other worlds in his books. If anything, his books for children often excite me more than his adult books, reminding me of the zest for life and adventure it often see...more
Gaiman is one of those rare fantasy authors who really can transport me to other worlds in his books. If anything, his books for children often excite me more than his adult books, reminding me of the zest for life and adventure it often see...more
Yorumun orijinali: http://kitaphayvaniningunlugu.blogspo...
Odd ve Ayaz Devleri, Neil Gaiman'ın Türkçe olarak yayımlanan son kitabı. Kitap henüz Perşembe günü çıkmıştı ve Cuma günü benim elimdeydi. Eh, Neil Gaiman söz konusu olunca beklemeye hiç mi hiç gelmiyor, efendim. Çünkü neymiş; Neil bir harikaymış! Bana hasret çektiren, "ah olsa da okusam!" dedirttiren nadir yazarlardan kendisi. Çok seviyorum çok, öyle böyle değil. Karanlık, aynı zamanda eğlenceli tarafını, tuhaf huylarını, her şeyini.
San...more
Odd ve Ayaz Devleri, Neil Gaiman'ın Türkçe olarak yayımlanan son kitabı. Kitap henüz Perşembe günü çıkmıştı ve Cuma günü benim elimdeydi. Eh, Neil Gaiman söz konusu olunca beklemeye hiç mi hiç gelmiyor, efendim. Çünkü neymiş; Neil bir harikaymış! Bana hasret çektiren, "ah olsa da okusam!" dedirttiren nadir yazarlardan kendisi. Çok seviyorum çok, öyle böyle değil. Karanlık, aynı zamanda eğlenceli tarafını, tuhaf huylarını, her şeyini.
San...more
(This review can also be found on my blog: YA Fantastic Book Review)
This is a story for kids and for adults, in typical Gaimon style. Odd is a twelve-year-old Norse boy with a twisted foot, a terrible step-dad, and an annoyingly constant smile. One winter that doesn’t seem to end he leaves home, only to make friends with a bear, fox, and an eagle. Of course, they are something much more than ordinary animals. And that’s all I’m going to tell you because I don’t want to spoil the fun.
Odd is a sim...more
This is a story for kids and for adults, in typical Gaimon style. Odd is a twelve-year-old Norse boy with a twisted foot, a terrible step-dad, and an annoyingly constant smile. One winter that doesn’t seem to end he leaves home, only to make friends with a bear, fox, and an eagle. Of course, they are something much more than ordinary animals. And that’s all I’m going to tell you because I don’t want to spoil the fun.
Odd is a sim...more
Another winner from Neil Gaiman. ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS is for kids, but I believe there will always be a kid inside every adult.
Opening lines show the magical storytelling ways of Mr. Gaiman:
"There was a boy called Odd, and there was nothing strange or unusual about that, not in that time and place. Odd meant the tip of the blade, and it was a lucky name.
He was odd, though. At least, the other villagers thought so. But if there was one thing that he wasn't, it was lucky."
With his father kill...more
Opening lines show the magical storytelling ways of Mr. Gaiman:
"There was a boy called Odd, and there was nothing strange or unusual about that, not in that time and place. Odd meant the tip of the blade, and it was a lucky name.
He was odd, though. At least, the other villagers thought so. But if there was one thing that he wasn't, it was lucky."
With his father kill...more
I decided to take a break from Infinite Jest to read this short work by Neil Gaiman, and I'm glad I did. As the title implies, it tells the story of Odd, a Viking boy with a bad leg who tends to be seen as the village idiot by his fellow Vikings, who is shown during the course of the story to have far more substance than his constant (and infuriating) smile implies.
Gaiman does a good job of integrating elements from Norse mythology into Odd's quest, so expect cameos from deities, the promised Fr...more
Gaiman does a good job of integrating elements from Norse mythology into Odd's quest, so expect cameos from deities, the promised Fr...more
Everything I know about Norse mythology I learned from a superhero movie. Which, weirdly, helps a lot when you find yourself in the middle of a fairy tale -- that's probably not the slot it technically falls into, but I can't think of it as anything else -- that involves Thor and Asgard and the Rainbow Bridge, especially when the story is so short there's no space for the author to explain most of the mythology.
Odd and the Frost Giants was sitting on my bookshelf, ready to be returned to the lib...more
Odd and the Frost Giants was sitting on my bookshelf, ready to be returned to the lib...more
Neil Gaiman's imagination knows no bounds. With "Odd and the Frost Giants," he somehow manages to make the story of Odd, a young crippled Norse boy dealing with the premature death of his father into a universal story of self-discovery and triumph.
It's not every day a young boy gets to save Asgard.
Odd, son of a Viking woodcarver, suffers an apparent misfortune when he accidentally crushes his own leg in a horrible accident. This misfortune is compounded by the early demise of his father, a heroi...more
It's not every day a young boy gets to save Asgard.
Odd, son of a Viking woodcarver, suffers an apparent misfortune when he accidentally crushes his own leg in a horrible accident. This misfortune is compounded by the early demise of his father, a heroi...more
I really wanted to fall in love with this book, having read Coraline and The Graveyard Book. In those two books, the characters are flawed and have depth and great spirit. I suppose because Odd and the Frost Giants is more of a fairy tale, it fits its genre. But I missed the pull of the story and character that I expected from Gaiman.
That said, the story is amusing, with all the redeeming characteristics you expect from a fairytale myth. Odd, the main character, is likeable in that he's honest a...more
That said, the story is amusing, with all the redeeming characteristics you expect from a fairytale myth. Odd, the main character, is likeable in that he's honest a...more
A lovely fable concerning Norse mythology. It is set in Norway, my homecountry, and the fact that it is written by an Englishman somehow points to the sadness of how ignored this mythology is in Norway today. Though we are taught about the main gods and myths in school, it has been tainted by the nazi invaders' use of it during the second world war, recent nazi movements' use of it now, and certain musicians' fascination with it's darker sides (the kind of people who like to set fire to churches...more
A lovely, fast read (at a mere 117 pages, it only took me a half an hour to read) and undoubtedly great for young readers... though I prefer Gaiman's more grown-up books these days, this is just the kind of book I would've adored as a kid. If you're a Gaiman fan you'll probably enjoy it, particularly since it's written in that voice that is so distinctly his that if you're anything like me, you'll hear his voice narrating for you as you read. (I switched my mental audio track to Benedict Cumberb...more
Neil Gaiman needs to stop being so readable. Seriously. I should not find a dinky novella so vastly entertaining, especially when it’s aimed at kids twenty years younger than me.
Sigh.
But he is so readable, and I am so vastly entertained, so I will try to get over it.
Odd and the Frost Giants is cute little Norse mythology type of book, with a likeable hero, a cast of miscellaneous gods and goddesses (and Loki, who seems determined to show up in every book I’ve read recently), a fairly sympatheti...more
Sigh.
But he is so readable, and I am so vastly entertained, so I will try to get over it.
Odd and the Frost Giants is cute little Norse mythology type of book, with a likeable hero, a cast of miscellaneous gods and goddesses (and Loki, who seems determined to show up in every book I’ve read recently), a fairly sympatheti...more
Odd, what a name. The poor kid. He’s unlucky too. His Dad is dead and his mother has re-married someone Odd doesn’t like (and the feeling is mutual). He’s lame because a tree fell on him and most people around him think he’s useless because of that. And to top if off, Spring won’t come. Odd’s town has had winter stretching on for days with no sign of better weather. One day Odd decides to head to a cabin of his father’s in the woods. He’s had it with the frustrations in his life and figures anyw...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This would have been awesome anyway, but Neil Gaiman's amazing voice makes the audiobook even more awesome. But yes - fun, funny, and full of things that are, I think, quite in character for the Norse gods.
This book would get five stars if I liked - or just understood - Odd himself just a little bit more. I don't dislike him, but if there's one issue I have with Gaiman's writing, it's that I'd like to see a little more of his characters' internal lives. (It seems to me that he just doesn't like...more
This book would get five stars if I liked - or just understood - Odd himself just a little bit more. I don't dislike him, but if there's one issue I have with Gaiman's writing, it's that I'd like to see a little more of his characters' internal lives. (It seems to me that he just doesn't like...more
I enjoyed this book in that it was an interesting enough story and it was extremely easy to read, and the illustrations are wonderful.
Unfortunately I know little to nothing of Norse mythology and couldn't tell up from down with the Norse gods, except for what was explained to me and perhaps a little more garnered from American Gods so long ago. I think as an introduction to Norse myth, it could be stronger, but as a story for children with a little Norse myth thrown in, it was just right.
I have...more
Unfortunately I know little to nothing of Norse mythology and couldn't tell up from down with the Norse gods, except for what was explained to me and perhaps a little more garnered from American Gods so long ago. I think as an introduction to Norse myth, it could be stronger, but as a story for children with a little Norse myth thrown in, it was just right.
I have...more
Feb 06, 2011
Sarah Mayor Cox
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-novels
I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s work. His writing ranges from the macabre to the whimsical and he is one of the stars on the international literary scene with an amazing website and a regular string of tweets.
In Odd and the Frost Giants, Gaiman takes a very simple reluctant hero trope and turns it into a quirky tale of friendship, lateral thinking and acceptance. Gaiman is a master storyteller who has such a laconic way of relating a tale and slipping in important detail:
There was a boy called...more
In Odd and the Frost Giants, Gaiman takes a very simple reluctant hero trope and turns it into a quirky tale of friendship, lateral thinking and acceptance. Gaiman is a master storyteller who has such a laconic way of relating a tale and slipping in important detail:
There was a boy called...more
This is a charming little story about a boy named Odd ( a real Scandinavian name) set in ancient Scandinavia. Odd’s father, a sea-fearing Viking dies and Odd and his mother were left by themselves. Since his father’s death, Odd’s mother married another man, who was mean to him. Odd escapes his step-father’s mean streak by going into the cottage that his father built. While at his father’s cottage Odd meets a Bear (Thor), Fox (Loki) and Eagle (Odin). Odd discovers that they are gods looked in ani...more
I was really looking forward reading Gaiman's next children's book. It was a great read and a wonderful story.
Odd is a bit different from the rest of the Norse community he lives in. One night he wanders off to his deceased father's cabin to carve some wood and runs into a bear, an eagle, and a fox...and they can talk. Ends up that they are actually the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Loki trapped in animal shape by a Frost Giant who stole Thor's hammer (with some unintended aid from Loki). Odd, not...more
Odd is a bit different from the rest of the Norse community he lives in. One night he wanders off to his deceased father's cabin to carve some wood and runs into a bear, an eagle, and a fox...and they can talk. Ends up that they are actually the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Loki trapped in animal shape by a Frost Giant who stole Thor's hammer (with some unintended aid from Loki). Odd, not...more
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“The wise man knows when to keep silent. Only the fool tells all he knows.”
—
42 people liked it
“Talk is free but the wise man chooses when to spend his words.”
—
16 people liked it
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