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Norse Mythology: Great Stories from the Eddas
Rooted in an oral tradition, fantastic sagas of Norse mythology found their way into print seven centuries ago, in documents known as the Eddas. This book presents 17 of the most popular tales, from the creation of the world to the death of the gods and the world’s destruction.
Masterfully retold, the legends include Odin's trip to Mimer in search of knowledge, the making of Thor's hammer, the loss of Idun's wondrous apples, and the task of securing the dreaded Fenris-wolf with unbreakable silken twine devised from "the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the roots of the mountains, the breath of a fish, and the sinew of a bear." Here, too, are accounts of "The Wooing of Gerd," "Thor Goes a Fishing," "The Death of Balder," "How Loki Was Punished," "The Twilight of the Gods," and "The New Earth."
Masterfully retold, the legends include Odin's trip to Mimer in search of knowledge, the making of Thor's hammer, the loss of Idun's wondrous apples, and the task of securing the dreaded Fenris-wolf with unbreakable silken twine devised from "the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the roots of the mountains, the breath of a fish, and the sinew of a bear." Here, too, are accounts of "The Wooing of Gerd," "Thor Goes a Fishing," "The Death of Balder," "How Loki Was Punished," "The Twilight of the Gods," and "The New Earth."
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
About the author
Hamilton Wright Mabie
719 books33 followersHamilton Wright Mabie, A.M., L.H.D., LL.D. (1846–1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 26, 2018
Sometimes mythological tales don't make a lot of sense. There are holes, characters who are never introduced, unexplained events, contradictions...and that can cause the modern reader to stumble. But once I got over those things, the tales unfolded beautifully.
The stories are, for the most part, chronological, from the birth of the gods to their ultimate demise and the rise of Christianity. There is some beautiful writing in places. The days were short and dark, blinding storms rolled fast upon each other and left mountains of snow behind, fierce winds swept the sky and troubled the sea, and the bitter air froze the very hearts of men into sullen despair. Gorgeous!
The whole of this collection is really enjoyable. A little heavy on the Thor stories but it is what it is. Speaking of Thor, by the campfire I found myself retelling the story of how Thor got his hammer back from the giants by dressing in drag in attempt to trick them into thinking he was the blushing bride, Freya. I was captivated, my audience was captivated, and I thought - this is something my ancestors did; this act of storytelling this very tale is like a ripple in time.
One thing I thought could be REALLY useful in this book is a cast of characters. Lots of folks have similar names (i.e. the brother and sister Frey and Freya, the giant god Utgard-Loke and the devilish Loke, etc) and the animals, weapons, and boats have names. It can be a little much.
Overall, I loved this collection and thirst for more. 4.5 out of 5 stars!
The stories are, for the most part, chronological, from the birth of the gods to their ultimate demise and the rise of Christianity. There is some beautiful writing in places. The days were short and dark, blinding storms rolled fast upon each other and left mountains of snow behind, fierce winds swept the sky and troubled the sea, and the bitter air froze the very hearts of men into sullen despair. Gorgeous!
The whole of this collection is really enjoyable. A little heavy on the Thor stories but it is what it is. Speaking of Thor, by the campfire I found myself retelling the story of how Thor got his hammer back from the giants by dressing in drag in attempt to trick them into thinking he was the blushing bride, Freya. I was captivated, my audience was captivated, and I thought - this is something my ancestors did; this act of storytelling this very tale is like a ripple in time.
One thing I thought could be REALLY useful in this book is a cast of characters. Lots of folks have similar names (i.e. the brother and sister Frey and Freya, the giant god Utgard-Loke and the devilish Loke, etc) and the animals, weapons, and boats have names. It can be a little much.
Overall, I loved this collection and thirst for more. 4.5 out of 5 stars!
August 14, 2021
Can mythology be a page-turner? Maybe. I really enjoyed the read, wanted to restrict myself not reading too much tales at once. Great fun, very readable and accessible.
November 14, 2023
loki literally just fucked around and found out
May 30, 2012
Some of the Norse stories in one collection is a good read for fans of mythology.
November 3, 2012
The book is quite simple and feels like it was written for kids, but it's a good one to get a general knowledge about Norse mythology.
March 8, 2014
Really great! A nice selection of stories from the Eddas written in contemporary language. It also includes some wonderful reflections on Norse mythology's place amongst other pantheons' mythologies.
March 24, 2024
Nicely told version of some of the Edda's stories. They sometimes go a little from here to there, but that fits the mythical/fantastical aspect. Sometimes they are funny. Book did exactly what I expected it to fo: update me on the Norse mythological stories in a lighthearted way.
November 7, 2025
I enjoyed this look at some of the Norse Myths. I have much more knowledge of Greek Mythology, but this was interesting. I'm glad I read it.
September 18, 2011
This was really the same as the last book I read - In the Time of Giants - with just another story or 3 added. Still worth a read, but not anything groundbreaking. This one still felt like it was written for middle school kids.
October 7, 2007
this was kind of an abridged version for kids i think. the stories were alright, but not overpoweringly awesome or anything.
unread
January 30, 2009very old copy from 1902
June 23, 2011
This book has stories about Odin, Thor, Freya, etc. If you liked the movie THOR, you would like these stories. It is a very quick read.
July 14, 2012
Good stories but the plates are not that nice in here.
Want to Read
December 19, 2014want to read this primarily for the illustrations by george wright
March 19, 2015
Written simply and sweetly. The stories are kept short and are easy to understand. It makes tales from the long-winded Norse mythology much more fun!
August 21, 2016
An interesting collection of short stories taken from the Norse mythology and written in a way that suits both children and grown ups.
December 30, 2012
Not good as an introduction to the topic!
February 7, 2014
I loved this book, an easy and fun read.
March 29, 2017
3.5 stars for this very nice collection of myths translated from the Eddas.
Here is the problem too. This book was originally published quite a while ago (so long you can see ways of writing that are no longer being used). This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like the translation could have been done better.
The constant feeling that it would have been epic to read all these stories in Norwegian made the rating lower with half a star.
And now I want to learn Norwegian even more than I already wanted.
Here is the problem too. This book was originally published quite a while ago (so long you can see ways of writing that are no longer being used). This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like the translation could have been done better.
The constant feeling that it would have been epic to read all these stories in Norwegian made the rating lower with half a star.
And now I want to learn Norwegian even more than I already wanted.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews