"Gospel of Loki" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Here's the winner of the "You Tell Us: Norse" poll! What do you think? Are you laughing?

Please be careful about discussing too much of the plot, character development or story progression! The full spoiler thread goes up on the 7th.

[Christopher]

Only about 10% in on this one, but I'm enjoying the tone of the narrator, interesting POV. I've always enjoyed mythology, but it can, at times, get a bit dry, so it's fun to add a bit of snark to liven it up.

[Anna]

I've only read a little bit, but so far it seems light and fun, if very familiar. I was hoping, once again, for more new stories, not just the same old ones, but at least this time it's easy to read and has made me laugh a couple of times. I was so disappointed by Gaiman's Norse Mythology, so this time I went in with very low expectations. For someone who's really fed up with Scandinavian mythology, it's going better than I feared.

[Travis]

It's a bit of whiplash to read this so soon after Song of Achilles. That book took an intimate approach to mythology. So far, this one seems like a much huger scale. There's way more of the "this happened", "and then this happened", "and then this god did this." Almost feels like reading Genesis.

[Gabi]

I must admit I'm having a hard time with this one. I'm still waiting for something (characters, style, humour, pacing, plot, worldbuilding … whatever) that can keep my interest. Nothing is bad per se, it's just … unappealing for me. *sorry*

[Anna]

Gabi wrote: "Nothing is bad per se, it's just … unappealing for me."

That's fair. I don't love it either, but it's fast read. The jokes are starting to get a little old after the beginning, but that's because I generally prefer my humor a little less on the nose (or genitals). I wish I'd started with something better as the first book of the year though. I could put this on hold and finish something else first.

[Curt]

I struggles with this book at first, just as some others on this discussion. I hung in there and finished the book - it was okay. I was always curious about Norse mythology, (okay I'll admit - since Avengers and Thor). With that curiosity satiated, thanks to this book, I am not sure it is the type of genre I would continue to pursue - just me. Having said that - I am glad I finished it, because it got better towards the end.

[Cathie]

I really enjoyed this read when it first came out. I'm not going to re-read it, but I will follow along on the discussion. It's interesting to see the different opinions. I liked the humour and snark and found the story line interesting and not difficult to follow.

[Richard]

I'm pretty bored by it. I've been checking Wikipedia sporadically, and it seems to be an adequately faithful compilation of the Norse mythology, but I don't think the author has added much. Just some modern attitude and snarkiness, which doesn't really flesh out the story.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

There are some parts that I think add a lot from a different angle (I'm almost done now) and some not so much. I think it's funny, light and fast if not particularly compelling. I agree with Travis and add that it maybe suffers a bit in comparison with Miller's peripheral take on beloved myths. I'm enjoying it but I'm not enthralled.

[Paul]

This is a neat take on the Norse Mythologies. Having read Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology just a few months ago, I'm drawing a lot of comparisons.

It's kind of nice to see this stories being told from a new angle. However, I'm glad this is a short read.

[Benjamin]

I'll save my thoughts for the spoiler thread, but I just want to say I love the cover art by Andreas Preis. Just gorgeous.

[Anna]

Benjamin wrote: "I just want to say I love the cover art by Andreas Preis. Just gorgeous."

I'm assuming it's the first one of these, I don't understand what Saga Press was thinking with the second one :D

[Tamara]

I'm about 50 pages in and I think I'm giving up on it. I'm finding it boring and his voice irritating. It's a case of 'first this happened, then this, then this . . ." with Loki's snide remarks thrown in intermittently for good measure.

A couple of you have said it gets better the further you go. But I don't have the patience. There are too many good books out there waiting to be read. This just isn't for me. Sorry.

I hope to have better luck with your next discussion book.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

No worries, Tamara! We're voting now, so you should pop over to the polls if you haven't and see if any of the books listed sound more your speed.

I agree that it does sound very list-like for a not insubstantial part of the book, and very much so in the beginning.

[Nicol]

I just started it last night and found it a bit repetitive and I’m only 40 or so pages in. I did really enjoy the beginning, it was quite poetic at times.

[Anna]

I agree about the repetition. Part of it is the nature of Norse tales always being that way, but there is one constantly repeating phrase in particular that's driving me crazy. I won't point it out here in case it's not bothering others.

[Glynis]

If anyone's within reach of London, and interested, the British Library is holding a discussion on the influence of myth on fiction which includes Joanne Harris, the author one of this months books:
https://www.bl.uk/events/fable-folklo...

[Benjamin]

Anna wrote: "I'm assuming it's the first one of these, I don't understand what Saga Press was thinking with the second..."

Anna, definitely the first one. Yeah, I really don't know what Saga was thinking!

[Dave]

The Gospel of Loki
message 2: Chris said:
"it's fun to add a bit of snark to liven it up."
Totally agree that the narration by Loki adds snark to liven it up.

message 3: by Anna, Circadian heretic
"I was hoping, once again, for more new stories, not just the same old ones."
I agree. The book has stayed true to the mythology. I'd like to see more perspectives...like the Gospel according to Freya, the Frost Giants, the Fenrir Wolf, or a version of the stories where the Norse gods are all female and how that changes the interactions.
Anna may enjoy the Iron Druid Series for new stories with old mythologies. Or The Last of the Renshai.

"I was so disappointed by Gaiman's Norse Mythology"
I wasn't disappointed, per say, but it wasn't what I'd hoped for based on his prior work. It felt like he was laying the groundwork for new ideas to build off of. Time will tell.

Richard (MrRedwood):
"I don't think the author has added much. Just some modern attitude and snarkiness"
I agree. This kind of rethink on the mythology is interesting to me and the author does a fine job recreating the stories but I want original ideas and stories too.

Paul Jerimy (PaulJerimy):
"This is a neat take on the Norse Mythologies. Having read Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology just a few months ago, I'm drawing a lot of comparisons."
Ditto.

Tamara Agha-Jaffar:
"I think I'm giving up on it."
I'm happy to join a group that has folks who can put a book down when it isn't for them. It's something I struggle with, this book is on the cusp for me mostly because I've known the mythology since childhood and it isn't new to me.

Glynis:
"If anyone's within reach of London, and interested, the British Library is holding a discussion on the influence of myth on fiction which includes Joanne Harris, the author"
Very cool. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in DC.

I look forward to the additional reactions in the spoiler thread. I'm 200/300 pages in and it has been a slow read for me mostly because of lack of new material and ideas.
The Gospel of Loki

[Kevin]

I’m 30 or 40 pages into it and the snark is definitely there, but so far it is not terribly witty or engaging. Hoping it improves as I read more.

[Christopher]

I’m 100 pages in and I do feel like the book is a bit more lowbrow than I might prefer (e.g. repeated jokes about flatulence). I think that Harris is using Loki’s voice both to liven up the original text and add modern speech to make it more accessible, but there’s a balancing act between accessibility and dumbing down that’s tricky to get right and sometimes it feels like we are getting the latter. That said, I’m less familiar with Norse mythology and I love mythological tales in general (D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths was one of my first reads on my own in elementary school and I enjoyed reading Edith Hamilton in high school) so I’m enjoying the stories so far, but I can’t speak to what percent of my enjoyment comes from the stories themselves versus the modern take on them provided by the narrator.

[David]

I'm slightly put off by the anachronisms. They're ok for a reminiscing FP narrator, but not in the dialog of characters (I'm no fan of unreliable narrators).

[Adeline]

I hate it when retellings don't do anything new with their source material because it's just so lazy and this book was a perfect example of that.

[David]

Adeline wrote: "I hate it when retellings don't do anything new with their source material because it's just so lazy and this book was a perfect example of that."

I get this. I'm 100 pages in and wondering about the point (theme, maybe).

[Michael]

My first thought is that this is what I was expecting from Gaiman's Norse Mythology book. A story written in the modern style but drawing themes and characters from the titles legends.

[Christopher]

As an aside, speaking of the two choices for cover art, I’ll agree that the artwork chosen for the group page is much better. The other one is what I have out from the library and the book jacket is a brilliant gold color which doesn’t make much impression looking at the image on a computer but which does stand out a bit in real life. So it makes a little more sense to me now as this jacket might be more likely to draw a consumer’s eye walking around a bookstore, especially if books are not facing out with their covers showing.

[Oleksandr]

I started it today and so far it is ok but nothing special. The humor is a bit forced IMHO, I cannot say that it livens up the story

[Elka]

Gabi wrote: "I must admit I'm having a hard time with this one. I'm still waiting for something (characters, style, humour, pacing, plot, worldbuilding … whatever) that can keep my interest. Nothing is bad per ..."

That's where I'm at too...I'm enjoying the voice but I'm not really sure what the over-arching plot is yet.

[Sylvie Helen]

I've finally started this! Mr postman took his time getting it to me. I'm only 36 pages in so far but there's been a lot of monologuing and names and places so it's not the easiest to follow. I'm hoping it picks up soon!

[Valerie]

Getting started, it is an accessible sharing of Norse mythology. I have to agree with the comments that it does not appear to be offering anything fresh for me. I was hoping for a bit more from this one. Sigh.