Solid and Simple

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman, born 10 november 1960, is an English author of short fiction, novels, commic books, graphic novels, audio theathre and screenplays. His most known works are probably The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Sandman, American Gods and Good Omens, the last he wrote with his co-writer and friend Terry Pratchett.

In the introduction of Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman tells how his love for Norse mythological creatures came from: comic books! When later he also read the original stories of Asgard, although different from the comics, the stories stayed with him. At some point he heard people complaining that the old stories seem to be lost to the current generation, and what a loss that was. As Neil Gaiman thinks he cannot tell their tales, as they are lost in history, he can retell the myths and stories as accurately and interestingly as he can.

Gaiman retells the myths from beginning to end, or Ragnarok as the Norse gods would say. He uses a simple manner and simple words to depict the Norse gods and tell their tales. he refrains from telling you exactly what they look like, leaving that to your imagination. Because of this the book reads almost like a fairy tale. The young and old of the current generation, and generations to come, can now engulf themselves again in tales from Norse mythology.

Each story is captured within its own section and the type of letter and the distance between lines makes for easy reading. I don't know if this was the way it was suppossed to be, but in my version the pages are not cut straight, making it feel as if you hold something old in your hands, which adds to the reading of the tales.