Rating: 
Summary: Tolkien fans take note...
Review: ...there's a LOT of stuff in here that the Lord Of The Rings author used in his Middle-earth series of books. For example, let's look at some of the names of the dwarfs that Kevin Crossley-Holland includes in his notes for Myth 1 ("The Creation"): Bifur, Nori, Gandalf (!), Thorin, Fili, Kili, Thror, Thrain, Gloin, Dori, Ori, etc. Anyone familiar with Professor Tolkien's work probably had a cacophany of bells ringing in there head upon reading that. Note also that the name in the Norse myths for the plane of existence where humans live (as opposed to Asgard, the world of the gods, and Niflheim, the world of the dead) is Midgard, which translates into modern English literally as "middle earth".I could go on and on, but I might make it sound as though this collection is not worth reading in its own right - which is certainly not the case. It took me a little while to get through this book, though I suspect that that had more to do with (a) the fact that I have not been in much of a "reading mood" in the last few weeks, and (b) that I am one of those crazy people that insists upon reading each and every footnote as it comes up, than it did with the intrinsic interest of the material within. In fact, I was pleasantly suprised at just HOW entertaining and humorous a lot of these myths are. I've always felt that a lot of the old myths and religious texts (including a lot of the biblical ones) were structured as much for maximum entertainment value as they were for spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. Crossley-Holland, as he states a few times in his notes, agrees, and retells many of the myths in a light, breezy style that perfectly suits their comical nature. I'm particularly thinking here of "The Lay of Thrym", the hilarious tale of Thor's hammer Mjollnir was stolen, and of how he got it back. In conclusion, I can't really compare Crossley-Holland's retellings of these Norse myths with any others, because, well... I haven't read any others (outside of the odd Marvel comic or two). But it seems to me that if this topic is of interest to you, you could find a lot of worse places than here to start.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange and disturbing stories we think we know.
Review: Adult retelling of stories we think we know from the surviving original sources. Reading Crossley-Holland's book is like reading the real Grimm's Fairy Tales -- they are much stranger and more disturbing than you remember from the kiddie show about Thor and his hammer. The Aesir are a doomed race of flawed, violent, sometimes cruel but ultimately heroic gods. Odin is not always a benevolent father, but also is obsessed with knowledge and willing to kill, deceive and suffer intensely to get it. Freya is not only a war-goddess but a kind of personification of sex. The stories cover the building of Asgard, an ur-War between the Aesir and the ultimately allied Vanes, struggles between the gods and the Frost Giants, the mischief and ultimately evil of Loki, and an array of malevolent dwarves and monsters with names like Niddhog (the worm that gnaws the root of the world-tree Yggdrasil, Fenris the wolf of the end of the world. Incidentally, Tolkien got many of the names of his characters from the sources. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: ODIN WOULD BE PROUD
Review: Although I love reading books, I also like to play video games, and I can't help but notice all the references to Norse Mythology in video games nowadays. Odin makes consistent appearances in the Final Fantasy Series, the game Valkyrie Profile deals with readying for Ragnarok. Ragnarok is often the name of spaceships (FF8) or swords (FF6). Freyja and Fenrir appear in FF9. And so forth. As this is my first book that I've read on Norse Mythology I am by no means an expert as to how good it stacks up against other books of the same subject. But I can tell you that this book reads very fast and is often VERY entertaining, as it reads more like a novel. The book starts off with the introduction, which goes into the Norse World, the different sources that Kevin Crossley-Holland used for his translations, etc. What struck me most interesting about the introduction was that it mentions Ibn Fadlan. If you've heard that name before then you've probably been reading Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, which is partially based on Fadlan's manuscript. After the introduction, we get down to the stories themselves, starting with the Creation and ending with Ragnarok. As far as I can tell, KCH tried very hard to put the stories in some sort of chronological order, but every now and then you'll come across a story that seems a little out of place. The stories are not all verbatim translations, but rather retellings. In short, KCH found all the different versions of the same story and decided what was the most accurate version. Poetry lovers will love KCH's use of alliteration in these stories, lines like: "An axe-age, a sword-age, shields will be gashed: there will be a wind-age and a wolf-age before the world is wrecked (pg. 173)." In addition to the beautiful writing, there is a GREAT deal of humor to be found within the pages of this book. For example, ". . . the best you could say about Arrinefja's nose was that it was homely . . . (pg. 20)." Or the time when the trickster Loki tells Freyja that she looks rather ugly when she's bald. The time when a man and his wife tell their sons, " 'Your brother Otter is dead.' 'Dead?' exclaimed the brothers, leaping up. 'Dead. And what else do you think? His murderers are our guests for the night.' (pg. 137)." The characters in the Norse Myths are easily recognizable and each have their own personalities. To my mind, though, the most interesting is Loki. Towards the beginning of the book, you can't help but like the guy. He cracks jokes and gets the gods into all sorts of trouble and then gets them out of it. Then, towards the end of the book, closer to Ragnarok, we see Loki undergo a terrifying change from trickster to pure evil. After all the stories are the Notes. Primarily, the notes tell what sources KCH used for his retelling, a few parallels, etc. Beyond the Notes, there is something that should please all--a glossary. If you ever forget who what'shisface is, just flip back there and the glossary will plainly tell you who he/she/it is and what myths they appear in. For those of you that can't get enough of Norse Mythology I recommend the following books: "Eater's of the Dead" by Michael Crichton, the "Twilight of the Gods" series by Dennis Schmidt, the Seamus Heaney translation of "Beowulf", and just recently I came across a fantasy novel called "Beyond Ragnarok" (I haven't read it, but it might be worth looking into).
Rating:
Summary: Readable, mostly accurate, and it has footnotes!
Review: Crossley-Holland has done a fine job retelling the Norse myths in language and images that a modern English reader can easily understand. While I have quibbles with some of his interpretations (he rather misreads Loki, for example), he gives ample notes at the back of the book, so the reader can easily trace the primary sources, and draw his own conclusions. This is the one book every public library with a mythology collection needs to have on the Norse myths. There simply isn't much else that is suitable. It is clear enough to give to a jr. high student with a good grasp of reading, but meaty enough that an adult will also enjoy it. It also belongs in the personal library of anyone with an interest in mythology, Vikings, Scandinavia or Asatru. For those who simply want a good overview, the extensive notes can be ignored. But, for anyone who wishes to go on to the Eddas, sagas and other rich, but daunting (to a beginner) sources, Crossley-Holland has given excellent pointers. He has managed a very nifty trick - to write a very good introduction to a difficult subject while not ignoring scholarship.
Rating:
Summary: Readable, mostly accurate, and it has footnotes!
Review: Crossley-Holland has done a fine job retelling the Norse myths in language and images that a modern English reader can easily understand. While I have quibbles with some of his interpretations (he rather misreads Loki, for example), he gives ample notes at the back of the book, so the reader can easily trace the primary sources, and draw his own conclusions. This is the one book every public library with a mythology collection needs to have on the Norse myths. There simply isn't much else that is suitable. It is clear enough to give to a jr. high student with a good grasp of reading, but meaty enough that an adult will also enjoy it. It also belongs in the personal library of anyone with an interest in mythology, Vikings, Scandinavia or Asatru. For those who simply want a good overview, the extensive notes can be ignored. But, for anyone who wishes to go on to the Eddas, sagas and other rich, but daunting (to a beginner) sources, Crossley-Holland has given excellent pointers. He has managed a very nifty trick - to write a very good introduction to a difficult subject while not ignoring scholarship.
Rating:
Summary: Myths Recast as Stories
Review: Even if you can read Icelandic, you still might want to read Holland's book. This is a great source for a retelling of the old Norse myths. Rather than merely translating, Holland decided to bring together all sources and "to retell the myths in new versions, and hope that they are both representative of the originals and full-blooded in their own right." I believe that he succeeded at the second task. I'm not enough of a scholar or time-traveller to judge his success at representing their original versions. This book serves as an excellent introduction to Norse mythology. Most of the major stories are present. Holland retells the stories in the first part of the book, then provides insight into sources and other interpretations for each story in the back. His index, bibliography, and glossary are quite useful. The myths are quite readable, suitable even for bedtime reading for older children. This book would make a great resource for a middle- or a high-school report. For those contemplating college level work, get direct translations of the Eddas and of Saxo Grammaticus. Even for college level work, Holland can serve as a roadmap to the primary sources. Where Holland fails (and he fails miserably), is his failure to unwrap the Vanic from the Aesic traditions in the myths. Metzner has shown in The Well of Remembrance: Rediscovering the Earth Wisdom Myths of Northern Europe that the uncritical blending of these two traditions gives a different character to Norse mythology. In spite of this failing, however, Holland's book serves as a good introduction to the subject and primes the reader for more research, either directly into the Eddas, or for the work of Metzner and of H. Ellis Davidson.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable in the study of Norse Mythology.
Review: I bought this book as a part of an analysis of Norse Mythology, and found it more than useful. Not only does the author show the myths in a new light, but also includes and in-depth background of each myth and an informatve introduction. The bibliography has seperate headings for each topic of research, and the glossary is useful for those who have trouble keeping track of the often confusing names.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to Norse Mythology!
Review: I had been interested in learning more about Norse mythology for awhile based on some tidbits I had come across in earlier research. So, when I went out to find a book to satisfy my curiosity, I took a chance on this one. It was a good gamble since it ended up rewarding me handsomely.
The author has done a fine job translating the myths and making them extremely entertaining. My first read through the book was very enjoyable. The true reward, however, came from the extras that enhance an initial reading and firmly support additional reference readings. First, the author has done a commendable job by ordering the myths in the best chronological order possible (even though some discrepancies exist in the myths themselves). Secondly, each myth has a corresponding set of notes explaining the act of translation (in terms of deletions, reordering, etc.), interpretations of some of the history and meaning behind the myth, etc. Finally, a solid introduction to the history of the myths (which I recommend reading AFTER you initially read all of the myths), a decent glossary, and a helpful index make the book a surprisingly good research companion. It was a perfect introduction, and I have found myself going back to its well of information time and again. If you have any interest in these myths whatsoever (and you should because they are fascinating), then buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great, simplified collection
Review: I had been trying to find a quick, engrossing book so as to learn about Norse mythology. I hoped to find a collection of short, quick stories that I could read when I had a few minutes of spare time. This book is PERFECT for that! Also, the notes are great, providing a great deal of background.
Rating:
Summary: Great, simplified collection
Review: I had been trying to find a quick, engrossing book so as to learn about Norse mythology. I hoped to find a collection of short, quick stories that I could read when I had a few minutes of spare time. This book is PERFECT for that! Also, the notes are great, providing a great deal of background.
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