Ever noticed how much myths and legends, including the Norse myths, are a part of our daily lives? The author of this book, an Oxford university professor of Medieval Literature, certainly has, and has proved it by showing the connections between the Norse myths and several pieces of fiction from the 19th century till the present day, including Wagner’s operas and modern authors such as Francesca Simon, George R.R Martin, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman and Joanne Harris.
Interestingly she doesn’t mention Harry Harrison’s The Technicolor Time Machine in her chapter about the Norse in America(which, by the way, she isn’t convinced about, at least not the places where people think they lived during their stay in Vinland). That novel is about a near-broke film company that is still able to sponsor a scientist who has built a prototype Time Machine, so that they can make a very cheap film about the Norse settling in America, using actual Norsemen as extras. She has a whole chapter about Vinland, but doesn’t mention that novel.
However, there is plenty more to enjoy. I have to admit that it has been years since I read Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently novels, all I can remember is the refrigerator with food so old that it has become a living thing; I really must go back and reread. I do remember that the sixth Hitchhiker’s Guide novel, written by Eoin Colfer, but based on notes by Adams had a scene with Thor, who owns a spaceship.
The Song Of Ice And Fire series(aka Game Of Thrones) was inspired quite a lot by Norse tropes. There are the ravens as message carriers, for example, like Odin’s Hugin and Muninn. And “Winter is coming” hints at the Norse Fimbulwinter, which comes just before Ragnarok.
Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods is about the battle between the new and old gods in America. There are plenty of old gods, of course, from many different countries, from which they were brought by immigrants, but one of the main characters is Odin, who goes by the name of Mr Wednesday.
I haven’t read the Francesca Simon books, though I intend to, after reading this one, but Joanne Harris’s Runemarks quartet is very much about the Norse myths. The first two are seen from the viewpoint of Loki, the third and fourth from the viewpoints of daughters of gods, living on Earth after Ragnarok, which is only a few hundred years in the past. People are living quite normally, while the Norse gods are mostly in the Underworld(Loki and Odin are still around on Earth, Odin as the mentor of the heroine of the third novel, Loki as her friend).
It’s a fascinating and very readable book, well worth dipping your toes into. I bought it in ebook, but as a Thames And Hudson title it is probably a physically beautiful book. Most of their titles I have had over the years ago were art-themed.
Available on all good web sites.
4 comments:
And what about LOTR? Lots of Norse influence there too. I never read Joanne Harris' Runemarks series but I did read her Gospel of Loki, which is a very charming and funny version of Norse mythology from Loki's self-serving, bitter point of view.
Hi Debra! Yes, she does mention LOTR, I forgot to say. Gospel Of Loki is the first of the Runemarks quartet, actually. You should definitely read Testament Of Loki, in which we find out how Loki escapes from the underworld via a computer game and finds himself sharing a body with a teenage girl with a LOT of problems and helps her fix them. Even if she does think, at first, that if she has to be sharing a body with a Norse god, why can’t it be Thor? The novel is funny and touching and Loki makes a friend, dammit! He appears in the next novel, as a major character, but it’s seen from another viewpoint.
Oh, I didn't know it was the first novel in the series -- thanks for the info! "If she has to be sharing a body with a Norse god, why can’t it be Thor?" Hahahahahaha!
Hi Debra! I hope you enjoy the novels.
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