Customer Reviews

Thunder of the Gods

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Having read this as a child back in the 60-70's, I was thrilled to find this gem and share it with my step-son. With the Marvel comic version of the Asgardians (Thor and the "gang") coming out, he (step-son) knew about the real legends, filling out and giving a wonderful background to the story for him.

I recall many times as a child going back and picking this one up to re-read another story and it was adult enough as to not make me feel childish yet still easy to grasp. A definite must have for fans of Norse mythology.

If you're interested in Norse or "Viking" myths, this book is a good place to start. It was written for the mid-elementary audience, but the writing is serious and straightforward. Adults can read it quickly and get a decent overview of these great stories without feeling burdened by a "children's book" atmosphere. For children, there are some very good picture books out there, but this book creates a much fuller literary experience. Its major shortcoming is the omission of the story of the Brising Necklace, which many parents in our culture might hesitate to read to their kids, anyway. Unfortunately out-of-print, this book can still be found used from several sources, usually as discards from school libraries.

If this is less than you're looking for, the next step is the Crossley-Holland "Norse Myths" book.