Do you remember hearing mythological tales as a child, with your mouth hanging open as you stare at your grandparent/elderly figure, hooked to every word they speak, your little mind blowing at every new and amazing detail? Reading Norse Mythology by master wordsmith Neil Gaiman is the same, except this time you're older, wiser and yet have your mouth hanging open at the style with which Niel tells the story of the old gods of the cold lands to the north. 

It is difficult to put down a Neil Gaiman book, which can be both a blessing and a curse depending on whom you ask and how much time they have for reading books. His writing appeals to your sense of wonder and imagination, and this book is full of that. Gaiman takes you on a journey of discovering the Norse Mythology through his words. The child who was pulled into the world by Marvel Comics's The Mighty Thor completely immersed himself in the mythology and gave us some of the best works influenced by it. 

The reason I'm talking more about Gaiman in this review than the book is because the book is a love letter by Gaiman to the Norse Mythology, to a part of his life that was spent reading about the incredible old gods and their stories, and how much it has influenced him since then. The book itself is incredible, the structure in which the story is told, separating the mythology from the 'players' as Gaiman writes about the gods. The book is neatly structured into multiple sections that delve into the story of the one that is named at the beginning of the section. The conversations between gods feel like conversations you physically bear witness to, and that is a mark of a really great writer, to be able to transport you to the vision they had in their mind. 

This might not be Gaiman's best work, but he has no interest in giving us a reason to find fault with the book. If anything, I am sad that the book had to end. 

When the book does end, it's like a spell has broken and you are back to your comfortable reading chair or bed, and all you want to do is jump into the magic once again. It is a hard book to put down, and it is a love letter by Gaiman to Norse Mythology. With this book, he brings to us what enthralled him all these years, and it is something everyone should pick up to read. 

To buy Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, click here.