The Gospel of Loki (Loki, #1) (Runemarks, #0.5)

by Joanne M Harris

The novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods - retold from the point of view of the world's ultimate trickster, Loki. It tells the story of Loki's recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself. Using her life-long passion for the Norse myths, Joanne Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel.

• ISBN10: 1473202353
• ISBN13: 9781473202351
• Publish Date: 13 February 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 December 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[pamela]

Joanne Harris' The Gospel of Loki read more like a twelfth grade creative writing project than the work of a long established author. Loki's voice was childish and with incongruous modern inflection which made this book a lot less enjoyable than anticipated.

The concept is a good one; telling a well established mythological text from the point of view of a relatively minor player. Loki is a recognisable name, but has had very little fleshing out done of his character in Norse mythology. As such The Gospel of Loki was rife with possibility, but in my mind simply fell short of the mark. While we get a better sense of Loki as a character, the way this was developed was not in an engaging way. Harris' prose is far too full of but-more-on-that-laters and yours-truly's to ring true. It really felt like she'd taken an exam essay question (Loki is a relatively minor character in Norse Mythology. In 150000 words or less give examples of the importance of Loki's role in Ragnarok referring to the original text. Discuss.) been given 3 hours writing time and simply had to go for it!

The style of 'gospel' didn't quite work in the context of the mythology. Loki's relatively modern voice was incongruous with the formal language usually associated with Gospel, and the lack of cohesive narrative to tie each smaller story toegether made it difficult to engage with the narrative on a deeper level. Norse mythological characters have become such household names, that to do the underdeveloped character of Loki some depth he really needed to be, well, developed. Loki went places, and did things, but I really didn't get a sense of who Loki was, or his true motivations. He is of course a child of Chaos and so all hi actions are motivated by and cause chaos, however this just didn't feel like enough. He was bound to the human world and has some terrible things happen to him, we even have glimpses of his emotional development. But that is all these were, glimpses. With the role he would play in Ragnarok there was some real scope to take an in depth look at his motivation, and indeed make him a character who we could understand and relate to. But every moment with hints of emotion was quickly overshadowed by a quick turn of events or even just looked over completely.

The Gospel of Loki had potential to be a wonderful piece of literature, and even an important instalment in the understanding of the characters in Norse mythology. On all fronts however it fell short of the mark. I still believe with some more fleshing out this could still prove to be a wonderful work, and I hope in the next few years we see a revised edition. In the mean time I've picked up A. S. Byatt's Ragnarok. It was recommended to me as a better alternative. I'll see if that one lives up to my expectations.

http://iblamewizards.com/review-the-gospel-of-loki-by-joanne-harris/

[violetpeanut]

I tried a few times to read this one and I just can't get into the groove. It just wasn't for me I guess.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

If you’ve been on the internet (especially Tumblr) in the last few years, chances are that you would know who Loki is. Popularised by Marvel Comics and the recent Thor movies Loki is originally found in Norse mythology. Joanne Harris, best known for novels like Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange, tries her hand at fantasy under the name Joanne M. Harris. The Gospel of Loki follows the story of the trickster god, Loki, from his recruitment by Odin from the realm of Chaos to become a Norse god.

“Loki, that’s me.

Loki, the Light-Bringer, the misunderstood, the elusive, the handsome and modest hero of this particular tissue of lies. Take it with a pinch of salt, but it’s at least as true as the official version, and, dare I say it, more entertaining.

So far, history, such as it is, has cast me in a rather unflattering role.

Now it’s my turn to take the stage.”

Told from the perspective of Loki, The Gospel of Loki starts off in a playful tone as you can see by the above text. This tone continues throughout the novel, keeping a light and entertaining look at the ultimate trickster. Joanne Harris picked a challenging topic to tackle for her first attempt in Fantasy. Trying to get the balance between the Norse mythology and the popular conceptions as told by Marvel would be problematic. I don’t pretend to know much about the mythology and possibly less about the Marvel comics but I think Harris captured the character really well. We can debate whether Marvel follows the mythology or not but what I got in this novel was the mischievous, unreliable, jokester that I expect from Loki.

To play devil’s advocate, I must point to the title of this novel, The Gospel of Loki. The word gospel suggests that this is the unquestionable truth of Loki’s life, a first-hand account of what happened. Loki is an unreliable character and since he is often known as a lying, manipulative, demon-born anti-hero, the only source of truth (or as close as allowed) can only come in first person. My problem would be the modern tone of the whole novel; the mythology was formed hundreds of years ago, so I expected the language to be different. I expected the writing to feel dated, something Fantasy does really well but this novel felt like it was set in current times.

Overall this is an entertaining novel that explores the mythology of Loki in an interesting way. While each chapter seems to be a little story that interconnects with the overall plot, it also gives glimpses into Loki’s character. You get an in-depth look into Loki, learning about his story and life lessons. With such detail into the primary character, it’s a little sad to see that all the other characters were so flat, especially his adoptive brother Thor. Then again, Loki is so narcissistic that going into details about everyone else would feel a fake.

I’m of two minds with this novel, on one hand I think Harris did a great job in giving me a brief (but unofficial) look into the life of Loki. Everything I’ve read of hers I’ve liked and for a fantasy novel, The Gospel of Loki worked really well. Then again, this was a fantasy novel and I often struggle with them, but I think this was far too modern which stopped the story from ringing true. I have to wonder what someone with a detailed knowledge of Loki, the Norse god or Marvel super villain thinks of this book.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/03/22/the-gospel-of-loki-by-joanne-m-harris/

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

I cannot get enough of books based on ancient mythologies or cultures. I’ve devoured countless books on ancient Greece and Rome, the Olympian Gods, the Trojan War… but as you can see, the reading is often focused on one specific area of history. A fascination with the myths and legends of all over the world has followed me all my life; even those cultures of which I know little are endlessly astounding. Norse mythology sits somewhere in the middle. Whilst I know more about it than say, the stories of ancient Babylon, I know a Hel (harhar see what I did there… I’m so sorry) of a lot more about those of ancient Greece or Rome.

So it was with great delight that I spotted The Gospel of Loki on Netgalley. A book narrated by the trickster god of the old Norse pantheon certainly sounds like an incredibly unique premise, and I’m sure the recent releases of Avengers Assemble and the Thor films have piqued people’s interest in this particular deity (but PLEASE don’t go into this book expecting to see Marvel-Loki. I don’t know why you would… one is a comic book character, the other an old god.)

But anyway. If you’re interested in this book but know nothing about Norse mythology, then there is no need to worry – the author (or rather Loki) provides a handy guide to the various characters at the very beginning, as well as setting out the origin story of the religion. From the cover (which is absolutely gorgeous), I was expecting something quite heavy and traditional, but in actual fact Loki’s tone of voice is light and witty, and he even uses frequent colloquialisms and slang. Although I did feel like phrases such as ‘Yours Truly’ and ‘so shoot me’ were used a little too often, I loved Loki’s narration through the various legends of the old Norse religions. He may be arrogant, thoughtless and the ultimate trickster god, but at times I actually felt a little sorry for him. Unlike the other deities, Loki was not born into the family, but adopted as Odin’s brother. From the very beginning the others regard him as untrustworthy, what with him previously being a demon and a bit tricksy, and yes sometimes he deserves their hostility – but actually, there were times where he was treated rather unfairly and the other gods felt more like the demons.

What I most enjoyed about this book was the humour – and I think that is what it will make it so accessible to many different types of readers. It could have been a stuffy book about the myths and legends of Scandinavia, but with a brilliantly clever twist of Loki as the narrator, and his wonderful sense of wit, it both teachers and entertains. The casual weaving of modern day slang with these ancient epics gives it a timeless feeling. At some times it feels like a big family drama, with all the little (and not so little) arguments between the various gods!

Taking most of its inspiration from the legends of the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, The Gospel of Loki is a gorgeous ‘retelling’ of ancient myths, that feels both timeless and modern, with a brilliantly unique viewpoint.


Like me, Ron is impressed. I told myself I wouldn’t use a Marvel-Loki gif so… err… yeah. This seemed appropriate.