Loki

by Mike Vasich

[inlibrisveritas]

As anyone close to me knows I have a thing for tricksters or those who are considered the ‘bad guys’ in mythology, there is just something complex and alluring about a god/powerful being that spends their time playing pranks or hiding in the shadows. The bad thing about most of the mythology out there is that it doesn’t delve into the true personalities of these people and so you are left wondering why. Mike Vasich brings the Norse mythos to life with these nine enjoyable stories.

I think for anyone who has an interest in Norse mythology or is just getting started with their knowledge would really enjoy this one, however I would keep in mind that while it is the tales we’ve heard they are slightly different and far more fleshed out than what we were originally given. I personally enjoyed Vasich’s Loki and his overall personality, and I thought that he managed to capture the god’s essences rather well. Also keep in mind that the older religions had very perspicuous gods so while the content is not too detailed or vulgar I wouldn’t give it to anyone younger. I found the fact that he tried to put the stories in a logical order to also be a plus, and he even gives readers a bit of an explanation at the end about slight inconsistencies to the stories but that’s because the myths themselves are inconsistent. Regardless of that fact I think he handled it well, and I enjoyed watching Loki progress through his schemes until he manages to pull off the biggest one ever. The last tale in the novel is purely fiction and not something you’ll find in the myths but it kind of blew my mind, and while I found Loki’s plot to be the most devious (and probably evil) one that he’s ever had I had to give the guy some credit.

This book handles the main stories that Loki is involved in from Sif’s haircut to Ragnorak, so you get a wide variety of stories and good feel for the character as a whole. I was fairly familiar with most of the stories involved so they were nothing new but Vasich actually had me reading them like I’ve never seen them before, there were times when I could help but laugh out loud. This one was a fun read and I’m super glad I downloaded it, and I’m also happy that I managed to snag a copy of his other book Loki.