It was a refreshing take on the character, highlighting his intelligence and cleverness, rather than just his mischievousness ( Although, I do prefer his mischievousness).

He also is quick to point out other people's flaws, leading to him being a humorous, if not slightly hypocritical character, which works perfectly in this book. Here Burgess tackles the Norse myths, taking the reader through all the adventures and mischief that Loki gets wrapped up in. a mischievous, unpredictable and clever book that breathes new life into an already fascinating character and godly race.Burgess' Loki takes a different tack - namely revisiting the old stories from the perspective of the titular trickster god, who insists that he's been heinously defamed and that true events unfolded in a very different manner. Although I like the idea of the book, I think you really need to enjoy being insulted by the narrator and reading the wildest things. Loki does not offer a particularly incisive view of Norse myth, but it does have enough in it that’s witty or unusual to carry readers along on its own peculiar flow – rather like silver-tongued Loki himself. In the Eddas, Odin, not just Loki, is a figure of tricks and gender ambiguity (he’s a master of seidr, a form of magic mostly associated with women, for example). But the solutions Loki proffers are adolescent: can’t we, like, imagine a world without war, he wonders at the end.

References to razor-wire defences in Asgard and the like crop up, not as anachronisms but deliberate placings to show us this a story of the now, not the long-ago). Leaving that warning aside, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to Norse mythology and those who are familiar with it. I loved that Marvin’s portrayal of Loki is as crude, obnoxious, vain, humorous, sarcastic and unfiltered as we’ve seen in most other portrayals of the God. I usually really enjoy Norse myth retellings and this sounded like exactly the kind of thing I would enjoy. This is the first adult novel by Melvin Burgess, who I remember from the young adult book Junk being notable back in the day, and though there are a lot of mythology-retelling novels these days, I've not come across many focusing on Norse mythology.His Loki doesn’t feel like a powerful god, but rather like a flawed being trying to make the most out of the situations and life he has in front of him. There are other rough parts, as when the origin of humankind becomes a scene of scatology, prompting Loki to address the reader every so often as “arse-born”. Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall). i finished the book regardless of my misgivings and i won't say that i regretted it but neither can i recommend it in good conscience. I enjoyed this book and I hope that there is a continuation of this version of Loki which was hinted at, at the end of the book.

What started as an interesting experiment turns out to be one of the most boring retellings of myths I have ever read.

I really liked this book, the way it builds a connected narrative throughout the different myths and how they change.

The story of human origins and the reader consequently being referred to as, ‘arse born’, was a particular highlight of weirdness. Alongside the politics of Asgard, the novel charts the course of Loki's many loves and families, from his mothering of Odin's famous horse to his intense, turbulent, and, eventually fatal relationship with Baldr the Beautiful—a tender and moving story of a love that goes wrong. similarly an effort was clearly made to denounce misogyny that ultimately failed miserably due to a variety of narrative decisions and jokes made throughout the book.Melvin Burgess’ s first novel, The Cry of the Wolf, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, which he then won for his cult novel Smack, along with the Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize. Gedurende het boek praat Loki rechtstreeks tegen de lezer en vertelt hij over zijn streken tijdens de mythen.