Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki

Ah, Norse mythology. A pantheon of all-too-human gods, fantastical stories, and simple underlying truths. This fantastic collection of Viking-era myths succeeds at turning these multi-faceted legends into very readable, narrative-driven stories focusing on individual gods, origins of the world, and more than one cautionary tale. The first thing to notice about this superb volume is the striking black-and-white silhouette-style artwork. It conveys a sense of divine mystery, awesome scale, and subtle humor without distracting from the stories. Additionally, the writing style is the best I've seen from a book of mythology. Not content to relate such awesome stories in an impersonal fashion, tales are told “as they happen", with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and action. It succeeds in coming close to the dramatic delivery of the ancient Skalds, who would have sung versions of these very stories in longhouses many moons ago.