Gaiman has collected a series of stories culled from reliable sources and put them together in this remarkable book. You will read about Odin, the all father, the mighty Thor his son, and Odin's blood brother the tricky Loki. The first story is of the creation of the worlds and the gods and the others who populate the lands. There is also a story on how Odin became so wise and how he lost his eye.
In one tale, Sif, Thor's wife, wakes up with her golden hair gone from her head. Thor knows Loki is behind it and the gods demand that he do something about it. So Loki goes to the dwarves to have them create a special cap of skin with hair attached that will meld with the wearer. But Loki being Loki he decides to cause trouble and tells the sons of Ivaldi that Brokk and Eitri have said that they are the best craftsmen and that the Ivaldi has challenged them to do better than them in a contest making gifts for the gods.
The Ivaldi take up the challenge, but Brokk and Eitri suspect that Loki is up to something and make a wager with him that if they win the challenge they can have his head. He agrees and then proceeds to try to sabotage their greatest gift as they are making it in the forge by taking the form of a fly and biting them. For a long time it doesn't work, but at the very end, he gets Brokk to stop doing what he was doing for a second and that caused the gift to not come out as perfect as they intended.
When they face the gods the Ivaldi give Odin a spear that will always find its mark, they give Thor the hair for Sif, and they give Frey a piece of cloth that unfolds into a giant ship. Brokk gives Odin an arm ring that will multiply, Frey a huge boar with bristles of gold to pull his chariot, and for Thor a hammer. The only problem with the hammer is that the handle is short due to Loki's interference and can only be held one-handed. The gods agreed that Brokk and Eitri gave the best gift and so Loki had to give his head, but Loki being Loki he found a way out of it by saying that they couldn't cut into his neck. So they placed a leather strap across his mouth and sewed it shut which caused Loki no end of grief.
In another story, Thor woke up one morning to find that someone had stolen his hammer, Mjollnir. Thor sent Loki out to find who had stolen it and Loki discovered that Thrym, lord of the ogres, has stolen it and won't give it back until he gets Freya's hand in marriage. Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, has an idea, though he doesn't think Thor will like it much. Thor should dress up as Freya and Loki go as her maiden and infiltrate the ogre stronghold that way and wait until the hammer is given over to make his move. When that happens, Thor takes out all of the ogres.
There are so many good stories in this book. There's one that tells of Loki's three children from a frost giant that are named Fenrir, the wolf, Jormungundr, who became the Midgard serpent, and Hel, who became the ruler of the dead who died unworthy deaths. Odin placed them where he wanted them to be such as the underworld or Midgard to get rid of them because he feared them, but during Ragnarok, they still come back to haunt him. Ragnarok is the end of everything and a new beginning and is also a story in this book. This is a fabulous and fascinating book that delves into these ancient stories and really brings them to life. Gaiman, a master storyteller, really shines here. I highly recommend reading this book.
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