Posted: September 4, 2022
The Gospel of Loki
Within "The Gospel of Loki" is the Norse myths from the creation to Ragnarok, the Twiliight of the Gods, or, as it is referred to by Loki, speaking in the first person in this book, "The Twilight of the Popular People". And that's my my problem with "The Gospel of Loki", it is written in modern American English slang style - the kind of style that negates the inherent power of its Norse Mythology origin by dragging this epic about gods and demons and magic to street level teenager-speak.
This modern tone proved a distraction from the time I started reading the book and only abated near the end, starting from the time that Loki was improsoned by the gods of Asgard. This part was so exciting that I stopped being bothered by the slang-style of the prose.
I did finish the book but what kept me reading was the lore. I specially loved the explanation of glams or magic having origins in Chaos. Loki too is a Chaos being, the embodiment of Wildfire. I have encountered this idea about Loki being fire before in the Ring Cycle of Wagner; when Odin condemned Brunnhilde to be surrounded by fire it was Loki that the Allfather invoked to create the blaze. Harris takes us through the story of the gods and of how Odin acquired runes that gave him magic. We are also treated to stories from the Elder Edda with a modern twist. Harris gives the lore a cohesion that kept me reading to the last page. But the majesty of the lore was not enough for me to overlook the tone of the prose.
I would surmise that if you don't mind the modern tone and if you like Norse Mythology this would be a book to consider - together with its sequel, and the upcoming last book of the trilogy.