Book Review: The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris
Four Stars
“It wasn’t my fault. I was as much a victim of this as any of the others. If …”
You already know the story. Harris hews much closer to the traditional Poetic Edda than most modern re-interpretations, especially those of Marvel. This is a snarky self-justification by Loki, the villain of almost everyone else’s take.
“That’s history for you. Unfair, untrue, and for the most part written by folks who weren’t even there.”
Head and shoulders above many recent retellings of other myths and fairy tales which try to make the bad guy into a good guy. No, Loki is who he is. Naturally, seen from his point of view, everyone else is stupid or evil. A lot like modern American politics.
“Who needs friends when you can have the certitude of hostility?”
If someone were to cinematize this, I can see Tom Hiddleston as Loki, but not Anthony Hopkins as Odin. Better, Ian McKellen on his worst day: Gandalf with issues.
“You don’t bring wildfire into your home and expect it to stay in the fireplace.”
Quibbles: The title implies there’s good news here; there isn’t. Not for Loki, not for the AEsir, nor for the Folk (humans). The story starts in Chapter Four, before that it background.
“I could tell Odin would never understand the scale and grandeur of Chaos–at least not until the Ends of the Worlds, by which time it would be too late.”
As a Matter of Fancy 