93 books like Loki's Wolves

I'd heard a lot about Norse myths on social media recently, but I was unfamiliar with them. 

The idea of Gaiman weaving his narrative magic through the tapestry of these ancient tales intrigued me, and it surely made for an exciting read.

Even if you're unfamiliar with Norse mythology (as I was), this retelling will awe you with the strangeness and wonder of these ancient tales. Norse Mythology is more than a book; it's an invitation to a hypnotic world inhabited by gods, giants, undead goats, betrayals, a mischievous squirrel, elves, dwarves, and Valkyries.

This collection is an enthralling journey through a selection of Norse myths, narrated with Neil Gaiman's trademark wit and simplicity.

This is a classic Middle Grade book that was first published in 1975 and still holds strong. Neil Gaiman himself endorsed it, so you know it’s going to be a fantastic mythology-based book! This is one of those stories that drops so many clues and hints that when you get to the end, you’ll want to read it again to catch everything you missed.

Riordan had me at Norse mythology. Love it! Written in the usual tongue-in-cheek humor I’m used to with the author’s style, I loved the way he rebranded Norse myths to fit into the young adult genre he’s so famous for writing. It begins as homeless Magnus Chase (cousin to Annabeth from The Lightning Thief) is plucked from the real world (he literally dies) and taken to Hotel Valhalla, where he’s put through the gantlet over and over again (and dies many times in the process) until he teams up with an unlikely (and likable) diverse cast of characters who embark on a journey to recover his birthright—the Sword of Summer. However, what Magnus doesn’t count on is finding out the truth about who he really is, and his place in Asgard. 

When it comes to learning about Norse mythology, you can’t beat the original source material. If you are a bit of a history nerd like me, it’s fascinating to read a translation of the original Old Norse poems. These poems can be found in a text called the Poetic Edda, which has several different translations. I like the Henry Adams Bellows translation, as well as Dr. Jackson Crawford’s. Crawford has YouTube videos that taught me a lot while I was writing my book, so that’s worth checking out, if you’re interested.

This is a vigorous retelling of the last battle of the Norse gods and their enemies, how the gods tried to avert their doom, how they first met those who would kill almost all of them, and what happened after all the slaughter and destruction. The book has the size and format of a typical picture storybook but its powerful illustrations of threat and attack make it more suitable for an older audience.

This was another one of my favourites for learning about the Norse gods and the Norse religion. I found the information about the different gods, where their names came from, and how they were worshipped invaluable, as well as the detailed information about the different worlds the Vikings believed in and those who lived on those worlds.

This book was great for learning about how the Scandinavian people viewed their religion and how it affected their lives and their views on magic and the cosmos. I found it useful to learn about their afterlife and how the Vikings viewed it. It’s another book I regularly revisit when writing my novels.

This richly detailed book explores the worship of Odin and his wife, providing information from Continental sources as well as surviving Norse lore. It paints a different and more complete picture of a major goddess, and also brings to light older sides of Odin that have nothing to do with our modern images of Viking berserkers.

This is a book for the more mystically inclined, for those who wish to learn how to journey and to have their own encounters and experiences with the Norse Gods and Goddesses. A substantial amount of information on techniques and otherworldly realms is packed into this volume. The meditations are detailed and very helpful. This is not a book to read through in one sitting, but rather a sort of practice manual to refer back to again and again.

The God: Hermod

Dancing around the edges of Ragnarok with a focus on one of the most obscure gods he could find, Norse Code brings us into a world where the gods have adapted and adopted modern technology to gather warriors to Odin’s cause—defeating the forces of darkness and bringing about a new golden age to the world. Because van Eekhout approaches the myth of Ragnarok from Hermod’s perspective (along with a Valkyrie named Mist), he frees himself from the proscribed roles so many other gods are fated to play and offers us a fresh take on a well-known and well-trod story.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive reference book on the Norse deities, this is the title to get. In addition to describing the historical context and importance of Scandinavian mythology, the book alphabetically lists, describes, and explains the gods, the goddesses, as well as important mythological artifacts and creatures. It also has a section for additional resources and an excellent index. This is the book I find myself referring back to over and over again to make sure I’ve got my details right in my own writing.