Title: Myth Weaver
Author: David J. Normoyle
Genre: YA, fantasy, Greek mythology, Norse mythology
Publication date: July 2012
Published by: David J. Normoyle
Source: review e-copy from Goodreads group Making Connections YA Edition and author (Thank you!)
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Synopsis:
Relive Greek and Norse myths as never before.
Eighteen-year-old Jagger is addicted to his imagination. He scorns the real world and lives inside his own head. He is happy to withdraw completely until his daydream world becomes a battleground for Odin and Zeus. When Jagger actually feels his skin burning from Zeus’s thunderbolt, the edges of reality blur even further.
A contest of myths is formed where Greek is pitted against Norse. Under Loki and Prometheus’s guidance, Jagger acts as judge. He is Perseus as he cuts off Medusa’s head and Loki as he schemes against the other gods. He sees Odin face the frost giants at Ragnarok and Achilles set sail for Troy.
Inspired by his mythological heroes, he starts working for a newspaper where his investigations lead him into real danger. Prometheus tries to help Jagger, but getting aid from Loki, the trickster, could be double-edged. Will ancient truths help Jagger in the modern world? And can Jagger judge the contest of myths without further enraging the warring gods?
I was so very happy when I came across this book! What can I say, I'm a HUGE mythology fan! To tell the truth, though, I didn't know what to expect from this book. But, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
You see, Jagger has a very wild and creative imagination. He prefers living in his very vivid dream world than in the dull and cruel real world. In one of his daydreams, he finds himself in the middle of a godly fight...a fight between the Norse god Odin and the Greek god Zeus. Turns out no one knows how they all wound up in this life-like daydream of these two mashed up worlds...Not even Jagger! So in order to settle the dispute between Odin and Zeus, regarding who the better god is, Jagger comes up with a contest of myths that he will be the judge of. These myths included:
~Norse mythology~
*The death of Balder
*Creation myth: Chasm that divided the fire and ice worlds; Yggdrasil- the tree of life; creation of mankind
*Hero Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir; He saves the Valkyrie Brynhild
*Gudrun and Sigurd; Brynhild marries Gudrun's brother
*Thor and his strength tricked by Utgard-Loki
*Signy's revenge
*Ragnarok
~Greek mythology~
*Achilles and the Trojan War; Paris kills him
*Creation: Chaos; Prometheus creates mankind; Pandora's Box
*Hero Perseus goes on journey to kill Medusa; he saves Andromeda from sea monster
*Oedipus and the Sphinx; Oedipus' Prophecy: He will kill his father and marry his mother (all I have to say about this is the Fates have a sick sense of humor...they are seriously messed up!)
*Heracles (AKA Hercules) and his labors; Hera drives him insane (I find it amusing that Heracles' name means "Glory of Hera" when Hera hates his guts!)
*Jason and the Golden Fleece; Medea's revenge
*Abduction of Persephone (in this version Persephone actually ends up liking Hades...YAY! Hades is one of my favorite Greek gods!)
My expertise in mythology lies in Greek mythology, but really, I love all types! To me, the Norse myths were very informative and, because I have never read them before, I got to learn some new things! All the Greek ones I was already familiar with, but I really liked that the author went into so much detail!
As I said, I loved all these myths, and I really liked how Jagger took these myths and applied them to the real world to try and solve his problems. I also liked how the author took the myths and interpreted them in his own way, yet kept the essence of the original myths. I can't say how much it bothers me when myths are retold but are inaccurate! This, however, was not the case with Myth Weaver.
I LOVED the characters! Loki, especially! Although he is very, very, mischievous, he is hilarious! An example: the gods sometimes showed Jagger the myths, instead of just telling him about them. This, for some reason, involved fire...
"Thanks for pushing me into the fire after promising you wouldn't," Jagger said to Loki.
"I never understand why people trust me even when they know what I'm like," Loki grinned.
-Later-
Jagger pointed at Loki. "No baptism by fire this time. Let's hear about hero quests."
-And a comment made by Loki, on one of the several times Jagger was "baptized" by fire, lol-
"It was funny when you screamed like a girl."
I LOVED these parts! I could NOT stop laughing! Oh Loki...*wipes tear of glee away*
As for Jagger's character, well, he went through some major character development! And not in the bad way. By the end of the book he was more confident and sure of himself, which is great for him! But I kinda wished we would've learned more about Jagger and his past and why he was so unbelievably shy.
But overall, I thought this was an amazing read! If your a fan of mythology like I am, this is a must read!
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)
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