Review: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

    Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
    Publisher:  HarperCollins
    Publication Date:  September 22nd, 2009
    Source:  Kindle book
   

What Goodreads says it's about:

          "The winter isn't ending. Nobody knows why.

           And Odd has run away from home, even though he can barely walk and has to use a crutch.

           Out in the forest he encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story 

           to tell.

           Now Odd is faced with a stranger journey than he had ever imagined.

           A journey to save Asgard, City of the Norse Gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

           It's going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and rescue the mighty Gods. Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever.

           Someone just like Odd..."

              

What I think it's about:

            

          It's like a pagan version of Narnia, with Gaiman's own twist on it.  I know for sure that he isn't a Christian, although he has been inspired by C.S. Lewis.  And who isn't, ya know?  Just...whenever I hear about eternal winter in a book, my mind always thinks, "Always winter...and never Christmas."  The G-Man, however places humanity as the pinnacle of morality, rather than the gods.  It's the gods who get into this mess, and Odd who takes on the duty of getting them out of it.  How he does is starkly different from Hollywood's vision for kids: it emphasizes being smart.  And that's all I have to say about that.

       Nevertheless, despite G-Man's humanistic leanings, anyone can enjoy this book.  Part of Gaiman's magic is being able to write children's things that adults can get a kick out of.  (His adult books, on the other hand, are a whole different animal.)  Adheres to folklore and mythology (one of Gaiman's favorite genres), yet keeps it simple enough for the common n00b to understand.  

         Honestly?  Gaiman's books kind of spoil me.  I'll read a great book of his, and then go to another book by another author, and expect just as much magic and wonder.  Then I'm disappointed when the other book doesn't perform.  Curse you, Gaiman. 

Cuss Factor:  None.

Canoodling Factor:  None.  Except for reference to something Loki did when he was a horse.  But as Loki himself said, "We don't talk about that."

Violence Factor:  Hey, it's the Vikings.  But actually, the most violent thing is how Odd got his limp, and what becomes of that.  

In Sum:  ✩✩✩✩✩