Is there an audiobook of Norse Mythology?

Yes. Norse Mythology has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Neil Gaiman.

How long is the Norse Mythology audiobook?

The Norse Mythology audiobook runs 6 hr 29 min.

Is Norse Mythology on Kindle Unlimited?

No. Norse Mythology was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on August 15, 2026.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman book cover for the Book of the Day mythology book review

Our score

4.5/ 5

Outstanding

Listen to Norse Mythology free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

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EDITION PUBLISHEDFebruary 2017

Genres

Fiction Mythology Folklore

Themes

Trickery and consequenceDoom and fatalismThe making and unmaking of worldsWisdom bought at a price

Norse Mythology

Name: Norse Mythology
Price: 8.18 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman gathers the great Norse tales — the making of the worlds, the mischief of Loki, the doom of Ragnarok — and retells them in his own clear, wry, fireside voice. It is the most inviting door into Norse myth you could ask for.

The Review

Our take

The old Norse myths come down to us in fragments: a handful of medieval Icelandic texts, riddling and incomplete, full of gods who are vivid one moment and gone the next. Neil Gaiman's achievement here is to take those scattered sources and shape them into a single flowing narrative, arranged from the creation of the cosmos to its fiery end, told as though by someone who has known these stories all his life and wants nothing more than to pass them on.

The voice is the whole pleasure. Gaiman writes with the cadence of a born storyteller — plain, rhythmic, often very funny — and he resists the temptation to over-decorate. Odin is wise and untrustworthy, forever trading pieces of himself for knowledge. Thor is mighty and a little dim, quick to reach for his hammer. And Loki, the trickster who is the secret engine of nearly every tale, is rendered with obvious relish: charming, malicious, indispensable, the friend you cannot trust and cannot do without. Watching these three collide across a sequence of bargains, thefts, and disguises is the book's great recurring delight.

The individual stories are episodic by nature, and readers expecting a single sustained plot should adjust their expectations: this is a cycle of tales, not a novel, and some are slighter than others. A few of the lesser-known episodes have the abruptness of their ancient sources, ending before a modern reader might wish. But Gaiman arranges them with real care, so that motifs and consequences accumulate — a stolen object here pays off in a catastrophe there — and the whole builds steadily toward Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods, which he delivers with a grave beauty that lands all the harder for the comedy that came before.

What makes the collection more than a tidy primer is the worldview it preserves. These are gods who know they are doomed, who feast and quarrel and scheme in the full knowledge that the wolves are coming. That fatalism gives the Norse imagination its particular flavor — bracing, melancholy, oddly comforting — and Gaiman honors it without ever sermonizing. He simply tells the stories well and lets their strangeness do the work.

It helps, too, that Gaiman has clearly chosen restraint over ornament. He could have novelized these myths, filling in interior lives and inventing motive, and the result would have been busier and less true. Instead he keeps faith with the spare, declarative spirit of the originals, trusting that a tale told cleanly is a tale that lasts. The dialogue is sharp, the descriptions economical, and the humor arises from character rather than embellishment. That discipline is precisely why the book reads so quickly and stays with you so long.

Why you should read

You're curious about Norse myth but want an accessible way in
You love a great storyteller's voice over scholarly apparatus
You enjoyed Gaiman's other work or trickster tales
You like episodic, read-aloud collections

What to expect

A connected cycle of myths from creation to Ragnarok
A plain, witty, fireside storytelling voice
Loki, Thor, and Odin as the recurring core
A melancholy, fatalistic worldview rendered with warmth

For newcomers it is the ideal introduction, and for those who already love this mythology it is a warm, faithful retelling by a writer perfectly suited to the task. Either way, you close it wanting to read the next tale aloud to someone.

Reviewed by Rowan · How our reviews are written

Our verdict

4.5/ 5

Outstanding

Listen to Norse Mythology free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices may vary.

Where to read or listen

Is there an audiobook of Norse Mythology?: Yes. Norse Mythology has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Neil Gaiman.
Listen to Norse Mythology free with an Audible trial
We earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
How long is the Norse Mythology audiobook?: The Norse Mythology audiobook runs 6 hr 29 min.
Is Norse Mythology on Kindle Unlimited?: No. Norse Mythology was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on August 15, 2026.
How much does Norse Mythology cost?: On Amazon: Kindle $8.18, Paperback $9.50, Hardcover $12.61. Prices as of August 25, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT and may change.

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Common questions

What is Norse Mythology about?: The old Norse myths come down to us in fragments: a handful of medieval Icelandic texts, riddling and incomplete, full of gods who are vivid one moment and gone the next. Neil Gaiman's achievement here is to take those scattered sources and shape them into a single flowing narrative, arranged from…
Is Norse Mythology worth reading?: We scored Norse Mythology 4.5 out of 5. Neil Gaiman gathers the great Norse tales — the making of the worlds, the mischief of Loki, the doom of Ragnarok — and retells them in his own clear, wry, fireside voice. It is the most inviting door into Norse myth you could ask for.