Norse Tales of Gods and Heroes

Relying on well-known sources of the northern epic – the "Poetic Edda," "Prose Edda," "Saga of the Volsungs," the songs of the skalds, and other literary sources, Yuri Svetlanov retold the most impressive tales of gods and heroes. His retelling is very close to the original, but in some cases, he delicately softened episodes of barbaric brutality inherent in Norse sagas. From an extensive array of literary versions, he selected the most poetic and socially significant ones. Despite the abundance of difficult-to-pronounce names, the text is clear and captivates from the very first lines.
The book is also interesting in that it allows us to trace how Scandinavian mythology has directly penetrated modern culture, preserving names and titles, and even giving rise to pantheons of gods and universes in cinema, anime, manga, fantasy, and video games.
The ease of narration, the poetic nature of many episodes, and the remarkable charm of mighty heroes – the father of the gods Odin, the red-bearded hero Thor, the cunning Loki, and other vivid characters – will attract readers aged 10-14, as well as anyone seriously interested in the mythology of the peoples of Scandinavia.