Gaiman has captured the essence of Odin, Thor and Loki terrifically. The marvel cinematic universe and the comic book writers do a good job with their personalities, though their actual physical attributes are completely wrong. It’s all in the minor details. In it, a crippled boy meets a few anthropomorphic animals who turn out to be outcast gods, who need this Odd and the Frost Giants is such a short and easy read, you'll gulp it down in an instant and be shouting to Neil Gaiman, "Next!" This is the most childish Gaiman story I've read yet and that's saying something.

THERE WAS A BOY called Odd, and there was nothing strange or unusual about that, not in that time or place. Odd meant the tip of a blade, and it was a lucky name. They would load the ponies up with all the gold and valuables and food and weapons that they could find, and the ponies would trudge back to the longship. The ponies were the most valuable and hardworking things on the ship. After Olaf the Tall was killed by a Scotsman, Odd’s father had to look after the ponies. Odd’s father wasn’t very experienced with ponies, being a woodcutter and wood-carver by trade, but he did his best. On the return journey, one of the ponies got loose during a squall off Orkney and fell overboard. Odd’s father jumped into the grey sea with a rope, pulled the pony back.

You were talking, said Odd. The animals looked at Odd and at one another. If they did not actually say Who? Us? it was there in their expressions, in the way they held themselves. Somebody was talking, said Odd, and it wasn’t me. There isn’t anyone else in here. We don’t talk about that, said the fox. So is that why the winter isn’t ending? said Odd. The Frost Giants like the winter. They are the winter, said the bear. And if spring never comes?

Odd and the Frost Giants (paperback, 112 pages, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0-7475-9538-0). The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection (2004) (Children's stories: "Wolves in the Walls", "Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish", "Cinnamon", "Crazy Hair"). Speaking in Tongues (2005) (contains "Daughter of Owls", "Instructions", "The Price", "The Sea Change", and "The Facts In the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch. ) Where's Neil When You Need Him? (2006) (Seventeen bands wrote songs based on Neil's work for this disc. Dave McKean created the artwork and Neil wrote the liner notes). Mr Gaiman's song-writing and collaboration is also featured on: Alice Cooper's The Last Temptation.

But when Odd flees to the woods and releases a trapped bear, his luck begins to change. The eagle, bear and fox he encounters reveal they're actually Nordic gods, trapped in animal form by the evil Frost Giants who have conquered Asgard, the city of the gods.

The thrilling, wintry Nordic tale by Neil Gaiman, who weaves a magical story of legend and adventure that will enchant . .Odd, a young Viking boy, is left fatherless following a raid. In his icy, ancient world there is no mercy for an unlucky soul with a crushed foot and no one to protect him. Fleeing to the woods, Odd stumbles upon and releases a trapped bea. nd then Odd's destiny begins to change. The eagle, bear, and fox Odd encounters are Norse gods, trapped in animal form by the evil frost giant who has conquered Asgard, the city of the gods.

What year is this? Also the archeological record shows that Norse women were not subject to this patriarchal crap. I would never let a kid listen to this. Another fantastic book and entrancing narration by Neil Gaiman. Well worth listening to. Poor Freya! How many times will the beautiful goddess be a prize for ogres and giants? 3 months ago. Plot 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.