本书分四大部分，通过一个个诙谐幽默又相互联系的故事，使读者在不知不觉中读完整个北欧神话。在这些精彩绝伦的故事中，有跨过彩虹桥，漫游于人类之间的“众神之父”奥丁，有手握强大神捶的雷神托尔，还有火神洛基，他狡黠又好恶作剧的性格，使他走上了背叛诸神的不归路。巨人、龙、侏儒和女武神瓦尔基里的故事同样动人，还有摧毁诸神世界那可怕的最后一战更是充满了震撼。这部初版于1920年的经典作品，如今首次以中文精装本的形式引入中国，附以精美的版刻插画。书末还整理了国内十分混乱的北欧神话人物译名，方便读者。

Introducing an instant classic―master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great Norse myths. Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki―son of a giant―blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Once, when Thor’s hammer is stolen, Thor must disguise himself as a woman―difficult with his beard and huge appetite―to steal it back. More poignant is the tale in which the blood of Kvasir―the most sagacious of gods―is turned into a mead that infuses drinkers with poetry. The work culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and rebirth of a new time and people. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge these gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.