Thor

Hey, guys!
After The Incredible Hulk, we have another new addition to the MCU franchise to discuss today. Thor is one of the original six Avengers, so let’s talk about his first film!

The Plot:

After the Asgardian God Thor fucked up big time, his father Odin exiled him to earth, stripped of his powers.
As Thor tries to settle on earth, his “brother” Loki has big plans…

The Rating:

While I wasn’t overly fond of The Incredible Hulk, Thor really did it for me.

What they did with the original Norse myths is quite surprising and I love that Marvel decided to go in that direction.

One of the biggest points that made Thor so great is the sense of humor. So many moments in this film are outright hilarious.

Apart from that, we get some impressive fighting sequences and the set design for Asgard is stunning. Anthony Hopkins stars as Odin, Rene Russo as Frigga, his queen. How could that not turn out great?

Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Hey guys!
Some time ago I did a book vs. show post on American Gods. However, I only did a mini-review on the novel, which didn’t cover all that I have to say. So let’s look into the book more deeply!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Cover)

 

The Plot:
Shadow Moon’s life sucks. He just got out of jail – because his wife died. As if that wasn’t enough, turns out she had been screwing his best friend.
Where could you possibly go from here? Well, an opportunity comes up for Shadow, he meets a weird old guy named Mr. Wednesday who claims to be the God Odin, in need for an assistant…

 

The Rating:
I know, I’m a bit late with reading this novel as it was originally published in 2001. But once I started reading, I just couldn’t put it down.
What Neil Gaiman created here is first of all a cleverly drafted storyline. The plot is mysterious and you won’t be able to see through any of the twist that lie ahead. Gaiman surprised me numerous times throughout this book and I couldn’t tell which way things would go in the end.
Another major plus point of American Gods are the awesome characters. Of course, our protagonist Shadow Moon is a relatable guy who gains depth with every page, but let’s be honest, he’s not what we came for.

Book vs. Show: American Gods

Hey guys!
I’m currently catching up with last years big hits. This time I went through American Gods, both book and show. So let’s see whether it’s good!

 

The Plot:
Shadow Moon’s life sucks. He just got out of jail – because his wife died. As if that wasn’t enough, turns out she had been screwing his best friend.
Where could you possibly go from here? Well, an opportunity comes up for Shadow, he meets a weird old guy named Mr. Wednesday who claims to be the God Odin, in need for an assistant…

 

Book vs. Movie:
Let me begin with the novel. Written by Neil Gaiman and published in 2001, I am a bit late to catch up with this bestseller. However, it was 100 % worth the time I spent reading. American Gods is funny and smart. Gaiman does a great job integrating lots of information on history and different religions. You will learn many fascinating new aspects and I ended up researching lots of the stuff mentioned!
Furthermore, Gaiman does not simply come up with a list of religions, he marvelously puts all of it into a new frame thus transporting everything to the present day. You wouldn’t expect this to work out, but believe me, it’s damn close to perfect.
Moreover, the characters Neil Gaiman came up with are witty and have some of the best lines, you’ll be quoting constantly afterwards.
I basically devoured the book and was very excited to see how all of this would translate to the screen.
So let’s see what the showrunners did about all of this!

Book Review: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Hey guys!
I recently finished Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. So I’m ready to dive into a series. What better choice would there be than Rick Riordan’s latest take on the Norse Gods?

Goodreads Cover – The Sword of Summer

 

The Plot:
Magnus Chase is your regular teenager. Except for the fact that he is homeless. And the son of Frey, a God. Oh, and he’s dead.
Well, Magnus had no idea that his life was about to change completely but it turns out, being that isn’t that bad. At least not when you made it to Valhalla, a place where worthy warriors get to wait and train for Ragnarok.
But before Magnus can make himself comfortable he has to go on a quest to retrieve the Sword of Summer and prevent Ragnarok from happening, well, next week…

 

The Rating:
As you know, I completely devoured Rick Riordan’s book on the Greek Gods. So I was super excited to check out his latest series on the Norse Gods.