The Gospel of Loki
Loki • Book 1
by Joanne M. Harris, Joanne Harris
Why You'll Love This
Loki tells his own story — and he warns you upfront that he's lying, which somehow makes you trust him more.
- Great if you want: a witty, unreliable narrator retelling mythology from the villain's chair
- The experience: brisk and slyly funny, with a darkening tone as Ragnarök approaches
- The writing: Harris writes Loki's voice as slippery and charming — the prose itself deceives
- Skip if: you want deep world-building over character voice and mythic plot
About This Book
From the moment Loki introduces himself as "the handsome and modest hero of this particular tissue of lies," you know you're in the hands of an unreliable narrator at his most dangerously charming. Joanne Harris retells the Norse myths from creation to catastrophe entirely through Loki's eyes — a trickster god with genuine grievances, a sharp wit, and absolutely no interest in telling you the whole truth. The result is a story that feels at once ancient and urgently alive, full of cosmic stakes filtered through a voice that's by turns hilarious, bitter, and unexpectedly moving.
What makes this book distinctive is Harris's decision to fully commit to Loki as narrator rather than subject. His voice is slippery and self-aware, constantly winking at the reader while also revealing more vulnerability than he'd ever consciously admit. Harris structures the episodes like interconnected myths rather than a conventional novel, which suits the material perfectly — each chapter lands with the satisfying weight of a legend retold by someone who was there and has reasons to spin it. It's lean, clever, and quietly subversive.
