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dreaming_ace's review against another edition
5.0
Myths spin through time, through history. Spinning, dancing, movement. These are retellings, recreations, redreamings. Join these storytellers by the ancient fires and hear these new tales. Go forth on an adventure
hellsfire's review against another edition
3.0
I love folktales. I love buying ones with stories from around the world, which is harder than you think. It's far easier to buy ones based on ethnicity or countries especially Greek. Oddly enough, hard to find one for America. Maybe it has to do with the fact that this country is based on the backs of different cultures. With things hopefully changing, maybe we can get a book based on Native American, black, Chinese stories?
Anyways, Mythic Journeys started out well but then faltered. The problem with books like these is there's going to be stories that you inevitably don't like. That's usually fine, because most of them are short enough. The problem here is that a lot of the stories are super long and I find those are the ones that drag. I think one, maybe two held my interest. I liked a lot of the short ones but there weren't enough of them.
What I thought this book might have or should have also done was give info on each of the stories. At the end of each story, there should have been a paragraph or page of which folktale it was based off of. Because the stories were so long and dragged on, I honestly forgot what I was reading about.
There are a lot of big names here. They probably should have stuck to their bigger, longer work. I generally like to keep books like these around, but I'm donating this one.
Anyways, Mythic Journeys started out well but then faltered. The problem with books like these is there's going to be stories that you inevitably don't like. That's usually fine, because most of them are short enough. The problem here is that a lot of the stories are super long and I find those are the ones that drag. I think one, maybe two held my interest. I liked a lot of the short ones but there weren't enough of them.
What I thought this book might have or should have also done was give info on each of the stories. At the end of each story, there should have been a paragraph or page of which folktale it was based off of. Because the stories were so long and dragged on, I honestly forgot what I was reading about.
There are a lot of big names here. They probably should have stuck to their bigger, longer work. I generally like to keep books like these around, but I'm donating this one.
neens_m's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
oisin175's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Not always consistent in quality and some of the myths are barely recognizable, but ultimately enjoyable and a good lesson in how material can be adapted in creative and fun ways.
inkylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Overall an enjoyable collection of stories. A few really stand out stories, including "Calypso in Berlin" by Elizabeth Hand and "Thesea and Astaurius" by Priya Sharma. A very interesting mix on classical mythical stories that have the potential to introduce them to a new audience.
houlcroft's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful collections of stories from authors not only familiar with myths, but from the detail and passion which they include , clearly in love with mythology as well. There are some tales that will be familiar ,and are reworkings of existing myths, and others completely unrecognisable, either so far removed from the source material that they appear new, or are actually new myths created for a current or future world. Some fall flat in parts, and one or two try too hard to be clever, but even these few exceptions are lifted up by the incredible overall quality of the storytellers in the collection.
“White Lines on a Green Field” by Catherynne M. Valente and “Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies” by Brooke Bolander were two early favourites, drawing upon recognisable source materials in stunning and unexpected ways, and introducing me to two incredibly talented authors. Whereas “Armless Maidens of the American West” by Genevieve Valentine, “The God of Au” by Ann Leckie and “Immortal Snake” by Rachel Pollack offered an insight into the creation of new myths, and the ways in which this can be done.
A carefully curated collection of stories that engage, entertain and, most importantly, educate.
“White Lines on a Green Field” by Catherynne M. Valente and “Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies” by Brooke Bolander were two early favourites, drawing upon recognisable source materials in stunning and unexpected ways, and introducing me to two incredibly talented authors. Whereas “Armless Maidens of the American West” by Genevieve Valentine, “The God of Au” by Ann Leckie and “Immortal Snake” by Rachel Pollack offered an insight into the creation of new myths, and the ways in which this can be done.
A carefully curated collection of stories that engage, entertain and, most importantly, educate.
karenteacher's review against another edition
4.0
As with most anthologies, especially those written by multiple authors, I found that some of these stories were extremely good and some were less so. The volume as a whole averages out to 4 stars; there were several stories I greatly enjoyed, and a couple I started to read them skipped over. Most of the anthology is worth reading; read it for yourself and decide which stories you enjoy.
rorikae's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
This anthology does a great job of collecting a diverse set of stories that retell myths and legends from across the world. There were only a few stories that I didn't care for and there were far more that I absolutely loved. A few highlights include "Chivalry" by Neil Gaiman, "Thesea and Astaurius" by Priya Sharma, "Armless Maidens of the American West" by Genevieve Valentine, "Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream" by Maria Dahvana Headly, and "Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies" by Brooke Bolander. But again, flipping back through this collection, there are so many stories that were excellent and only two or three that I didn't care for. If you like retellings and short fiction, this is a great anthology to satisfy both of those interests.
This anthology does a great job of collecting a diverse set of stories that retell myths and legends from across the world. There were only a few stories that I didn't care for and there were far more that I absolutely loved. A few highlights include "Chivalry" by Neil Gaiman, "Thesea and Astaurius" by Priya Sharma, "Armless Maidens of the American West" by Genevieve Valentine, "Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream" by Maria Dahvana Headly, and "Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies" by Brooke Bolander. But again, flipping back through this collection, there are so many stories that were excellent and only two or three that I didn't care for. If you like retellings and short fiction, this is a great anthology to satisfy both of those interests.
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