MYTHOLOGY LAND: 12 classic legends reimagined, beautiful Yule gift!

MYTHOLOGY LAND: 12 classic legends reimagined
CLAIRE COCK-STARKEY (Illus. Pham Quang Phuc)
Frances Lincoln Children's Books (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$35.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Mythology Land is a large-format gift book filled with classic myths and exquisitely illustrated maps for children to pore over.

Mythology Land opens the gates to the magical lands of all the characters and creatures of myth.

These expertly retold stories are perfect for bedtime, and each tale is followed by an exquisitely illustrated map of its world. You can drop into Midgard and explore the land of the giants with Thor, run from Baba Yaga in the Deep Dark Forest, and follow the Yangtze river to see which animal will win the great race. What wonderful things will you find along the way?

Beautiful, stylish, and vibrant illustrations adorn each page, as the text transports readers to faraway lands of mystery, fantasy, and magic—and the level of detail in the maps of these lands means this title will be lovingly pored over time and time again.

The stories include:

Rama & Sita (Hindu)

The Great Race (Chinese)

The Trojan Horse (Greek)

Quetzalcoatl Brings Food to the World (Aztec)

The Great Maui (Polynesian)

Thor and the Land of the Giants (Norse)

The Tale of Blodeuwedd (Welsh)

Baba Yaga (Slavic)

Anansi and the Sky God (Ghanaian)

The Story of Isis and Osiris (Egyptian)

The Grateful Crane (Japanese)

The Legend of Sedna (Inuit)

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A beautiful exercise in retelling a variety of cultures' myths. I felt drawn in to these retellings, and greatly appreciated the artwork. It's another case of how much you spend versus how much you get...it's a bit more than most but it really looks it.

A few spreads as examples:

Luxe items like this book are excellent gifts because they look more expensive than their actual cost. I'd choose the tree book because it's guaranteed to look lovely, where the tablet the book is viewed on will make a huge difference.

ATLAS OF MYTHICAL JOURNEYS: Discover Heroic Quests, Daring Voyages and Epic Adventures, latest in an excellent series

ATLAS OF MYTHICAL JOURNEYS: Discover Heroic Quests, Daring Voyages and Epic Adventures
EMILY HAWKINS (illus. Iryna Dobrovetska)
Wide Eyed Editions (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$30.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Tread in the footsteps of ancient heroes and heroines with An Atlas of Mythical Journeys, your fantastical guidebook to adventures otherwise lost to time.

For thousands of years, humans have been telling stories of great and perilous journeys and the heroic adventurers who made them. Relive more than 30 of these legendary voyages with An Atlas of Mythical Journeys, and uncover the secret histories behind them.

From the fateful homecoming of Odysseus to Mulan's mission to free her homeland, these tales plot a course from myth to folklore to history. Marvel at epic scenes for every journey, featuring battles between gods and monsters, treacherous seas, and long-lost lairs filled with treasure. Along the way, you'll not only discover myths and legends you've never heard before, but also learn all about the peoples and cultures who told them, what they mean, and where they come from.

Arranged by continent, featured stories include:

Jason and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece

Loki's mischievous search for the apples of immortality

San Zang's famed journey to the West

The exploits at sea of Sinbad the Sailor

The Wabanaki legend of Glooscap

Anansi the Spider and the Box of Stories

How Māui created the islands called New Zealand

Many, many more...

Fact meets fantasy in this stunning collection of beloved tales and unearthed legends for 9-12-year-olds, each of which reveals something more about the excitement of journeying into the unknown. With lovingly hand-painted illustrations rich in authentic detail, An Atlas of Mythical Journeys is certain to become a favorite of those reading independently or with parents. The ultimate quest awaits in An Atlas of Mythical Journeys!

For more in the same series, check out An Atlas of Lost Kingdoms and An Atlas of Afterlives.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I've loved, and recommended, every one of the books in this series for anyone to enjoy. The primary audience, IMO, starts around eight years old for the brighter kids and ten for more average readers.

Adults shouldn't feel excluded! We can thoroughly enjoy this beautiful object. The stories won't be new; the narrative voice won't be aimed at us; but there's good comfort in being told a story, especially (sometimes) a familiar one.

Now, look at this art:

It's perfectly gorgeous, and if you're looking forthe gift of all gifts for a mythology lover this Yule, here it is.

ABALONE AND THE SNAKE GODDESS, Chinese-inflected fantasy novel with promise

ABALONE AND THE SNAKE GODDESS
CHRISTINE LI
Inanna Media (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$5.99 ebook edition, available now

Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Once a promising magician, Abalone has lost everything: her love, her voice, and her soul. For thirteen years, she hides behind the high walls of Jiankang, the imperial capital of ancient China, consumed by grief and silence. But one fateful new moon night, she crafts a forbidden love spell and calls upon the fiery magic of the dark Snake Goddess.

This powerful goddess, however, has plans of her own. Guided by ancient forces, Abalone must leave her sanctuary and journey into the wild swamps and treacherous mountains beyond the city. There, among the last rebellious heirs of shamanic tribes, she begins her true path: to reclaim her soul and fulfill her destiny.

When a young girl is stolen by ruthless hands, Abalone must decide whether to risk everything—again—and confront the shadows of a forgotten past.

Abalone and the Snake Goddess is a poetic and haunting tale of love, magic, and the dark, transformative journey of the soul. Perfect for readers of mythical fantasy, Chinese folklore, and stories of resilient heroines.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: It's the Year of the Snake, and Satan only knows it's a very China-heavy news cycle with the AI-development wars going on. I'm always down for a history- and mythology-inflected story. Make all these things come together and voilà! The perfect time to review this book has arrived.

The first half of the story is about Abalone, our PoV, and her severely circumscribed world. The worldbuilding here is...patchy...it's not particularly cohesive as we come to know the people who hate Abalone, how the husband she loves loves her not, and how the resolution of that truly devastating problem comes to Abalone's attention. There are exactly no "why"s in this story.

That's when the conflicts kick off, the goddess who has the power to help her reveals the cost of asking for divine intervention, and what the stakes for the world are going to be no matter what she does.

Frankly this feels as though I'm reading part two of far longer story and I really need part one to get me to invest emotional energy into this character's worldview. The cultural stuff is very interesting, the ideas around divinity are fun to think through as events transpire, the atmospherics of the setting worked very well for me. If there's a part one, I'll gladly read it.

I think Abalone, as presented here, is not enough of a character to make me warble my fool lungs out about the read. It's okay, and has moments of genuine excitement; but it lacks that most helpful of things, a solidly investable main character, needed for me to shove it at you demanding you read it now.

Pity...it almost got all four stars.