Mythic journeys : myths & legends retold

Mythic journeys Myths & legends retold

Book - 2019

"Award-winning editor Paula Guran presents a diverse reprint anthology collecting classic myths and legends, retold by today's top fantasy writers. Myths and legends are the oldest of stories, part of our collective consciousness, and the source from which all fiction flows. Full of magic, supernatural powers, monsters, heroes, epic journeys, strange worlds, and vast imagination, they are fantasies so compelling we want to believe them true. The authors of fantastic literature create new mythologies, heroes, and monsters. Retelling, reinventing, mixing the old with new insight and meaning. Their stories, like the ancient tales, entertain and often offer readers new ways to interpret and understand the world. Drawn from diverse cul...tures, modern legends and mythic tales are told in a variety of ways--amiable or acerbic, rollicking or reflective, charming or chilling--as they take us on new journeys along paths both fresh and familiar. This new anthology compiles some of the best modern short mythic retellings and reinvention of legend from award-winning and bestselling authors, acclaimed storytellers, and exciting new talents in a captivating collection. Adventure with us on these Mythic Journeys."--

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SCIENCE FICTION/Mythic
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Location Call Number   Status
1st Floor SCIENCE FICTION/Mythic Due Oct 8, 2023
Subjects
Mythology > Fiction.
Legends.
Tales.
Short stories.
Fantasy fiction.
Genres
Fantasy fiction
Published
New York : Night Shade Books [2019]
Language
English
Physical Description
426 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781597809580
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Editor Guran has compiled a wide range of previously published stories all united by the theme of retelling myths and legends in new settings. While some big names of the ""myth retold"" fantasy subgenre are present, such as Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint, newer and lesser-known writers are well represented. The stories include intrusions of myth into the mundane world, as in Catherynne Valente's ""White Lines on a Green Field,"" in which Coyote arrives in a small town and becomes the beloved star of the football team, and Yoon Ha Lee's ""Foxfire,"" in which shape-shifting foxes and tigers exist against a backdrop of civil war. There are also fantasies set in their own unique worlds, such as Rachel Pollack's ""Immortal Snake,"" in which a city dominated by its astronomers ritually kills and replaces its ""immortal"" ruler. And there are sf or hybrid stories in which legends take new forms, like Ken Liu's ""The Ten Suns,"" set on a forgotten terraformed planet, and John Shirley's ""Zhuyin,"" featuring a horrifying experiment inspired by the Chinese mythological snake. The stories are all excellent, and the variety of storytelling makes this a solid choice for fantasy and general readers alike.--Nell Keep Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This weighty compendium features 28 contemporary storytellers using modern literary techniques to retell and reexamine ancient legends, with both sharp and blurry results. Among the best are the shortest-Brooke Bolander's "Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies," an uncompromising tale of the Furies taking revenge on a serial killer-as well as the longest-Rachel Pollack's "Immortal Snake," a postmodern mashup of the legend of the kingdom of Darfur mixed with Egyptian, biblical, and Greek elements. Most incisively, Elizabeth Hand's "Calypso in Berlin" updates the nymph who captivated Odysseus, showing the power of art to both literally and metaphorically transform lives, while Neil Gaiman's "Chivalry" uses mock epic to gently poke fun at those enthralled by sagas' devices and trappings. Telling a futuristic myth in ancient tones, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due's "Trickster" combines a monstrous alien tyranny with the East African deceiver, Mantis. Some of the pieces read as chapters from longer works, but they are still fairly strong blends of myth with science fiction (Yoon Ha Lee's "Foxfire, Foxfire," Ken Liu's "The Ten Suns") or inventive retellings of the classics (Priya Sharma's "Thesea and Astaurius"). Unfortunately, modernization only produces made-for-TV monsters in John Shirley's "Zhuyin," the only story original to this volume. Fans of fables will find this a delightful exploration of the ways ancient stories can still captivate. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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