We are closer in time to the great inventors of the Renaissance than Plutarch was in time to his first two subjects.
The Maya Myths Review
Matsumoto's retellings of Maya mythological stories are more like plot summaries than any effort to really capture the feel and emotional context of the myths and stories involved. If writing down an oral story robs it of life, she gives us only the bones, not even the full corpse.
The Palm-Wine Drinkard Review
Rather than hidden worlds of magic or mythical creatures hidden away from humanity, all that wonder (and horror) is still right here, a part of the world, and you might stumble upon the path to the lands of the dead as readily as you might take the turn right out of your neighborhood instead of left.
Prose Edda Review
At a glance, the Edda is not so different from other mythologies, like those of Greece, Egypt, Sumer, and so forth. A glancing view, though, is really a way of looking at a subject through the lens of a previous understanding, rather than acquiring a new and independent understanding of the subject.
A Story as Sharp as a Knife Review
The book spends more time on Bringhurst’s analysis, philosophizing, and linguistic and cultural musings than it does actually presenting Haida stories.
Dispelling Myths about Mythology
Myth is a way of interacting with the world via story, and is as dynamic as the people who tell the stories, whether oral, written, or in any other form. Stories are not themselves the myth – the myth arises from the conversation between stories set within its ecosystem.
Landscape and Memory Review
Art criticism is hardly my usual field of interest, but it was not art that Landscape and Memory prompted me to consider. Instead, it was nature itself.
Lloyd’s Best Books of 2022
Everyone and anyone who does book reviews probably does a similar post around this time, but given my...eclectic reading list, I doubt I need fear redundancy.
A Common Mythos
I came across this essay recently on "The Power of Our New Pop Myths," which makes the argument that franchise-based storytelling in the style of Star Wars or Marvel is popular because it fulfils the same societal needs that have historically been filled by religious storytelling.
The Castle of Otranto Review
is how it came to be added to my reading list. However, to be more specific, it is one of the earliest works of Gothic horror, more a precursor to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein than it is to The Lord of the Rings. That is not a genre that I tend to favor, but the idea of reading an early work of speculative fiction was intriguing to allow me to look past that element.
