Reddit mentions of Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Mythology: a guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt.

https://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245

Also if you have an audible account/ are interested in audiobooks or online learning Audible has free audiobook versions of The Great Courses Plus lectures on mythology. They’re great lectures.

Ps. If you’re unaware there’s a fun podcast for the casual myth fan called Myths and Legends. Personally I love Jason’s work — it’s a bit trivialized sometimes but it’s good fun. He has a way of crafting narrative out of an amalgamation of varied stories from myth and folklore.

As someone who routinely uses both Egyptian and Java, I can say categorically -- I like Egyptian a lot better. :)

If you're just writing games, you don't necessarily need the most current research -- anything in the last few decades is fine for your purposes. Unfortunately, there's a tremendous amount of material being printed still that goes back to the 19th century in Dover reprints that needs to be avoided at all costs. Also, remember that you're talking about almost three millennia of religious belief -- the differences between Old Kingdom and Roman period are far far greater than the differences between Upper and Lower Egypt.

In any event, here's a modern translation of the Book of the Dead (not Budge!):

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Book-Raymond-Faulkner/dp/0760773092/

The BotD isn't the greatest intro to the theogeny you may be looking for, but it's well known.

These are both current, but I don't know them:

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Gods-Goddesses-Ancient-Egypt/dp/0500051208

Avoid anything not written by an actual academic in the field -- there's way too much 'Egyptology' that's actually modern spirituality misusing ancient texts, and as noted, lots of reprints of Budge and Petrie that are now way out of date.

Last thoughts: If you're looking for thematic ideas for a game, there may be some good mythology childrens books that will hit the points and iconography you want (but will lack some of the more anatomically correct aspects of Egyptian divinity), and if you can, go through a real book store rather than Amazon :) If you're near Boston, Schoenhof's may have some of these.

Though awesome, the Book of the Dead is focused more on ritual spells associated with preparation for the afterlife. There's also a number of different versions, none "canonical." This book, Egyptian Mythology by G. Harris, seems to cover the basics of Egyptian myth, and includes more "Gods and Godesses" type stories:

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Mythology-Goddesses-Traditions-Ancient/dp/0195170245/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

I see! You should definitely read atleast one sort of "basic" Egyptian mythology book, if only so you have a good base. I started with this book and it did the job. If you want any other recs in general for Egyptian religion and magic, just let me know (or look through my posts!). Something else to keep in mind while you learn- Pharonic culture existed for thousands of years, and AE religion and their conceptions of the nature of the gods shifted during that time, so some of the "mystic" texts one can find might treat Set or Djehuty very differently than how they were viewed in the 3rd Dynasty, which is different than the 17th, which is different than during Hellenistic times. Good luck!