(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best mythology & folk tales books

xD ok this will be a long message bear with me.

1. Is there a synopsis of each story available?
   
   Yes! Every serial I write has a home page, and every home page has:
   
   

• Links to every part that is released
  
  
• A brief 'blurb' for the series, normally what I'd put on the back of the hardcopy :)
  
  
• Links to any artwork I've been sent or purchased of the series
  
  
• Links to any other media, like audio files or videos
  
  For my serials, the home pages are as follows:
  
  Flameweaver Saga
  
  Halfway to Home
  
  
  

2. I want to read other stuff
   
   From a quick browse-through of your comments I didn't see you crossing paths with any other serial authors - If you haven't read any of his stuff, I highly, highly recommend /u/Hydrael's work, over at /r/Hydrael_Writes! His Dragon's Scion and Small Worlds projects are exceptional! Small worlds is also published on Amazon!
   
   
3. I want to read traditional novels
   
   I can help with that! Some quick recommendations that I personally love - these are loosely ranked in order of how I'd recommend them, but the fact that they're here at all means they've got my support :)
   
   Fantasy novels:
   
   The October Daye series:
   
   

• Urban fantasy
  
  
• Awesome worldbuilding
  
  
• Is where I learned how to write twists, and where I picked up my penchant for chekov's guns
  
  Trickster's Choice/Trickster's Queen
  
  
• Traditional fantasy
  
  
• Wonderful politics and intrigue
  
  
• Influenced how gods are handled in Flameweaver
  
  
• Both written easily enough for young readers to understand, and complex enough for adults to enjoy
  
  Graceling
  
  
• Traditional fantasy
  
  
• A bit more well-known, but a surprisingly solid upper-YA read. Kind of a guilty pleasure book of mine haha
  
  Scifi Novels:
  
  Agent to the Stars and Old Man's War
  
  
• John Scalzi is the author I modeled my own writing style after. So if you like my style, you might like his too.
  
  
• Darkly humerous. Realistic and gritty, without being overpoweringly grim.
  
  
• Wickedly sarcastic
  
  The Ender Quartet
  
  
• A bit wordier/harder to read, after Ender's Game. The last book (Children of the Mind) is probably one of the most challenging books I've ever read. But rewarding.
  
  
• Long-running, intricate plotline
  
  The Ship Series
  
  
• Indie series I happened across a few years ago
  
  
• Upper YA. Younger characters, but dark content
  
  
• Well-written, relatable characters

[The Charwoman's Shadow][1], Lord Dunsany. The story of a Spanish noble who apprentices himself to a magician only to find himself drawn into the plight of an old charwoman. Dunsany gave shape and form to the fantasy genre long before Tolkein came on the scene, and has influenced everyone from Jorge Luis Borges to Neil Gaiman, but his blend of irony and wonder still seems thoroughly modern.

[The Last Unicorn][2], Peter S. Beagle. Granted, it's been a while since I've read this one, but I remember it as a very nimble, playful and poetic novel. There's also a Ralph Bakshi animated film based on it -- nowhere near as good, of course, but it does have its moments, and the denouement on the beach is well done.

[On the Marble Cliffs][3], Enrst Junger. As far as I know, this one hasn't been in print in English for a couple of decades, but you may want to keep an eye out for it in used bookstores -- Penguin edition, with an orange and white spine. It's been read as a political allegory, but you can also read for the verdant prose and hypnotic story. One of my favorite books ever.

The Street of Crocodiles. Bruno Schulz. By no means are you likely to find this one shelved with fantasy, but it has some fantastic elements, and is a brilliant novel, so I thought I'd recommend it anyway. It's based largely on Schulz's own memories growing up in early 20th century Poland. The book blurs the line between novel and short stories, so the cumulative effect ends up being more impressionistic than plot oriented, but it's one of the most beautiful and startling books of the last 100 years.

[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Charwomans-Shadow-Del-Rey-Impact/dp/0345431928
[2]: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Unicorn-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/0451450523
[3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Marble_Cliffs

Well muffins you’re right. I saw someone else mention it so I thought there was (on mobile so can’t see it directly)

Here’s a general list. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3421.The_Best_Pagan_Books

For something beyond 101, you might like http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/michael-lloyd/bull-of-heaven-the-mythic-life-of-eddie-buczynski-and-the-rise-of-the-new-york-pagan/paperback/product-20287061.html. A friend wrote this and spent over a decade interviewing people and gathering information. It’s beefy but if you’re curious about the NY pagan scene and gay culture in the 70s and 80s it’s definitely worth checking.

I’m into Celtic stuff, if you are too you may dig The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom. I’ve read a few books by Caitlin and/or John Matthews, and I dig their scholarship.

I would also suggest going super old school and seek out sources of myth. If you’re into Celtic/Welsh seek out books that deal with 11-13 century myth. Some stuff was being rewritten with Christian themes around then but you can still find interesting symbolism and nuggets to meditate on. You can find copies of The Mabinogion and Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology is also good to start on. Also don’t forget to check poetry. W.B. Yates touched on lots of pagan themes and so did his contemporaries

For reading material in general you may find you’ll have to look more and more into other sections of literature than the pagan section. The modern movement didn’t really get going since the 70s, and with so much to cover there’s just not a whole heck of a lot of books out there that go deep beyond the 101 stuff

Oh and one more thing. This is more of a hint. Get your favorite pagan books and look who they source. You’ll find lots of reading material that way.

I hope that helps

Weird Theology is my debut novel, with the first sequel coming later this summer.

Blurb:

The end of the world is non-negotiable. How it happens is still up in the air.

Every god has a nanoverse, but only one will give its wielder the ability to end the world. After years of searching, it has finally been found, with the power to kick start the apocalypse.

They never thought to look in a gift store's box of Knick-knacks.

Ryan Smith didn't expect anything interesting to happen to him. He was a boring guy. The only remotely interesting thing about him was the man in a suit that no one else could see. Always watching, always taking notes. Ryan didn't know it meant he was one of the candidates to find the last nanoverse. Now that he has it, he has the power of a god, and it’s up to Ryan to try and save humanity, even though he can’t save the world.

At least things have stopped being boring.

Now Ryan finds himself in a fast paced adventure, caught in the power struggle between gods as he is forced to battle for his life against forces he can barely comprehend as gods try to stop him from fulfilling his duty. Foremost among them is Enki, a villain so terrible he...wants to save the world.

A high octane battle between good and evil ensues, where the heroes’ best hope is a kinder, gentler Armageddon.

A Best-of award winning story for original writing.

The Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, from medieval Iceland, are the obvious suggestions, and the main sources on Norse mythology available to us. I highly recommend the Tolkien's Bookshelf edition of the Poetic Edda as it has side-by-side Old Icelandic and English, as well as the literal translations of the names of dwarves and giants etc. which reveal meaning where other translations conceal it.

I have to recommend the book by the author of that video: Sorcery and Religion In Ancient Scandinavia. However, it is unorthodox and offers a very different (but very satisfying and consistent with evidence from fairy tales, traditions and the like) interpretation of the mythology to that of most scholars. To be fully appreciated it does require some prior knowledge of Norse/Germanic mythology, which is why I suggest acquainting yourself with the uninterpreted myth beforehand.

There is also a lot you can find out from good Googling, from summaries of the whole mythology to various descriptions and interpretations of gods.

That said, you will be misinformed and find well-meaning yet misleading information. For example, Ragnarök is not an apocalyptic prophecy as many say, for the linear view of time is something introduced with Christianity: everything moved in cycles, which is an essential piece of information when interpreting the myth (i.e. the poem Völuspá is describing, under the guise of symbolism and divine personification, the movements of the year, and all high festivals and seasonal changes that take place). This is where Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia comes in - challenging the scholarly theories and interpretations that are generally taken for granted.

Also don't forget that Germanic culture and religion is of the same origin as Greco-Roman: Indo-European culture. If you have a knowledge of the Greco-Roman, you will recognise similarities and parallels between the two mythologies. Very interesting to pick up on.

Hi! So I'm not really sure exactly what genre of book you'd be interested in, but here are a couple of FREE Kindle books out right now from the bestseller list and with high reviews:

Highwater

Hope for Garbage

Truth Stained Lies

The Devil's Graveyards (This one has 11 5 star reviews and nothing else!)

The Timekeeper's Son

Reverb

A Family Affair

Pretty Little Liars (I watch the TV show...and so does my 32 year old husband...and we both really like it for being just fluff and teenage drama)

Unenchanted

Land

Hollowland

Nearly Departed in Deadwood

Hope you feel better!

Happy New Year all!

Just some new stuff this time around. Big news is that the Paternus Audiobook came out this week. Available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes.

First (and only so far) reviewer says "Could not stop listening!" and "narrator, Nik Magill's voice is mesmerizing."

In other news, one of my favorite reactions to the book came from Graham Austin-King just this week, when he posted on Facebook, “Reading Paternus by Dyrk Ashton. Reads like some of the early Dean Koontz with a splash of Anne Rice and Jim Butcher. So far, it's a bloody good read.” I hope it held up... UPDATE: Mr. Austin-King's review has now been posted right here on r/Fantasy - apparently it did hold up. Whew!

“This is urban fantasy done right. Not a sparkly vampire or shirtless werewolf in sight, and the pace! Don't make any plans to do anything else once you start reading this.” “Ashton weaves multiple mythologies and legends together within his own cunning tapestry.” “The book is clever and fast-paced with more than enough twists to keep you guessing.” “a rollicking adventure.” "very impressive debut.”

Lynn of Lynn's Books reviewed it for the SPFBO this week, saying “never a dull moment,” “world building is really quite phenomenal,” “fast paced and action packed.”

What's it about? The gods and monsters of myth have returned. In a breathtaking story that takes place in a single day, two ordinary humans are caught up in the final battle of a war that's been waged since the dawn of time.

More info, including the book trailer, can be found on the Paternus Books Media website, as well as the retail outlets.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I third this. I'm Irish and all I have from my school days are a few words, and the following sentences: "An bhfuil cead agam dul go dti an leithreas?" & "Ba bhrea liom cupán tae!" (Can I go to the toilet? & I'd love a cup of tea!").

If you want to incorporate Gaelic elements, I would recommend focusing on mythology, and instead of the language, maybe use a few words here and there. Check out the writings of W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory also - they wrote during the Irish Literary Revival, and you get a real feeling of "Irishness" from that period.

Here are a few books to check out:
Writings on Irish Folklore, Legend and Myth (Yeats)

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited by W.B.Yeats, Social Science, Folklore & Mythology

A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend & Folklore: Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (Yeats & Gregory)

Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology

Biddy Early: The Wise Woman of Clare (Biddy was a real woman, with lots of magical stories surrounding her. Apparently she could foresee things, and cure anything - all with her bottle. Even if not for world-building, I'd recommend this).

Inventing Ireland: The Literature of a Modern Nation: Literature of the Modern Nation by Declan Kiberd.

Ok well I tried harder and I found a few on amazon, I'll share links in case someone else has trouble and googles something like the name of this thread.

Egil's saga in monolingual old norse

A series of dual language sagas I have one of these, It's ok but I should mention that while it's dual-lingual, the languages are not parallel. the Norse version is in the back. Another thing is that some of them are actually modern Icelandic, though that shouldn't make a huge difference because the language used is still archaic, just with updated spellings (og vs ok, hestur vs hestr)

Here's a good one, The poetic Edda in parallel text old-Norse and English That's the version I have and I think it's a really nice, high quality volume, but one thing I should mention is it's a scan of an older edition. Personally I don't mind that, I actually think it's kind of cool, but if that idea bugs you maybe check out this version which I don't have so I can't speak for the quality of it but it seems to be newly printed instead of scanned.

The Hawk and His Boy by Christopher Bunn. Now that it's free at the moment, I think that's fine. I got it for $0.99 and was annoyed, but intrigued enough by the anbeorn stuff that I wanted to read more and bought the next book anyway.

It's a good trilogy. Interesting although I think the main protagonist is a little bland for a thirteen-year-old boy. The other protagonists keep things moving along and the imagery is good. The trilogy closes out fine, but each book is obviously part of a whole.

This is a great read. I own it myself and go back to it about once a month, the author is also super nice.

If your a big fan of Japanese mythos and especially their monster lore, I suggest picking up the Japandemonium. It's the translated works of Toriyama Sekai who wrote and drew the book I mentioned. Chances are if you've seen an old drawing of a yokai in a book or website somewhere, it was his work.

There's also a modern version that's pretty decent, especially as a player friendly monster guide. Used it as a prop for my players in a L5R game.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

may not fit precisely, but I enjoyed the heck out of Deathless

honestly I'm not sure if "enjoyed" is even the right word for how I felt reading this one. I found myself consumed by this book. it was not an entirely pleasant experience. recommended nonetheless.

Cool, thank you! I own a copy of a similar book, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, and I'd certainly recommend it; particularly because it has full-colour illustrations of all the featured Yokai.

I'd love this!

neopets still rock and thank you for the contest!

Not all of them are YA (some even flirt with erotica). Not all are romance/love stories and vampires are not in all of them, but they usually have something to do with paranormal things. Werewolves, fae, witches, zombies or fairy tales.

I joined about a year ago and I have bought about a half dozen things (usually collections for $1-3) but I have gotten over 300 books (a few shown above). They are usually independent authors and some are not well written but I love to read.

It's a really good series. The first one is free on the kindle!

I really liked The Orc of Many Questions by Shane Michael Murray. It's short and the first one in the series (the one linked) is free!

Along with The King of Elfland's Daughter, which is amazing, I'd also recommend The Charwoman's Shadow. While less known, in many ways I prefer it.

A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend & Folklore is a collection of W.B. Yeates' Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry and Lady Gregory's Cuchulain of Muirthemne, been recommended to me a few times but I haven't started it yet. Heard it's pretty definitive though.

These two were offered as part of a Storybundle deal some time back... Both are first books in a trilogy and are by new, independent authors.

I have read the first trilogy(Book of Deacon) and it was definitely a decent read - there were some parts that could have been tighter and less cliched but overall a good effort.

The Book of Deacon
Goodreads |
[Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Deacon-1-Joseph-Lallo/dp/1470008955)

The Tormay Trilogy
Goodreads |
[Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-His-Tormay-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B004DCB5SC)

*edited to fix links

> On Asatru.

You could start as I did; I read one of those "Everything you need to know about..." books on Paganism. It spoke of beliefs, rituals, codes, dogma (if any), and had a broad overview of the myths. From there I just continued reading which is the most important thing. One book doesn't cut it. It should be an ongoing education.

This book is by far my favourite I own and show it to anyone interested.

And if you find it difficult to get immersed into the myths, read This originally written as a children's book, it's become a very popular Norse Mythology read.

And since you asked, here is my shop.

I know of a few:

Paternus by u/UnDyrk

The Dragon's Blade by Michael R. Miller

What Remains of Heroes by u/DavidBenem

I'm not an audiobook listener, but I've read Paternus and can recommend it. The other two are on my reading list.

Ronald Hutton's Blood and Mistletoe

Really anything by Philip Carr-Gomm

A often-overlooked author, John Matthews. He has lots of books on Celtic shamanism and Druidry. A Celtic Reader, Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, The Bardic Source Book, The Druid Source Book, and The Song of Taliesin: Stories and Poems from the Book of Broceliande just to name a few.

Also, if you haven't, you should read The Mabinogion for it's worth of Welsh mythology. I like the Jeffrey Gantz translation, but it's missing what I consider a crucial story prevalent to modern Druidry, the story of Ceridwen and Taliesin. You can find it in Lady Charlotte Guest's translation though, which is the original translation from Welsh to English.

Oh, and Joanna van der Hoeven's The Awen Alone. and I haven't read this one yet, but I read the author's other book, Zen Druidry. Both are short books packed with a ton of information, and the former is about practicing Druidry solitarily, something with which many of us here (and maybe especially you at the moment) can connect.

Raven Son is a modern Slavic myth inspired fantasy tale infused with Orthodox elements, written by the conductor of the men's choir at Holy Trinity Monastery at Jordanville.

If this works here is the kindle link for the first book. It's only .99 :)

I'm not sure that, based on your examples, I agree with your definition of 'retellings'. Foundation is not a retelling of the history of the Roman empire. It may allude to it, but you can't deduce the plot by knowing your history.

Here are some stories that allude to other works as a main theme:

• Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson alludes to Julian the Apostate.
  
• Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (not SF) is loosely based on the Russian Koschei fairy tale.
  
  There are tons of stories modeled on the Hero's Journey and they all do something new and worthwhile.
  
  An example of a 'straight' retelling is Disney's Treasure Planet which is a Science Fiction version of Treasure Island.
  
  Another fantasy example is a story in the collection The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. It's a retelling of Rumplestiltskin, in a different setting and specific literary style. I was kind of disappointed to realize mid-reading that the story is probably going to follow a predictable path.

This sounds a lot like Adam Dreece's Yellow Hoods steampunk series. It's very storybookish; kinda reminds me of a Jim Henson movie.

Intangible by C.A. Gray - This is the first book in a trilogy. It reminded me a little of harry potter. It puts a modern twist on the myths of king Arthur.
I just finished reading this, and hardly put it down. I'm excited to read the next two books.

I can't say enough great things about Catherynne Valente. Among other things, she has adapted several fairy tales with a more feminist bent, though she writes all sorts of spec fic. You might try a quick short story called Fade to White that she wrote for Clarkesworld magazine to see if you like her style. If you dig it, you should try Six-Gun Snow White or Deathless. But if you want to keep it to short stories, she has many others to choose from.

Found it on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Weird-Theology-Apocalyptic-Modern-Mythology-ebook/dp/B07DYFSTN7/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=small+worlds+raizman&qid=1558107366&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

https://www.amazon.com/Night-Parade-One-Hundred-Demons/dp/0985218428