REVIEW: MYTHS AND LEGENDS: WIZARDS

Cover illustration: Mark Stacey

MYTHS AND LEGENDS:

WIZARDS

FROM MERLIN TO FAUST

BY

DAVID & LESLEY McINTEE

Illustrated by

Mark Stacey

ISBN:  978-1-47280-339-9

Pages: 80

Publisher: Osprey

Published: 20 May 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

From the wise and mysterious soothsayer with his long grey beard to the deathless necromancer practicing his dark magics in a forgotten dungeon, wizards have captured our imaginations since the earliest days of human storytelling, presenting us with some of our greatest heroes and villains. This book collects the tales of the most interesting, popular, and important spell-casters, including such legendary figures as Merlin, Simon Magus, Zhang Guo Lao, Nicolas Flamel, Dr John Dee, and Johann Georg Faust, and examines their place in history and legend. Written in modern language, each tale captures the drama, the tragedy, and the wonderment that has ensured that these stories have survived the passing centuries.

   Despite what you might think at first glance, this book is neither Fantasy or about Fantasy. It is a short introduction to people who have been called wizards through history. That by no means that it is not of interest to fans of Fantasy though, they'll find some stories in this book that will be right up their alley.

    This book starts early, with Ancient Egypt and moves through history before ending with famous names John Dee and Johann Georg Faust. At the length it is it is more of a series of snapshot than a comprehensive guide to wizards, but this is very fulfilling as it is. There are some famous names among those covered, Merlin being the most obvious but I think Nicolas Flamel might not be far behind in the fame stakes because of his association with a certain fictional boy wizard.
   I am actually more interested in the names I have not heard, or have heard just mentioned, and most people will find those here. I was especially pleased to see that there is  several non-Europeans mentioned.

   Above I pointed out that Harry Potter is a fictional wizard, and I have said that this is a book about history. It is, this is a Non-Fiction book. Everything in here is fact, or have at least at one point been considered facts. We may look at the stories in here as myths and legends, but it is that they were believed to be true that fascinates me. And who knows, some of them might be, I wasn't there when the events they tell of happened.
   The stories are really interesting in themselves, and they give a fascinating insight into belief through the ages. But the stories don't really fall apart when the authors presents the factual accounts of the people in them. (Or the facts as we understand them. New evidence changes how we look at history all the time.) That some of these characters are important historical figures is something that will never cease to fascinate me.

    Lesley and David McIntee writes a compelling Non-Fictional narrative. This book is written in an easily accessible style, and the text flows nicely. There's no disconnect with the retelling of old myths and legends and the factual pieces that end each persons part. As far as Non-Fiction goes, this is one of those short volumes that are easy to pick up, and get through.
   This book is illustrated throughout, not only by the credited Mark Stacey, who has done some excellent work but also with different historical images, and even some pictures. The illustrations complement the text very well, and they make for an even more enjoyable reading experience.

   I don't really have any complaints about this book. It does what it sets out to do in a very good way. I came away with some new knowledge, something I always see as a good thing, and I read some fascinating stories. This could be used as pure entertainment for those that are so inclined, Fantasy fans is advised to take a look. But what it is, and what it works best as, is a short introduction to the historical figures that have been known as wizards. This is an excellent starting point for those that want to find out about where Gandalf and Dumbledore have their roots. And it will be an excellent read for all ages.

   If I was to make a couple of wishes (, that don't reflect in any way on this book) , it would be that Osprey does another volume that covers the modern Mages, like Waite and Crowley, and it would be nice to have a volume similar to this about witches.

REVIEW: Myths and Legends: Robin Hood

LINKS: David McIntee  Osprey

REVIEW: MYTHS AND LEGENDS: ROBIN HOOD

Cover illustration: Peter Dennis

MYTHS AND LEGENDS:

ROBIN HOOD

BY

NEIL SMITH

Illustrated by:

Peter Dennis

 ISBN: 978-1-47280-125-8

Pages: 80

Publisher: Osprey

Published: 21 January 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

He robbed from the rich to give to the poor, or so the legend goes. But who was the outlaw known as Robin Hood? How did his legend develop, and how has it changed over the passing centuries? This new title in the Osprey Myths and Legends series takes a detailed look at the famous outlaw, beginning with a retelling of the early ballads that established his stories. From there, the book explores how the legend grew and how famous names such as Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, and Alan-a-Dale became associated with Robin Hood. It also enters the perilous world of Robin Hood scholarship with a critical analysis of the case for a ‘historical’ Robin Hood and a review of the mostly likely candidates. A perfect primer for young and old alike, this book covers both the fact and the fiction of Britain’s most famous outlaw.

 

   The last book about Robin Hood I read was fiction. (This is one of twelve books in that series.) That was about 25 years ago. I've read articles about Robin Hood since then, and of course seen films. (The best film is still the one with Errol Flynn.)

   This book is divided into four sections; The Legend of Robin Hood, The Myth of Robin Hood, Robin Hood's World, and The Modern Myth. The first one is the earliest legends, while the second one deals with what has been added since then. The Third section is about the historical evidence, and we end with Robin Hood in films and TV.
   It became obvious early on that I knew very little about the origins of the stories about Robin Hood. (Part of that has without a doubt to do with me being Norwegian.) I found the look into how the legends looked at the beginning absolutely fascinating.

   When you get into the myths, the terrain became more familiar but it was clear that I still had massive holes in my knowledge. It was very interesting to me to get a look at how the story of Robin Hood has evolved over the centuries. And you can certainly understand why Disney opted to not use the original material when they made their animated movie. I think most people will be surprised when they look at how Robin Hood acted in the early tales told about him.
   What I really found fascinating, and I think that others will too, is how recent much of what we take for granted when it comes to Robin Hood really is. We get a clear picture here of how popular culture can form our view of traditional stories.

   The writing is excellent throughout. Smith writes in a very clear, and manages to be very informative without ever getting dry. This is something that can easily be read by the younger generations, as well as their parents and grandparents.
   We get excellent illustrations throughout. Both from the credited Peter Dennis, and earlier examples. Dennis also has a few essays accompanying some of the illustrations, and I found those to be a great addition to the book.

   This may not be a very thick book, but it is pretty comprehensive. It covers a lot of material in few pages, and is great for quick reference. While it may not offer anything new to those who want an in-depth look at the myths and legends surrounding Robin Hood, it offers a lot to people like me who have an interest in Robin Hood but who have never taken the time to look any deeper. There's also a good bibliography at the back, with mostly newer works that should be easy to find for those that want to look further after reading this.
   I highly recommend this to those who want to look at Robin Hood a bit deeper than just popular culture. And it will also be well worth a look for those that are interested in how legends evolve.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley.

LINKS: Osprey

REVIEW: JACK OF KINROWAN

Book design: Victoria Kuskowski

JACK OF KINROWAN

BY

CHARLES DE LINT

ISBN: 0-312-86959-2

Pages: 412

Publisher: Orb

First Published: Jack the Giant Killer - 1 November 1987, Drink down the Moon - 1 June 1990

This edition published: 2 July 1999

On the cover:

Jack, the Giant Killer

 
A faceless gang of bikers on Wild Hunt through the streets of present-day Ottawa hurtles young Jacky Rowan across the threshold into the perilous land of Faerie. There, to her dismay, she is hailed as the Jack of Kinrowan, a once-and-future trickster hero whose lot is to save the Elven Courts from unimaginable evil.

Drink Down the Moon

Once the realm of Faerie drew its power from the Moon herself. But now a ghastly creature has stolen that power and enslaved the Fair Folk--and Jacky Rowan herself. Only Johnny Faw, a handsome fiddler unaware of his magical gifts, has the power to set them free.

   This is an edition collecting two novels, I'll review each of them underneath.

JACK THE GIANT KILLER

   This story is written very much in the tradition of Fairy Tales, and it bases its world on the Faerie worlds of Celtic legends.

   The hidden world, one that co-exists with our own, is in this case located in Ottawa, Canada. Maybe not the first, or tenth for that matter, location for a Contemporary Fantasy you'll think of. But the real world setting is not really relevant to this story. It could have been any urban area that is over a certain size. (As could most of the London/New York/Chicago/etc set Urban Fantasy novels with the same premise.)

   Here the hidden world is the one of Faerie (, not to be confused with faeries) , a very good setting for a Fantasy tale. De Lint doesn't actually do that much worldbuilding as such, we only get glimpses into the world of Faerie. But I didn't feel that this detracted from the novel, an Epic Fantasy style description, with or without a map, would have served no purpose here. And I think it would only have detracted from the story.

   The story kicks off without any build-up, we are thrown into events just as the main character Jacky Rowan is. We make the journey along with her, and it is a great journey.

   There is plenty of action and suspense along the way, and there's enough suspense to make this a very compelling read. When the story ends we get a resolution that fits in very nicely with previous events, and it feels like this is the destination we were heading for all the time.

   The characters are also very well done. Especially Jacky and her friend, Kate Hazel. Both are fully realised and realistic young women, and their actions and development throughout the story feel very much natural.

DRINK DOWN THE MOON

   This story continues and expands on the tale of Jacky Rowan. But it also introduces us to new characters, most importantly Johnny Faw and Jenni Pook. 

   The story here is split into to strands, Johnny Faw's is arguably the main one, but Jacky Rowan's is equally important. De Lint makes these two parallel stories compliment each other to great effect. They both add layers to the overall story, and they drive each other along for the reader, making this a very fast paced narrative at times.

   Adding several new characters could have made the story a bit cluttered, but de Lint completely avoids making it feel as if there is too much going on. The link between the two storylines is established early on.

   The addition of new players in the Farie world of Ottawa also makes for a seamless way of expending our knowledge of how it works. We get to see parts of the Faerie world that are completely new to us, and this makes for some very interesting revelations.

   Both Johnny and Jenni are interesting to get to know, but it is Johnny who gives us a better understanding of how alien the hidden world is to our own in the early stages of the story. This is very well done by de Lint, and adds an extra layer of believability to the Fairy Tale based narrative.

   The story is pretty much packed with action and suspense when it gets going. There are some very tense passages here. And that there is a relatively large number of characters adds an extra layer of suspense for the reader, as it is impossible to know who will play the central role in the resolution of the story.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

   There is no doubt that de Lint is a great writer, and I am pretty annoyed with myself for not reading any of his books before now despite hearing good things about him since the '90s.

   I found de Lint's writing style to be very compelling. He doesn't overwrite, but manages to tell what is needed in relatively few pages. He's also very good at creating tension, and there is a pace to his stories that are at times break-neck. De Lint has found his way into my must-buy author list with these two stories.

   This is a great Urban Fantasy book, and it shows the roots of that genre off to great effect. Anyone who has any interest in where Urban Fantasy came from should without a doubt get hold of it at the earliest opportunity.

   It is also a great Fairy Tale, based around Celtic myth and legends. And I think it will be a great read for anyone interested in that storytelling tradition.

   Basically this is a book that should be in any fan of Fantasy's collection.

LINKS: Charles de Lint  Orb