A lesser known bronze-age character as a basis for mythical story – of course I jumped on the chance to read it. What to Expect An embellished telling of the life of the grandfather of Odysseus, told from his own point of view. The story starts with him as a child being dispossessed and growing […]
Mythology
Laughing at Ancient People
No, I don’t mean making fun of the elderly (get off my lawn!). I mean that, since the divine social media algorithms have finally figured I respond best to memes about antiquity, here are some of the funniest I’ve seen recently 😁 Quick aside: did you know that In Victrix, the third full-length Felix Mystery […]
Book Review: Ancient Magic: A Practical Guide to Spells, Potions, and Power, by Philip Matyszak
I love Matyszak’s way of non-fiction story-telling, making antiquity highly accessible. The subject of this particular work is also very dear to me, and I can’t believe I missed it. Come to think about it, looking at the publication date, I can’t help but wonder if he wrote it specifically for me after an online […]
Book Review: L’Esprit de L’Escalier, by Catherynne M. Valente
A promise of a Hugo-award finalist retelling of one of my favourite greek myth caught my interest for a quick read. What to Expect Expect a Gothic novelette, full of brooding atmosphere. The ancient Greek gods are the rock stars (literally) of the modern world, and we get to explore what might have been were […]
Fantasy Creatures of the Western Hemisphere
Readers of this blog know — and share — my fascination with unusual mythological creatures, and embedding them in fantasy books. So it gives me great pleasure to host a post about Mesoamerican critters from one of my favourite writers, Douglas Lumsden. Today celebrates the release of his latest novel, A Night Owl Slips into […]
Griffins, Gryphons, and other monsters
I found this review of griffins across several cultures on Mr. P’s Mythopedia page. (Click to enlarge the picture). I find it interesting, as Murder in Absentia includes a griffin (or gryphon, in the more Greek-like spelling used in the book). It’s based on the classic type below, with the front half including the forelegs […]
Of Greeks and Romans, and crafting worlds
This is a guest post I’ve written for Pure Jonel’s blog. Originally published on: http://purejonel.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/GP.AM.html Of Fantasy Worlds and Roman Gods I have a confession. It’s about one of my pet peeves. Whenever someone casually mentions the “Greek and Roman gods”, or goes on to describe a “Roman mythology” by quoting tales of the Greek pantheon, […]
FELIX THE FOX MYSTERIES 