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15 reviews for:
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic
John Matthews
4.02 AVERAGE
15 reviews for:
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic
John Matthews
4.02 AVERAGE
This book is written so comprehensively, accessible to all levels of readers. It includes both mythological figures and fictional creatures, bridging the gap between myth and fiction. I wish there were illustrations included, but almost every 'creature' I looked up was in here. Except Jiangshi. That was a bit of an oversight. But what encyclopedia doesn't miss one or two things? Overall, I felt that everything was well represented, Canadian Indigenous legends included as well as other often ignored myths.
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
This is a cool book. I would have drooled over it as a little girl, and I would certainly consider it as a gift for any magically inclined kids in my life. However, despite its massive bibliography, it left me with the feeling of shoddy scholarship, unlike [b:The Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures|561850|Encyclopedia of Fairies Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures|Katharine Mary Briggs|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1387663476s/561850.jpg|548999]. It needed more editing--I caught quite a few typos and spelling inconsistencies, even in the bibliography. I don't know, maybe I'm just being a coot in my old age, but I couldn't quite love this one, and I don't have a great reason for it.
This "review"'s going to deviate from my standard reviews a bit. Back to your regularly scheduled reviewing next time.
A commenter on my other blog and I were having a little conversation about book buying in the comments of one of my posts there. I don’t know about you, but right now I need more books like I need a double lobotomy. Like I told him in my comment, when I went to pre-order Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I just had to pick up Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary. The man is my god, after all. Might as well have the bible. But that’s just my little compulsive twitch for book buying at work.
But I did go into Barnes and Noble that day. No, not to buy anything, at least initially. I wanted to collect information for a post I'm planning on doing over there that my lazy butt hasn't gotten around to doing yet. But what did I see on the bargain racks before I even walked into the store? A slew of Element Encyclopedias, soft cover versions.
Now, I already owned one, the Encyclopedia of Witch Craft. I’ve owned it for years. My mom got it on discount from One Spirit book club and it’s helped me immensely with building a character for one of my books. So, needless to say, I screamed a little on the inside when I saw all these Element books just sitting there for $9.98 and begging to be bought. They're $30 books! Each! So I picked up Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols and Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings.
OMG I’m in heaven. When I buy when I really shouldn't, I get that tinge of guilt afterwards. You know what I'm talking about. But these . . . these will not go to waste at all and I would have kicked myself in the ass repeatedly had I not picked these up. The Element Encyclopedias are some of the best references for the mystical and magical and if you’re even considering writing anything like that, you’ll want these books amongst your reference guides. I’ll be able to use these with everything that I’m writing and plan to write.
Squee! I smile every time I look at them!
A commenter on my other blog and I were having a little conversation about book buying in the comments of one of my posts there. I don’t know about you, but right now I need more books like I need a double lobotomy. Like I told him in my comment, when I went to pre-order Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I just had to pick up Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary. The man is my god, after all. Might as well have the bible. But that’s just my little compulsive twitch for book buying at work.
But I did go into Barnes and Noble that day. No, not to buy anything, at least initially. I wanted to collect information for a post I'm planning on doing over there that my lazy butt hasn't gotten around to doing yet. But what did I see on the bargain racks before I even walked into the store? A slew of Element Encyclopedias, soft cover versions.
Now, I already owned one, the Encyclopedia of Witch Craft. I’ve owned it for years. My mom got it on discount from One Spirit book club and it’s helped me immensely with building a character for one of my books. So, needless to say, I screamed a little on the inside when I saw all these Element books just sitting there for $9.98 and begging to be bought. They're $30 books! Each! So I picked up Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols and Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings.
OMG I’m in heaven. When I buy when I really shouldn't, I get that tinge of guilt afterwards. You know what I'm talking about. But these . . . these will not go to waste at all and I would have kicked myself in the ass repeatedly had I not picked these up. The Element Encyclopedias are some of the best references for the mystical and magical and if you’re even considering writing anything like that, you’ll want these books amongst your reference guides. I’ll be able to use these with everything that I’m writing and plan to write.
Squee! I smile every time I look at them!
