A review by amalia1985
Mystical Places by Sarah Baxter

1.0

Where to begin with this nightmare?

The approach to each location and its legends is so epidermic and superficial, described in outrageously cheesy, pseudo-literary terms. Thank God for the beautiful illustrations by Amy Grimes.

Her take on King Arthur, his myth and significance is superficial and dismissive. ‘’No evidence that he existed’’? Have you even read anything on Arthurian legends and its era? Have you bothered to read the briefest article by contemporary Historians? Obviously not. Your opinion isn’t relevant, ‘’writer’’. You are here for presentation, don’t burden us with your obvious ignorance.

The presentation of the legend behind the Old-New Synagogue in Prague was loaded with mistakes. Thankfully, she got the Golem myth right. Surprising.

‘’Hell’’ is NOT a term to refer to the Underworld of Greek Mythology. The concept of Hell appeared much later. It is really frustrating when writers are too lazy to perform a basic research and I find anyone’s limited knowledge of Classic Mythologies unacceptable. 1) What the bleeping Hell were you taught at school? 2) What the bleeping Hell did you read when you were young? 3) How much of an idiot are you? And the Elysian Fields wasn’t another neighbourhood in Hades.

Jesus!

‘’The’’ Mani to refer to a location in Greece? Seriously?

‘’Ideas about the Greek heroic era’’? Lady, you couldn’t even begin to know what ‘’heroic’’ means, spare us your ridiculous irony and read some Churchill. ‘’Humans who were obsessed with death’’? Better ‘’obsessed’’ than ‘’uneducated and all-around heathen’’ which is obviously where you personally come from, ‘’writer’’!

‘’Evidence of a semi-mythical kingdom that might never have been.’’
Does than EVEN make sense? God in Heaven, the writing is mind-blowingly awful!

...and she managed to butcher the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus. Even Wikipedia is more accurate.

And she doesn’t like Stonehenge! What a pity, I’m sure the aeons-old gloriously beautiful rocks are deeply hurt by you.

A ‘’mass graves’’...Well done, writer and editor. You got a medal.

Comment on the totalitarian, barbaric, Hell-on- Earth world of North Korea: ‘’South Korea’s antagonistic neighbour.’’
What the actual fuck?

So much irony and sarcasm throughout. If you don’t respect your subject why are you even here? Poor attempts to appear humorous is the plague of today’s Non-Fiction, especially the kind that comes from Britain. You are not funny, you are ridiculous.

Whatever little useful information there may have been was lost in the labyrinth of atrocious writing, ridiculous sarcasm and a plethora of inaccuracies. Literary Places and Hidden Places by the same ‘’writer’’ were on my list. After having gone through this ordeal, I wouldn’t get them on my hands if they were the last books on Earth.

P.S.Jesus Christ, enough with the Netflix references! Not all of us watch this drivel of low-quality aimed to turn the masses’ brains into jelly!

ARC from White Lion Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.