The Odyssey

 The Odyssey by Homer (trans. Emily Wilson), 582 pages.

I realized when perusing this blog that although many UCPL staff members read this book as part of our annual Big Book Challenge, nobody had actually written about it here, so I decided to fill the gap! I imagine most people know the broad shape of the story, as it is nearly 3000 years old. That being said, I was surprised to find how little of this vast, sprawling epic has made it's way into pop culture. It is definitely worth reading the whole thing for yourself, and I don't believe there's a better translation than Wilson's. She does an excellent job capturing the tone and rhythm of the original poem, while also rendering it not only easy to understand, but exciting! 

We are flush with copies of this excellent translation of a classic, and I highly recommend picking it up if anyone missed the discussions this summer.

Goddess of the River

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel, 496 pages

Regan did an excellent job of summing this one up in her blog post, so I'm not going to rehash that here.  The back and forth between timelines was a bit confusing until I got the hang of it, and it wasn't always easy to tell who was who. But after seeing so many retellings of Greek, Roman, and Norse myths, I did enjoy seeing an Indian myth retelling. I also liked seeing the perspective of goddess who learned from all of the unnatural forms she was forced into (river, human, river again), and I appreciated the brief look into how gods were viewed in Hinduism's ancient stories. Glad I read this one!

Goddess of the River

 Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel, 496 pages.

The river Ganga is angry when she is pinned to Earth and forced to flow in a certain way. She is even angrier when she is cursed to live a mortal life and bear mortal children to save the immortal godlings she is so fond of. Human life changes her, and impacts the course of human history as her son Devavrata is left behind, a prince who swears not to take the throne. 

I'm afraid I didn't care much for this Orcs & Aliens selection (although plenty of other members did!). I did not feel that the two timelines served this book well, and mostly served to confuse what was already a somewhat confusing book. I'm also afraid I didn't find the characters very engaging, although I'm sure they were likely more engaging here than in their source material. Overall this was a fine book, but I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone except fans of the Mahabharata. 

Spin the Dawn

 Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, 392 pages.

Maia Tamarin has always dreamed of being a Master tailor like her father, but by tradition that path is not open to women in A'Landi. But when her ailing father is summoned to the palace she feels she has no choice but to take his place, and is thrown into a high stakes competition for the longed for role of imperial tailor. A contest with impossible tasks, followed by an even more impossible quest, pushes Maia to her limits and helps her unlock power she never thought she had. It's a shame it can only help her so much when she begins to question what she really wants. 

The blurb for this book describes it as "Project Runway meets Mulan" and I would say that's very accurate to the first half of the book, although it doesn't oversell the great fairy tale energy throughout this book. It reminded me quite a bit of the second half of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, but it is also strongly inspired by Asian mythology, with Chinese and Korean elements being especially prominent. I found the world very rich and the story compelling. It felt in some ways like a retelling, but also like an original story. The book definitely felt like it ended halfway through the story, so I will likely be picking up the sequel more quickly than I had anticipated. Luckily it's available, so I don't have to hold it against the book and instead get to be excited to read the ending.

Gods of Jade and Shadow

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 338 pages

Well, Regan kind of said it all in her post, so instead of repeating her description, I'll just link to her post here. I will say that I really loved getting to know Mayan folklore and I particularly enjoyed the way Moreno-Garcia wove together the real-life Jazz Age Mexico and the fantastical Mayan underworld. The Orcs & Aliens also seemed to love this one (except Casiopea's obnoxious and entitled cousin), and I'd highly recommend this to fans of fantasy and mythology.

Gods of Jade and Shadow

 Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 338 pages.

Gods of Jade and Shadow opens almost like a Cinderella story, with Cassiopeia Tun living as a servant in her wealthy grandfather's house. The inciting incident occurs when Cassiopeia opens the mysterious locked chest in her grandfather's room and releases a Mayan death god into the world. If she helps him recover the pieces of himself that his treacherous brother stole she will be rewarded with whatever she desires. But they are on a time clock, the god drains her life force to remain alive, gradually turning himself more human and her more dead. Cue a magical road trip through Jazz Age Mexico and the Southern United States, all centered on the concepts of love, justice, and family. 

This was a very fun book, and I really liked Cassiopeia in particular. The tone of it very much reminded me of a more mature Percy Jackson series, which is definitely something I can get behind. I was a little disappointed that this book didn't seem particularly interested in exploring it's Jazz Age setting beyond being a way to explore Cassiopeia's newfound freedom, but I found all of the locations very interesting, and it was definitely neat to read a book set in historical Mexico. I was also pleasantly surprised that many of my predictions about where the book was going did not come true, it made reading the novel more exciting as I kept having to adjust my expectations about its trajectory. I'm looking forward to hearing other people's takes during the Orcs & Aliens book club tomorrow!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo, 121 pages

The titular empress died almost a year ago and when a young archivist named Chih and their mystical bird descend on the late ruler's former home, they find an elderly woman named Rabbit still wandering around the place. As Chih goes about their work documenting the items in the house, Rabbit tells her own story, as a lifelong servant to the late empress.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that, despite the metaphorical chains placed on the empress and Rabbit, they were determined to steer the country through less traditional means, including fortune telling. It's a simply told and beautiful story of female friendship, power, and determination.

Heroes

Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology #2) by Stephen Fry  415 pp.

This is the book that follows Mythos. While the previous book covered the Greek Gods of Olympus, this volume is about the heroes of Greek Mythology who may or may not be descended from the Olympians. The tales include Jason and the Argonauts searching for the golden fleece, Atalanta, raised by bears only to be defeated by golden apples, Heracles and his twelve labors, Bellerophon capturing Pegasus and together defeating the Chimera, and Oedipus solving the riddle of the Sphinx. The audiobook is read by the author. While still an excellent retelling I think the first book in the series was better. Fry makes commentary relating aspects of the stories to the present day, it seemed that these were more intrusive than in the first book. However, the tales themselves are worth the listen.

Trail of Lightning

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, 287 pages

After devastating floods wipe out most of North America, the Navajo reservation of what used to be the American Southwest is one of few places spared. But as the floods wiped out so much of humanity, the ancient Navajo gods and monsters have returned to wreak havoc. Maggie is a tracker and slayer of monsters, trading her skills for jewelry, blankets, and even the rare can of coffee. But recently, the horrors have begun ramping up, with a witch creating zombie-like monsters to ravage towns. Could Maggie's immortal monster-slaying former mentor be behind it? And what does trickster Coyote have to do with it?

The fusion of post-apocalyptic and ancient mythology in this book is amazing, and Roanhorse does a wonderful job of creating both complex characters and an action-packed story. I can't wait to discuss this with the Orcs & Aliens book group on Monday night, nor can I wait to read the sequel!

The City of Brass

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, 532 pages

Nahri is a bit of a con artist in 18th-Century Cairo, albeit a con who has the power to heal people. But her con bites back when she accidentally summons a powerful djinn warrior named Dara and attracts the attention of the demonic ifrit. Soon, Dara is racing Nahri across the desert to the djinn city of Daevabad, where he hopes she can find some safety from the ifrit, and where Nahri hopes she can find out a bit about her healing ability. But tensions between different djinn tribes have made Daevabad a much trickier city than either Dara or Nahri expected. This was an intriguing tale of magic and politics, and I'm excited to hear what the Orcs & Aliens think of it at book group on Monday.

The Power of Myth

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers  320 pp.

Every few years (or several this time around) I pick up this book and reread it. I first learned about Joseph Campbell by watching the PBS series with Bill Moyers when it was broadcast back in 1988 and I came to love his work. This book is the transcript of the series with added material that was edited from the shows. Campbell, a professor, storyteller, mythologist, and philosopher explains the connections between the mythologies of the major religions and contemporary culture. Campbell's work uses the idea of the monomyth (all mythic stories are variations of one great story), the hero's journey (explained further in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces), and Jungian psychology. He is also standard bearer for the idea of following your bliss which is mentioned frequently in the book. At the time of his death Campbell was working on his Historical Atlas of World Mythology. That series remains unfinished and is out of print. I had copies of the volumes that were published but they were irreparably water damaged in my leaky basement. 😢

The Bird King

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson, 403 pages

A concubine in the last Muslim emirate in Iberia, Fatima has never stepped foot outside the palace. The farthest she's ever walked is to the other side of the compound to visit her friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker with a special talent for drawing places he's never been. But when Christian Inquisitors appear at the palace gates, Fatima and Hassan must flee the compound in search of freedom and a place where Hassan's gift is seen as miraculous rather than demonic. Soon, the pair must deal with challenges they have never experienced, both mundane and fantastic, as they race to escape their pursuers.

Wilson's story is like nothing I've ever read. It seamlessly mixes religious faith, self-esteem, mythology, poetry, cartography, feminism, and forgiveness in a spell-binding manner — and that doesn't even touch on the jinn that are sprinkled throughout! I loved the characters and the story so much. A wonderful book for those who like Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and the works of Neil Gaiman.

Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman  304 pp.

Neil Gaiman's love of Norse Mythology comes to life in his retelling of many of the stories of the Gods and their exploits from the creation story through to Ragnarok, the end of the Gods. Included are many of the most popular stories including one of my favorites where Thor dresses as a bride to retrieve Mjollnir, his stolen hammer. Gaiman brings the Gods to life with his lively prose. Listening to the author read this book only adds to the enjoyment of these age-old stories. Previously blogs were written by Patrick, Christa, Joshua, Rob, and Kara.

Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology / Neil Gaiman, 299 pgs.

Gaiman retells Norse folklore and it reveals a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the gods.  These tales reveal how Thor got his hammer, how Loki can NOT keep himself out of trouble and how likely it is that gods will keep their word.  I listened to the audio book which is read perfectly by the author. If you have an interest in mythology, this is a great primer.

Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, 299 pages

In a bit of a departure from the magical stories he conjures up from his own imagination, in Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman retells Norse myths in a pretty straightforward style. I'll admit that prior to reading this book, what little I knew about Norse mythology could basically be summed up in Avengers movies and the fact that I know somebody named Freya, so I can't really say how true these versions are to other interpretations. But they are interesting and full of the weird stuff that is so typical of mythology (shapeshifting grudge-holding gods, giants and weird creatures, super-powerful objects, etc), and I loved reading them. It makes me wish I'd learned more about Norse mythology earlier in life, and that more of these myths had survived to present day (as Gaiman points out in the introduction, only a handful of stories are still around, despite those myths referencing others). An excellent collection, told in an approachable way.

Lumberjanes, vol. 2: Friendship to the Max

Lumberjanes, vol. 2: Friendship to the Max, written by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters, with art by Brooke Allen, 111 pages

Despite the weirdness surrounding Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types, the Lumberjanes are determined to still have the best summer ever. But when they encounter craziness of mythic proportions, even Jen, their by-the-book counselor, finds she has to get involved. Can they survive dinosaur attacks, sibling rivalries, and bear ladies, all while still earning their Friendship to the Craft badges?

This and Ms. Marvel are some of my favorite comics that I read this year. I love the zaniness of Lumberjanes, and as a former Girl Scout, this reminds me of all my favorite memories of camping back in the day. Sadly, we didn't encounter any secret caves filled with anagrams and star maps, but there's a different level of fun when you're roughin' it with you besties. This volume continues the story arc from volume 1, and ends it, tying up all the loose ends tighter than a friendship bracelet. I can't wait to read volume 3 and see what's next for our girls.

Luka and the Fire of Life

Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie  240 pp.

After seeing the horrendous treatment of the animals of the "Great Rings of Fire" circus, young Luka Khalifa curses the circus owner. The curse causes the destruction of the circus. A month later Luka's father falls into a coma as a result of a curse placed by the owner of the destroyed circus. Luka heads off on a quest to retrieve the "Fire of Life" which is the only way to save his father's life. Accompanying Luka on his journey are a dog named Bear and a bear named Dog, two of the escaped circus animals. They are led by Nobodaddy, a hologram-ish representation of Luka's father who gains more substance as his father grows closer to death. Along the way they join up with a variety of magical beings who assist him in his quest against sinister rats, old Aztec gods, deities of extinct civilizations, and others. Rushdie includes elements of mythology, video games, and pop culture throughout the story at random moments. At one point there is a brief reference the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Who and his Tardis appearing, vanishing, and reappearing, Doc Brown from "Back to the Future," and the dwarves from Time Bandits dropping from the sky all along the River of Time. This was closely followed by the Eddies in the river, specifically known as Nelson, Duane, and Fisher. These and other random bits of humor pop up in the story but you have to be paying close attention to catch them. Somehow this mashup of fantasy, mythology, magical realism, and heroic quest all works to make a fascinating, if sometimes confusing story. It was written as a children's book but I know of few children who would really "get" it.

American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 541 pages

After spending three years in prison, Shadow is heading home when he learns that his wife has died in a car accident, which also killed the man who was going to give Shadow a job. Suddenly liberated and adrift, Shadow falls in with the mysterious Wednesday, who hires him to do some driving and other odd jobs. What follows is a meandering adventure on the backroads of the United States, traveling from one roadside attraction to another, meeting various foreign gods brought here (and later forgotten) by immigrants.

I FINALLY got around to reading this book, which has been on my to-read pile for years (literally), and I'm so glad I did. Shadow is simultaneously complex and simple, serving as a great medium for the reader to observe the much more vivid and intriguing characters Shadow meets on his travels. We never learn Shadow's real name, and I think that's a deliberate choice on Gaiman's part. He has a penchant for writing from the point of view of unnamed (or in this case, nicknamed) characters, which makes way for the story, which as always is masterfully told. Weaving together the old gods and the new (technology, media, etc), Gaiman has created a story of faith, love, horror, coin tricks, and con men, and it's awesome. Check this one out if you haven't already.

As an added note, I read the 10th anniversary author's edition, which included many of the bits that had been edited out of the originally released version, as well as an interview with Gaiman and a post-script about why he, a Brit, chose to write about America. It's well worth picking up this edition, just for those "special features."

The Gospel of Loki

The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris; fantasy, mythology; 320 pages

This book tells the story of the Norse myths from the villain's point of view.  Though to hear him tell it, Loki was only doing what needed to be done, and really things have been blown out of proportion. 

I freely admit I picked this up because I enjoyed Loki in the recent Marvel movies so much.  And while I'd never read Harris previously, Chocolat is one of my favorite movies, so....

Harris' books is a bit of a departure from some of her previous novels, but it works.  It's a fun retelling of some of the more famous Norse myths, in modern language and with a heavy dose of snark from Our Humble Narrator.  That said, while I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it wasn't a fast read.  The chapters are short and each one is the equivalent of one story, so it's very episodic book  I was happy to pick it back up again each time, but after I finished my lunch, I didn't feel like I needed to rush home and read more to find out what happens (this is a problem when you retell a story that's 2000+ years old).  I did love Loki's voice, and found myself hoping that maybe Ragnarok would turn out differently.  I'd love to read more in this vein--and I find myself kind of missing my Humble Narrator now that the book's over. 

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, 586 pages.

Book three in the Heroes of Olympus series.
Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and their friends Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, are all back trying to defeat the giants, keep Gaia from waking, and saving Olympus and all humanity. They must travel to Rome in order to close the doors of death. Along the way they accidentally enrage the Roman camp, they encounter Nemesis, Phorcys, Hercules, and some angry nymphs.
Annabeth has her own quest within a quest, relating to the title.
Book Four, The House of Hades is due soon.
Kara reviewed this title here.

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