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rosekk's review against another edition
4.0
The assortment of things covered in here is quite random, but I think it benefits from a broad approach. My favourite aspects were the entries regarding technology and places that had been built long before the technology is believed to have existed (I love the idea of ancient civilizations possessing more knowledge than they're generally credited with), but there's plenty of other things in there to fascinate, whatever your interests. The only flaw was that a couple of the entries repeated/overlapped a bit, and there were a couple that I didn't think belonged under the chapter heading they were put under. There was also an entry which just consisted of an assurance that there was a lot of information on the topic, and a reference to other sources, which struck me as odd. Overall, though, a gripping read considering it's basically a kind of encyclopaedia.
vr_alyssa's review
3.0
2017 review: Entertaining, clearly structured, but missed a few things if you ask me.
margaret_hovestadt's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting introduction to mythologies, but weak. Many of the scientific claims made in the book are simply not true (see pole shift for details). The author also left in many spelling mistakes. If you are reading this as an ebook, the arrangement of pages is odd, with stories sometimes dissecting other stories.
Overall, if you want a beginning look at mythology, or an index of mythological creatures and historical superstitions, this is a good book. Otherwise, I would suggest looking for more complete anthologies for more in depth reading.
Overall, if you want a beginning look at mythology, or an index of mythological creatures and historical superstitions, this is a good book. Otherwise, I would suggest looking for more complete anthologies for more in depth reading.
vickyg's review against another edition
4.0
I won't give it five stars simply because I didn't read every single page - this was a 'dip in and out' kind of book. I love the design of the cover and illustrations;the appearance of an obscure Victorian hardback worked really well with the creepy subject matter. Information was easy to find and understand whilst also sprinkled with a tad of humour here and there. I'm not a massive non-fiction or encyclopedia fan, but I really enjoyed flicking through this, it covered the subject of myth and legend very entertainingly and thoroughly.
sunnyisreading's review against another edition
5.0
There's no other book like this! And if you happen to find one sort of like it, trust me. This one is better. The master index of all things mystical, mythical, creepily religious, and blood sucking. One of my all time favorite books!
2kimi2furious's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this, but it was a mess. The classification is all over the place and it's not very organized. I guess it's fine for what it's supposed to be, but I much prefer the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were.