blampe's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
chilotte's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
williamriverdale's review against another edition
3.0
While there is very still to anarrative found in the book, Lord Dunsany is still able to bring forth a poetical tapestry of vignettes which will make you curious and leave you wanting more about the world of Pegana and its idiosyncratic gods.
carolina_antunes's review against another edition
Ma man's must have been high as hell to create all this stuff!! Not my thing to be honest but respect nonetheless.
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
3.0
An intriguing early version of Lord of the Rings' invented mythology, though not quite as audacious or as complete of an experiment. It's not even really the best stab at the idea Dunsany takes, because Time and the Gods is better.
3rdtimelucky's review against another edition
4.0
"nothing happens in lord dunsany stories" um what about when Kib was Kib?
snowynight's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lanko's review against another edition
5.0
Great reading! Dunsany created a whole mythology, from the creation of the universe itself to how the gods act around.
I heard he had a vast influence of writers such as Lovecraft, Le Guin, Tolkien, Robert Howard and so on.
The writing is very classical but far from being archaic, which is a plus.
My favorite god has to be Mung, which is apparently the aspect of Death on this universe. People initially think of him as evil, but as the story unfolds some slowly realize his purpose.
One human builds a tower and shouts curses at this god. Mung does not reply by killing him, and this impresses people enough that they start giving this man gifts and such.
Eventually, as this human ages and decays, death does not come, to the point he finally realizes what's happening and in desperation starts singing praises to Mung, who simply ignores him for eternity.
Even as he turned to bones decades and centuries and millenia later, the guy was still alive. Pretty nasty and fabulous tale!
It's a very short book as well (~100 pages) but it did show the promise of a great world, and some very nice well written passages.
I heard he had a vast influence of writers such as Lovecraft, Le Guin, Tolkien, Robert Howard and so on.
The writing is very classical but far from being archaic, which is a plus.
My favorite god has to be Mung, which is apparently the aspect of Death on this universe. People initially think of him as evil, but as the story unfolds some slowly realize his purpose.
One human builds a tower and shouts curses at this god. Mung does not reply by killing him, and this impresses people enough that they start giving this man gifts and such.
Eventually, as this human ages and decays, death does not come, to the point he finally realizes what's happening and in desperation starts singing praises to Mung, who simply ignores him for eternity.
Even as he turned to bones decades and centuries and millenia later, the guy was still alive. Pretty nasty and fabulous tale!
It's a very short book as well (~100 pages) but it did show the promise of a great world, and some very nice well written passages.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
4.0
Enigmatic evocation of the mythology of an invented world, and a pioneering work of modern fantasy. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/01/08/the-ornate-brevity-of-lord-dunsany/