Reflections on Myth and Media
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Lessons from Dinotopia…Unless It’s the Mini-Series: Review Take 2
All right, here’s round 2! In my first take on reviewing the Dinotopia mini-series (DMS), I focused in on a few close-ups. Now I’d like to frame my discussion with some lessons that I took from James Gurney’s books and the related novels. Because those lessons are why my anger at DMS has lasted so… Read more
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Really a “Terrible Place”: Dinotopia, the Mini-series: Review Take 1
I’m finally ready to trash—er, review—the Dinotopia mini-series. For this review, I’m going to try a slightly different format. I won’t be sorting things into spoiler and non-spoiler because as far as I’m concerned, that show is totally rotten and I am NOT recommending it. I do apologize for including some spoilers from the books… Read more
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Spirited Swords, Part 2: Five Living Blades
Welcome back! Ready for more swords? In Part 1, I listed blades that, like the Soul-Devouring Sword in Ice Fantasy, were possessed and/or cursed. These swords were animated or driven by forces that initially existed outside of their steel or bronze. Now I’d like to cover swords in a slightly different category: Living blades. Unlike… Read more
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Spirited Swords, Part 1: Five Possessed and Cursed Blades
Greetings on this morning after Guǐ Jie /the Ghost Festival! Contemplating the roaming spirits of this thin time led me to thinking of the Soul-Devouring Sword (噬神劍) from Ice Fantasy. The energy-eating sword spirits possessing it give the sword great power but in their hunger they may strike even when the sword’s wielder would rather… Read more
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Double Your Loki: Ragnarok 2 and Loki 1 Review
Welcome to my first official review! I’ll get to that awful Dinotopia mini-series soon, but I wanted to warm up with a more pleasant topic. I’m so used to taking a more objective stance even in the near-reviews where I talk about mythology in media, like Ice Fantasy or the Grishaverse. Those posts also focused… Read more
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Quarterly Bestiary: Aos Si: The Complicated Neighbors
The word “fairy” can refer to many different types of mythical beings. Both the teeny winged fairies still popularly pictured and the wilder human-sized fae of YA and adult fantasy novels often reflect a patchwork of source material. Since it would take many posts to adequately cover all those sources, I’m going to focus on… Read more
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July 2021 Updates
Well, I’ve survived my brush with the 2021 heat dome so far. It certainly wasn’t fun. I’m never a big fan of hot temperatures, and I’m among the people who don’t have air conditioning in my house. Yet I’m well aware that what I experienced was only a brush. Many people are still suffering from… Read more
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Shadows of Legend: Sifting Bones of Myth from the Grishaverse, Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my dive into mythology in the Grishaverse! In Part 1, I looked into some origins for Grisha in general, Morozova’s amplifiers, and some connections to Russian Firebird tales. This time I’ll be focusing more on specific characters rather than overall themes. I am drawing mainly from Bardugo’s novels rather than… Read more
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Red Thread Reblog: Who Mourns the Sirens? — Myth Crafts
Welcome to Red Thread Reblog, a feature that pairs a post about media inspired by mythology with a post about the mythology shown in the media. A Song Below Water reinterprets the “traditional” siren mythology to reflect the struggles of Black women today, but it turns out that traditional narrative was more complicated as well.… Read more
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Red Thread Reblog: A Song Below Water, by Bethany C. Morrow — Emerald City Bookworm
Welcome to Red Thread Reblog, a feature that pairs a post about media inspired by mythology with a post about the mythology shown in the media. I’ve mentioned A Song Below Water before, but I’ll bring it up again because I really believe this is an important book. Set in a slightly alternate Portland, Oregon,… Read more
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