Myths and Legends

by Anthony Horowitz

From the back of the book: Legendary! A riddling sphinx, a dragon that oversleeps, a head of snakes and a monkey who would be king - timeless tales of heroes and heroines, villains and curses, from all around the world! Stories include: The Achilles Heel, The Dragon and St. George, Narcissus, Pandora's Box, The Riddle of the Sphinx, and the Minotaur.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult, Adventure, Greek Mythology

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents got me this book when I was a kid for my birthday & I basically thought it was the coolest thing ever... for a while. But throughout the end of elementary on up through high school, I don't know that I touched it again. But then, a couple of semesters ago, we discussed Narcissus in a class and were assigned to go look up the story. I was going to just google it, but randomly thought of this book and went to it instead. I rediscovered why I loved this book when I was little.

The stories are short, simple, to the point, and easy to understand; plus, Horowitz's personality totally comes through and makes for a more entertaining read (which I absolutely love). It's perfect for a quick intro or refresher that is easy to comprehend and I can then take that intro to class and build on it further in the context of the class.

Since that time studying Narcissus, I have used it every time I see or hear a reference to a myth in classes, other literature I'm reading, or whatever. It obviously doesn't have every myth in it, so I still sometimes have to resort to googling a myth or looking it up on wikipedia, but I prefer to use this book.

Maybe one of these days I look up & buy a more complete myth book that would be superior to this one as a reference-- especially for my college classes. But until I do that (if ever) this will remain my go-to book for a quick glance at myths.

[Rohit Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year while picking up my personal load from Blossoms (Bangalore) I picked up this book on a friends request. Guess I got the money from her but for some reason the book never got delivered to her because I just couldn't attend any of our own little book club meets :). And since the title was so enticing I couldn't resist reading it. On top of that I so far haven't read an Anthony Horowitz book and now with his sense of humor undoubtedly I will reading a few more at the earliest opportunity. I have read similar books of Rapidex series on Egyptian empires, Greek Gods and some hard to believe facts or call them myths & legends as here he claims. This book and its superb 35 stories refreshed my childhood memories and put a huge smile on my face throughout. Incredible was the experience I must say to go through so many amazing characters, I loved them so much that I started keeping a gap between the two legends :) hence I finished the book casually in guess some 15-18 days. No ways I wanted to read it any faster and not enjoy the myths with my eyes closed to imagine those unbelievable visuals that the Author created for us through his superb writing. I guess I will have to dig deeper to get the original stories in the longer format to enjoy them in a better way. I can't claim that I have read a lot of books on the subject especially when it comes to stories from African continent. Loved the way he disclosed why, when and how they started Mummifying the bodies of dead people. The Isis and Osiris angle was super romantic and a terrific love story (which will remind you of Game of Thrones).

I had no idea before I read this book that mulberry fruit was actually white and not purple, how it turned purple in due course of time or what was the legend behind it was another terrific story. Ironically he has titled the book so aptly that even if you want to believe the stories, you won't but the way he puts the reason like just imagine why Winter is only of three months (at least in our part of the world) and why not longer? there actually is an amazing reason for that too. It was an experience of its own to know that there were or still are a loads of Greek Gods but what is even more hilarious is to know that even the king of Gods (Zeus) was afraid of his wife (Hera). Now King of Gods with his unending uncountable powers yet he becomes a mere mortal when it comes to handling his own wife :). On top of that he has uncountable sons and daughters (even wives), so many that after certain time I actually lost the count :). Yet the poor mans love story is heart touching, yes! yes! he did falls in love with a mortal and what his wife does to his mistress, you've got to read it yourself to know and what is this mistress connection with making of a Peacock is another fantastic episode. My favorite among the 35 stories is the story of a one eyed cyclops, he is such a cutie pie yet pays the price of being a monster, the way he takes his breakfast, lunch and dinner had me in splits. Plus the kind of knowledge that these cyclops (there is a community of cyclops if the legend is to be believed) have is simply unparalleled.

You think Asgard was on or actually was some different planet? No Sir. Asgard was very much on earth itself and so were Thor and his naughty brother Loki very much on our planet only. They even have a day named after their name, take a wild guess which one or which one sounds closer to one of their names :) Just when I thought I have read enough stories about not only the Greek Gods or the Gods of the west of Japanese and Chinese Gods, he didn't shy away from giving us in details a great myth of an Indian wife tricking the God of death and how she wins her dead husband's life from the God is something you must have read earlier but you've got to read the same story in Anthony's words to enjoy it more. Whatever said and done about the myths and the legends, but one thing that I will recommend this book at least to all the males is that it does indeed answers the most unanswerable or shall I say most sought after question that "What women desire the most or What women actually want". Wow! Bravo to the answer as I just couldn't agree more.

Not only the stories and the characters that this book is all about, its a must must read for its amazing illustrations too. On top of that they are all pencil sketches, black and white yet so amazingly beautiful that I haven't see something like this in a book ever.

Have you read "Myths & Legends" or a similar compilation from any other Author? Do let me know how you liked it. And if you have read anything from Anthony Horowitz, do tell me which one is your favorite, I would definitely love to read more of him now at the earliest.

PS: If it was you who requested me to get this book for you :) time to raise your hand and claim your book now.

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myths and Legends
Retold by Anthony Horowitz

The book is comprised of more than 30 myths and legends from around the world. The Greek myths were more than other myths in number. Some famous legends include Osiris and Isis, Pyramus and Thisbe, Romulus and Remus, Missing Hammer of Thor, Savitri, Hercules and Mares of Diomedes, Minotaur, Eye of Cyclops and Odysseus, Bell of Pecking, Maui and the Catching of Sun etc.

I enjoyed the book very much; though I had already read some of the stories. It was great pleasure reading all those myths.
The only flaw was that the stories were told very short, sometimes leaving main theme and focussing just on dialogues between or among characters. For children having interest in mythology, it will be a fun reading for sure.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient myths and legends, mostly Greek, are retold with wit and humanity. These interesting interpretations of ancient tales contain some laugh out loud moments. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

[Peter Wiles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is sparse and clean, I liked the style. I also quite enjoyed the simpler way of telling the stories, and the way they were short and to the point. But the experience was harmed by a lack of respect for some of the origin cultures, which makes it impossible to recommend. And although it seems aimed at kids in terms of style, many of the stories just haven't been adapted sufficiently to make it suitable.

[Shane Ver Meer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a pretty good intro to mythology for kids. It leans heavily on Greek myths for most of the work so don't expect anything comprehensive, but the storytelling was nice.

[Sam Smerbeck]

Title: Myths and Legends
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Illustrator: Francis Mosley
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): Mythological Heroes, Multiculturalism
Opening Line/Sentence:
The fourth great pharaoh of Egypt was named Osiris. He was a god, the great-grandson of Ra, who, according to the Egyptians, created the world.
Brief Book Summary:
This book goes through 35 ancient myths that span across the whole world in regards to cultures, from Japanese to English to Native American. Each myth is no more than 10 pages long and there is a picture at the beginning of each one.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
This book is a collection of thirty-five myths that originated in different parts of the world. Most of them are Greek, but some are less well-known stories from Japanese, Chinese, Native American, English, and Norse cultures. Horowitz uses modern language to make the myths easy to understand and follow. Most people are already familiar with these myths, but Horowitz changes them by adding humor while still maintaining the original essence of the stories. The collection contains several well-known myths, including "The Seven Pomegranate Seeds," about Demeter and Persephone. Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was kidnapped and taken into the Underworld. Demeter asked Hades to return her daughter, claiming that as long as she did not eat anything while she is there, Hades has to return her. One of the gardeners saw her eat seven pomegranate seeds; therefore, Persephone could not be returned. Demeter brought about a famine in the land, and to return growth and life to the earth, Hades had to make a deal: Persephone could return to the earth for six months of the year and then return to the Underworld for the other six. This myth explains why we have seasonal changes. The book is an easy read because the stories are only a few pages long; therefore, readers can put the book down and pick it up without losing the sense of the plot. I highly recommend this book for readers who are on the go but have a little time for a good story. 2004 (orig. 1985), Kingfisher Publications, Ages 9 to 14. 
—Cartillia Reid
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-A collection of myths and legends from around the world, about half of which are from Greece. While the specific details of each tale echo traditional versions, Horowitz has injected his retellings with fresh, sly humor that YAs should heartily enjoy. For example, St. George admonishes the dragon by telling him that eating humans is bad for his health; and Thor, the Norse thunder god, dresses in drag as ``Thora'' in an attempt to retrieve his stolen hammer. Other selections reflect a similarly tongue-in-cheek attitude. The characters speak in modern vernacular. Zeus, worried that human knowledge is expanding too quickly, mourns, ``Where will it all lead to?...Today the rudiments of geometry, tomorrow it could be genetic surgery.'' The overall result is a book that is a delight to read. Ideal for use in the classroom, it will also appeal to lovers of mythology.-Mary Jo Drungil, Niles Public Library District, IL
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
These two reviews do a great job at summarizing the key stories in this book about ancient myths. Both reviews say that this book is an easy read which I don’t entirely agree with, because the words are very small. If this was made into a big book perhaps it would be a more efficient read.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The vocabulary and word choice in this book can be difficult without experience with phonics. Some of the ancient names of gods and what not can be hard to pronounce. The names of the gods are the hardest words to get past; otherwise the book does not have hard words.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This would be a great book to read only a couple of stories per week or so, and after the whole book is read we can act out each story. Perhaps instead assign each student a story and have them present something small about their individual story.

[Alazzar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got through the first three stories on this book before I had to give it up. I love a lot of the ideas behind mythology, but I feel that far too often the writing is too dull to hold my attention; it's often written like a textbook or the Bible. As much as I like the legends and premises behind the stories, I just have a hard time actually sitting down and reading through them.

I thought this book would be my cure. I'd heard that Horowitz had retold these myths with wit and whatnot, but I'm not sure what exactly was supposed to be considered "witty" (or even mildly humorous, or even mildly non-boring). I'd also heard that the stories were tailored more for a younger audience, which I thought may work well because it might mean the author had made it a point to keep everything from sounding so drab.

Apparently I was mistaken.

And don't even get me started on the said-bookisms. Yikes. Someone needs to tell Anthony Horowitz that it's okay to have his characters just "say" something every once in a while. Not everyone has to "cry," "demand," "whine," "exclaim," or "remark" their dialogue. (This was just a small sample of what I found while thumbing through the three stories I read; I'd hate to see what pops up throughout the entirety of the book.) When you use dialogue tags like this, it makes your characters sound way too overdramatic. Which, I guess, isn't quite as bad in a book about mythology, because those characters are overdramatic to begin with. But, still--do we really want to feed that fire?

[Nashalee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 out of 5 stars
This book offers an interesting introduction to a few myths and legends found around the world. However, much like the announcements that singers do for a world tour, not all of the world tends to be included onto that list.
Within this book there are 35 stories and 19 of them are the most popular Greek tales that any mythology enthusiast knows by heart. I would consider myself an aficionado of Greek Mythology as it peaked my interest since middle school as most bookworms do. Because of this, I have found multiple inaccuracies concerning the iconic tales included. Since I do not have much knowledge when it comes to those tales from Eastern origin or even Native American origin, I can only assume that even those details may be considered inaccurate as well.
As mentioned previously, this would be a great introduction yet I would much rather pick up a more accurate portrayal of such myths as the whole point of mythology is to explain the unexplainable within a culture.
I would greatly enjoy to investigate the myths introduced further because there must be more to these than what was presented.
If you would like to easily consumed well researched mythology/legends/classics, I would highly suggest watching: OverlySarcasticProductions on Youtube as they are the best way to find new stories that are otherwise uncommon in mainstream media portrayed in a lighthearted, entertaining, and informative manner! <3

[Megan]

Anthony Horowitz is best known for the Alex Rider series, which has been popular in our library with upper elementary and middle school readers, especially boys. In "Myths and Legends," he offers up several short stories, including classics such as "Pandora's Box." Most of the myths were Greek. All the stories were interesting, simple, and easily understandable. I would highly recommend this, especially because of the increased interest in mythology due to the Percy Jackson craze. It's a nice introduction to the magnificent world of legends as it leaves a lot of space for exploration. Everything is explained nicely and more like fairy tales, so I would consider this a jumping-off point for someone just starting to read mythology.

[Rebecca Cairo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This star is only for Francis Mosley as I completely fell in love with his illustrations and completely abhorred the writing of this myth collection.

1) Unsure why Greek mythology gets all the representation and other cultures only get one or two measly tales— it’s hardly a collection from “around the world”

2) There are many tales in this collection that are just blatantly racist. I don’t know if that is from the original myths or not (I was unfamiliar with many of these stories), but there is no commentary or consciousness on Horowitz’s part, he just perpetuates the problematic narratives (again, if he didn’t fully craft them himself)

3) In a similar vein, Horowitz perpetuates rape culture with his writing. In so so so many of these myths he continues a rape narrative that is frankly just glorifying the violent act. It’s ridiculous that there is no consciousness or acknowledgement of it in the writing.

[Paul Groos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fijn boekje met efficiënte en creatieve navertellingen van heel bekende en totaal onbekende mythen. Die eerste groep levert betere verhalen en een betere navertelling op dan de tweede. De niet-westerse verhalen zijn vreemder, hebben minder symmetrie en lijn en bevatten minder logische beelden en gebeurtenissen dan de westerse.
De taal is oubollig, zelfs voor 1985, maar het is niet moeilijk om daar doorheen te lezen.
Maar een Beowulf in acht pagina’s, waarin het hele verhaal prima overeind blijft en alle saaie zijsporen en speeches zijn verwijderd, is erg prettig. Horowitz brengt een nieuwe, eenvoudige logica in de verhalen, schuwt de gruwelijkheid niet, maar maakt het ook nooit zwaar.

[Eliane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because it was my little brother's favorite book, out of curiosity, and I must say it was quite a dark book for 12 year olds to read, probably because the author wanted to preserve the stories as much as possible in their original version. The author is a very good storyteller and summed up the myths very well, the book read very smoothly and I even laughed a few times at the way the writer commented during some stories for example "youth care would be alarmed about this fact if there was such a thing 2000 years ago "(was about a father who buried his new born sons-in-law alive in coffins).

[Lee Kofman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reasonably good, very accessible retelling of myths from all over the world. It could do, though, with less contemporary slang and a little fresher language. Also, I found it baffling that about two thirds of the book were from Greek mythology; this felt unbalanced. I couldn’t also see any logic in the particular choices of myths for inclusion, they felt random. I most enjoyed discovering stories from countries whose mythologies weren't that familiar to me, such as West Africa and Japan. I just wish there was more of them in the book.

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is really good becuase some off the storys are really interesting and just make you wonder what happend to them after.The best story in my opinion was probably the Catching the Sun a story about Maui and i really enjoy it.I love some of the greek storys like Hercules and his 12 Labours and a Story about a man who travvled to the under world to get back his wife but ended up leaving without her because he didnt listen to whay hades had told him to do.

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ages 9 to 14 according to the book jacket; five stars from someone in their sixth decade. A lot of names that I’ve always been familiar with, without ever having been quite sure of their role, despite an A-level in classical civilisation, that I am now far less shaky over. An excellent retelling for all ages.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love for mythology started with fairy tales when I was younger and was fed with this book (and many others) by Horowitz as I grew older. Get your kids started early and right with any of his works. Funny, creepy and original.

[arsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great choice for beginners who are interested in mythology.......
The writing is elementary so a great choice for kids.
the most fun part for me was that, it incorporates myths from various cultures around the world, majorly from the Greeks.
A great start for the Mythology World.

[unnamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking book! Would heartily recommend to anyone with an interest of mythology of any kind, especially Greek.

[Lin · Rating 1 out of 5]

taalniveau voor 9-12 jaar, verhaal 12-14, incorrecte verhalen met anachronismes

[Adrian Brereton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting background on some well known myths and a few not so well known. Although last few seemed to be page fillers, unless you are of Inca or Polynesian decent.

[Lauren Heathcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting range of myths and legends

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice variety of myths and legends.
Its worth a read just to see the amusing list of items in Pandora's box!

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting some fact was wrong

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this retelling of this book and there is also different kinds of mythology in this book.

[Xtine · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok. very easy to read. it would've been nice to have more variety in the stories. almost half of them were greek.

[Manoko Siyambonga]

Want to read

[Warre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deze bloemlezing was soms te beknopt. Vier tot zestien bladzijden per mythe kan, maar je merkt dat er iets mist. Het verhaal over de Grendel was wel zeer goed vertaald.

[cosy_reading_corner · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Anouk · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
Twas eig wel nog goe. Nog redelijk interessant.