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Queer Mythology: Epic Legends from Around the World
Spanning the globe and thousands of years, Queer Mythology highlights the legends and tales of LGBTQIA+ gods, heroes, spirits and more.
Myths and legends tell our stories. They connect us and show us not only who we are, but also reflect the people during the time the stories were first told. And LGBTQIA+ people have been a part of every community since the dawn of storytelling. From Tu’er Shen, the Chinese rabbit god who protected those yearning to come out in an unaccepting world, to Ghede Nibo, the Haitian spirit who performed drag in the realm of the dead, the twenty myths told in this collection capture one irrefutable fact—even as labels, language, and definitions have changed, LGBTQIA+ people have always existed.
Some of these myths are not widely known. Others are myths that you may think you know, but over time their inherent queerness has been erased. Queer Mythology offers fresh retellings, paired with beautiful illustrations, to give new life and celebrate the inspirational and resilient LGBTQIA+ community in some of humanity’s earliest tales.
Myths and legends tell our stories. They connect us and show us not only who we are, but also reflect the people during the time the stories were first told. And LGBTQIA+ people have been a part of every community since the dawn of storytelling. From Tu’er Shen, the Chinese rabbit god who protected those yearning to come out in an unaccepting world, to Ghede Nibo, the Haitian spirit who performed drag in the realm of the dead, the twenty myths told in this collection capture one irrefutable fact—even as labels, language, and definitions have changed, LGBTQIA+ people have always existed.
Some of these myths are not widely known. Others are myths that you may think you know, but over time their inherent queerness has been erased. Queer Mythology offers fresh retellings, paired with beautiful illustrations, to give new life and celebrate the inspirational and resilient LGBTQIA+ community in some of humanity’s earliest tales.
110 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2024
26 people are currently reading
605 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 24, 2025
Gorgeous illustrations, very gentle tellings of a bunch of queer myths. Some of the morals were a bit heavy-handed, and I thought some of the story choices were odd - Loki is *not* Thor's brother in the myths, and of all Herakles' boyfriends you picked *that one*??? - but a lovely book I'd happily give to my youngest sibs!
July 1, 2024
"What has always been true is proven true again by these stories: we have always existed."
3.5 rounded down to a 3. Thank you to NetGalley and Guido A. Sanchez for an ARC of this book!
I love a lot of things about Queer Mythology - unfortunately, very little of them are relevant to the experience of reading the book itself. First and foremost, I think a book like this is a great idea: queerness exists in so many forms and in so many mythologies throughout history and across the world, and a compilation of them just proves Sanchez's point that queerness has always existed, and will always continue to exist. My absolute favourite part about this book was the prologue, because Guido's writing was absolutely beautiful: it talks about the historical and cultural significance of queerness, the importance of telling and retelling queer stories, and has some really lovely prose that was a joy to read.
Unfortunately, that was more or less where my enjoyment of Queer Mythology ended. I think this book's one major issue is that it has no idea what audience it's geared towards - it's a picture book labelled as 'kids' in some places and 'young adult' in others, and you would think that reading Queer Mythology from start to finish would give you some idea of the age level this book is meant for, but it doesn't. The prologue reads as a young adult to adult reading level, while the actual stories themselves are told in a way that must be for young children, while including some vocabulary that is at more of a midgrade or teenage reading level. I have absolutely no idea who this book was for, and if it had been more consistent in its tone, Queer Mythology would've been a much better read.
I don't actually think Sanchez successfully wrote a children's book of queer mythology. These stories all sound the exact same despite being different mythologies from different time periods and different parts of the world - they have the same boring, bland rhythm, and all end incredibly suddenly. Every time I turned the page, I expected the story I was currently reading to continue, because the final sentence didn't read with any actual finality. The pacing wasn't good for most of these stories, and so much of the actual content of them is painfully the same as whatever story came before it.
Now, if Sanchez wrote Queer Mythology the way he'd written the prologue - a.k.a. with a teenage or higher audience in mind - I think this book could've truly been spectacular. Instead, it just felt like a big Wikipedia copy-and-paste with some poorly-paced storytelling that didn't exactly spark the imagination. Still, I think Queer Mythology is an immensely important book, and I can't wait to see it in kids' hands come October 2024. I just hope that Queer Mythology is the jumping off point for other authors to write more in-depth, interesting, and expansive retellings of these queer myths, whether for children, young adults, or adult readers.
3.5 rounded down to a 3. Thank you to NetGalley and Guido A. Sanchez for an ARC of this book!
I love a lot of things about Queer Mythology - unfortunately, very little of them are relevant to the experience of reading the book itself. First and foremost, I think a book like this is a great idea: queerness exists in so many forms and in so many mythologies throughout history and across the world, and a compilation of them just proves Sanchez's point that queerness has always existed, and will always continue to exist. My absolute favourite part about this book was the prologue, because Guido's writing was absolutely beautiful: it talks about the historical and cultural significance of queerness, the importance of telling and retelling queer stories, and has some really lovely prose that was a joy to read.
Unfortunately, that was more or less where my enjoyment of Queer Mythology ended. I think this book's one major issue is that it has no idea what audience it's geared towards - it's a picture book labelled as 'kids' in some places and 'young adult' in others, and you would think that reading Queer Mythology from start to finish would give you some idea of the age level this book is meant for, but it doesn't. The prologue reads as a young adult to adult reading level, while the actual stories themselves are told in a way that must be for young children, while including some vocabulary that is at more of a midgrade or teenage reading level. I have absolutely no idea who this book was for, and if it had been more consistent in its tone, Queer Mythology would've been a much better read.
I don't actually think Sanchez successfully wrote a children's book of queer mythology. These stories all sound the exact same despite being different mythologies from different time periods and different parts of the world - they have the same boring, bland rhythm, and all end incredibly suddenly. Every time I turned the page, I expected the story I was currently reading to continue, because the final sentence didn't read with any actual finality. The pacing wasn't good for most of these stories, and so much of the actual content of them is painfully the same as whatever story came before it.
Now, if Sanchez wrote Queer Mythology the way he'd written the prologue - a.k.a. with a teenage or higher audience in mind - I think this book could've truly been spectacular. Instead, it just felt like a big Wikipedia copy-and-paste with some poorly-paced storytelling that didn't exactly spark the imagination. Still, I think Queer Mythology is an immensely important book, and I can't wait to see it in kids' hands come October 2024. I just hope that Queer Mythology is the jumping off point for other authors to write more in-depth, interesting, and expansive retellings of these queer myths, whether for children, young adults, or adult readers.
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October 5, 2024I love the concept and the beautiful illustrations, but the writing is a little clunky. Still, I hope it makes it onto school library shelves!
(It doesn't have many sapphic stories, so I won't be reviewing it for the Lesbrary.)
(It doesn't have many sapphic stories, so I won't be reviewing it for the Lesbrary.)
September 2, 2025
3 stars
This was such a nice, short read about queer figures in various different mythologies and folktales around the world, in which a lot of those stories have expirienced queer erasure. As someone who was born loving myths, and someone who was born queer, I found this book to be enjoyable and that the premise was important. However, at some point I started to notice that the voice, and prose of these stories started to blend together and sound the same, and I started to take these stories with a grain of salt. Especially in the aspect that the stories started to sound repetitive which is incredibly concerning to me as these stories came from all different sorts of cultures and mythos from around the globe, so they really shouldn't have sounded the same. And that was my biggest issue with this book.
All of these myths and folktales from around the world started to sound like the same story, when -since they're from various myths and folktales- they should've been more distinct and unique from one another. But instead the characters all sort of sound like the same protagonists and the stories started to blend together and become muddled. Along with my other biggest issue with this book, which is that when I started to take these stories with a grain of salt, and I got to stories that I was more intimately familiar with, I realized I was right to be skeptical. My biggest example is with the last story about Loki. As someone who's lived in Scandinavia for more than half my life and studied norse mythology, the portrayal of Loki's character in this book was inaccurate.
Is Loki genderfluid and queer and chaotic? Sure. But this book paints Loki as completely innocent and misunderstood. The narrative makes it so that Loki actually has never had bad intentions and it's actually the other gods who are bigoted and misunderstand him because he's queer and a bit cheeky. Which if you've actually read the myths is simply untrue as Loki canonically has not only caused *huge* issues and done terrible things, but also has canonically never been judged for shape shifting into a woman, an older man, whatever they've shifted into, because Odin and the other gods are not bigotted transphobes and homophobes that the book *literally* says they are.
And I find it wildly offensive that they were painted that way as well as the fact that LOKI, THE NOTORIOUS KIDNAPPING, SHAPESHIFTING, TRICKSTER, was portrayed entirely as the victim and was just a being who was trying to get by while everyone treated him like shit for no reason. Does the author just conveniently forget the story where they dress up Thor as a woman and Loki shapeshifts into his maid so that they can get his hammer back from giants??? If the Aesir were so transphobic and bigotted then why would they have allowed that to happen??? Why would the goddesses of the Aesir aid in this plan and lend Thor their jewelry and help do his hair and dress up if they were so anal about gender roles???And what the fuck do you mean sorcery was frowned upon by the other gods???? But ooohhh noooo not the innocent misunderstood Loki.
When it was the goddess Freyja, who discovered and introduced seidr, a form of MAGIC, to Odin and the rest of the Aesir!!!Norse mythology does not hammer in hetero-normativity and gender norms and the gods did not by any means frown upon magic or sorcery. I have no idea why this author pushes the narrative that the Norse gods are queerphobic, pieces of shit and Loki just wants to exist and be free. I could go off for ages about this but that's my two cents about it. My point is this book obviously has inaccurate information, and upon reading other reviews, other reviewers have also brought attention to the inaccuracies of some of the myths in this book.
So overall, I enjoyed reading about different deities and characters of various mythology and folklore, I enjoyed learning about all of these queer figures as well as the stories overall in this book, and the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter were great. But I'm gonna have to lower this to 3 stars because of the falsehoods in some (or a lot) of these stories. Because as someone who studies mythology and takes my studies of various mythologies and folktales very seriously, I don't appreciate the fact that there's false information in the books that I choose to read on this topic as I feel like it's disrespectful to the readers time who wants to learn about myths as accurately as possible. I would advise anyone reading this to take every story with a grain of salt, and to research any particular story that you enjoyed yourself to get the fully accurate picture. Because if I had read the story about Loki first, I -truthfully- would not have read this book
P.s: I also wish the stories were longer because it felt like a lot of these were incredibly surface level and lacked nuance or depth and I feel like just adding a few more pages to each chapter really could've helped these stories/retellings feel more well rounded and meaningful. A lot of these stories are unique and interesting but by excluding a lot of the details and keeping the story telling simple it does a disservice so that the reader is less able to connect with these stories, as well as the fact that I think that it contributes to the repetitive, 'I feel like this is just the same story over and over' effect that this book suffers from with it's retellings
This was such a nice, short read about queer figures in various different mythologies and folktales around the world, in which a lot of those stories have expirienced queer erasure. As someone who was born loving myths, and someone who was born queer, I found this book to be enjoyable and that the premise was important. However, at some point I started to notice that the voice, and prose of these stories started to blend together and sound the same, and I started to take these stories with a grain of salt. Especially in the aspect that the stories started to sound repetitive which is incredibly concerning to me as these stories came from all different sorts of cultures and mythos from around the globe, so they really shouldn't have sounded the same. And that was my biggest issue with this book.
All of these myths and folktales from around the world started to sound like the same story, when -since they're from various myths and folktales- they should've been more distinct and unique from one another. But instead the characters all sort of sound like the same protagonists and the stories started to blend together and become muddled. Along with my other biggest issue with this book, which is that when I started to take these stories with a grain of salt, and I got to stories that I was more intimately familiar with, I realized I was right to be skeptical. My biggest example is with the last story about Loki. As someone who's lived in Scandinavia for more than half my life and studied norse mythology, the portrayal of Loki's character in this book was inaccurate.
Is Loki genderfluid and queer and chaotic? Sure. But this book paints Loki as completely innocent and misunderstood. The narrative makes it so that Loki actually has never had bad intentions and it's actually the other gods who are bigoted and misunderstand him because he's queer and a bit cheeky. Which if you've actually read the myths is simply untrue as Loki canonically has not only caused *huge* issues and done terrible things, but also has canonically never been judged for shape shifting into a woman, an older man, whatever they've shifted into, because Odin and the other gods are not bigotted transphobes and homophobes that the book *literally* says they are.
And I find it wildly offensive that they were painted that way as well as the fact that LOKI, THE NOTORIOUS KIDNAPPING, SHAPESHIFTING, TRICKSTER, was portrayed entirely as the victim and was just a being who was trying to get by while everyone treated him like shit for no reason. Does the author just conveniently forget the story where they dress up Thor as a woman and Loki shapeshifts into his maid so that they can get his hammer back from giants??? If the Aesir were so transphobic and bigotted then why would they have allowed that to happen??? Why would the goddesses of the Aesir aid in this plan and lend Thor their jewelry and help do his hair and dress up if they were so anal about gender roles???And what the fuck do you mean sorcery was frowned upon by the other gods???? But ooohhh noooo not the innocent misunderstood Loki.
When it was the goddess Freyja, who discovered and introduced seidr, a form of MAGIC, to Odin and the rest of the Aesir!!!Norse mythology does not hammer in hetero-normativity and gender norms and the gods did not by any means frown upon magic or sorcery. I have no idea why this author pushes the narrative that the Norse gods are queerphobic, pieces of shit and Loki just wants to exist and be free. I could go off for ages about this but that's my two cents about it. My point is this book obviously has inaccurate information, and upon reading other reviews, other reviewers have also brought attention to the inaccuracies of some of the myths in this book.
So overall, I enjoyed reading about different deities and characters of various mythology and folklore, I enjoyed learning about all of these queer figures as well as the stories overall in this book, and the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter were great. But I'm gonna have to lower this to 3 stars because of the falsehoods in some (or a lot) of these stories. Because as someone who studies mythology and takes my studies of various mythologies and folktales very seriously, I don't appreciate the fact that there's false information in the books that I choose to read on this topic as I feel like it's disrespectful to the readers time who wants to learn about myths as accurately as possible. I would advise anyone reading this to take every story with a grain of salt, and to research any particular story that you enjoyed yourself to get the fully accurate picture. Because if I had read the story about Loki first, I -truthfully- would not have read this book
P.s: I also wish the stories were longer because it felt like a lot of these were incredibly surface level and lacked nuance or depth and I feel like just adding a few more pages to each chapter really could've helped these stories/retellings feel more well rounded and meaningful. A lot of these stories are unique and interesting but by excluding a lot of the details and keeping the story telling simple it does a disservice so that the reader is less able to connect with these stories, as well as the fact that I think that it contributes to the repetitive, 'I feel like this is just the same story over and over' effect that this book suffers from with it's retellings
January 9, 2025
A beautiful book. Beautiful for its considerate retellings of queer-coded myths from around the world as well as for James Fenner's colourful and emotive illustrations. I loved learning from this.
My favourite stories included in this collection were:
Tu'er Shen Protects the Rabbits (Chinese)
Florinda's Prayer (Chilean)
Hi'iaka and Wahine-Omao seek Superheroic Adventure (Hawaiian)
Hyacinthus and Apollo Accept Love and Loss (Greek)
Lakapati Cultivates Prosperity (Filipino)
Sedna Finds Freedom in the Water (Inuit)
My favourite stories included in this collection were:
Tu'er Shen Protects the Rabbits (Chinese)
Florinda's Prayer (Chilean)
Hi'iaka and Wahine-Omao seek Superheroic Adventure (Hawaiian)
Hyacinthus and Apollo Accept Love and Loss (Greek)
Lakapati Cultivates Prosperity (Filipino)
Sedna Finds Freedom in the Water (Inuit)
June 15, 2025
I didn’t get to all the stories included in this volume, library books do need to be returned in a timely manner after all, but I intend to return to this book soon. In any case, these are lovely stories and author has done a nice job of paring the tales down to their cores. Unfortunately, this also means that a lot of rich details are lost by necessity.
October 2, 2024
4.5 stars
Having taught Great Myths and Legends at the college level for two decades, I am ALWAYS thrilled to access any new collection of myths, especially when there is an updated cultural and/or identity-based element included. This collection of queer myths is one I'll definitely be sharing with students.
Strong highlights of this collection include the array of cultures represented, the stunning illustrations, and - of course - the profusion of queerness. Each of these elements is well executed and really reflects a modern sensibility in conjunction with these classic tales.
I can see why some readers may struggle with the fact that this is published by a company with "Kids" in the title and features the kinds of vibrant illustrations one might expect to find in a children's or even picture book. Like most myths, these are targeted toward a broader audience, reflecting a more traditional conception of how storytelling (and, for that matter, childhood) should work. There are fewer restrictions and more inclusions in this format, and we're simply set in a culture that loves (especially right now) to focus on what certain people should and should not have access to, even in their chosen art forms. If prospective readers can jump into this with a more expansive audience in mind - and perhaps an incoming (even basic) appreciation for and understanding of the storytelling elements prevalent in different kinds of myths and tales - they may find even more to like here. I know I did.
Queer identities are part of so many classic myths, and they are featured much more prominently in modern tales and retellings. This collection is a great example of modern influence on tried-and-true tradition. I'm excited to be able to add this collection to my syllabus and list of recs for students.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Having taught Great Myths and Legends at the college level for two decades, I am ALWAYS thrilled to access any new collection of myths, especially when there is an updated cultural and/or identity-based element included. This collection of queer myths is one I'll definitely be sharing with students.
Strong highlights of this collection include the array of cultures represented, the stunning illustrations, and - of course - the profusion of queerness. Each of these elements is well executed and really reflects a modern sensibility in conjunction with these classic tales.
I can see why some readers may struggle with the fact that this is published by a company with "Kids" in the title and features the kinds of vibrant illustrations one might expect to find in a children's or even picture book. Like most myths, these are targeted toward a broader audience, reflecting a more traditional conception of how storytelling (and, for that matter, childhood) should work. There are fewer restrictions and more inclusions in this format, and we're simply set in a culture that loves (especially right now) to focus on what certain people should and should not have access to, even in their chosen art forms. If prospective readers can jump into this with a more expansive audience in mind - and perhaps an incoming (even basic) appreciation for and understanding of the storytelling elements prevalent in different kinds of myths and tales - they may find even more to like here. I know I did.
Queer identities are part of so many classic myths, and they are featured much more prominently in modern tales and retellings. This collection is a great example of modern influence on tried-and-true tradition. I'm excited to be able to add this collection to my syllabus and list of recs for students.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
October 1, 2024
"one became strong only by allowing oneself to be vulnerable"
this is such a great, important premise, however it did not know how to be executed. I couldn't tell who the intended audience is since parts of it felt very overexplained as if meant for children but the vocabulary would be more geared towards teens and the explanations of the myths prior to the retelling felt intended for adults. Also, I'm not sure if these were meant to be summaries of the myths or actual retellings since some felt very straight to the point and others felt more like a story with still a lot of telling and not showing due to page restraints. I do appreciate the diversity in cultural and queer representation throughout though
this is such a great, important premise, however it did not know how to be executed. I couldn't tell who the intended audience is since parts of it felt very overexplained as if meant for children but the vocabulary would be more geared towards teens and the explanations of the myths prior to the retelling felt intended for adults. Also, I'm not sure if these were meant to be summaries of the myths or actual retellings since some felt very straight to the point and others felt more like a story with still a lot of telling and not showing due to page restraints. I do appreciate the diversity in cultural and queer representation throughout though
November 22, 2025
3.5/5
James Fenner's illustrations are what sets this book apart. I LOVED THEM! Although he depicted Philoctetes as a brunet when all texts, even the story Sanchez retold, say he has black hair.
It was interesting to see all the different stories, some of which were new to me. I loved the inclusion of an Inuit story that was at the end. There's a good selection across cultures and I did enjoy it.
The stories are very short, only a few pages, so it wasn't as interesting as I would have liked. It would have been immensely beneficial if the stories were longer. It just felt like slapping some paint on the canvas and calling it done. Without the illustrations, I wouldn't have liked this book. I do understand that colour printing is expensive and so that is probably what determined the length of the book sadly.
I would recommend it for the art and if you want a quick read. It's very basic and would be a good book for showing young readers, but for older readers it might not scratch the itch you have for these tales. Still worth a browse and I'm glad my library has it!
James Fenner's illustrations are what sets this book apart. I LOVED THEM! Although he depicted Philoctetes as a brunet when all texts, even the story Sanchez retold, say he has black hair.
It was interesting to see all the different stories, some of which were new to me. I loved the inclusion of an Inuit story that was at the end. There's a good selection across cultures and I did enjoy it.
The stories are very short, only a few pages, so it wasn't as interesting as I would have liked. It would have been immensely beneficial if the stories were longer. It just felt like slapping some paint on the canvas and calling it done. Without the illustrations, I wouldn't have liked this book. I do understand that colour printing is expensive and so that is probably what determined the length of the book sadly.
I would recommend it for the art and if you want a quick read. It's very basic and would be a good book for showing young readers, but for older readers it might not scratch the itch you have for these tales. Still worth a browse and I'm glad my library has it!
August 7, 2024
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. I enjoy reading about the various myths in each culture. I’ve heard several but there were many I had not heard of. The illustrations were great as well.
January 31, 2025
First chapter I read is the last chapter because Norse mythology is one of my special interests and it's actually pissing me off how Marvel-based this is. Loki is NOT the brother of Thor. In the Lokasenna, it is said that Odin and Loki made a blood oath to become "blood brothers". If any two are brothers, it's technically them, not Thor and Loki. Secondly, "While sorcery itself was frowned upon by his fellow gods..." EXCUSE ME? Does the author not know that Odin sacrificed himself on the World Tree for 9 days and 9 nights and his eye to literally gain the knowledge and ability of seidr aka MAGIC. And not mention Freyja the Vanir goddess who lives in Asgard is technically a goddess of magic? Like she's known for having powerful magic, why in the world would the gods frown upon magic that they rely on? If anything it's Loki who accuses the gods of practicing seidr as if it's a bad thing. Is this book fictional? Surely it's not nonfiction with the immediate errors and misinformation I see.
Some of the other claims in this chapter are extremely simplified and mashed together that present things in only half-truths. Some are just simplified versions which is perfectly fine. I know it's a book for kids and it may not be 'as a big deal' but come on, kids deserve actual facts even if you're talking about myths that have traditional sources.
At this point, I'm not even going to read the other myths because I don't trust the integrity of this book. I'm all for Loki being a non-binary, pansexual, overall queer icon that they are but I mean, I can't get over the inaccuracies and half-truths. Loki in the myths can be a big meanie, like that's part of their whole thing that they own. Lokasenna is translated to the 'Flyting of Loki' and flyting is essentially poetically insulting people in a verbal battle. It's literally like having hip-hop beef. So while they are shamed for their sexual proclivities by Odin, they also have done the shaming as well to goddesses. Loki is not perfect and shouldn't be painted as if they are the victim; cause there's nothing about Loki that's a victim.
Some of the other claims in this chapter are extremely simplified and mashed together that present things in only half-truths. Some are just simplified versions which is perfectly fine. I know it's a book for kids and it may not be 'as a big deal' but come on, kids deserve actual facts even if you're talking about myths that have traditional sources.
At this point, I'm not even going to read the other myths because I don't trust the integrity of this book. I'm all for Loki being a non-binary, pansexual, overall queer icon that they are but I mean, I can't get over the inaccuracies and half-truths. Loki in the myths can be a big meanie, like that's part of their whole thing that they own. Lokasenna is translated to the 'Flyting of Loki' and flyting is essentially poetically insulting people in a verbal battle. It's literally like having hip-hop beef. So while they are shamed for their sexual proclivities by Odin, they also have done the shaming as well to goddesses. Loki is not perfect and shouldn't be painted as if they are the victim; cause there's nothing about Loki that's a victim.
December 11, 2024
Queer mythology is an illustrated collection of retold myths from around the world.
I was very excited to read it because I'm interested in all things fairytale and myths, I love illustrated works, and it's really a concept I haven't seen before.
My conclusion on reading is still that the idea is great, even the selection of stories is great, but the execution is sadly a bit poorly done.
The art itself by James Fenner is beautiful, 5 stars if I was rating that alone. Each story has this vibrant, fullpage illustration of its protagonist(s) and they are all so cool. Could almost be read as an art book just for that.
Then we have retellings written by Guido A. Sanchez, and...they're not very good? I feel like I want to soften that judgement somehow because it was clearly his idea and it's a very good one and I love the work he invested in finding myths from many different cultures. But. They're all clearly heavily rewritten and re-edited, but Mr. Sanchez kind of lacks a clear vision as *storyteller* of what each story should do, who it is told for and what it is trying to say. A lot of them read more like summaries or biographies than actual stories, nevermind myths. They all include very heavy-handed messages and sometimes so heavily edit things that they become baffling. They also, and this enrages me a little, all heavily sanitize their protagonists. Which is weird if the reader is familiar in any way with the source material, like with the Greek myths or Norse mythology (or, you know....the Bible). The Loki story in particular is so bizarrely written that I was just shaking my head over it.
All of that said, I genuinely do not know if I recommend this book to people or not. I am tending towards yes, because it can still be an entrypoint into mythology for readers, which is never a bad thing. Also, the art is worth it.
I was very excited to read it because I'm interested in all things fairytale and myths, I love illustrated works, and it's really a concept I haven't seen before.
My conclusion on reading is still that the idea is great, even the selection of stories is great, but the execution is sadly a bit poorly done.
The art itself by James Fenner is beautiful, 5 stars if I was rating that alone. Each story has this vibrant, fullpage illustration of its protagonist(s) and they are all so cool. Could almost be read as an art book just for that.
Then we have retellings written by Guido A. Sanchez, and...they're not very good? I feel like I want to soften that judgement somehow because it was clearly his idea and it's a very good one and I love the work he invested in finding myths from many different cultures. But. They're all clearly heavily rewritten and re-edited, but Mr. Sanchez kind of lacks a clear vision as *storyteller* of what each story should do, who it is told for and what it is trying to say. A lot of them read more like summaries or biographies than actual stories, nevermind myths. They all include very heavy-handed messages and sometimes so heavily edit things that they become baffling. They also, and this enrages me a little, all heavily sanitize their protagonists. Which is weird if the reader is familiar in any way with the source material, like with the Greek myths or Norse mythology (or, you know....the Bible). The Loki story in particular is so bizarrely written that I was just shaking my head over it.
All of that said, I genuinely do not know if I recommend this book to people or not. I am tending towards yes, because it can still be an entrypoint into mythology for readers, which is never a bad thing. Also, the art is worth it.
March 15, 2025
HELL YES GUIDO A. SANCHEZ!
Finally, some of these stories are being shared!
If you know anything about mythology, there is often a gender and sexual fluidity affiliated with myths, but here are 20 Queer Representing Myths from around the world that you will hopefully love as much as I did.
From the first story of Hu Tianbo (the Chinese Rabbit Spirit and Gay Icon) which clicked so much with me, to some of the big names in Greek/Roman Mythology (Achilles, Hercules, Hermes, Athena, among others), to Hawaiian culture and the colorful Xochipilli and Ghede Nibo who celebrate Drag and revelry, to Lakapati's cultivation of prosperity, and even Mawu-Lisa's creations, we see many facets of Queer Identifying gods, deities and 'main character' stories, many of which from ancient times. While some of these legends were thought to be lost, Guido Sanchez has brought a collection of hope, love, understanding, acceptance and connectivity.
While some stories may be sad, they are always hopeful. None of these tales paint the Queer MC in a bad light and none of the stories are "bury your gays" morality types. If anything, like Sanchez says at the beginning, we have always been here, and will always be here.
These stories, their messages, identities, relationships (polyamory, bisexual, monogamous and others) will lift you up and give you hope. Explore the world of mythology like you never have before.
(Note: If you follow my reviews, you know this about me, that if I a book goes on my to-own shelf, you know how much that means to me)
Finally, some of these stories are being shared!
If you know anything about mythology, there is often a gender and sexual fluidity affiliated with myths, but here are 20 Queer Representing Myths from around the world that you will hopefully love as much as I did.
From the first story of Hu Tianbo (the Chinese Rabbit Spirit and Gay Icon) which clicked so much with me, to some of the big names in Greek/Roman Mythology (Achilles, Hercules, Hermes, Athena, among others), to Hawaiian culture and the colorful Xochipilli and Ghede Nibo who celebrate Drag and revelry, to Lakapati's cultivation of prosperity, and even Mawu-Lisa's creations, we see many facets of Queer Identifying gods, deities and 'main character' stories, many of which from ancient times. While some of these legends were thought to be lost, Guido Sanchez has brought a collection of hope, love, understanding, acceptance and connectivity.
While some stories may be sad, they are always hopeful. None of these tales paint the Queer MC in a bad light and none of the stories are "bury your gays" morality types. If anything, like Sanchez says at the beginning, we have always been here, and will always be here.
These stories, their messages, identities, relationships (polyamory, bisexual, monogamous and others) will lift you up and give you hope. Explore the world of mythology like you never have before.
(Note: If you follow my reviews, you know this about me, that if I a book goes on my to-own shelf, you know how much that means to me)
June 23, 2024
Thank you to Running Press and NetGalley for the eGalley to review!
This anthology of queer myths was a treat to read. The myths cover all sorts of queer identities and come from all sorts of countries and religion: ancient Greece and Rome, China, Hawai'i, Chile, the African diaspora, India, Romania, the Philippines, Norway, Mexico, Christianity/Judaism/Islam, and the Inuit peoples. Some are newer myths and some date back thousands of years. All of them prove that we have ALWAYS been here and our love and identities were worth appreciating and elevating--even in places and religions that nowadays tell us otherwise.
While I knew of a few of the stories as a mythology fan, I didn't know the innate queerness of some of the ones I knew, and many of the others were completely new to me. It's amazing how similar we are as people even in completely different cultures and regions on the same planet. It put many things into a new perspective and made me appreciate ancient storytelling even more.
To top it off, the book is beautifully illustrated and each page has art on it in some form. It's an aesthetically pleasing book to look at, making it fit right in with illustrated collections of mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. I know it's earned a spot on my personal shelf, that's for sure.
This anthology of queer myths was a treat to read. The myths cover all sorts of queer identities and come from all sorts of countries and religion: ancient Greece and Rome, China, Hawai'i, Chile, the African diaspora, India, Romania, the Philippines, Norway, Mexico, Christianity/Judaism/Islam, and the Inuit peoples. Some are newer myths and some date back thousands of years. All of them prove that we have ALWAYS been here and our love and identities were worth appreciating and elevating--even in places and religions that nowadays tell us otherwise.
While I knew of a few of the stories as a mythology fan, I didn't know the innate queerness of some of the ones I knew, and many of the others were completely new to me. It's amazing how similar we are as people even in completely different cultures and regions on the same planet. It put many things into a new perspective and made me appreciate ancient storytelling even more.
To top it off, the book is beautifully illustrated and each page has art on it in some form. It's an aesthetically pleasing book to look at, making it fit right in with illustrated collections of mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. I know it's earned a spot on my personal shelf, that's for sure.
November 4, 2025
This collection is very beautiful, but it is also very short. I would have liked to see a bibliography or some sort of citations to know where the stories came from, or who the most reliable sources are. I understand this is for a teen audience and maybe they wouldn't care, but not many collections like this exist, and if I wanted to do more research, I wouldn't be entirely sure where to start. I also struggled with the modernized language as it relates to the myths. It leads me to wonder how these myths were perceived, in what context they were told, how queerness itself was perceived, and how those perspectives started to shift. Of course, answering those questions would lead to a much larger research project overall, but I think offering some more context could have deepened the understanding and appreciation for these stories as a whole. Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but it felt very surface level, I wanted to see the stories expounded on.
September 21, 2025
This book is so great! The art is excellent. The modern interpretations of stories from throughout history are accessible and interesting. The mythology present in this book spans continents and timeframes.
I used this as a coffee table book, slowly making my way through the stories over time. The stories are a perfect length to read in one sitting. Though I was reading them to myself as a 36 year old man, I could easily see these read as bedtime stories.
The stories seem to have a good balance of representing the queerness in their original sources and bringing modern language to the retellings. There were some stories I knew, but for many this was my first time learning about them. Queerness is inherent to humanity. We've always been here and we always will!
I used this as a coffee table book, slowly making my way through the stories over time. The stories are a perfect length to read in one sitting. Though I was reading them to myself as a 36 year old man, I could easily see these read as bedtime stories.
The stories seem to have a good balance of representing the queerness in their original sources and bringing modern language to the retellings. There were some stories I knew, but for many this was my first time learning about them. Queerness is inherent to humanity. We've always been here and we always will!
October 2, 2024
Author Guido Sanchez brings an accessible and human approach to twenty myths across multiple cultures. At 3 to 5 pages each, the stories are easily digestible and his writing in inviting and engaging. Plus, the variety of representation keeps each story feeling fresh and new. Coming in knowing only a couple of these myths, after reading this book, I walked away with so much new knowledge! While the core audience for this book may be middle readers, it is truly a treat for all ages, especially for families with an LGBTQIA+ member or child. On top of Guido's writing, James Fenner's illustrations that start off each story are truly breathtaking and full of color.
December 29, 2024
An anthology of myths around the world that feature queer characters. Some of them are lesser known myths while others are well known, but are retold to emphasize the queerness of the characters.
Like any anthology, there were stories I really enjoyed here and others that I didn't enjoy as much. The ones I enjoyed, I enjoyed a lot. The ones I didn't, I found to be a little slow. I am a little sad my digital copy did not have any of the artwork that is supposed to accompany the stories - I think this could have added to my enjoyment of the stories. Overall though an interesting collection of myths!
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Like any anthology, there were stories I really enjoyed here and others that I didn't enjoy as much. The ones I enjoyed, I enjoyed a lot. The ones I didn't, I found to be a little slow. I am a little sad my digital copy did not have any of the artwork that is supposed to accompany the stories - I think this could have added to my enjoyment of the stories. Overall though an interesting collection of myths!
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 27, 2025
Queer Mythology is an important book. As Sanchez emphasizes in his introduction, myths are some of our oldest stories, and queerness has always been a part of mythology. Despite attempts to erase queer people from history in the past and today, they have always been here and will continue to be here. Sanchez has done excellent work collecting a variety of myths from all corners of the world and not shying away from the myriad of identities present in these stories.
Read the full review here: https://gnofhorror.com/queer-mytholog...
Read the full review here: https://gnofhorror.com/queer-mytholog...
August 10, 2025
I wanted to like this book, and I was really glad to see that it existed! The stories were interesting, even if a little artistic license was taken on some, but the writing style was so awkward and clunky that I was left feeling disappointed. It almost felt as if AI had written the stories. The sentence structures were odd, and trudging through them felt like swimming in pea soup. "Loki's choices meant that he was continually known as a trickster god, and many associated him with mischief, despite those moments being exceptions for him." Where was the editor on this? So many unneeded words in all kinds of strange orders. Good idea, poor execution.
October 4, 2024
Queer Mythology is a collection of stories that show that queer people have existed and contributed throughout history. They are well-written and reinforce the inclusivity that should exist. The stories are from around the world, and they are fascinating. The artwork in this book is visually beautiful and compelling. No matter your age, from young to old, you can enjoy these stories and learn about historical legends.
December 15, 2024
Interesting with a lot of empowering messages, but there are times when the author puts too much of a modern opinion on things, never takes the time to state that the story told is one particular version of the myth, omits some details that might be considered uncomfortable, makes heroes of characters that are problematic, and some stories are rewritten to fit the theme of the book to varying degrees. It’s entertaining, but please don’t rely on this book 100% if you use it for research.
January 12, 2025
Queer Mythology is a book that's about exactly what it says on the tin. These are Queer-focused versions of mythological tales spanning many different cultures from around the world. I had prior knowledge of some these stories. Others were completely new to me. And even with the ones I'd already known, it was fascinating to learn about the Queer aspects. Guido A. Sanchez is a very good writer. The illustrations by James Fenner were so beautiful. I really enjoyed this book.
July 14, 2025
I loved the concept, and the selection of stories was good. However, I would have liked to have sources for the myths (and folktales - not all are myths), because the claim that "None of the stories retold here have been significantly changed" doesn't really stand up. Significant elements were changed in most of them (the ones I know anyway) - not in terms of queerness, but in terms of narrative and symbolism. A lovely read, but more of a creative adaptation than a retelling.
September 7, 2024
I loved reading this book. I learned about so many myth's I had never heard of before. I was a classics major in college but the "Athena Gained Wisdom" section was completely new information to me. The myths are well researched and the LGBTQIA+ community is well represented. It is great that these stories are being collected and brought to the attention of a wider audience as it show that we are here and have always been. This is not a "fad" or some new 20th century thing we have always been a part of human history (even before that has LGBT relationship exist in animals as well). That being said, and this is more of a nitpick on my part, I would have liked a little bit more variety in where the myths come from. This book is largely dominated by Greek/Roman myths being 6 of the 18 entries. It would have been nice to see more myths for some of the places represented in to the book like Africa and Romanian. I would also have liked to see stories from places not in the book at all like Japan.
This was probably done to make the book accessible for as many people as possible but certain aspects of myths have been watered down. This is from this books section on Loki "the mare met Svadilfari, the pair of horses immediately fell in love and ran away together." In the myth Loki, the mare, was trying to lead Svadilfari away from the wall he was helping to build that's way Loki was running away. It is unclear and up for interpretation what Loki thought about Svadilfari catching up to and impregnating them but its clear it was not Loki's initial plan.
This was probably done to make the book accessible for as many people as possible but certain aspects of myths have been watered down. This is from this books section on Loki "the mare met Svadilfari, the pair of horses immediately fell in love and ran away together." In the myth Loki, the mare, was trying to lead Svadilfari away from the wall he was helping to build that's way Loki was running away. It is unclear and up for interpretation what Loki thought about Svadilfari catching up to and impregnating them but its clear it was not Loki's initial plan.
October 11, 2024
Queer Mythology is not only a beautifully written and illustrated book, but it is a “must have” for affirming queer identities through storytelling. For anyone parenting or working with young people, I recommend sharing this book with the kids you love to honor mythology, queerness, and representation.
October 22, 2024
This was a really interesting book of mythology with lots of folk tales and legends that I had never heard before. I really enjoyed the take on Athena and Apollo provided in this collection and I am definitely going to dig deeper into some of the lore.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
February 28, 2025
A splendid collection of LGBTQ myths from many different cultures.
I only recognized the one from Romania. The rest were completely new.
The writing was not the best. The stories sometimes read awkwardly, even for a younger audience, but there aren't other books like this this, so it's not a big deal.
Overall, a good contribution to queer history and culture.
I only recognized the one from Romania. The rest were completely new.
The writing was not the best. The stories sometimes read awkwardly, even for a younger audience, but there aren't other books like this this, so it's not a big deal.
Overall, a good contribution to queer history and culture.
April 8, 2025
This book provides necessary lens through which to interpret some well-known and not so well-known myths from various cultures and gives marginalized communities an anchor in history to secure their sense of identity. Accessible language and interesting, colorful illustrations make this a good read for young and old alike.
May 21, 2025
This read more geared towards tweens and younger kids than teens, but I still would recommend this for 10+. I learned about queer legends I never heard of and myths I didn't know had a queer angle in it. This was a fun quick read. The highlight of the reading experience was the gorgeous artwork by James Fenner.
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