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Dragons & Mythical Creatures
From Tiamat, a sea dragon from ancient Mesopotamian myths, to the Jabberwock of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem, here are 85 beasties—shown in stunning illustrations—of folklore and fiction.
How do you slay a dragon? What are the origins of the Loch Ness Monster story? How many heads did Cerberus have? In addition to 45 dragons from Asian, Babylonian, Mediterranean, and Nordic mythology, as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, like Smaug in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, this collection looks at 40 legendary beasts: European werewolves, Chinese giants, Scandinavian serpents, Aztec bats, Inuit wolves, and more. Illustrated with outstanding, full-color art, each spread explores a creature’s background, complete with locator maps and information boxes.
How do you slay a dragon? What are the origins of the Loch Ness Monster story? How many heads did Cerberus have? In addition to 45 dragons from Asian, Babylonian, Mediterranean, and Nordic mythology, as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, like Smaug in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, this collection looks at 40 legendary beasts: European werewolves, Chinese giants, Scandinavian serpents, Aztec bats, Inuit wolves, and more. Illustrated with outstanding, full-color art, each spread explores a creature’s background, complete with locator maps and information boxes.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2020
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51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 27, 2025
For those who were fascinated at some age by dragons: Tolkien’s Smaug; D&D’s Tiamat; Drogon (Game of Thrones), here is a nice collection mostly from literature. It may not be exhaustive but it is more than adequate and it is supplemented by other monsters and creatures of magic.
The coffee-table version isn’t too awkward to page through.
I don’t want to plagiarize any other review, so I will provide the link to Caroline’s review wherein she says much of what I would have. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The only deductions are for lack of exhaustiveness with the subject of dragons and the tendency to include spoilers if you haven’t already seen/read the stories in which they appear.
4.5*
The coffee-table version isn’t too awkward to page through.
I don’t want to plagiarize any other review, so I will provide the link to Caroline’s review wherein she says much of what I would have. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The only deductions are for lack of exhaustiveness with the subject of dragons and the tendency to include spoilers if you haven’t already seen/read the stories in which they appear.
4.5*
May 17, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is one of the coolest fantasy books I've ever seen and an absolute must have for any fan of dragons and mythical creatures. This is the only digital ARC I've gotten where I went and pre-ordered the hardcover in the middle of reading it. The art is stunning and manages to give a fresh idea to many well known classic creatures. On top of that, the collection of creatures here is staggering. Adding famous and lesser known beasts from modern literature and movies to the classic myths and legends really helps set this collection apart from other bestiary type books. The "did you know" section was also a nice touch, and even the most well read fantasy fan is likely to discover something new. I truly think this is a book that will delight readers of any age.
However, I give this book with a warning: be careful in the Dragons in Literature section. If you haven't read the books the dragons are from, their pages are full of spoilers.. I'm very thankful that I caught that one dragon was from a series I plan to start reading soon and was able to skip that page.
This is one of the coolest fantasy books I've ever seen and an absolute must have for any fan of dragons and mythical creatures. This is the only digital ARC I've gotten where I went and pre-ordered the hardcover in the middle of reading it. The art is stunning and manages to give a fresh idea to many well known classic creatures. On top of that, the collection of creatures here is staggering. Adding famous and lesser known beasts from modern literature and movies to the classic myths and legends really helps set this collection apart from other bestiary type books. The "did you know" section was also a nice touch, and even the most well read fantasy fan is likely to discover something new. I truly think this is a book that will delight readers of any age.
However, I give this book with a warning: be careful in the Dragons in Literature section. If you haven't read the books the dragons are from, their pages are full of spoilers.. I'm very thankful that I caught that one dragon was from a series I plan to start reading soon and was able to skip that page.
May 14, 2020
This coffee table book reads like a heavily illustrated dictionary of numerous Fantasy creatures. The publisher's website presents four wonderful beasts out of 85 dictionary entries spread over 180 pages in summary. The first half is dedicated to dragons, the other half creatures in general. They come from all over the world - Europe's Beowulf's Dragon or Cretan Minotaur are represented, but also Asian, African, or American examples. You can find Tolkien's Smaug, Glaurung, as well as Harry Potter's Norwegian Ridgeback, the Luckdragon Falkor from the Neverending Story, and even the movies are represented with the Green Death from "How to Train Your Dragon" or Godzilla among several others. I found a large amount of entries that I didn't even know of, and the descriptions brought up interesting details. The only entry that I didn't like was Saruman as a mythical creature from the Lord of the Rings - I'd rather have used a Balrog there.
As far as I've checked, all of the entries are top notch cited from their historical or literaric context. I loved the "Did you know?" tidbits, though they give away spoilers in the case of literaric citations, e.g. the fate of Túrin and Níenor with Glaurung.
Each entry has also a small map where it is found in the world with a short description.
The art is consistent and not a collection of different styles - the photo realistic illustration of the cover is not representative at all. I'd describe it as comic style or in the way of children book illustrations, they are really cute.
The book is not available as an ebook, and makes sense only as a hardcover which I totally recommend.
As far as I've checked, all of the entries are top notch cited from their historical or literaric context. I loved the "Did you know?" tidbits, though they give away spoilers in the case of literaric citations, e.g. the fate of Túrin and Níenor with Glaurung.
Each entry has also a small map where it is found in the world with a short description.
The art is consistent and not a collection of different styles - the photo realistic illustration of the cover is not representative at all. I'd describe it as comic style or in the way of children book illustrations, they are really cute.
The book is not available as an ebook, and makes sense only as a hardcover which I totally recommend.
May 13, 2020
3,5/5. First I was let down big time by the art. The cover see to promise a darker, more adult, type of illustration, when we are in fact give a lot of very childish dragon drawing. They are well done and pretty, is not the quality f the art, it’s truly the style, that was childish, but of course for children, this will do the job jus fine I think. Second, the information in it. That was good. We have a bit of «biological» information, where we can find it, some background/folklore story and some facts, all of those on every «species» of dragon we get, which is a good bunch of them. A good «encyclopedia» for children around 8 years old.
June 9, 2020
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
This for me was a book I expected way more from.
The cover is nothing like the artwork within the book and I was very disappointed. I expected some amazing artwork and extensive information but the book really let me down. If you bought this based on the cover you would be sorely disappointed!
The drawings are as though drawn by a child and the information is a patchwork of facts, fiction, folklawetc and even though the quantity of types of dragons and mythical creatures was great it just didn't make up for it for me.
This book is a book children will enjoy.
This for me was a book I expected way more from.
The cover is nothing like the artwork within the book and I was very disappointed. I expected some amazing artwork and extensive information but the book really let me down. If you bought this based on the cover you would be sorely disappointed!
The drawings are as though drawn by a child and the information is a patchwork of facts, fiction, folklawetc and even though the quantity of types of dragons and mythical creatures was great it just didn't make up for it for me.
This book is a book children will enjoy.
July 6, 2020
I was expecting so much from this book. But the main disappointment was the art style, which lessened my enjoyment of the book greatly.
This book focuses mainly on dragons from literature and myths and legends and then adds a couple of other famous mythological creatures. I didn't like the written bios of each creature that much, especially since that "Did You Know.." part would sometimes talk about another creature or repeat stuff that were already said or say something like "dragons prefer to eat humans"... which made me think, why even put that?
All in all, I was disappointed, I expected a different and better art style and a more comprehensive style of writing about each creature.
I thank Netgalley and Amber Books for the digital ARC.
This book focuses mainly on dragons from literature and myths and legends and then adds a couple of other famous mythological creatures. I didn't like the written bios of each creature that much, especially since that "Did You Know.." part would sometimes talk about another creature or repeat stuff that were already said or say something like "dragons prefer to eat humans"... which made me think, why even put that?
All in all, I was disappointed, I expected a different and better art style and a more comprehensive style of writing about each creature.
I thank Netgalley and Amber Books for the digital ARC.
May 13, 2020
The book reads almost like a mythological encyclopedia of all kinds of unique creatures. The author does a fabulous job of not only throw in in tidbits that almost seems like secrets but also identifies the local lore and the geographical history of the particular creature. You will find all sorts of information and inspirational details about various magical creatures like dragons, gorgos, minotarus, hydras, kraken, trolls, baba yaga (my all time favourite), bigfoot, rumpelstiltskin, behemoth, gargantua, godzilla, werewolves and macbeth's witches. The drawings and physiological details are very focused and informative. The author also explains how the mythology might have come from, ie dragons from prehistoric dinosaur bones that people in the middle ages just did not understand. But at the same time takes such attention to detail when writing and explaining it's almost as of its a real research book to educate you on these fantastical creatures. Different cultures take on dragons was absolutely eye opening and totally something i wasn't aware of. The author does a fabulous job of educating in a fun and playful manner. I particularly loved the little did you know tidbits. A little story and background of adventure on every creature in the book - an absolute treasure! Great addition to any fantastical library!
June 16, 2020
Just wow. This book is absolutely a dream to read. It is very well written. I love how each section are into to sub parts the first been dragons and the other mystical macgial creatures.The art is work is so graphically amazing and well done it feels like the creatures are coming out of the book. If you are an epic fantasy lover or even just a fantasy lover this book is for you.
They come from all over the world - Europe's Beowulf's Dragon or Cretan Minotaur are represented, but also Asian, African, or American examples. You can find Tolkien's Smaug, Glaurung, as well as Harry Potter's Norwegian Ridgeback and so many more
Thanks to NetGalley for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
They come from all over the world - Europe's Beowulf's Dragon or Cretan Minotaur are represented, but also Asian, African, or American examples. You can find Tolkien's Smaug, Glaurung, as well as Harry Potter's Norwegian Ridgeback and so many more
Thanks to NetGalley for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2020
The information in this book was decent but nothing to write home about.
The illustrations look like they were pulled straight from a low budget video game.
The illustrations look like they were pulled straight from a low budget video game.
May 22, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and authors Gerrie McCall and Chris McNab for the opportunity to review this book.
I have played a lot of role playing games, ever since First Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Ever since First Edition Dungeons and Dragons, authors and artists have tried to incorporate historical mythology from around the world into gaming, and in the process, have led many players to learn of the different mythology offered by different cultures around the world.
This book does an excellent job of providing a colorful, artistic, thumbnail sketch of a variety of dragons and mythological creatures, with a basic summary for each. Another reviewer described the book as a sort of encyclopedia of dragons and mythical creatures, but I disagree with that assessment, because the various descriptions and stories are too brief. I would more compare this to a Wikipedia summary of each creature, with a one-two paragraph summary of stories associated with each creature, a map showing where the story placed the creature in the world or where it was supposed to have originated, and a couple of color paintings of the creatures, typically including both a solo picture and a picture of it in action within the story.
I applaud the author and artists for their selection of subject matter from around the globe, including European, Eurasian, Native American, and Japanese offerings, and both modern and ancient stories. This seems to target a younger, shorter attention span audience, so this would be great for a quick story time book with young children, or to share among multiple children, to give them something to enjoy together. Adults will not want to poke out their eyes having to read from this multiple times, as there is some serious content within, but is clearly geared towards sharing across age and reading level groups. While there is clearly violence discussed in every story, these are based on folk lore and stories of legend, which contained stories of wickedness, treachery, and violence. There is not so much violence that I would worry about nightmares or distressing emotionally sensitive children in general, as the reader can skip over small portions without ruining the stories.
If I had kids in the house, this would be a MUST HAVE. As an empty nester, not so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to all of my gaming friends with kids. I wouldn't use it as a serious resource, but for short bedtime stories, this is great.
I have played a lot of role playing games, ever since First Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Ever since First Edition Dungeons and Dragons, authors and artists have tried to incorporate historical mythology from around the world into gaming, and in the process, have led many players to learn of the different mythology offered by different cultures around the world.
This book does an excellent job of providing a colorful, artistic, thumbnail sketch of a variety of dragons and mythological creatures, with a basic summary for each. Another reviewer described the book as a sort of encyclopedia of dragons and mythical creatures, but I disagree with that assessment, because the various descriptions and stories are too brief. I would more compare this to a Wikipedia summary of each creature, with a one-two paragraph summary of stories associated with each creature, a map showing where the story placed the creature in the world or where it was supposed to have originated, and a couple of color paintings of the creatures, typically including both a solo picture and a picture of it in action within the story.
I applaud the author and artists for their selection of subject matter from around the globe, including European, Eurasian, Native American, and Japanese offerings, and both modern and ancient stories. This seems to target a younger, shorter attention span audience, so this would be great for a quick story time book with young children, or to share among multiple children, to give them something to enjoy together. Adults will not want to poke out their eyes having to read from this multiple times, as there is some serious content within, but is clearly geared towards sharing across age and reading level groups. While there is clearly violence discussed in every story, these are based on folk lore and stories of legend, which contained stories of wickedness, treachery, and violence. There is not so much violence that I would worry about nightmares or distressing emotionally sensitive children in general, as the reader can skip over small portions without ruining the stories.
If I had kids in the house, this would be a MUST HAVE. As an empty nester, not so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to all of my gaming friends with kids. I wouldn't use it as a serious resource, but for short bedtime stories, this is great.
January 29, 2026
"Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a coffee table book half-filled with dragons and half-filled with mythological creatures of different kinds and from different sources. All in all, it accomplishes that much, at least.
The art was decidedly mediocre, in my opinion. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it didn't meet the expectations set by the striking cover. The dragons, honestly, looked pretty good in the art style, but the back half of the book, the mythical creatures, didn't go as well. In fact, I'd say that's the theme throughout the book.
The dragons are done relatively well, come from numerous sources, and the information is solid. The mythical creatures, on the other hand, are very Greek-centric. Then there's the issue of the humanoids. There are named people listed as mythical creatures. The art for the humanoids is bad, and overall, the entries just don't fit the tone I was expecting. The last entry, for example, is Saruman, from Lord of the Rings. Why? I can only assume because the authors/publisher got rights to Lord of the Rings characters or some of them and decided Saruman, somehow, was a good choice.
Then there's the inconsistency with the entries. There are four sections for each entry. There's a larger-text description, a smaller-text follow-up, a Where in the world? section, and a Did you know? section. For some of the entries, all four of these sections differ in content. For some, three of the four sections are used to tell sequential events in the story revolving around the creature/dragon.
Overall, the art is lacking, the choice for what to include and what to exclude, especially from the mythical creatures section, and the general inconsistencies throughout the book left me more disappointed than anything. I'm giving this a 2.5-star rating. It's not bad, necessarily, but it's definitely disappointing and not particularly good, either. "
This is a coffee table book half-filled with dragons and half-filled with mythological creatures of different kinds and from different sources. All in all, it accomplishes that much, at least.
The art was decidedly mediocre, in my opinion. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it didn't meet the expectations set by the striking cover. The dragons, honestly, looked pretty good in the art style, but the back half of the book, the mythical creatures, didn't go as well. In fact, I'd say that's the theme throughout the book.
The dragons are done relatively well, come from numerous sources, and the information is solid. The mythical creatures, on the other hand, are very Greek-centric. Then there's the issue of the humanoids. There are named people listed as mythical creatures. The art for the humanoids is bad, and overall, the entries just don't fit the tone I was expecting. The last entry, for example, is Saruman, from Lord of the Rings. Why? I can only assume because the authors/publisher got rights to Lord of the Rings characters or some of them and decided Saruman, somehow, was a good choice.
Then there's the inconsistency with the entries. There are four sections for each entry. There's a larger-text description, a smaller-text follow-up, a Where in the world? section, and a Did you know? section. For some of the entries, all four of these sections differ in content. For some, three of the four sections are used to tell sequential events in the story revolving around the creature/dragon.
Overall, the art is lacking, the choice for what to include and what to exclude, especially from the mythical creatures section, and the general inconsistencies throughout the book left me more disappointed than anything. I'm giving this a 2.5-star rating. It's not bad, necessarily, but it's definitely disappointing and not particularly good, either. "
May 19, 2020
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for provide me a digital ARC of this book.
Actual rate: 3.75 stars
I want to start this review by saying that this book was inserted in the wrong age category. It was advertised as a Young Adult when it's a book for children. If I knew this, I probably wouldn't have requested it because it's not a type of book I usually enjoy. But since I got it, I decided to read it anyway and I ended up enjoying it.
The myths and the creatures chosen for this book were very interesting, and explained in a very datailed way, and I really appreciated that they weren't only focused on western ones. Some myths catched my attention, and they even made me google them to discover more about them, so I can definitely say that children interested in mythology and supernatural creatures will probably love this book. The drawings aren't exactly a genre I like but I guess it works for children anyway.
There a few things, though, that I didn't like, and I think they could have been easily fixed.
First of all the fictional creatures were boring, and I don't think they should have been put in the book at all. Also most of the stories they were taken from aren't exactly interesting nor suited for children (like Lord of the Rings or Lovecraft's stories, for example).
I also think that it should have been divided in more sections/categories other than "dragons//mythical creatures". I would have liked, for example, if the categories were based on geographical regions (like Northen Europe, East Asia, Native America etc...), and maybe the creatures could have been put inside those categories in chronological order.
Overall reading this book was a nice experience and I believe that children interested in mythology will definitely like this book too.
Actual rate: 3.75 stars
I want to start this review by saying that this book was inserted in the wrong age category. It was advertised as a Young Adult when it's a book for children. If I knew this, I probably wouldn't have requested it because it's not a type of book I usually enjoy. But since I got it, I decided to read it anyway and I ended up enjoying it.
The myths and the creatures chosen for this book were very interesting, and explained in a very datailed way, and I really appreciated that they weren't only focused on western ones. Some myths catched my attention, and they even made me google them to discover more about them, so I can definitely say that children interested in mythology and supernatural creatures will probably love this book. The drawings aren't exactly a genre I like but I guess it works for children anyway.
There a few things, though, that I didn't like, and I think they could have been easily fixed.
First of all the fictional creatures were boring, and I don't think they should have been put in the book at all. Also most of the stories they were taken from aren't exactly interesting nor suited for children (like Lord of the Rings or Lovecraft's stories, for example).
I also think that it should have been divided in more sections/categories other than "dragons//mythical creatures". I would have liked, for example, if the categories were based on geographical regions (like Northen Europe, East Asia, Native America etc...), and maybe the creatures could have been put inside those categories in chronological order.
Overall reading this book was a nice experience and I believe that children interested in mythology will definitely like this book too.
May 29, 2020
Dragons & Mythical Creatures by Gerrie McCall & Chris McNab is a light and fun look at many dragons and other creatures. This is marketed as a teens and young adults book but is also a fun read for any age.
Each creature is represented by a large drawing (not a photo-realistic type like the cover but attractive nonetheless) and an entry consisting of several small sections. There is a size comparison, a map to locate where it is from, a brief overview of its creation and/or mythology, and a tidbit section that is essentially miscellaneous information. This format is part of what makes this ideal for young readers, not too deep but plenty to interest them. While there is no bibliography or suggestions for further reading, the entries offer enough keywords that it will be easy to find more information for any youngster, or adult, that wants to learn more.
The creatures that come from mythology, regardless of location, offer an ambiguous telling of their stories. Mythology can be a dark topic full of rape and childish Gods, but that is omitted here to keep it appropriate for young readers. If you know your mythologies you'll know that there is more than one story that includes unsavory acts as part of the myth. These can be teaching moments or they can be reasons for censorship, depending on the ability of a parent to teach or to shelter.
I would recommend this for young readers who like dragons and other fantasy or mythological creatures. I also think that fans of fantasy will like having this in their library. It won't replace any in-depth books about specific fantasy realms, but it will offer a fun overview of multiple realms.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Each creature is represented by a large drawing (not a photo-realistic type like the cover but attractive nonetheless) and an entry consisting of several small sections. There is a size comparison, a map to locate where it is from, a brief overview of its creation and/or mythology, and a tidbit section that is essentially miscellaneous information. This format is part of what makes this ideal for young readers, not too deep but plenty to interest them. While there is no bibliography or suggestions for further reading, the entries offer enough keywords that it will be easy to find more information for any youngster, or adult, that wants to learn more.
The creatures that come from mythology, regardless of location, offer an ambiguous telling of their stories. Mythology can be a dark topic full of rape and childish Gods, but that is omitted here to keep it appropriate for young readers. If you know your mythologies you'll know that there is more than one story that includes unsavory acts as part of the myth. These can be teaching moments or they can be reasons for censorship, depending on the ability of a parent to teach or to shelter.
I would recommend this for young readers who like dragons and other fantasy or mythological creatures. I also think that fans of fantasy will like having this in their library. It won't replace any in-depth books about specific fantasy realms, but it will offer a fun overview of multiple realms.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
May 25, 2020
I came to these publishers for the quality of their photographic books – and stayed for this new one on dragons. Go figure – but if you think there are any photos here, you're wrong. What there is is some near-photorealist art, giving us a portrait of no small quality for each creature in this bestiary. But I didn't find the book I wanted. The text is a quite awkward mix of 'in-universe' writing and standard non-fiction, so half the time we hear about the legend of Beowulf, or Krak and the Polish dragon he defeats, and half the time we're given some flippant-seeming text that suggests we're still in the world of fantasy. Wyverns make inappropriate pets, we're told – yes, because they don't exist. Magic swords are handy weapons too – yes, because they don't exist either. Each subject is the same – a wonderful-seeming picture, peppered with repetitive captions, followed by a second page each time to convey the folklore, which, to repeat, can't tell whether it is folklore or to be treated as gospel.
I think the book could quite easily have still been about dragons (not that is is exclusively so, for it gets around to other beasts of legend) and given us the whole lore, in one proper swoop and not the variety of fonts and boxes full of bullet points we have here. Oh, and that photorealist art also becomes a hindrance when you see some really ungainly poses, that like to foreground the head of the beast but leave a clumsy array of the legs and wings. So little here really impressed, beyond its nicely global scope and authority. One and a half stars.
I think the book could quite easily have still been about dragons (not that is is exclusively so, for it gets around to other beasts of legend) and given us the whole lore, in one proper swoop and not the variety of fonts and boxes full of bullet points we have here. Oh, and that photorealist art also becomes a hindrance when you see some really ungainly poses, that like to foreground the head of the beast but leave a clumsy array of the legs and wings. So little here really impressed, beyond its nicely global scope and authority. One and a half stars.
August 16, 2020
Dragons & Mythical Creatures. By Gerrie McCall; Chris McNab. 2020. Amber Books Ltd. (ARC eBook).
Dragons & Mythical Creatures a full of colorful and labeled depictions of dragons and creatures while telling the myths behind each one, including charts for size comparisons between humans and the creatures; as well as maps showing where the creatures hail from. Each entry also has extra facts, either about the specific creature or other related myths and folklore.
From Wales and Japan to Middle Earth, some stories highlight the cunning of the creatures or the good fortune they bestow. And others show the greed with their hoarding treasure and enormous appetites. The demise of the dangerous ones can take great feats of strength or creativity; such as Knucker being thwarted by gulping down a poisoned pie or Orochi, whose body is so large and long that moss and trees grow upon it, and who can’t resist the temptation of rice wine. The heroes/heroines are knights such as St. George, future kings such as Jason of the Argonauts, and burglars such as Bilbo Baggins. And I can’t forget the Swedish hero, Ragnar Hairy-Pants.
And very entertaining and informative read. The illustrations are wonderful and I swear the Jersey Devil is about to fly off the page!
*Amber Books Ltd ARC via NetGalley
Dragons & Mythical Creatures a full of colorful and labeled depictions of dragons and creatures while telling the myths behind each one, including charts for size comparisons between humans and the creatures; as well as maps showing where the creatures hail from. Each entry also has extra facts, either about the specific creature or other related myths and folklore.
From Wales and Japan to Middle Earth, some stories highlight the cunning of the creatures or the good fortune they bestow. And others show the greed with their hoarding treasure and enormous appetites. The demise of the dangerous ones can take great feats of strength or creativity; such as Knucker being thwarted by gulping down a poisoned pie or Orochi, whose body is so large and long that moss and trees grow upon it, and who can’t resist the temptation of rice wine. The heroes/heroines are knights such as St. George, future kings such as Jason of the Argonauts, and burglars such as Bilbo Baggins. And I can’t forget the Swedish hero, Ragnar Hairy-Pants.
And very entertaining and informative read. The illustrations are wonderful and I swear the Jersey Devil is about to fly off the page!
*Amber Books Ltd ARC via NetGalley
March 13, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a coffee table book half-filled with dragons and half-filled with mythological creatures of different kinds and from different sources. All in all, it accomplishes that much, at least.
The art was decidedly mediocre, in my opinion. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it didn't meet the expectations set by the striking cover. The dragons, honestly, looked pretty good in the art style, but the back half of the book, the mythical creatures, didn't go as well. In fact, I'd say that's the theme throughout the book.
The dragons are done relatively well, come from numerous sources, and the information is solid. The mythical creatures, on the other hand, are very Greek-centric. Then there's the issue of the humanoids. There are named people listed as mythical creatures. The art for the humanoids is bad, and overall, the entries just don't fit the tone I was expecting. The last entry, for example, is Saruman, from Lord of the Rings. Why? I can only assume because the authors/publisher got rights to Lord of the Rings characters or some of them and decided Saruman, somehow, was a good choice.
Then there's the inconsistency with the entries. There are four sections for each entry. There's a larger-text description, a smaller-text follow-up, a Where in the world? section, and a Did you know? section. For some of the entries, all four of these sections differ in content. For some, three of the four sections are used to tell sequential events in the story revolving around the creature/dragon.
Overall, the art is lacking, the choice for what to include and what to exclude, especially from the mythical creatures section, and the general inconsistencies throughout the book left me more disappointed than anything. I'm giving this a 2.5-star rating. It's not bad, necessarily, but it's definitely disappointing and not particularly good, either.
This is a coffee table book half-filled with dragons and half-filled with mythological creatures of different kinds and from different sources. All in all, it accomplishes that much, at least.
The art was decidedly mediocre, in my opinion. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it didn't meet the expectations set by the striking cover. The dragons, honestly, looked pretty good in the art style, but the back half of the book, the mythical creatures, didn't go as well. In fact, I'd say that's the theme throughout the book.
The dragons are done relatively well, come from numerous sources, and the information is solid. The mythical creatures, on the other hand, are very Greek-centric. Then there's the issue of the humanoids. There are named people listed as mythical creatures. The art for the humanoids is bad, and overall, the entries just don't fit the tone I was expecting. The last entry, for example, is Saruman, from Lord of the Rings. Why? I can only assume because the authors/publisher got rights to Lord of the Rings characters or some of them and decided Saruman, somehow, was a good choice.
Then there's the inconsistency with the entries. There are four sections for each entry. There's a larger-text description, a smaller-text follow-up, a Where in the world? section, and a Did you know? section. For some of the entries, all four of these sections differ in content. For some, three of the four sections are used to tell sequential events in the story revolving around the creature/dragon.
Overall, the art is lacking, the choice for what to include and what to exclude, especially from the mythical creatures section, and the general inconsistencies throughout the book left me more disappointed than anything. I'm giving this a 2.5-star rating. It's not bad, necessarily, but it's definitely disappointing and not particularly good, either.
June 14, 2020
This book hits a sweet spot for those folks interested in myths and legends from around the world, The focus of the first half of the book is on dragons, when the last half on other mythological creatures such as bigfoot and the loch ness serpent. The individual entries are fiarly well organized, with a large illustration that calls out notable features (breath, scales, special abilities, etc.) followed by a summary page with a very short text block; a small map locating the myth in the world; a size comparison illustration; a brief myth excerpt and finally a trivia block (Do you know). Over all, I liked the approximately 80 entries, but I did see several items that made it difficult to get it full marks ...
The illustrations were very inconsistant and generally of low quality, similar to what you might find in a toddler picture book. For something that I was have liked to be a quality coffee table book, this is a serious short coming. Unfortunately, the shorter entries make it unsuitable as sold reference book. Finally ... the general organization, I don't think this is something a person would sit down a read cover to cover ... they are more likley looking for something specific (especially after the first time through. While it dies have an index, it would have been better if the creature entries were in alphabetical order. In addition, there are some specifically named creatures that be in their own section ...
Over all, this book was interesting, but not great.
I was given this free advance reader's copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. #DragonsMythicalCreatures #NetGalley
The illustrations were very inconsistant and generally of low quality, similar to what you might find in a toddler picture book. For something that I was have liked to be a quality coffee table book, this is a serious short coming. Unfortunately, the shorter entries make it unsuitable as sold reference book. Finally ... the general organization, I don't think this is something a person would sit down a read cover to cover ... they are more likley looking for something specific (especially after the first time through. While it dies have an index, it would have been better if the creature entries were in alphabetical order. In addition, there are some specifically named creatures that be in their own section ...
Over all, this book was interesting, but not great.
I was given this free advance reader's copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. #DragonsMythicalCreatures #NetGalley
July 15, 2020
Zum Inhalt
How do you slay a dragon? What the origins are in the Loch Ness Monster story? How many heads did Cerberus have? From ancient mythology to creatures from popular films, Dragons & Mythical Creatures features 85 beasties from mythology, folklore and fiction. With 45 dragons from Chinese, Japanese, Babylonian, Mediterranean and Nordic mythology, as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s dragon Smaug in The Hobbit, the book also includes 40 mythical beasts, ranging from European werewolves to Chinese giants, from Scandinavian serpents to Aztec bats to Inuit wolves. Illustrated throughout with outstanding, full-colour artworks for every featured entry, each spread includes easy-to-follow text telling the story of each creature, locator maps and information boxes giving further revealing details about each myth or literary creation. Including 85 entries, Dragons & Mythical Creatures is a lively exploration of some of the most fascinating creations from the world’s folklore and fiction.
My Opinion:
... I expected something different, but I can´t exactly tell what! This book is kind of an encyclopedia, which is good - but for myslef not very interesting, so I would recommend it to kids! Sorry
How do you slay a dragon? What the origins are in the Loch Ness Monster story? How many heads did Cerberus have? From ancient mythology to creatures from popular films, Dragons & Mythical Creatures features 85 beasties from mythology, folklore and fiction. With 45 dragons from Chinese, Japanese, Babylonian, Mediterranean and Nordic mythology, as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s dragon Smaug in The Hobbit, the book also includes 40 mythical beasts, ranging from European werewolves to Chinese giants, from Scandinavian serpents to Aztec bats to Inuit wolves. Illustrated throughout with outstanding, full-colour artworks for every featured entry, each spread includes easy-to-follow text telling the story of each creature, locator maps and information boxes giving further revealing details about each myth or literary creation. Including 85 entries, Dragons & Mythical Creatures is a lively exploration of some of the most fascinating creations from the world’s folklore and fiction.
My Opinion:
... I expected something different, but I can´t exactly tell what! This book is kind of an encyclopedia, which is good - but for myslef not very interesting, so I would recommend it to kids! Sorry
May 18, 2020
Big thank you to Netgalley and Amber Books Ltd for access to this digital ARC. This book is an excellent compendium on the subject of mythical creatures! From the standpoint of a fiction writer, I found this work to be filled with concise information that I can quickly refer to if I am looking for the characteristics and mannerisms of just about any given creature from mythologies around the globe. I particularly enjoyed the structure of this book, where a large, color image of the creature is diagrammed with notable features of the breed, followed by a brief coverage of the myth or piece of literature from which the creature emerged. The "Did you know?" section for each beast is filled with some great bits of trivia that even the most diehard of mythology buffs will find surprising and entertaining! This book would make a great teaching aid for discussing the topics of world mythologies and differing belief systems, and it opens up the doors for discussion about how ancient societies defined and described their world.
June 27, 2020
This is an interesting illustrated book about Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures from around the world.
The book is split into 6 sections, with the first 3 about Dragons and the last 3 on Other Mythical Creatures:
Mythological Dragons
Ancient Mythical Dragons
Dragons in Literature
Ancient Myths and Legends
Classic Folk Tales
Literature and the Movies
Each Dragon or Creature that is described comes with a colour illustration, description, size comparison to a human, it's location or locations in the world and a Did you Know section. Some of the illustrations that include people look a little odd though.
Whilst the book is divided into sections and the section title is at the top of the page to denote you have moved on there is not a whole page to show this; without this I nearly missed that I had gone on a section, and it would have been nice to have an introduction to each section too.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
The book is split into 6 sections, with the first 3 about Dragons and the last 3 on Other Mythical Creatures:
Mythological Dragons
Ancient Mythical Dragons
Dragons in Literature
Ancient Myths and Legends
Classic Folk Tales
Literature and the Movies
Each Dragon or Creature that is described comes with a colour illustration, description, size comparison to a human, it's location or locations in the world and a Did you Know section. Some of the illustrations that include people look a little odd though.
Whilst the book is divided into sections and the section title is at the top of the page to denote you have moved on there is not a whole page to show this; without this I nearly missed that I had gone on a section, and it would have been nice to have an introduction to each section too.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
August 15, 2020
A cool reference book on dragons and other mythical critters. The part with the other creatures is interesting; there's a hodge-podge of creatures covered here, not just from myths, folklore creatures and cryptids are covered as well. The stars of the book are the dragons, though. So many different dragons are covered, from all over the world, with all kinds of fun little tidbits about them! It makes for a fascinating read. The artwork is pretty groovy, and I appreciated having the size comparison illustration for each dragon and creature, along with a map showing location.
#DragonsMythicalCreatures #NetGalley
#DragonsMythicalCreatures #NetGalley
May 22, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and Amber Books for an advance reader’s copy of this book.
Do you like dragons ? Mythical creatures? Then this is book for you.
The drawings in this book are spectacular 💚 . I also loved learning all the different tidbits of information, especially what country’s culture these legendary creatures are from. The book includes dragons and mythical creatures from both literature and legend,
5 ⭐️
Do you like dragons ? Mythical creatures? Then this is book for you.
The drawings in this book are spectacular 💚 . I also loved learning all the different tidbits of information, especially what country’s culture these legendary creatures are from. The book includes dragons and mythical creatures from both literature and legend,
5 ⭐️
August 23, 2020
This is a beautiful book! Full of amazing full colour illustrations of various kinds of dragons and related creatures and other mythical beasties. Most I had heard of but there were some new to me too!
Snippets of information and 'Did you know' sections inform the reader of accepted legend or any actual creatures that might have inspired the myths. A hard copy of this would make a great coffee table book.
Snippets of information and 'Did you know' sections inform the reader of accepted legend or any actual creatures that might have inspired the myths. A hard copy of this would make a great coffee table book.
August 1, 2020
Absolutely wonderful reference for children! The illustrations are absolutely fantastic and the book is very well written this is a great introduction to myths, folklore and legends. I highly recommend this for anyone loving fantasy and mythical creatures!
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
May 19, 2020
WOW!!! This was a GREAT book with wonderful pictures. Thank you Net Galley for letting me review this book. This is a book for all to enjoy if you enjoy reading about Dragons and Mythical creatures!!! The artwork was colorful and detailed. I will recommend this book for the library to get.
May 20, 2020
Cool book for the kids. My daughter loves dragons. I liked the first half of the book about dragons but I didn’t love the illustrations for the other creatures and didn’t like the story about Medusa seducing Poseidon (hint: he raped her and then Athena punished her for her own rape)
May 26, 2020
This is a brilliant kids reference book. It's really well illustrated, fascinating tales in a format that's interesting and easy to digest for younger readers.
It's a great introduction to myths, legends and folklore of the world.
It's a great introduction to myths, legends and folklore of the world.
May 28, 2020
My kids and I really enjoyed this book the art work was very good and we enjoyed the little stories that went along with each creature. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys mythical creatures and learning about them.
July 13, 2020
I think it's a book that will be loved by any fantasy lovers. I loved the illustrations and the explanations for each dragon.
It was a fun and engrossing read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It was a fun and engrossing read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
November 23, 2020
I felt this was a good introduction to mythical creatures for anyone interested in them. The illustrations were well done and there was some interesting facts about each. I recommend for anyone with this kind of interest.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book
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