The Gods of Pagana [Annotated]

by Lord Dusany

The Gods of Pegāna, Lord Dunsany’s first published book, is a strange and wonderous creation. In it he creates the pantheon of gods who rule over the titular world. The prose alternates between being biblical, high-minded, and childish, with the gods frustrating their human subjects through their single-minded and often completely inscrutible actions. When they’re not busy being mysterious, they’re busy taking revenge on each other. It’s possible these short tales were written to convey lessons about life, death, and the nature of belief, though the rhythmic simplicity of the prose and the strange and often petty nature of the gods leaves that up to debate. Regardless, The Gods of Pegāna is a fascinating and influential read. This new annotated edition includes several never-before-seen features, •The original editor’s preface that accompanied the original printing. •Easily navigable Table of Contents.

78 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2020

Reviews

[William Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author creates a wildly imaginative, but entirely fabricated, series of deity myths. Stories of cosmic creation, prophesy, and armageddon that, to my knowledge, aren't built off of existing cultural stories. It almost felt like a world-building or narrative exercise, but the result is colorful imagery and compelling stories structured in a way that really makes this feel like it could have been the mythology some ancient civilization really did subscribe to.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Gods of Pegana Lord Dunsany builds an imaginative pantheon of fictional gods, myths, and prophets through a series of short stories.

This is an odd book. The stories within are weird and strange. Often they are presented similarly to familiar morality parables, but the morals and themes are obtuse or contradicting.

The book is very short, and I think worth a read, particularly for somebody looking for world building inspiration.

[Anna Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic necronommicon.