SFF Author: Myths-&-Legends

Thor: Viking God of Thunder by Graeme Davis

With all the attention being paid to Thor lately, thanks to the Marvel same-named films and his appearances in the Avengers movies, Osprey Publishing made a wise decision to make the god the subject of one of their texts in their MYTHS AND LEGENDS series, this one written by Graeme Davis. I had been a little disappointed in my first MYTHS AND LEGENDS text, dealing with Jason and the Argonauts (giving it a three-star rating),

Robin Hood by Neil Smith

Robin Hood is one of the generally excellent series of MYTHS AND LEGENDS by Osprey Publishing, this one written by Neil Smith. It follows the same general format as the others, with a brief intro, retellings of the stories, examination of historical background to the stories and the setting, a brief look at the legend in modern multi-media retellings, all while interspersing throughout some sidebars to fill in some non-essential but often quite helpful and interesting information.

Troy: Last War of the Heroic Age by Si Sheppard

Troy: Last War of the Heroic Age by Si Sheppard, is the fifth or sixth book in the MYTHS AND LEGENDS series by Osprey Publishing. It does the usual good job, even if it is not quite as strong as several others.

The reason for its middle place in the rankings of these books though is really not so much Sheppard’s fault as it is a built-in conflict between Osprey’s goal of a concise retelling and exploration of these myths and the huge amount of material that makes up the story of the Trojan War.

Jason and the Argonauts by Neil Smith

Jason and the Argonauts, retold by Neil Smith and illustrated by José Daniel Cabrera Peña, is one of a sequence of books in a new series by Osprey Adventures entitled MYTHS AND LEGENDS. It’s a pretty straightforward text, and serves as a solid introduction to the story beyond the highly abridged versions one gets in schoolbooks. One wishes, though, for a bit more verve in the storytelling itself.

The introduction is a very brief (one and a half pages) essay placing the story in historical context in terms of when it is assumed to be set,