B is for Bane
I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.
Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book (I’ve published some new books, so take a look).
I chose the books this year quite randomly from my Goodreads Want to Read page. Some are quite creatively added to letters.
I know there were suggestions in last year’s Reflection post that I skip my TBR and just get on with the review, but I like knowing what I have left to read for each letter (and how far I’ve come with all the reading challenges I’ve done) so things are staying the same. Scroll down to the reviews if you’re not interested in what my TBR still contains. FYI, you might encounter issues with commenting if you don’t tick all the boxes marked as mandatory (especially the privacy one).
Let the fun begin!
If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.
My TBR
About the Book I’ve Read
I’m going with various folklore books by one author, Theresa Bane.
Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures by Theresa Bane
This exhaustive volume catalogs nearly three thousand demons in the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and most religions. From Aamon, the demon of life and reproduction with the head of a serpent and the body of a wolf in Christian demonology, to Zu, the half-man, half-bird personification of the southern wind and thunder clouds in Sumero-Akkadian mythology, entries offer descriptions of each demon’s origins, appearance and cultural significance. Also included are descriptions of the demonic and diabolical members making up the hierarchy of Hell and the numerous species of demons that, according to various folklores, mythologies, and religions, populate the earth and plague mankind. Very thoroughly indexed.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I don’t get why certain deities like the Celtic ocean god Shoney is listed as a demon…
As with the other books in by this author, it is a good place to start when researching new beings.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
About the Book I’ve Read
Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places by Theresa Bane
The heavens and hells of the world’s religions and the “far, far away” legends cannot be seen or visited, but they remain an integral part of culture and history. This encyclopedia catalogs more than 800 imaginary and mythological lands from all over the world, including fairy realms, settings from Arthurian lore, and kingdoms found in fairy tales and political and philosophical works, including Sir Thomas More’s Utopia and Plato’s Atlantis. From al A’raf, the limbo of Islam, to Zulal, one of the many streams that run through Paradise, entries give the literary origin of each site, explain its cultural context, and describe its topical features, listing variations on names when applicable. Cross-referenced for ease of use, this compendium will prove useful to scholars, researchers or anyone wishing to tour the unseen landscapes of myth and legend.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I like that there are variations on spellings of the various places.
As with the other books in by this author, it is a good place to start when researching new magical places.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
About the Book I’ve Read
Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore by Theresa Bane
“Here there be dragons”–this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Though there are many creatures in this one, it doesn’t include an entry on the aspis (a small, two-legged dragon from medieval European folklore), the farralis (a fire fairy), and some other obscure folklore creatures.
It does have a wide selection and is a good place to start when searching for mythological monsters.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
About the Book I’ve Read
Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology by Theresa Bane
From the earliest days of oral history to the present, the vampire myth persists among mankind’s deeply-rooted fears. This encyclopedia, with entries ranging from “Abchanchu” to “Zmeus,” includes nearly 600 different species of historical and mythological vampires, fully described and detailed.
Check it out on Goodreads
My Review
I like that certain animals and other possible vampires are included in this book.
As with the other books in by this author, it is a good place to start when researching new beings.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
About the Book I’ve Read
Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore by Theresa Bane
Every culture has in its folklore and mythology beings of immense size and strength, as well as other preternatural humanoids great or small who walk among us, serving the divine or fulfilling their own agendas. This book catalogs the lore and legends of more than 1,000 different humanoid species and individual beings, including the Titans, Valkyries, Jotnar, yōkai, biblical giants, elves, ogres, trolls and many more.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
It even has an entry on Dhampirs (yes, the vampire hunters from Vampire Academy) in it. But it doesn’t have an entry on Demeter (Ceres), only briefly mentions her in entries about other gods.
As with the other books in by this author, it is a good place to start when researching new beings.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
About the Book I’ve Read
Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane
Fairies have been revered and feared, sometimes simultaneously, throughout recorded history. This encyclopedia of concise entries, from the A-senee-ki-waku of northeastern North America to the Zips of Central America and Mexico, includes more than 2,500 individual beings and species of fairy and nature spirits from a wide range of mythologies and religions from all over the globe.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I’ve had this book for years and have found it interesting, surprising and a lot of fun.
Though there is some fiction mixed in with the folklore (e.g. the sea witch in Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid features under the entry about Sea Witches) it is a sound starting point for further research into specific fairies as resources are also added beneath each entry.
I’ve found a lot of typos and misspelled words, unfortunately. For the price of the paperback, one would have expected better editing.
A good addition to any fantasy writer’s shelf.
My Book
Faery Bargains Gone Wrong… And Other Writing Prompts
I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?
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Well done on your Birds post. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you 🙂
Wow, I really like your concept for the Challenge! Great idea!
Thank you.
You have a really large TBR pile! Good thing it’s virtual. 😉
Most of the titles you’ve listed/shown are outside my reading tendencies, but I’m wondering if you might like Lynsay Sands’ vampire romances — A Bite To Remember, Love Bites, etc. Lots of “B” titles to choose from! 🙂
I love Lyndsey Sands! I’ve read all of her books 🙂
So many books that begin with Blood! I liked The Bitter Kingdom — that whole series, really. And The Bride Wore Size 12 — Meg Cabot is always good for something fun to read.
Yeah, I think I went through a phase adding all those blood titled books to my TBR 🙂 I’m currently reading the Bitter Kingdom series.
This was a great post. I was really into learning about Slavic mythology years ago, and one thing I discovered was that much of the mythos was written down by a priest(s?) traveling throughout those parts of Europe. Some deities were turned into demons. It’s really important to remember how a myth was passed down and the biases of those doing the recording. Each writer then can go on to interpret however they wish and then years later we get what we get. These kinds of books are good starting points, but they just offer some clues.
Thanks for the reminder, Urszula. I suppose I assumed that the author would have categorised things a bit differently.
It’s a delight to see your TBRs. My interest in fairies has recently been piqued, and I might begin delving into Bane’s book.
Thanks, Deborah. I like using her books for reference for my folklore posts.
I recently found myself on a long flight with a broken kindle! Yikes, what to do?! Fortunately my seat mate finished his book and gave it to me.
That must have been awful at first. Good thing he gave his book to you.
There’s so much more to fairies than I realised. Just a little research leads to much more and you have immersed yourself in it.
Absolutely. I’ve been writing folklore posts for years mainly featuring faeries and I haven’t run out of creatures yet!
The fairies and mythical places looks good, but I will skip the vampires. 🙂
The vampires one I probably got when I went through my vampire phase 🙂