Phantasmagoria: A Compendium Of Monsters...
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:10 am
Ive decided to do book reviews of some of the weird and wonderful books i come across or have in my possession. Today is this little gem: Brevertons Phantasmgaoria- A Compendium of Monsters, Myths and Legends by Terry Breverton.
First of all, just the title "Phantasmagoria" is fantastic. According to the author, "Phantasmagoria is the art of creating supernatural illusions , the gathering of phantoms or fantasies". Mix that with the highly ornate cover remniscient of late Victorian hardcovers, you end up with a very cute little tome, appropriate for all (or most) ages, that is bound to draw attention if left laying out or strategically placed on a bookshelf.
This is a book its ok to judge by its cover because the inside is just as fun. Inside its 384 pages are an adventure through 8 chapters such as "Mythical Monsters, Ghosts, and Things That Go Bump in the Night", "Magical Places of Legend and Reality", and "Flying Monsters, Mysteries, Odd Happenings, Strange Sightings and Legends". While it doesnt give extensive information on each subject, it literally touches on hundreds of creatures, monsters, legends and myths. It gives you just enough to tease, to spark your interest in something. This book talks about dragons, vampires, werewolves, demons (they actually spend a little more time on this one, refreshingly giving the original derivative of the word "daimon" meaning divine intelligence, instead of automatically lambasting them as evil beasts.) There are gorgons, the evil of the banana explained, the Burmuda Triangle, lore of the Number 7, the legendary Mandrake, and the origins of unicorns.
Here's what i dont like: Though it has hundreds of little illustrations scattered throughout, which are excellent, the actual print color is brown. If you have old eyes like I do, you'll have to get your reading glasses on lol But all in all, as critical as I can be about some books, I think thats not a bad run.
As for price, this was very affordable. It retails here in the UK for £9.99 (though i got it on sale for £6).
First of all, just the title "Phantasmagoria" is fantastic. According to the author, "Phantasmagoria is the art of creating supernatural illusions , the gathering of phantoms or fantasies". Mix that with the highly ornate cover remniscient of late Victorian hardcovers, you end up with a very cute little tome, appropriate for all (or most) ages, that is bound to draw attention if left laying out or strategically placed on a bookshelf.
This is a book its ok to judge by its cover because the inside is just as fun. Inside its 384 pages are an adventure through 8 chapters such as "Mythical Monsters, Ghosts, and Things That Go Bump in the Night", "Magical Places of Legend and Reality", and "Flying Monsters, Mysteries, Odd Happenings, Strange Sightings and Legends". While it doesnt give extensive information on each subject, it literally touches on hundreds of creatures, monsters, legends and myths. It gives you just enough to tease, to spark your interest in something. This book talks about dragons, vampires, werewolves, demons (they actually spend a little more time on this one, refreshingly giving the original derivative of the word "daimon" meaning divine intelligence, instead of automatically lambasting them as evil beasts.) There are gorgons, the evil of the banana explained, the Burmuda Triangle, lore of the Number 7, the legendary Mandrake, and the origins of unicorns.
Here's what i dont like: Though it has hundreds of little illustrations scattered throughout, which are excellent, the actual print color is brown. If you have old eyes like I do, you'll have to get your reading glasses on lol But all in all, as critical as I can be about some books, I think thats not a bad run.
As for price, this was very affordable. It retails here in the UK for £9.99 (though i got it on sale for £6).