I seem to be on a mythology kick, of sorts. There’s something exciting and new about the Greek, Roman, African, Latin American mythology we know and don’t know transplanted into modern times. It totally gets me hooked!
But, that said, I just finished a not-very-good one that I’ll be reviewing this week, and had the misfortune to read what was an awesome first book, followed by a horribly bad one last year. I think I might’ve been in shock and taken a break given how bad this book two was. But then I found Certain Dark Things last week: Latin American mythology and vampires. I’m ALL OVER THAT.
So, I got to searching out books based in mythology for this list that I want to read.
The Dark is Rising: This one is an oldie and a goodie, and one I’ve read so many times because it’s just that good. Teens are caught up in a fight between the Light and the Dark, throw in Merlin AKA Merriman, King Arthur and Bran his son, and you have a book that has had me hooked for years and will no doubt have me hooked for years more.
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: With a title like that, I had to rec this. The minotaur is working as a cook in a Florida steakhouse. He’s lonely and socially inept and in two weeks, his life will get turned upside down with possibilities.
African Immortals series: This one gave me the chills when I started reading about them: it’s epic, four books, spanning two generations. The first two introduce readers to Jessica and David, who is immortal. He confesses his secret to Jessica, because the Ethiopian cult which gave him his immortality wants him to return home. In the second book, Jessica is forced to seek out the cult in Ethiopia to help her figure out her daughter’s powers. It’s the last two that focus on their daughter: Fana.
Lord of the Light: This one is a combination of Hindu mythology and Buddhism. Set in the future, ona colonised planet, men have made themselves immortal and rule as Hindu Gods. Recipe for trouble. Naturally. And naturally, there’s someone to oppose them: Siddhartha. I love this combination of mythology!
Prince of Ayodhya: This is a modern retelling of a Hindu myth I grew up watching on TV. In South Africa, every Sunday we had Indian programming on TV: a movie, a series and the Ramayana. It’s based on a Sanskrit poem and is the tale of Ram and Sita, who were banished into a forest, and Ram’s battle with Ravana, the bad guy in essence. It was a program filmed in the 70s or 80s, I think and it was epic and enthralling. Reading about it never clicked until now, and then I found this modern version of it.
I enjoyed putting this list together, but it also occurred to me that even when searching through Google, the hits I got for were authors who were all white. In this list, two out of the five authors are Indian and African American. While searching, I didn’t even think of the authors until I finished putting this post together. Dammit.
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