NGK - Everything Mythology by Blake Hoena and NG Explorer Adrienne Mayor

Illustrated by Gonzalo Ordonez and Margaret Salter
Published by National Geographic Kids

Begin Your Quest for Facts, Photos, and Fun Fit for Gods and Goddesses

What could be more exciting than reading and learning about all those amazing Mythological beings, especially illustrated in brilliant colour! This is an amazing book that fits many categories. Even this grandmother learned from it! Readers will learn mythological origins, why these origins came to be, how they evolved and changed over the years and what the main purpose of each was. What is more, we will all learn the equivalent myths from around the world, and how some myths became blended. But that is not all. There are demi-gods (half-human), deities, demons, heroes and helpful demons. Also the book will connect the mythological beings with their original geographical locations. Myths were a way of learning about the world, why nature does certain things, and how they protect us.

But mythology is ever growing. It does not stay still. As the human race progresses, so does the evolution of myths, changing with the times. I found this book to not just be informative, but to be very interesting, containing various projects for children and teens to do  and also the family trees of the earliest mythological beings and how they crossed to other races to keep the stories going. A cross-section of very old worlds and their own mythological beasts are sufficient to pique the interest of children 8 and up. Some wording may be a little difficult for younger readers due to some of the words used to describe their places in historical mythology from the Romans, Greeks, Hindi, South American, African, Wales, Australia, Asia, North American and more. Otherwise I would recommend it at any age. Author Blake Hoena and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Adrienne Mayor have done an excellent and enjoyable presentation with this book.

A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain - a Novel by Adrianne Harun

Published by Penguin Group Canada

Adrianne Harun has nailed it!

I live along Highway 16. Adrianne Harun has taken this "Highway of Tears" and created an amazing fantasy based on the disappearances of mostly aboriginal girls, a case that defies solving to this day. Mixing reality, myth, the plight of small logging towns in northern British Columbia, and the boredom of mixed-race youth and hopelessness of the poor, she has run with this fascinating story. Her descriptive prose, the stories told by Leo's Uncle Lud, and a man who is unknown yet known, and a mysterious young girl--is she really the Snow Woman?--all combine to make this story compelling. The devil has many faces.

The characterizations and mindsets are spot on, too often found in these small one-store towns in the forests of British Columbia. Youngsters must work, alcoholism is rife, and in their free time they make their own entertainment, whether good or bad. A group of friends stick together, surviving the odds. Adrianne has taken on these elements and many others to give us a mythical yet not unknown reality, mixed it up and turned out full-blown a novel we can feel. Sad though these stories are, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was mesmerized and found it hard to put the book down, not wanting to lose a single thread. Remember her name, I'm sure we will be hearing it in the future.
Review based on Advance Reading Copy (ARC)

Dark Water by Chynna Laird

Published by Imajin Books

Chynna Laird has filled this many-faceted book with a story that mirrors so much of life and cuts very deeply into subjects relevant today. Suspenseful and compelling yet heart-warming. A young mother disappears shortly after her husband is killed on a peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan and the book centers around her family, her friends, and even the community where the family summers every year. Many of the lake campers start talking about an old Indian legend about the Watcher of the Lake. Clues are found, but they confuse the issue even more. Some are locked away in the mind of her youngest daughter, Sage, who  has not spoken a word since her mother disappeared.

This is but a small issue in a larger one because Sage suffers from a specific type of SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). Her mother is/was a clinical psychologist, well versed in taking care of her younger child all while teaching her older daughter Freesia what works, what doesn't, and how to calm Sage in one of her terrors. Freesia is 16 years old as the story begins one year after her mother's disappearance and the girls are living with their grandparents. Fortunately for them, they are in a good family situation with their grandparents. Full of fun and mischief, yet caring and comforting, they too are able to work with Sage. When a lone girl who seems familiar begins to show up watching Freesia more than she is comfortable with, they finally have it out and become friendly in a way. Mizu wants to help look for clues.

The reader may feel they have a grip on who committed the crime, now upgraded from a disappearance. But there are so many possibilities. The peace-keepers on the mission with Freesia's father all have issues. All have been treated by her mother for PTSD. While it was called a mysterious disappearance, all kinds of rumours surfaced. Now it is surmised to be foul play, anyone might be suspect. Nothing is really as it seems.

This is not just a murder mystery, there are too many odd sequences and discoveries. Who is Mizu, how does she find clues others miss? I found a lot in this book to keep me glued to the pages. I love learning something new, and also have an interest in SPD. With so much going on the storyline could easily have been lost, but it is all held together with personalities, relationships, the feel of the lake and forest, sailing and swimming, living normal lives during a time when there is precious little normalcy. Aside from the background of the mission in Afghanistan, this story takes place in Canada, I loved the book through all its passion, trauma, laughter and love. That is what life is about after all, don't you think?

The Beast from the Sky by Steven Donkin

Where can you find more legends than in Ireland and Scotland? This story takes place in 1950, the main characters are seniors, the mannerisms of speech are true to time and place. The people involved are Scottish, Irish and American. This is a story "written" by Gertrude from Ireland, found  by her great-great nephew and presented in Gertrude's own words.

Though presented as based on fact, the book is fiction. I enjoyed reading it as based on a legend, a creation supposedly told by Gertrude. She is heading to Scotland with some visiting American friends, embarking on a relaxing visit to another of her old friends from the war, Marit Baltry. Considering this sparsely populated coastal area, it is not so strange that there would be legends. But within days the population has grown as a circus comes to the tiny village, while at the same time, scientists have rented a carriage house to do "experiments" at Marit's closest neighbour's home. Quite a crowd to suddenly appear in a somewhat unknown locale.

Gert and her friends immediately hear of the legend when they take a break at the local pub before carrying on to Marit's home. The legend has been resurrected upon a mysterious case of a circus performer balloonist who has disappeared from the high roof of the home of the widow Marit, and the disappearance has sparked rumours of the return of  the "Beast from the Sky." The tale of the disappearance immediately brings the sleuthing instincts of Gertrude and her friends from earlier adventures to the fore. Henry and Judith, the Americans, decide they must solve this mystery. The legend itself goes back in history to a sect of Druids who occupied Groll Island, believed to house the Beast. The Druids died out long ago. The Beast was said to be guarding a treasure of some kind.

It happens that the island "home" of the Beast is part of Margit's land. That and the disappearance from her home make this all-too-tasty a morsel to investigate, much to the displeasure of Inspector McInnes, and the discomfort of Gert, who is inveigled into pursuing the mystery. What is even more enticing is that the first person to have encountered the Beast and kept a journal was Lord Baltry, ancestor to Marit's deceased husband. Cryptic references were made to the possible location of the treasure. Legend has it that anyone who sees the Beast will soon be dead, and this certainly seems to be the case over the decades with few daring to defy the Beast.

What are these people seeing, and what is killing them or causing their complete disappearance? The very small islands around Groll Island certainly appear to be uninhabitable. Tempestuous seas and rocky shores preclude that on all but Groll Island. Where the Druids lived in their insular community, there are only ruins. About the only way one would actually be able to view the vista of Groll would be from overhead, and there lies a clue to be deciphered.

An interesting mixture of what is in the eye of the beholder; is the Beast real, and who knows but isn't telling? Steven Donkin has presented an unusual and imaginative story, I might have preferred a sharper ending, but perhaps it is leading into a further adventure. Overall, a tantalizing look back in time only to find it is now.

This Enchanted Land: The Saga of Dane Wulfdin by William P. Robertson & Fiona Ingram

Illustrated by David Cox
Published by Infinity Publishing
Reviewed for Review the Book

This book is aptly named. Wales is unique country, full of enchantment and legend. This is particularly true in the time period of the book — the Dark Ages. A land so well defended that the Vikings are not able to conquer it.

Reminiscent of tales from the Brothers Grimm as well as the epic legend of Beowulf, this saga is full of giants, trolls, sorcery, and monsters. Dane, the only Viking survivor of a landing party in southern Wales, cannot gain ground no matter where he turns.

He is stranded in this awesome land where he must battle warrior tribes, trolls and giants, but that is not the worst of his exceptional adventure. Oh, most definitely not! When he first meets Queen Shera, he thinks he is safe. He soon discovers the error in his thinking. Shera is a sorceress, a witch of seduction and mystery. He is so overcome with her wiles that he wishes to remain with her forever, and to do so means he must battle the kraken, a dragon, and still she wants more. She is a taker of the highest order and a giver of misery. The castle is full of wasted, almost corpse-like men, fed constantly with white “poppy powder.” Dane knows the drug for what it is and somehow is able to avoid this nightmare.

This book, a collaboration between Robertson of the US, and Ingram of South Africa, is a fantastical horror story, a saga of intense drama and action, and a jolly good yet brutal legend. The authors’ previous works have certainly provided fodder for this genre, and the illustrations are well suited to the era. The writing is populated with bits of poetry and unique artwork. The book is relatively short, but totally packed with adventure.

The River by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Published by Imajin Books

There are many legends about the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territory, many of them featuring headless corpses and skeletons, and disappearances, a river of ghosts. Cheryl Kaye Tardif has placed her paranormal techno-thriller in this beautiful and awesome part of northern Canada. I love how she describes everything so well that each scene is vividly implanted in the reader's mind, so much so that one can almost hear the falls, the rapids, and boiling currents of the river, the rustling of the leaves in the wind. This descriptive mode is captured throughout the book, even through the horrors to be found when Del, with a team and guide, searches for her father. He was believed dead for several years, after disappearing in the Nahanni area, but now Del has reason to believe he is alive.

It all begins when an elderly man shows up in her classroom with a message and a journal. She recognizes the message as something her father always said, and finally discovers that she has known this man, he is a friend of her father's and he also disappeared from that ill-fated group of men. He appears much older than he should, and very ill, but he says her father is alive and gives her a journal with instructions to "follow" her heart. He is taken away to a hospital where he is rapidly aging and dying. Del turns to the journal and discovers it has been written in some kind of code. There also seems to be a map of some sort. She knows she will do anything to find her father, and her ex-boyfriend is ready to assemble a search team and make the arrangements.

What a mixed bunch of characters make up the team! Del (Delila) Hawthorne is a Professor of Anthropology and her young assistant Peter insists on going along. Jake, who she meets first at the hospital and again at Bio-Tec where her father had worked, and TJ, her ex-boyfriend. Peter brings Miki, who is a math savant and may be able to break the code, and Jake brings his assistant, the fiery and fiercely jealous Italian, Francesca. A lone vacationing computer programmer, Gary, is stranded when his wilderness party doesn't show up, and Hawk, the Dene guide adds him to their party.

It doesn't take long for problems to arise, both natural and man-made. Who is trying to sabotage their trip? When Del's medication for MS disappears, who would have taken it? Was it the feisty Francesca? A romantic connection seems to be building between Del and Jake. Could Gary be someone other than who he supposedly is? Will finding the secret river give them answers, or more questions? The river is very hazardous as they near the falls, but Miki and Del believe they have to pass this spot to arrive at what they think will be the location to find the secret river. Hawk does not believe there is a secret river, but he does recognize what the landmarks are on the map. As they portage up the falls, they think the worst must be over, but will soon rethink that.

A tense, strange trip to destiny lies ahead. Not just their destiny, but the destiny of the human race. Can they stop the inevitable? Layers of horror lead to more danger for the team. I won't tell. This book is character- and action-driven, terrifying, and yet tender at times even in its intensity. Cheryl has a knack for writing the gamut of human emotion, and in this case even inhuman. A good thriller, graphic in some places, but deftly written. A real nail-biter.

False Mermaid by Erin Hart

Published by Scribner

In this the third instalment of the Nora Gavin/Cormac Maguire mystery series, Nora, a pathologist, has returned from Ireland to Minnesota with the firm intent to finally prove her brother-in-law Peter Hallett guilty of murdering her sister five years earlier. She is very concerned now that her niece is older that she will be in danger from her father as well. She renews her connection with Frank Cordova, the police investigator who was one of the few who believed her, not realizing he believes she is reconnecting on a personal level as well. Nora is shocked to learn that her ex-boyfriend's sister Miranda is about to marry Peter and go to Ireland for their honeymoon. She is afraid that he will kill her the same as he did Triona.

Erin Hart has a wonderful sense of the mystical history of Ireland and how to weave the songs and lore of the islands into her stories whether in Ireland or America. In this book the folklore is mostly tied to the traditional Celtic Selkie stories, and one in particular. The Selkie traditionally is a seal that can change into a human by taking off her sealskin, but if her sealskin is taken, she is trapped in her human form. This is the basis of the legend in this book. The author's descriptions are beautiful, lyrical, and mystical, or they are vivid, harsh, and irrefutable, according to time and place. In other words, her writing is truly atmospheric. Nora and Frank find more evidence pointing to Peter, but there is always something cross-contaminating evidence just enough to blur the facts. Two witnesses are discovered, but the only people they have seen are women. Why would that be? Who is coming to the scene of the crime and what is the connection with another body found three weeks before Triona with the same cause of death and the same distinctive clues? Where do the witnesses fit into the scenario?

As always, Erin builds on the history, mystery and many connections, linking them all together and binding them tight. The tension mounts as Nora and her niece Elizabeth become targeted when Nora returns to Ireland. She has returned to rescue her after learning that not only did Peter and Miranda insist on taking Elizabeth with them on their honeymoon instead of leaving her with Nora's parents as planned, but a phone call from her neighbor in Dublin has alerted her that Elizabeth ran away from the airport when the plane landed in Ireland and they will keep her safe until Nora gets there..

There is an on-going thread about seals throughout the story that takes us from Pacific Ocean to Ireland, tying in the tale of the Selkie. It is as though the seal that Elizabeth knew on the Pacific Coast beach is the same one that appears on the coast of Ireland. There are many highlights in this book, particularly a Fiddle Festival. Trying to solve Triona's murder has opened much more than anyone would have anticipated, the suspense grows to the final outcome. Though this book does not involve archaeology or the bog people, it does involve the forensics of the crime scene, in particular the soil and flora samples. I not only recommend this book, I recommend the entire series for its flavor, mystery, suspense and surprise.

Thirteen Virtues to a New Life: A Journey Around the Medicine Wheel by Ralph P. Brown (Tawennihake)

Published by BookSurge Publishing
Illustrations by Ralph P. Brown
Reviewed for Review the Book

A little book with large motivation, the tales told and lessons to be found in this book can propel us to our goals. As quoted in the beginning, "One man dreamed of becoming something. Another remained awake and became." Ralph Brown (Tawennihake) is of the Mohawk nation, his research has taken him through several nations, including Mohawk, Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Cherokee and Navajo, meeting with many storytellers and Medicine Men. He has collected some of these tales, some might call them morality tales, through his travels, and some of the interpretations found in this book

These tales are incorporated into the Thirteen Virtues of the Medicine Wheel. These are profound and mysterious until with patience the reader begins to "See" with new eyes, eagle eyes that are so clear and can see so many ways and so far, the need to passionately seek whatever their goals are. The book is written in such a manner that reading once you only see part of the whole. It should be read more than once to take the most from it. As mentioned, this is a small book, it does not require much time to read, but it needs to be reread to get the whole of the journey. These tales, or fables, are all representations, there are more ways than one to interpret them, but the author is very clear in describing how to perceive everything that is there. He does not tell you what you must see but provides guidelines to help you to perceive whatever the representations mean to you personally.

These are life lessons that most of us have heard in one form or another, but have we really understood them? Have we "Seen" everything there is to see and have we actively set a goal and gone after it? Or have we denied ourselves that goal by not perceiving the way to look at it, to achieve it. The book gives us the guidelines to finding that perception and obtaining our goals and regain balance in our lives. This book is entertaining, educational, and completely natural, not technical in any way. Life is natural. This book can help us retain or regain our connection with the natural world. Well-written, non-demanding, it is a book well worth reading.

A Deadly Curse by Misa Ramirez

review based on e-reader version
published by Smashwords

The prologue takes us deep into the primitive belief of a mother, convinced she has been cursed and must kill her two young daughters, Johanna and Carmen, to free herself from the curse of la Llorona.* The girls manage to escape when the mother "sees'' la Llorona, the crying woman, and with a look of pure fright, flounders her way into the river. She screams that the curse of la Llorona hangs over the girls, then is taken away by the river to drown. This book is a story of ancient belief, terror, and more. Curses have a life of their own. Believe or don't believe and you will probably see all is not as it seems.

Jump forward several years, and Johanna, Joey as her mother had called her, has become a teacher at the high school where young Carmen is a student.. Joey is determined not to give in to a curse, but Carmen seems to be too much like her mother. This story is suspense and terror on steroids. Someone is killing the girls of San Julio High School, students past or present, and recreating the legend of the curse of la Llorona, all four versions of it. Each victim is found floating in the river in a white dress and barefoot, raped and then drowned by an unknown assailant.

A rich suspense from Misa Ramirez, this book will keep you reading well into the night, if you dare. Every clue brings with it more terror. A full out race against time, a killer with an agenda based on a legend and Johanna knows she will be number 4. For some cryptic reason though, the killer has veered away from the legend with the third victim. What does this mean to Joey and the school principal Ray who has taken on the part of Joey's protector? If the rules have changed, how will they know how to figure out the killer's next move and next victim? The police think they have a good case to bring in a suspect, but do they really?

A well-written story, hammering away at breakneck speed to a surprising ending. Quite a bit of sexual content, not surprising considering the crimes, but most is fantasizing. A strong story, an author worth watching.

*The legend of la Llorona is very old and there are several versions throughout the Southwest of the US, as well as Mexico.

Seven Cities of Greed by Jean Sheldon

Reviewed for Review the Book
Published by Bast Press

A very entertaining treasure hunt and thriller, somewhat reminiscent of the "Sisterhood" series by Fern Michaels with its mixed group of heroes.  Jean Sheldon has written an adventure based on legend and history from the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s and the discovery of a journal presumably dated from 1539.

The reader is brought into the story very quickly with the abduction of Jacqueline Tracy, who has unwittingly purchased this journal at a book auction because she liked the carved leather cover. She has a tendency to forget about auction purchases until they are delivered and so is unable to tell her kidnappers where the journal is.

Jackie's friends, almost all middle-aged including Jackie, soon realize she is missing. The police won't do anything until there is more information, so the women turn to Jackie's friend Nicole, an ex-cop and now private investigator. Little do they know the abuse Jackie is going through, nor the kindness of one of her captors, a giant of a man.

Her band of merry girls manages to rescue her, but they are incredulous when Jackie hires Chuck, the captor's 7'4" assistant, to be her bodyguard, and she won't take "no" for an answer. She is sure he is a good man and didn’t want any part in the kidnapping but had his own reasons for being involved. What impressed her was his kindness and his assistance in helping with her escape. Their group now numbering six including Jackie's Aunt Beth and Chuck, starts trying to sort out what the kidnapping was all about. While Jackie was away, a parcel that had been overlooked in a delivery truck finally made its arrival, and of course, it is the journal being sought after by somebody pulling the strings in the background regarding Jackie's kidnapping.  Someone with a great deal of money and a ruthless greed.

Gwen, a psychiatrist in their close-knit group of friends, is able to translate most of the ancient Spanish, touching off a decision to go to New Mexico. Several things happen that hurry them on their way. Our modern group sets off on a vacation which, though exciting, is not at all the kind of excitement they expected or wanted.

There are several interesting characters in this book, not all in a good way. Our motley but hardy crew is made up with Jackie and her adventurous aunt Beth. Beth Tracy has raised Jackie in Chicago from childhood, the city where all their friends live, but still maintains the house in New Mexico where Jackie lived before her parents died. Pat, whose partner recently died, lives with her cat Zodiac above the bookstore Jackie owns. Nicole, the P.I., Gwen, the psychiatrist, and Chuck, Jackie's new friend, bodyguard and excellent cook. Then there are the "bad" guys under the thumb and threat of one psychotic "Conquistador".

This book surprised me. I learned some history along the way, the legend of the "streets paved with gold" as understood from the journal, that middle-age can be exciting, loyal friendship is a wonderful thing to have, and when you are being chased by a madman always watch your back!  Ms. Sheldon has mixed adventure, terror, history, and the beauty of New Mexico into a story I didn't want to put down. The characters, even the worst of them, molded a certain fascination into the story. I feel with these characters she has the makings of a series, though I have no idea if that is in the author's future. She has written a variety of books and possibly prefers stand-alone stories. I want to keep my eye on this author's output, I'm sure it will be interesting.

Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Anyone who has heard the haunting sound of a whale's song will never forget it. So it is with this story, mystical, honest, haunting and wonderful. So emotional in fact, that I am writing this review while my eyes are still damp with tears. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow, and a great feeling of enlightenment and belonging. The rich blend of lifestyles from the prairies of Wyoming to Vancouver Island's rugged west coast in British Columbia, both very remote, bring together a family who has never seen an ocean to the very shores in their new home, and a traditional indian family whose roots go back many hundreds of years. The area around Bamfield is largely populated by the Huu-ay-aht Nation and the warmth of the people represented in this novel is passed on to us in a way that feels personal. Cheryl Kaye Tardif, you moved me. I read this straight through without setting it down once.

The story begins with eleven-year-old Sarah learning that her marine-biologist father has been offered an opportunity he can't refuse, nor wants to, to live and work near Bamfield for a couple of years. His artist wife, well-known for her paintings of the plains, will have the opportunity to paint different scenes in their new home. Sarah, naturally, does not want to move. Her best friend is here in Wyoming, however at eleven one has little in the way of choices. But Sarah has no idea how much her new home will change her life. Though well-populated with many full-fledged characters, this is really Sarah's story.

If I take nothing more away with me from reading this book, these three quotes alone were worth the read: "live life fully", "forgiveness will set you free", "know when to let go". Of course I loved many things about this book, and it deals with many subjects that affect lives today.

Very soon after arriving at their new rural home, Sarah meets Goldie, her indian neighbor who is also eleven.* They become the best of friends and very soon both families become as close as non-family can be. Goldie's grandmother Nana regales the girls with many legends, and yet it seems that she is also tapping into something that Sarah is thinking or troubled about. I know, you are wondering about the whales. Sarah had been warned by her parents never to swim past the float because a young boy had tried to swim to the nearby island the year before and drowned. Sarah soon hears from Goldie that she believes her brother is now an Orca (Killer Whale) and swims nearby so she can talk to him. Nana narrates the whale legend to the girls later and Sarah then understands what Goldie was talking about. Sarah's mother Dani and Nana have also become good friends, and incorporating something of the legends in her newer paintings has given Dani even more notice in the art world for the mystic quality they present.

When school starts, the girls find they are in the same classroom and sit next to each other. But trouble brews for Sarah in a case of racism and bullying all through the first year. All is not terror for her though, as she becomes popular among her other classmates and has also caught the eye of a popular young boy, Adam, causing her to giggle and blush everytime he looks at her. Goldie tells her he is part Haida, part white. A field trip on the boat Sarah's father does his research on brings a great windup to the school year. They are all mesmerized by the sounds of both fish and whales after Sarah's father drops the echolocation microphone into the water and turns the volume up so all can hear. Adam in particular looks toward his future as he learns as much as he can from Sarah's father.

The book takes place over approximately 13-14 years and there is so much to tell, but I will not plant spoilers. I have left a large part of the book undiscussed. Let me just say that this is one book I am thrilled to have had the opportunity not only to read, but to feel. It is as though I was dropped into the mind of Sarah and existing within these pages myself, feeling every emotion. Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an inspiration! This book should be read by everyone, perhaps a little too sad in places for young children but definitely for 12+ because some of the lessons learned, almost by absorption, are particularly applicable to that age group. For the rest of us, we are never too old to learn something new, and sometimes you can go home again.

* On a personal note, I mean no disrespect when I refer to our native people as indian. As a Chief once told my husband ...call me an indian, the government made me an indian when they created the legislation in the 1800s, and we call ourselves indian because why should we keep changing names because someone decides to change it?

Bluenose Magic by Dr. Helen Creighton

Just a short review this time. This book is non-fiction, the result of many Maritime interviews featuring folklore. Though legend, the book contains hundreds of stories as remembered by the people involved. The kind of book that can be picked up any time; many stories are less than a paragraph. However, I found the many short references to be of such similar events, that I began to find it repetitive. Of interest to me, I had grown up hearing many of these sayings myself! There is also a section of old traditional cures, many of which are still used today.