The Gods of Pegana [Hardcover]

Lord Dunsany (Author), Sidney H. Sime (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

THE GODS OF PEGANA is a rich tapestry of imaginative fantasy, one of the landmark collections of short stories from the early 20th century, and a tremendous influence on writers ranging from H.P. Lovecraft to Ursula K. LeGuin. "Dunsany was the second writer (William Morris in the 1880s being the first) fully to exploit the possibilities of . . . adventurous fantasy laid in imaginary lands, with gods, witches, spirits, and magic, like children's fairy tales but on a sophisticated adult level." -- L. Sprague de Camp. "[Dunsany's] rich language, his cosmic point of view, his remote dream-worlds, and his exquisite sense of the fantastic, all appeal to me more than anything else in modern literature." --H. P. Lovecraft

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Borgo Press (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880448939
• ISBN-13: 978-1880448939
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Gods, Same Old Flavor, February 20, 2007

By 

Jeremy S. Roby (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gods of Pegana (Hardcover)

Herein the reader is introduced to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, who created all the lesser gods to play amongst the worlds. There is Kib, creator of all life, and Mung, who takes it away with but a signing of his hands. Meet Sish, the lord and master of Time, and Skarl the Drummer, whose beating can be heard throughout the heavens. Slid is also here, who frolics within the currents of countless rivers and rides the foam atop the waves of all the seas. There are also stories of the lesser home gods to be found, as well as the priests and prophets of Pegana.

Naturally, this isn't a book that presents a story with a beginning, middle, or end. It is really just snippets of history and gods of the land. You can't really read it one chapter at a time, it has to be read all the way through for the reader to get a complete sense of its grandeur. It stretches from the very beginning of time to its end and then back again. After you're done, you don't remember much of the details of the individual stories, but the sense of wonder remains.

This is the first installment of a five book cycle (followed by Time and the Gods, The Sword of Welleran, A Dreamer's Tale, and The Book of Wonder) concerning the fictional world of Pegana. Even though these stories were written nearly a century ago, they have had a great influence upon such well known writers as H.P. Lovecraft, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Neil Gaiman, as well as countless others. Dunsany's tales also rank up there with William Morris' and George MacDonald's for creating one of the first self-contained fantasy worlds and an accompanying imaginary mythology. (Although I've always hated the term "imaginary mythology." Aren't all mythologies imaginary to one degree or another? - not that that detracts from their power or legitimacy.)

Wildside Press has done a great service by reprinting most of the books in this series. I do wish, however, that a collected edition would be made available complete with annotations. (Not even Chaosium's "The Complete Pegana" reprints all the stories involved in the cycle.) As it stands now, readers will have to make do with these incredibly short individual volumes. This book, for instance, has 32 chapters, but is only 106 pages long. And that is using very large type and with a few pictures thrown in!

Nevertheless, it has often been said that some of the best things in life come in small packages. In this case, it is most definitely true.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, foundational work of fantasy, July 30, 2009

By 

T. Simons (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gods of Pegana (Kindle Edition)

This was Lord Dunsany's first published novel; it was also, I believe, the first completely invented mythology in the English language, pre-dating even Tolkien's Silmarillion by about a decade. Dunsany's influence on later fantasy has been incalculable, and this is the place to start.

The style is very elevated and high biblical / "mythic", -- far closer to Kahlil Gibran than modern fantasy -- and the intent more literary. High Art fantasy, not low art. The stories are very short, but very powerful and somewhat haunting. The best way to explain the book may simply be to give a sample, as Dunsany's style (though oft imitated) is so unique.

----

"And Limpang-Tung said: "The ways of the gods are strange. The flower groweth up and the flower fadeth away. This may be very clever of the gods. Man groweth from his infancy, and in a while he dieth. This may be very clever too.

"But the gods play with a strange scheme.

"I will send jests into the world and a little mirth. And while Death seems to thee as far away as the purple rim of hills; or sorrow as far off as rain in the blue days of summer, then pray to Limpang-Tung. But when thou growest old, or ere thou diest, pray not to Limpang-Tung, for thou becomest part of a scheme that he doth not understand.

"Go out into the starry night, and Limpang-Tung will dance with thee who danced since the gods were young, the god of mirth and of melodious minstrels. Or offer up a jest to Limpang-Tung; only pray not in thy sorrow to Limpang-Tung, for he saith of sorrow: 'It may be very clever of the gods, but he doth not understand.'"

-------

If you're interested in fantasy, you should read this, especially since it's free; Dunsany's influenced everyone from Lovecraft and Howard to Gaiman and Zelazny, and if you want to be familiar with the fantasy genre, he should be part of your bookshelf. It's a little tough going due to the style, but it's still very much worth reading.

The complete list of stories herein is as follows (remember, each of these is fairly short):

"Preface"

"The Gods of Peg'na"

"Of Skarl the Drummer"

"Of the Making of the Worlds"

"Of the Game of the Gods"

"The Chaunt of the Gods"

"The Sayings of Kib"

"Concerning Sish"

"The Sayings of Slid"

"The Deeds of Mung"

"The Chaunt of the Priests"

"The Sayings of Limpang-Tung"

"Of Yoharneth-Lahai"

"Of Roon, the God of Going"

"The Revolt of the Home Gods"

"Of Dorozhand"

"The Eye in the Waste"

"Of the Thing That Is Neither God Nor Beast"

"Yonath the Prophet"

"Yug the Prophet"

"Alhireth-Hotep the Prophet"

"Kabok the Prophet"

"Of the Calamity That Befel Y'n-Il'ra by the Sea, and of the Building of the Tower of the Ending of Days"

"Of How the Gods Whelmed Sidith"

"Of How Imbaun Became High Prophet in Aradec of All the Gods Save One"

"Of How Imbaun Met Zodrak"

"Peg'na"

"The Sayings of Imbaun"

"Of How Imbaun Spake of Death to the King"

"Of Ood"

"The River"

"The Bird of Doom and the End"