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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative book, needs better editing, November 16, 2010
This review is from: A Wizard's Bestiary: A Menagerie of Myth, Magic, and Mystery (Paperback)
First let me say, A Wizard's Bestiary is probably one of the most informative books relating to cryptids, myths, and other supernatural beasties out there. It doesn't just focus on Greek or Egyptian mythology as most do, nor on north American cryptids. Instead, it delves into various countries and belief systems, shining a spotlight on well known and obscure creatures.
However, the information comes at a price. The editor must have been asleep at the wheel, because every couple dozen pages or so there's a misspelled word, a word omitted, a word the runs into the drawings on the pages, or what have you. Almost every error is in the first section, the Glossary titled "A Magickal Menagerie" and some of these problems are due to the positioning of the artwork. In the actual encyclopedic section, the creatures are split amongst groups and spoken about in an interesting and in-depth manner, some more than others of course (sea monsters alone have a VAST wealth on them). While a few sections have wording that might seem a bit ego-leaning, those are few and far between (the author for example, seems dead-set on lake monsters being slugs, and goes so far as to say something akin to "I refuse to accept them as anything else," as if it's their place and only theirs to deem what is acceptable or not. Perhaps this is just how it comes across to myself, I'll leave it up to the other readers to decide. Lastly, I think it's a bit unusual that many of the art pieces go uncredited. While some are from clipart or other sources and some DO have their artist given their do, the author states themselves that they "raided google" for many, and therefore quite a few go without credit (this could have been remedied either by asking around on the sites they were found, or by hiring a few artists to create new pieces for the creatures).
On a positive note, another area where the book stands out is at the end of each encyclopedic section, where it says how one can find media that star some of the creatures therein; particularly via film but also in book or even video game forms. The haiku at the start of each letter for the menagerie are a neat touch as well.
All in all the book is pretty good, but the editing mistakes, some of the near-hubris level of a few sections (luckily only a scant few), the lack of credit for many pieces, and the art getting in the way of the wording take away from what would be an otherwise GREAT book. Perhaps in a future publication these editing issues will be fixed, as this reviewer hopes. One suggestion could be perhaps to do the menagerie section in a column-form: one side of the page for the creatures descriptions, the other for the artwork. Although this would make the book slightly longer than usual, it's one of many possible ways to improve that section.
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14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Reading For Anyone Interested In Monsters, Mystery Beasts And The Macabre, December 30, 2007
This review is from: A Wizard's Bestiary: A Menagerie of Myth, Magic, and Mystery (Paperback)
Earlier this year, I was asked if I would write an inside-cover blurb for a forthcoming book titled A Wizard's Bestiary by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (with Ash DeKirk).
Well, at the time of the inquiry Oberon (a renowned wizard in his own right and the author of Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard) sent me a Word document of various sections of the book; and after reading them, I knew that this was going to be a good one, and so I quickly sent off my blurb.
And the book has just now been published. For a very reasonable price you get a 360-page title that is as magical as it is fascinating, and that is as informative as it is thought-provoking.
I don't joke or exaggerate when I say that A Wizard's Bestiary is likely to become one of the most talked about cryptozoological books of the next few years.
Not only that: Oberon's book is packed (and I do mean packed) with cool drawings, old woodcuts and ancient engravings on all things bizarre and monster-driven. Indeed, I'd say that the book averages about 5 illustrations per page. That's right: not 5 per chapter, but 5 per page.
Picking up and reading the book is very much like delving into some ancient magical tome of a type that would sit very well within the pages of a classic tale of Lovecraftian proportions.
So, with all that said, precisely what is the book about? Well, basically, it's an encyclopedic study of countless unknown beasts that range from the cryptozoological to the fantastic and the magickal.
The mainstream cryptozoologist will find much of interest here, including (A) detailed sections on such hairy man-beasts as Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Almas, and the Yowie; (B) a wealth of data (and great imagery) on sea-serpents and lake-monsters; (C) tales of mystery big-cats; (D) sightings of unidentified flying winged things of both a giant bird and pterodactyl-style; (E) reports of the devilish Black Dogs of old; and (F) encounters with still-living dinosaurs and much more.
Reports of magical entities such as Unicorns, Basilisks, Gryphons, the Phoenix, Satyrs and Centaurs are all addressed in-depth; as are the "Plantimals" - animate-plants, as the book describes them, and which yet again create wonderful Lovecraftian-style imagery in the mind's eye.
I could go on and on about this book all day long. But, suffice to say, this is definitely one of the most significant monster titles of recent years and one that, in terms of both its subject matter and its approach, is unlikely to be eclipsed.
Magical, informative, monstrous and engaging, A Wizard's Bestiary is one to read late at night, when the wind howls and the moon is full...
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "must-have" for paranormal and magickal bookshelves, January 6, 2008
This review is from: A Wizard's Bestiary: A Menagerie of Myth, Magic, and Mystery (Paperback)
A Wizard's Bestiary is an amazing, encyclopedia-style reference describing over 1,000 fantastic creatures - far beyond the traditional phoenix, pegasus, unicorn, and dragons to legends such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and Mokele-Mbembe, to Aataxe, Zyphoeus, and just about every mythological beast in between. Black-and-white woodcuts, engravings, and other images from historical sources illustrate the accessible yet matter-of-fact text, accessible to readers of all backgrounds. A "must-have" for paranormal and magickal bookshelves, as well as anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of fabled creatures.
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