AJ Kerrigan reviewed The Mythic Dream by Ann Leckie
Review of 'The Mythic Dream' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I was excited about this anthology and still came away pleasantly surprised. The authors took varying degrees of inspiration from their chosen source material. As the editors put it:
For some, the myth was a roadmap to new adventures; the journey is immediately recognizable, but the sights are quite different. For others, the individual elements are familiar, but their travels took them down very different paths. But for all these dreamers, the destination was the same: an adventure or perspective that feels wholly new, and yet rooted in ancient truths.
It's like an album of cover songs that has both an acoustic version of "Stairway to Heaven" and a free jazz explosion based on Beethoven's 9th.
The mix of authors and approaches works well. I came in with uneven preconceptions too - I'm certainly more familiar with "Hades Persephone" or the "Labors of Hercules" than, say, "El Coco" or "The …
I was excited about this anthology and still came away pleasantly surprised. The authors took varying degrees of inspiration from their chosen source material. As the editors put it:
For some, the myth was a roadmap to new adventures; the journey is immediately recognizable, but the sights are quite different. For others, the individual elements are familiar, but their travels took them down very different paths. But for all these dreamers, the destination was the same: an adventure or perspective that feels wholly new, and yet rooted in ancient truths.
It's like an album of cover songs that has both an acoustic version of "Stairway to Heaven" and a free jazz explosion based on Beethoven's 9th.
The mix of authors and approaches works well. I came in with uneven preconceptions too - I'm certainly more familiar with "Hades & Persephone" or the "Labors of Hercules" than, say, "El Coco" or "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl".
While I enjoyed the stories that flew far from their inspiration, I loved the subtle changes too. It's a fine treat to see a story you know and love through a different lens, told beautifully. At times the stories here reminded me of Circe, which is always a good sign! On that note, the collection ends fittingly with this line from Amal El-Mohtar's author's note:
There are so many flowers, and so many birds, and so many women in the world, and they all deserve to be more than set dressing in men’s stories.
