Once upon a Galaxy

American Storytelling

by Josepha Sherman

Science fiction is all around us. Fantasy fiction is just as widely known in today's world of entertainment. But what few readers of science fiction and fantasy realize is that these stories of wizards and starships have much older roots in the world of folklore. Cultures throughout the world share certain references. Every culture has heroes who must fulfill great quests

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Mythology, Science Fiction

251 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Josepha Sherman was an American author, folklorist, and anthologist. In 1990 she won the Compton Crook Award for the novel The Shining Falcon.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. I enjoy collections of folklore, typicallyformatted by either culture or achetype; But Sherman's format offers a brilliant way to look at folklore.

By giving each mini collection its own introduction page, gives the reader a chance to think back on the modern version archetype as the story is read.

Sherman mixes the right balance of clasic and rare folklore, but my favorite portion of the book is the latter end...

Here she provides notes, giving more detail into the modern "folklore" as well as some suggestions to find more indulgences into folklore/mythology.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept, and the retellings of the stories are written with clear and engaging prose, but the tales themselves aren't always accurate. In Jason and the Argonauts, it leaves out the bit where Jason abandons Medea on the trip home, and claims that Hercules was born of a goddess. According to every other myth I've read, he was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, a mortal woman.

[Amanda Trumpower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about the bits and pieces that have been used to varying degrees in major spec-fic stories of today.