La biblia de las criaturas míticas

by Brenda Rosen

Esta biblia es una guía completa que te permitirá conocer los seres míticos surgidos en todo el mundo desde la Antigüedad hasta nuestros días. Por medio de una amplia serie de relatos populares, leyendas, mitos y tradiciones espirituales, conocerás las historias de más de doscientas cincuenta criaturas extraordinarias que es seguro que te cautivarán.
Bellamente ilustrada, las numerosas imágenes de dragones, gigantes, zombies, hadas, mutantes y dioses que adoptan forma animal se convertirán por medio de esta obra en una referencia indispensable que estimulará tu imaginación.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Reference, Research, Fiction, Folklore, Dragons

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this!
A broad but comprehensive overview of interesting myths and legends. Maybe I'm biased as well but I think the American myths are very D: and less colourful than the rest of the world. Really interesting also to learn that there are 9 types of Chinese dragons. Everything is symbolic of course.

My favourites so far:
Ouroboros
Centaurs
The entire chapter on Water dwelling creatures
Egyptian
Greek

/edit the middle of the book was a little meh to me (demons,animal myth creatures)- pace picked up with the Egyptian and Greek and Meso(can't spell the entire word) and Chinese, Hindu creators of the world, deities and such.

8)

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for references and inspiration as well as loving to study mythological creatures. This would be a good book for a ton of creatures' descriptions that could lead on to more research about a subject.
It also had a lot more of the creatures that I didn't know much about and was very well organized, like "shape-shifters", "demons", "fabulous animals", and "creatures of the bible" to name a few, as well as an index in the back if you're looking for something specific.
Not what I expected, but I'm glad I bought it.
I would recommend this for someone who wanted a lot of small yet thorough descriptions on a plethora of creatures, but not for someone who is looking for something really in depth, even though it covers the main bits about the creatures.

[Ren Puspita · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

A must have book if you love myth or merely curious with myth around the world. With luxurious paper (I don't know what kind of paper they used. Like paper that used in calendars) and also filled with so many illustration (all are in color), divided into 4 parts, this "bible" will whet your appetite for any mystical creature or spirits. Can be used if you write fantasy type of story, but the information that this book have kinda like summary thingie. For the complete info, you can research it on net or combine with another book that have same category.

[Robert Adam Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

An acceptable bestiary, I learned about some new creatures but it isn't the biggest selection. The original artwork is okay but my biggest complaint is that the original and historical art is not very well credited, you have to guess who did the new pictures and the historical art is just credited by museums and collections rather than the artists.

[Merewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

☺This is a great introduction to world mythologies and ancient folklore, which can be intimidating and overwhelming to the uninitiated. But, Brenda Rosen did a good decent job of generalizing and summarizing very complex and dense myths and the many pantheons, plus all of the Pokemon-level amount of supernatural critters. 🙂 I'd recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more about the supernatural creatures of old and about ancient myths and legends.
Also, this book would be a great resource for writers of sci-fi/fantasy and historical fiction. Lots of potential to be mined in this collection of folklore and legends. 🙂

[Mateicee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine schöne Übersicht über die verschiedenen Mystischen Kreaturen der verschiedenen Mythologien auf der Welt. Das Englisch war gut zu verstehen, die Illustrationen sind größenteils sehr schön. Die Aufteilung der Kapitel mach Sinn.

[Joseph Dugan · Rating 4 out of 5]

kind of a coffee table book so i dunno how to judge it. has a plethora of info on mythical creatures, some more well known than others, which is both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. while there are hundreds upon hundreds of interesting creatures to read about, all of their passages must be kept brief in order to make up for the sheer volume of them. not to say that's a bad thing, but i was often left wanting more when reading about a particular creature that caught my interest. again, not that the book is at fault in any way since it does what it sets out to do incredibly well, I was just personally disappointed with some of the briefer entries on my favorite creatures. overall, i enjoyed it quite a bit and would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in fictional beings and animals.

[Mariella Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a small collection of information about mythical creatures around the world. What I liked about this book was that it stuck strictly to details and "facts," if you will. There wasn't a bunch of the author's opinions thrown in or strange belief systems. It stuck to common knowledge information and read like an encyclopedia entry, which was really helpful for researching what I wanted to find. It was also a neat combination of very commonly known creatures/deities and some less common ones. One thing that did seem odd was that they included a lot of Norse, Roman, Egyptian, and Greek deities in the book. Considering that the rest of the entries were specifically on creatures, it seemed odd to include deities and it seemed like that section could have been collected into its own book.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Warning: Book does contain some sexual entries, some graphic elements and illustrations that display nudity of both genders.***

A book of mythical creatures that I had read quite a bit ago and really impressed me as it covers not only the creatures that I know of but also rather quite a lot of mythical creatures that I hadn't heard of. The book explores all types of creatures whether from literature, Judeo-Christian/Islam beliefs, Eastern beliefs, Classical, American folklore and so much more to give the reader a well-rounded exploration of the various creatures that have come into the world of man's imagination.

This does have a rather lengthy Introduction at 38 pages but it does cover what are mythical creatures, why we should learn about them, an exploration of the different sources that have brought these animals to us, a look into astrology (both Western and Chinese), creatures from film & literature, a brief dip into cryptozoology with information provided on three of its biggest members and a brief section explaining how to use this book. As a result there is definitely lots of information to go over and some who may not feel so inclined can definitely skip over it but to me it should be read at least once if you choose to tackle this book multiple times.

The rest of the book itself is split into Fabulous Animals, Creatures From the Shadow World, Nature Spirits and Sacred Creatures.. Each of these sections is color-coded a different color so if you are just trying to look something up chapter-wise then you could do it that way although I would most definitely say the included Index would be the much faster way to go.

Each section starts with a two-page spread in which various illustrations from within the section are combined together into a full-page illustrated collage with the name of the section included. Following this is a two-page introduction for each section that provides some hints about the upcoming animals, some history and why creatures in these sections have such a hold on people.

One of the bigger sections outside the Introduction, is the first section Fabulous Animals. The sub-sections for this section are:
~Dragons
~Unicorns
~Cattle, Swine & Sheep
~Serpents
~Hybrid Creatures
~Legendary Creatures
~Water Creatures
~Fish & Sea Serpents
~Air Creatures
~Insects

The next section is Creatures From the Shadow World. This is probably going to be the section that many will be interested in as these are the animals that so many people are more familiar with. The sub-sections for this section are:
~Were Creatures
~Black Dogs
~Vampires
~Sexual Predators
~Dead Creatures
~Giants
~Demons
~Shape-Shifters
~Hags

Nature Spirits

The next section is Nature Spirits will be the subjects that most fantasy fans along with the first section may be familiar with through their reading. The sub-sections for this section are:
~Between the Shadow & the Sacred
~Elementals
~Fairies
~Elves
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Sacred Creatures
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Part of the reason why this book is so big is its size thus making room for less text on the pages but also due to the illustrations. Some pages are dedicated to a full-size illustration with no text of a creature except the caption providing the name occasionally while other illustrations and reproductions can take up anywhere from a quarter of a page to a half of a page thus also pushing the need for more pages for text.

For anyone who is definitely into mythical creatures and wants to know more this is definitely a great start but also one in which you should also take the entries at face value while researching more into the subject if you are interested in learning more than just a handful of paragraphs.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and fun looking at all the mythological creatures people have imagined throughout the years

[Nicola Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good guide for those interested in mythological beasts of all kinds. It delves into some of the lesser known beasts and refreshes your knowledge of the mythology behind them. As with all imagery of mythological beasts, I found some of the artists interpretations varied from my own imaginative one - but none the less, a great reference item for any mythology nut.

[Joshua Bunnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in my reference library and its the holy grail of my collection. I've used the book as a starting point for any mythical creature I have to research. Its proven very helpful with adding the mythology to my Cody/McIntire Mysteries. I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about this subject.

[Anna Serra i Vidal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starting point to investigate lesser known creatures. Sometimes it helps me trigger an idea or somethimes it's just watching the illustations of the Spanish version that I find the inspiration to think about something else for my stories.
This is a great reference book for any fantasy writer.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting and gave me more creatures than what I would have thought to look up. I like that it included creatures from all over the world and from different time periods. It had everything from the normal dragons and gryphons to things like the Kitsune and Paul Bunion. Overall it was a very good book and went into quite a bit of detail.

[Deboshree Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the book...

Though I have found some mismatches in Indian Mythology segment, but overall it's a nice book and a must for those who are interested in such beings. The graphics are really cool and nicely presented with adequate descriptions...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it for its diverse content and organization, but hated the campy, Sci Fi style illustrations.

[Jess Legacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best written book; it is repetitive and a bit precious at times. However, it covers great breadth and is a good introduction to many mythological beings from all over the world.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty cool, I had never heard of some of those creatures before.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty entertaining/interesting book with very nice pictures.

[Scarlette Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

very thorough, very interesting.

[Agi]

This book is for Danika - he loved it

[Chelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations and information!

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reference book with some great illustrations.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy and science-fiction authors who are looking for inspiration in creating monsters and other unique beings will likely find this book a good resource. Although by no means complete, at 393 pages, the author does cover a wide range of creatures from different cultures.

The descriptions and definitions are succinct and interesting. At the beginning of the book, she also explains the difference between folktales, legends, and myths, which I found helpful. The book is divided into groups, land, sea, and air creatures, which are further divided into several categories such as demons, hybrids, nature spirits, and sacred creatures, among others.

Each description is limited to one page accompanied by a stunning, colorful image of a photo, painting, carving, or woven artifact. The illustrations make this book exceptional and a useful guide for anyone interested in learning more about the origins and purpose of mythological creatures.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book as a reference work, which is to say that this rating/review is not about how beautiful the prose is, but how useful it is to my purpose. Having said that, I absolutely love how beautifully the book is crafted, though smaller in dimensions that I expected. It is printed on thick, glossy paper and full of beautiful colors and illustrations. I appreciate that there is information about mythological creatures from around the world and not just the ones I am already most familiar with. Altogether, I know I will be opening the book regularly and referring to it often.

[Charlotte Bosler Writes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting, highly visual reading experience that provides clear, concise information on mythical creatures from all around the world. If you are obsessed with magic and monsters, this will definitely tickle that itch with its incredible and diversified illustrations.

While not overly detailed or ideal for learning about specific cultures, this is a fantastic go-to for character design, story inspiration, and overall, feeding that insatiable thirst for mythology!

[Neil Schmit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. It's clear to see a ton of research went into it and I think the multiple categories for each creature are well organized.

I think what bogged it down for me was some of the so-so art and that we'd only get one picture for about every 3-4 monsters. The captions by each photo are very small so I would struggle with deciphering which creature/legend it was pertaining to.

Still a neat little book to have on a shelf. It made for an informative read.

[Elkaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book I have find very useful over the years when wanting to grab information on mythical creatures for my own common knowledge, or when I need it for my writing and other things. I loved how it did not cost a lot, but had so much information in it, on all the common creatures one comes across when reading or through other sources.

[Armanis Ar-Feinial · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good, but GENERAL introduction of the different types of mythical creatures and characters that are prevalent around the world:yes, the world, not just limited to the western European of Greek/Roman creatures. Indian, Middle East, American, and Eastern Asia, Japan and China is included within this. Highly recommend as a starting point.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad all-encompassing book. I wish it was more in depth, but then it would be already long XD I did learn a lot, though! I'd recommend to anyone who is curious or interested in these things like me.

I read the whole thing, but I will probably go back and reference it in the future!