The Mythic Dream by

The Mythic Dream

An all-new anthology of eighteen classic myth retellings featuring an all-star lineup of award-winning and critically acclaimed writers.

Madeleine L'Engle once said, "When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe." The Mythic Dream gathers together eighteen stories that reclaim the myths that shaped our collective past, and use them to explore our present and future. From Hades and Persephone to Kali, from Loki to Inanna, this anthology explores retellings of myths across cultures and civilizations.

Featuring award-winning and critically acclaimed writers such as Seanan McGuire, Naomi Novik, Rebecca Roanhorse, JY Yang, Alyssa Wong, Indrapramit Das, Carlos Hernandez, Sarah Gailey, Ann Leckie, John Chu, Urusla Vernon, Carmen Maria Machado, Stephen Graham Jones, Arkady Martine, Amal El-Mohtar, Jeffrey Ford, and more, The Mythic Dream is sure to become a new classic.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Mythic Dream is a myth based anthology with 18 short fiction re-imaginings, edited by Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe. Released 3rd Sept. 2019 by Simon & Schuster on their Saga imprint, it's available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I've always had a particular fondness for collections/anthologies because short fiction is spare and technically challenging, so you get a better feel for an author's expertise with the form. Short fiction is less of a time commitment as well, so if one story is not working for you, there's another piece readily available in a few pages. Anthologies are also a rich source for finding new authors so you can search out their other works. Most of the authors included here were familiar, but there were a couple who were new (to me).

This is top shelf fiction and while some stories appealed to me more than others, there wasn't a single story in the lot which wasn't enjoyable and well crafted. The introduction (by the editors Parisien & Wolfe) was interesting and on point, and I really enjoyed the authors' notes after each story with insights and background for their writing process and inspirations.

Wonderful anthology, full of stories from 3-5 stars, weighted heavily toward the top end of the scale.

Four and a half stars. Good stuff. This would be a superlative choice for SF/fantasy readers, and great for gift giving. I can also imagine it being a good choice for a buddy or group read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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  • 3 November, 2019: Reviewed