The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John & Caitlin Matthews
© 2005 Sterling Publishing Company ISBN 1-4027-3543-X 682
pages Soft Cover $24.95 (U.S.)
Obviously, since this is an encyclopedia, it is not a book which is
intended
to be read straight through. Find a topic or two which interest you and
dive right in. It is important to remember that these are "magical"
creatures, not necessarily "mythological" creatures. Hence there are
entries on cats and dogs, horses and toads, carp and frogs as well as
centaurs and kelpies, yeti and cameleopards, and griffins and krakens.
With nearly 2000 entries covering cultures from ancient Greek to Inuit as
well as Oceanic and African there is no doubt in my mind that there is
something between these covers which will be a surprise to everyone. I've
read several books listing magical and mythological creatures and I found
myself learning a great deal.
There are occasional errors (page 16 - ALABASTOR: "Its origin is said to
be
the souls of baptized and illegitimate children." Which I am sure should
be
"unbaptized. children"), but John and Caitlin Matthews are well-respected
authors, and such errors are few and far between. Considering the sheer
volume of material contained in this work, I am amazed at the scarcity of
errors.
While I am sure that this book will not appeal to everyone, there are
multiple types of people who will find it invaluable - people who love
reading mythology and D&D-style games among them. In addition, people who
enjoy books relating to cryptozoology will also find a use for it. And
finally, on a more mundane level, it should appeal to many people simply
because it contains a wealth of obscure information in one easy-to-find
and
easy-to-use source.
However, as the authors clearly state, this is not the final work on such
creatures. New creatures are constantly emerging from the human
imagination
and have yet to be describes and catalogued. We see some of these on the
big screen (George Lucas' creations for "Star Wars"), the small screen
(almost any "supernatural" or science-fiction series) and on the printed
page (does the name H. P. Lovecraft ring any bells?). So this book won't
introduce you to every magical creature, but it will certainly be an
interesting way to begin your journey.
My one complaint about this book is the lack of illustrations. While the3
authors vividly describe many of these creatures, illustrations would be
nice. That may be an idea for a future volume - find an illustrator (or
several) who would be interested in translating those descriptions into
visual images. It could then be issued as a supplement to this volume.
This is a book which, while not being a "must have" for the average
reader,
is certainly a fascinating addition to any library. Since it includes
entries from ancient legends up to (and including) chupacabras and
Moth-man
there is literally something for everyone in it. I highly recommend it.
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