Genre:
Mythology/Legends/Folk Tales/Native American/Spirituality
Description:
“More
than forty deities, representative of fifteen pantheons from around
the world, have found Their way into the ten books (and counting!) of
the Pipe Woman Chronicles story cycle. In A
Billion Gods and Goddesses: The Mythology Behind the Pipe Woman
Chronicles, you will find
additional information on each of the deities in the urban fantasy
series, as well as a brief foundation in comparative mythology.
The
gods and goddesses in the Pipe Woman Chronicles hail from Alaska to
Mexico, and from Russia and Scandinavia to Ireland and Japan – with
pantheons of several Native American tribes well represented. The
book is organized by type of deity: creators, tricksters, and so on.
The gods are also cross-listed by pantheon, as well as by Their first
appearance in the series.
A
Billion Gods and Goddesses
is meant to be a companion volume to the Pipe Woman Chronicles
novels, but it also serves as a wide-ranging introduction to the
subject of mythology. Anyone curious about what others believe will
find something to interest them here.”
Author:
Lynne
Cantwell is a contributing author at Indies Unlimited where she
shares her knowledge about Indie publishing and promotion. She has a
master’s degree in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University
and is a former broadcast journalist who has written for CNN and
Mutual/NBC Radio News, among other places. Ms. Cantwell currently
lives near Washington, DC. You can connect with her at her website
or on her Facebook page.
Appraisal:
I
found this a comprehensive guide for the Pipe
Woman Chronicles, Pipe
Woman's Legacy, and Land, Sea, Sky Trilogy.
I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy just reading about the gods and
goddesses but Ms. Cantwell is a storyteller at heart. It would be
extremely wordy to include every detail about each and every god or
goddesses she included in her stories. Besides you would get
distracted from the story itself that she was trying to tell.
In
this book she has included more information she liked and expands a
bit further. As an example, “To most people these days, myth is a
derogatory term that denotes a story based on a lie. But to
anthropologists, a myth a simply a sacred narrative.” And it turns
out there are a lot of similarities between most if not all mythic
cultures around the world.
I like
the way Ms. Cantwell has organized her extensive research referencing
and cross-referencing, and cross-cross-referencing. I can’t even
imagine the tangled webs she wove and unwove for our benefit. Thanks
for going to so much trouble for your readers' benefit, Ms. Cantwell.
FYI:
This
is where I generally mention foul language or sexual content… I got
nuttin’.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I
don’t recall any proofing or editing issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate word count:
20-25,000 words
4 comments:
Whoo hoo! Thanks for the kind review! :)
You are welcome, Ms. Cantwell. I have to apologize for that FYI comment. That was meant for BigAl, LOL! I can't believe he didn't edit that out. *blush*
I'm a big fan of Lynne Cantwell's Pipewoman Chronicles and related series. They appealed to me from the outset because of their use of mythologies. I shall certainly check this out.
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, judimoore. I think you will enjoy this addition to Ms. Cantwell's series.
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