Daren
To be fair, this is a drop-into-drop-out-again book, rather than a read-cover-to-cover book, so it was my choice to read straight through - probably to the detriment of my enjoyment.
My copy is a VINTAGE BORGES copy (published 2002, 1967 edition), with a cool cover, but i have to admit I prefer the original title of Manual de Zoologia Fantastica. Regrettably, my edition doesn't come with illustrations - I see from other reviews that some do - that might have made it all the better.
The book itself is a chaotic combination (albeit in alphabetical order) of mythical beasts, animals from folklore / traditional stories, and imaginary creatures from literature. Each animal gets a rundown - description, references and context.
Sometimes for me, it got a bit bogged down in references and context, but that was the nature of the book, so it isn't really a fault.
Favourite entries were usually referenced by A Thousand and One Nights, Herodotus or Homer, as well as old favourites - the minotaur, the basilisk, the centuar, cerebus, and dragons in general, the unicorn, the rukh.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. Would almost certainly have been an extra star with illustrations. Rounded to 3 stars.
To be fair, this is a drop-into-drop-out-again book, rather than a read-cover-to-cover book, so it was my choice to read straight through - probably to the detriment of my enjoyment.
My copy is a VINTAGE BORGES copy (published 2002, 1967 edition), with a cool cover, but i have to admit I prefer the original title of Manual de Zoologia Fantastica. Regrettably, my edition doesn't come with illustrations - I see from other reviews that some do - that might have made it all the better.
The book itself is a chaotic combination (albeit in alphabetical order) of mythical beasts, animals from folklore / traditional stories, and imaginary creatures from literature. Each animal gets a rundown - description, references and context.
Sometimes for me, it got a bit bogged down in references and context, but that was the nature of the book, so it isn't really a fault.
Favourite entries were usually referenced by A Thousand and One Nights, Herodotus or Homer, as well as old favourites - the minotaur, the basilisk, the centuar, cerebus, and dragons in general, the unicorn, the rukh.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. Would almost certainly have been an extra star with illustrations. Rounded to 3 stars.