World Mythology Retold from Prometheus to Baba Yaga

You have always meant to read the myths, but every book seems to assume you already know who Set is, or opens with a family tree the size of a wall. You want the stories themselves, told well, without homework.

This world mythology collection gives you ten myths from ten traditions, each one a standalone story that opens in scene and introduces every god as they walk in. You steal fire beside Prometheus, watch Set turn on Osiris, ride with Cú Chulainn, follow Izanagi into the land of the dead and stand in the Aztec dark as the Fifth Sun is lit. Gods lie here, and gods lose. A comic tale follows a tragedy so the tone never settles into a drone, and each chapter ends with a short note on what the myth meant to the people who first told it.

By the last chapter you know which mythology you want to explore next, and you have ten stories you can retell at dinner. Press play and start with the theft of fire.