World Myths

When the other gods grow tired in their attempt to create humankind, only one does not give up: the Feathered Serpent. He embarks on a dangerous journey full of fearsome foes and harsh elements, facing each trial with wisdom, bravery, and resourcefulness before confronting his final challenge at Mictlan, the underworld. In the spirit of Duncan Tonatiuh’s celebrated book The Princess and the Warrior, this pre-Columbian creation myth tells the story of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, one of the most important deities in ancient Mesoamerica.

The wind has stopped, just stopped, all across the world. As panic begins to build one boy, storm-born Hurricane Smith, is especially affected. After all, the wind has always been his friend, always had his back. Hurricane's despair only increases when his mother's breathing problem lands her in the hospital. That night, alone in their apartment, a strange man appears to him, with an even stranger message: “I am Zephron Windlord, and I need your help to rescue the wind.”

When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment. Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis. Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason's band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

In this story, a poor boy's dream of having a drum takes him on an unlikely path. He meets several people who guide him along the way. In time, he learns to make his own magic in this world. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Almost everyone is familiar with names like Thor and Loki from movies, comics and other corners of the media world today, but where do they come from? That's exactly what this book looks at. You'll dive for a while into the origins of these familiar names of Norse mythology. You'll not only get an overview of the scientific sources if you desire to further investigate more specifically than what is presented here, you'll also get a short but concise introduction to the mythological world created in a pre-Christian time.

Mildred Groves, an unusual young woman gifted and cursed with the ability to see the future, goes to work in a top-secret research facility during WWII, only to be tormented by visions of what the mission will mean for humankind.

Eleven-year-old Josephine knows that no one is good enough for her daddy. That's why she makes a habit of scaring his new girlfriends away. She's desperate to make it onto her school's cricket team because she'll get to play her favorite sport and use the cricket matches to distract Daddy from dating. But when Coach Broomes announces that girls can't try out for the team, the frustrated Josephine cuts into a powerful silk cotton tree and accidentally summons a bigger problem into her life.

A mysterious prisoner, long forgotten. A sly trap is sprung with terrifying consequences. Ancient blood ties of horrifying significance. Kara, heart bearer of Bastion, returns to Gaia to begin her mission. Aided by her djinn Dragonmerger, Chryso and a feisty dragon named Beryl, she embarks on a journey into the core of the emperor's dangerous stronghold. Her quest to bring down the barrier is overshadowed by her mother’s urgent plea to free a man imprisoned within the citadel’s stone walls. It does not take long before Kara is confronted by her brother Jasper, a wizard who has sworn ...

To find the killer, she'll have to walk through fire. Ever since Elaria learned that an ember of her goddess magic still burns inside her, she's been having strange dreams of fire and blood. She decides that she needs a teacher to help her learn how to control the fire and the perfect one is found for her; a phoenix. A charismatic shapeshifter with true immortality and an exceptional control of fire. Except her lessons are put on hold when several phoenixes are murdered; their ashes taken to prevent their rising. Elaria is asked to find the killer and retrieve the ashes, but as she closes ...

With Straits, celebrated historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto subjects the surviving sources to the most meticulous scrutiny ever, providing a timely and engrossing biography of the real Ferdinand Magellan. The truth that Fernández-Armesto uncovers about Magellan's life, his character, and the events of his ill-fated voyage offers up a stranger, darker, and even more compelling narrative than the fictional version that has been celebrated for half a millennium.

Professor of Classics Peter Meineck traces Marvel’s lineage back to its earliest roots at the dawn of human culture. Using Marvel’s most beloved heroes (and antiheroes), such as Spider-Man and Deadpool, Meineck demonstrates how ancient themes continue to appear in our stories today and reintroduces characters like Achilles and Odysseus from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

The world of the Australian Aborigines is so full of extraordinary force and beauty that the idea of natural miracles, or what we might call magic, can seem quite normal. So natural magic figures very strongly in their stories, and in their lives. However as people are part of nature too, selfishness, greed, jealousy; also love, courage and a sense of humour are readily described in nature just as in men and women.

Whether it's the adventures of Greek gods and goddesses or Norse trickster tales, we all love to hear a good story. Best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis gives readers a taste of these enchanting myths and the diverse people who tell them. In his trademark question-and-answer style peppered with entertaining sidebars and quotes, he also shows how almost every civilization's mythology shares common themes.

A year has passed since the ancient gods of myth and legend returned and irrevocably changed humankind as we know it. All across the earth, survivors of the initial onslaught have now abandoned their faith in the modern world and have begun to worship the pagan deities once again. The United States hangs perilously close to ruin as the newly resurgent Aztec Empire begins its final assault against the country. In this maelstrom of chaos and destruction, a small of group of individuals holds the key to either stop or to aid this terrible menace. Across these devastated lands, Tara Weiss ...

Kai and Kishi share the same futon, the same face, and the same talent for pearl diving. But Kishi is the obedient daughter, while Kai tries to push the rules, and sometimes they fight. Still, when Kishi is stolen and killed by the legendary Ghost Whale, nothing will stop Kai from searching for her, deep in the ocean, hoping for a way to bring her back to life. But such a rescue is beyond the power of an ordinary mortal. Kai strikes a deal with the gods: she’ll steal a magic pearl in exchange for her sister’s soul.

Prequel to the series. Who is the Dark Lord and what are the foundations of his vile ambitions? Read on dear reader and be amazed . . . Long before the Hare ... Long before the Age of Heroes ... Long before the Goddess of the Temple ... There lived dragons, elves, witches and giants ... Legend has it that the dragons and the giants helped build Durundal, using their great strength to lift and carry and wrestle the enormous blocks into place. These same legends also say that the elves contributed their magic to the city, with underground passages to the Elven World. Legend also has it that ...

Patrick Healy, a teacher, traveled around the world, talked with people in different places, and collected around 500 myths, legends, and folktales and their several alternative versions. His opinion and comments (directly or indirectly) are inevitable. This is the sixth volume of his work, 61 Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Books 1 and 2, in his words. He retold the stories with his opinion and approach to them. Patrick is an Australian writer who has an abiding interest in the folklore of different cultures. He has lived and worked in Hong Kong for over 25 years as a high school teacher.

In this story from India, a farmer's three lazy sons don't want to work. They sit around dreaming of making a lot of gold. When their mother tells them of gold buried in a field, they ask her how to bring the gold to the surface. Through clever suggestions, their mother explains how to thed the fields as they discover the true riches offered by hard work. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

A flower-spouting princess, gobbling prince, emerald-winged fairy, foolish giants, fearsome ogres, and talking frog and fish are just a few of the captivating characters found in this anthology of beloved stories from 29 places around the world, from the Arctic to Africa to Asia to Australia to Europe to the Americas.

The dream is broken. The world is burning. Anise must find a new way to fight. Cast into the heart of the dream realm, Anise awakens to a world unraveling. Dragons darken the skies. Nightmares spill into the waking world. And those she once trusted have become strangers. Armed with her channeler’s magic—and guided by an unlikely ally in the god of death—Anise must weave light from shadow before Liamec falls to ruin. But dreams are tricky things. Old enemies wear new faces. Love and loyalty blur. And at the end of the path waits a sacrifice no magic can undo. In a battle where dreams ...