Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

I love this book so much, if you have heard of any beast it is probably in this book! Every monster is based on folk lore and all the tales are in this book! It is so interesting, but the only issue I have it normally turns a 2 minute toilet break into about 10 minutes as I am too busy reading up on how Black Shuck terrorised East Anglia in days gone by.

This is a good resource to have on hand for authors looking to spice up a story. Creatures from myths, legends and folklore are all present as well as creatures from famous fiction like Lord of the rings, hobbit, etc.the entries have good detail and references for further reading should a particular monster take your fancy.

This book met my expectations and then went way above them! I got it for my boyfriend, who is an illustrator and is doing an alphabet book of mythical creatures. Not only is there creatures from every corner of the world, it's alphabetised like a big index, which was VERY useful to him. We also love all the illustrations. He takes it everywhere with him and spends hours looking through it, constantly calling me over so that he can read me some.

Good details but the I was very disappointed by the illustrations.

Great book, loads of monsters and myths I didn't know about

a very welcome addition to my library

The product was quickly dispatched, and has an enormous amount of research and information dedicated to monsters. Highly recommended if you're looking to find monsters that you never found before.

Arrived with the other book on monsters a bestiary so well packaged and very prompt delivery, well pleased

What this book is NOT: A simple little picture book of dragons and fairiesWhat this book IS: An extensive encyclopedia of every kind of creature or humanoid you can imagine. Creatures from every corner of the globe, from all time periods ranging from ancient to more modern. Though the pics are in black&white there are enough images to keep you entertained and imaginative while you research. Those who are giving this book a bad review over the lack of images need to get real. For it would not be possible to illustrate so many occult creatures. Includes an extremely useful index and references. Seems like a lot of hard work went into compiling all the citations within. Worth every penny. Bought it used but not a crease in the spine nor a wrinkled corner.

I first bought a copy of this book in 2000 when I was a young teen. The scope of the work, with hundreds of images to illustrate the subjects, is immense and entertaining. The book, and it's sister, focusses not only on the cultures that spring to mind such as the Greeks but on more obscure minority groups such as the Mari of Russia, various tribes in Borneo, as well as whole branches of folklore such as the Lumberjack legends of North America and the medieval bestiary creatures of Europe. The articles are written simply, with a powerful index for crossreferencing in the back by culture, creature type, or region. My original copy was so well thumbed through that it started to fall apart and so I bought another copy. A must for any casual reader, researcher, or writer.

日本語版を先に手に入れていた自分でしたが洋書版も探してみました。色んな怪物の名前、特徴、説明があり面白いですが挿絵を大きく見たい方にはこちらの書籍をオススメ。またこっちにしか載っていない挿絵の怪物が少しだけいました。だけど『世界の怪物・神獣事典』と同様にもっと挿絵を載せて欲しい所ですね………。怪物好きな自分にとってはこっちの表紙が好きです。

This is a really fantastic desktop encyclopedia of folk stories, legends, and myths. But be aware of the scope of coverage. It's really a beastiary of giants, monsters, and dragons, along with a few inhabitants of tall tales. You're not going to find magical objects (e.g., the philosopher's stone). And you're going to have to look elsewhere for the fae (no hobs, brownies, or elves). But within its ambit, this is a marvelous source of folkloric information.

～小さい頃から妖怪の不思議な魅力に取り付かれ、妖怪博士の水木しげる先生などの本を読んでいたりしました。妖怪、怪物、幻獣などの類いに興味を持っていて、さらに掘り下げたい人にお勧めできる本です。内容としては巨人、竜、天翼馬などに関しての記述が多いようです。しかしそれに負けず、他の類いの存在も豊富に載せています。網羅するところの広さ～～は、扱う存在達の地域の広さにも現れています。こういった色々な存在について読み進んでいくにつれ、当時の人々が何を恐れ、崇めていたか少し推し量る事ができるような気がします。幻想上の生き物達は大抵が何かの権化だから、それに対して人々が抱く気持ちという物は元の現される物事にそのまま射影されうると思います。伺い知れる物の多い、単な～～る幻想で閉じる事なく広がったのが巨人、竜、天翼馬などの生きる世界。裏を返せば、その世界はこの私たちの世界の不思議や謎を多分に含んで現された物なのでしょう。～