Member Reviews
Loved this. A who’s who of Greek mythology, written in a lively and accessible and often humorous style, and an ideal vade mecum for those of us who are perhaps not as familiar with our Greek gods, goddesses and heroes as we might like to be. A really useful reference guide. Lots of great illustrations to accompany the text too.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.
I'm a huge lover of Greek mythology, so I was super excited to read this, and it didn't disappoint. The handbook was really detailed, but in a way that was easy to understand and follow. Granted, there is a LOT to Greek mythology, so this wasn't the sort of book I could read in one sitting - it took me a while. But I don't think I really wanted to read it in one sitting, anyway.
This was definitely a good introduction/overall sort of summary of Greek mythology, I mean we had pretty much everything and I quite liked the author's little comments running through the book.
Plus, the cover is GORGEOUS!!!
This is a great reference book that every library should have on their shelves. This book breaks down the the Olympians, the Deities and the Heroes and Mortals. I have a problem keeping all the names straight but this is so helpful. And the artwork is beautiful. The index is organized too.
Great for libraries and for parents to buy for their children because at some point everyone has to do a report.
This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pros:
The artwork is stunning!! Probably the best reason to pick up this book to be honest. The individual stories provide a good background to Greek mythology if you’re new to it.
Cons:
The stories are extremely basic. If you have any previous knowledge in Greek mythology you won’t learn anything new. Each chapter explains the basis on each main and minor god or Greek legend.
I would absolutely buy this book for my kids to learn about Greek mythology but probably wouldn’t buy it for myself.
This book was received as an ARC from Adams Media in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
This book really was a reflection on how much I love Greek Mythology. Liv Albert did a wonderful job explaining the importance and reference to each of the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes of ancient Greece and how they were interpreted in modern times especially in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series and Disney's Hercules. Gods like Zeus and Poseidon Albert goes to explain according to the ancient texts were not so nice as Disney and Percy Jackson made them out to be and that their power overtook their ego. Then there is the captivating stories of Hades and Persephone and Adonis and Aphrodite the original romances. Knowing the backgrounds now of their love story shocked me at first but after a few minutes made me love Greek mythology even more because of the mystery behind it. Our schools do many projects on Greek Mythology and this book will definitely be of assistance to them.
We will consider adding this title to our BL Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
I found this book to be very interesting .
I did like it and this will be one I will buy in the future.
The author links together the different gods, goddesses, monsters and significant characters that populate Greek mythology. Each has their own story, what they are most famous for and important points. The layout is easy to follow and I particularly enjoyed the recommendations for books and films based on Greek Mythology.
If your starting out on learning more about the Greek Myths this is a fantastic starter book. Simple and easy to read it brings the colourful characters to life.
I found this book fascinating. Written in a good easy reading style I enjoyed learning more about the Greek myths. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.
First I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC of this marvelous book.
WOW. Ok so if you love Greek Mythology, this book is for you. I can not even tell you how many times I wanted to enjoy some of the Greek mythology books but they never explain who the people are, they just expect you to know who they are. This is the perfect book that walks you through EVERYTHING! And I mean EVERYTHING!
This book breaks down all the different levels of “gods” and who is whos child (because lets be honest there is SO FREAKIN MANY). I had no idea that Zeus had sisters? I just assumed that his wife was another god but not his SISTER! Which this book brings to light how there is a lot of sibling lovers. So it explains the family lines and gives you an over view of the “main players”. It also gives you stories after describing these characters.
And don’t even get me started on the art work. Y’ALL!!! It is crazy! I was given a digital copy of and I not only want to have a physical copy because it is a great reference point for understanding characters when reading about them in other books, but the ART WORK!!!! If you think the cover is beautiful, wait until you get into the book. WOW. And I mean WOW. I am obsessed. Such beautiful work done in this book.
I also really loved the fun aspect to this book. There are tons of little comments through out it to tell you things that are related to pop culture and other books that have these Greek gods in them. Even though the book is laid out as text book guide for you to understand, the writing is so much fun. You feel like your friend is explaining all of the Greek Mythology to you which in my opinion, makes the book a million times better.
If you like Greek Mythology and want to learn more these legends, this book is FOR YOU! I also think it would be a great gift for someone. Again, the art work is amazing and the book is full of information that will help you understand other books with these Gods in them.
I really enjoyed this book. Mythology has always been a subject that I’ve really enjoyed but I think literature in this genre hasn’t been very good at keeping this information engaging, fresh and/ or interesting. This book has done that extremely well. There is a lot of little bits of the author’s own humour and commentary thrown in with a very clear and concise way of explaining the different figures and stories of Greek Mythology.
I would really recommend this book if you’re looking to get into mythology and trying to find a good place to lay down the foundations
The Greek Mythology handbook is detailed and organized with lots of interesting information surrounding some of the most notable figures from Greek mythology. The author does an excellent job linking things together and explaining things well enough without making it boring.
The text was straight-forward, the layout is easy to follow along with, and the illustrations are gorgeous. As someone who loves Greek Mythology but needed a refresher, I love it and am purchasing a copy to have in my personal library. I read this in a single sitting.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Adams Media for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Eminently readable guide to gods, heroes and key women of Greek mythology😊
While a good, well organized, basic reference book for young people, I also found Albert's book an easy, quick, entertaining read to refresh my memory about legends I had heard and read about decades ago. My particular fascination in the ancient Greek world is Homer's epic stories of the Trojan War and this book provides details I did not know about some of the principal players like Agamemnon and his family. Albert also makes the stories more relatable by mentioning recent movies and books that provide their own take on Greek gods and heroes, and she does not shy away from mentioning the misogyny inherent in many tales of powerful gods and men who take what they want from women, divine and mortal, from Persephone to Medea. It's good to have a more modern sensibility interposed on the original stories.
I read the book cover to cover in a few hours. Despite the many names covered, it was a really readable assembly of information.
Thanks to Adams Media and NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
This book is a collection of Greek myths. I’ve read a few similar collections, but not too much. But Greek mythology appears in many books, such as in Percy Jackson books, and I’ve heard quite a few stories before, so I think I'm familiar with Greek mythology.
The book consists of four sections, in the first three the writer presents smaller and bigger deities and gods such as the Olympians, immortal beings, while in the last, which is half of the book, is about heroes. The characters ’stories are pretty short, they don’t go into detail, they’re more of a summary, so anyone who expects stories going into detail will be disappointed. I didn’t find too much new information, I knew most of the stories. Still, I feel like the storytelling mode was refreshing and I enjoyed it. This is due to the many pop-cultural references and beautiful illustrations.
I’m a person who loves pop-cultural references such as Harry Potter. I never thought of Argus Flinchet as a personality inspired by mythology, and there were other interesting facts about Harry Potter. I was very happy that Percy Jackson was also mentioned by the writer. I really liked the writer presenting contemporary works as well. I almost forgot that a couple of Disney cartoons were mentioned as well. So, figure out which one was it? 😀
And then let’s get to the best part of the book: the illustrations. They were so beautiful, one of the most beautiful book I have ever seen. They are so beautiful 😀 The only problem was that I wanted more illustrations. I would enjoy it if every character has own illustration 😀
Unfortunately, by the end, I had too much information in the book. The section with heroes was boring a little bit. Too many heroes, too many relationships. But since this book is a bit more encyclopedic and mentions a lot of character, but on a summary level, it wasn't a big problem for me.
One of the most beautiful mythology books I've seen. I only read it as an e-copy, but I plan to purchase a physical copy as well because I need it at home.
Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook
From Aphrodite to Zeus, a Profile of Who's Who in Greek Mythology
by Liv Albert
Adams Media
Publication date: May 05, 2021
Liv Albert has taken a topic that has been written about over and over and somehow put together a refreshing and welcomed read. Is it the way she talks with the reader as if you are face to face having a conversation? Is it the way she describes some as ":very cool" and the excitement that comes through to the reader? Or could it be the simple way she talks about Gods, hero's, mortals and monsters that cuts through the fluff as though the reader was getting cliff notes to prepare for an exam? It's all of those and so much more.
I really wasn't sure what to expect in another book about Greek mythology but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this read. Better yet, I may have actually absorbed a lot of the information. "The story you need to know", "What's her deal" and "Now you know" are fun headings to get to the heart of things.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the fabulous illustrations scattered through out this book! Many thanks to Netgalley and Adams Media for this ARC. All opinions expressed are authentically my own.
3 stars
This is a collection and categorizing of the Greek Olympians, Titans, Heroes, and a number of magical creatures and monsters found in Greek Mythology. The author broke it down starting from the major Greek Olympians, who are well known and had the most stories about them and finished with the more minor players in Greek mythology, but still very interesting. I liked how each character that was mentioned had a very basic breakdown of what they were known for, powers, special animals and a major specific well known story about them. This book would be great for people just diving into the world of Greek mythology. The illustrations throughout the book were great, extremely eye catching, colorful, and full of detail. It helped you imaging each Greek in your head and added another layer to the story. For many of the hero’s and lesser gods, it kept mentioning to reference other stories or gods it you wanted more information which is great at the beginning but became a bit redundant for many of the minor characters because there would be several references for you to look back at different Olympians if you wanted more information on a particular story it there was only a few at the beginning but by the end there was several in one paragraph which kept taking me out of the story. I would have also liked to have also seen more of the minor gods and goddesses, the ones who are a lot less known. Overall, I liked this book, It was interesting and could be a great starting point like I said for someone who is just starting to look up more information of Greek mythology.
Trigger warning: Assault, cannibalisms, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping and tourtur
I received this advanced ebook, Via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review
I read a few books about mythology, I already know most of the Greek myths; so why do I always end up asking for books about this same mythology?
I love to compare these books, to determine which ones are the best regarding tone, storyline and clarity. And I just love to read about Greek mythology in general.
This book is, first, really beautiful: the illustrations are stunning and the artwork accompanying the text is lovely!
Then, I loved the author's tone: she uses humour but also hints at what she thinks about this god or this hero. It made the book livelier! I also loved that she gives her sources but doesn't drown the reader with them. She basically tells the myths without interrupting (except in parenthesis or, rarely, to say that there are multiple versions of this or that myth).
Finally, I loved her bibliography and her many references to different books, movies or series. She made me read Lore Olympus, and IT WAS SO GOOD! I followed her podcast to get more!
So, probably one of my favorite books about Greek mythology: concise, clear and entertaining!
We have to admit Ancient Greeks were serious about their Gods and very prolific in storytelling. There’s enough material here to last us readers for another thousand years full of mythological fiction. However, it’s really confusing to figure out who is who and who’s done what with the complex family tree of gods, titans, monsters and mortals with god-like quality. And this amazing book provides all the bite-sized information we need on Greek mythological creatures and do this with a witty feminist touch! I loved everything about this; the style, the illustrations, categorization and the basic information given under each title. Each person is described under What’s his deal? The Story You Need to Know and Now That You Know sub-headings. A perfect start to get familiarized with mythology, it sure leads to further reading and research. This was just what I needed and expected, definitely recommended!
An okayish book. It provides a lot of information on Greek mythology and it was done in a nice way.
However, there were many unnecessary Harry Potter references, which is why I am cutting two stars.
I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Adams Media for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I don't have much to say about this handbook. As someone who knows a lot about Greek mythology, I didn't learn much from this handbook but I also wasn't expecting to. I do think this would be a nice introduction to the uninitiated but other than that, it was a little forgettable to me personally.
Great handbook for all things Greek Mythology. I loved that this book had some lesser-known and less-talked about figures.
Very enjoyable stories and the drawings were beautiful, in a style not often seen.
A great reference book for lovers of Mythology.