One of my favourite reference books is The Book Of Imaginary Beings, by Jorge Luis Borges.
If I have a problem with the fantasy genre at the minute, it is that, on occasion, it does not embrace… erm… fantasy. It can be quite conservative in the imagination department, and I wonder where the fantasy has gone. Well, this book is chock-full of great creatures that can be referenced. It is a bestiary of mythical creatures, including ones I’ve used, banshees, garudas and sirens, covering locations all over the world, and their origins. It’s not even that big a book, so it really is something worth picking up for any connoisseur of weird stuff, especially for writers, and then there really is no excuse for having standard fare!
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1 Part-time Punk // Jun 19, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Yeah, it’s a great concept for a book and one that I’ve flicked through many a time when browsing but never actually read. I should get round to it and soon.
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