Tales Untold: Mythos Around the World Anthology
Genre: Folklore, Retellings, Short Stories
3.3 Stars
One Liner: A mixed bag with some intriguing
stories
Tales Untold is a collection of fifteen short
stories that deal with various folklore and mythologies from around the world.
Each story is based on a lore/ myth/ part of an epic and is represented with a
fresh twist. There’s a brief intro about the lore at the beginning of each
story. This helped me understand the plot.
As with all anthologies, some stories are great,
some are decent, and a few didn’t make any impact. I’ve listed the ones I loved
and the ones that had potential but didn’t reach the mark (for me).
Real Good Stories (4 stars)
The Littlest Rose: I
love this heartwarming story. It is a little preachy and tries to balance it
out at the end. But the story of the Blackfeet tribe, the lives of Native
Americans, and the bullying by the settlers (White people) was very well
done.
A Final Cut: This
story combines two myths about the dead, and the result is a scary yet
satisfying read. Imagine shaving the dead to soothe the spirit! The writing is
descriptive but compact, with a steady pace and solid ending.
The Young Man and The New World: It
starts slow with long-winded sentences, but once the action begins, the story
flows well and keeps the reader interested. I like the blend of myths too. It’s
MG fiction, so even better for me.
The Fairy Soldier's Last Request: This
started okay but got interesting as it progressed. I love the flow and
execution. The formatting needs to work to make it more readable (it got a bit
confusing to track when the flashback ended and started again).
Decent Stories (3-3.5 stars)
The Tomb of Squire Cabell: This
one deals with the lore of the Hound of Baskervilles. The concept was
intriguing, but the setup took up too much space. The end was rather rushed and
didn’t cause any emotional impact.
The Crane In The Mist: This
story is based on Kodava lore from India. I enjoyed the plot, but it didn’t hit
the mark. I thought it would. The ending is okay but missing something.
Never Trust a Fae: The
plot is dark and really good until I realized that the narrator’s a male. Here
I am, thinking it is a sad Sapphic romance, and bingo, the narrator is a ‘him’.
A male character’s voice has to sound distinct from a female character's.
The Gandharva: Set
in Kerala (India), it’s a retelling of the story of a Gandharva. I wanted more
from it, though. The ending seemed too easy. It needed a little more drama and
tension.
Halcyon Days: It is an innovative retelling of Greek lore about Kingfisher birds. The writing is easy and fluid. The ending is compact and sweet.
The Emissary: This is the last story in the book. It has a mashup of Gods and lore from different cultures. The first third of the story was a little boring (just not my thing), but the rest was engaging and entertaining.
The overall writing styles are easy to read; some
were better than others. As this is an ARC, I’m hoping the random typos will be
weeded out.
To summarize, Tales Untold is an intriguing
collection of short stories with varied themes. Each of them is distinct and
will appeal to different audiences. Grab the book and find your
favorites.
Thank you, Ravens & Roses Publishing, for the eARC.
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