Tales Untold: Mythos Around the World Anthology - Book Review

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.