I am the mother of all the supernatural. Your fantasies of dark witches wielding power, vampires shimmering with unholy energy, shapeshifters morphing into dangerous beasts, and warriors ready for war all come alive through me. I am the creator of nightmares and dreams.
Unleash your imagination and feast your eyes on a world of pure magic.
In 537 A.D., a fierce struggle took place that would decide the world's future. The victor wields the ability to alter the future of humanity.
Rising from the ashes, The Raven Society was formed to guard and maintain the purity of history. Their mission? To find the inconsistencies in history and protect the ones whose stories have been forgotten.
Rising from the ruins, three women, whose lives have spanned the ages, are united by an invisible thread woven by the Fates. Their mission? To safeguard a weapon feared by the gods themselves.
In order to find the missing Books of the Veiled, they will have to build new bonds, confront their demons and unearth a new reality.
Failure is not an option. Their lives depend on it.
I am the mother of all the supernatural. Your fantasies of dark witches wielding power, vampires shimmering with unholy energy, shapeshifters morphing into dangerous beasts, and warriors ready for war all come alive through me. I am the creator of nightmares and dreams.
Unleash your imagination and feast your eyes on a world of pure magic.
In 537 A.D., a fierce struggle took place that would decide the world's future. The victor wields the ability to alter the future of humanity.
Rising from the ashes, The Raven Society was formed to guard and maintain the purity of history. Their mission? To find the inconsistencies in history and protect the ones whose stories have been forgotten.
Rising from the ruins, three women, whose lives have spanned the ages, are united by an invisible thread woven by the Fates. Their mission? To safeguard a weapon feared by the gods themselves.
In order to find the missing Books of the Veiled, they will have to build new bonds, confront their demons and unearth a new reality.
Failure is not an option. Their lives depend on it.
The chronicles of history will judge my every move. Iāve been weighed on the scales of eternity from the moment I stepped onto this path. The verdict of history will stand for all time, and I will not be able to defend myself.
That is nothing new. Monsters rarely have the chance to tell their own side of the story.
I am the mother of all supernatural. I am the creator of nightmares and dreams. Your fantasies of dark witches wielding power, vampires shimmering with unholy energy, shapeshifters morphing into dangerous beasts, and warriors ready for battle all come alive through me. Unleash your imagination and feast your eyes on a world of pure magick.
It is time for the world to remember.
It is what is owed to me.
One man has rewritten my history. And I will not stand for it anymore.
Let me tell you my truth.
I am an elemental spirit of fire, water, earth, and air. Born of the lingering magick of this world and created by the gods. I do not remember my creation. One day I did not exist. And the next, I did. I was the first of my kind to walk on this earth.
I was blessed with grace, handsome looks, a cunning mind, and knowledge, and then sent to the mortal realm with a gift from the gods. My life had been an unending stream of pleasure, passion, and sensuality. With my looks and my wits, I had won the hearts of kings and queens and built a kingdom out of my desires.
Now I look back on my life with a sense of loss.
The world was different back then. Lush, green, and unspoiled. Animals I havenāt seen in thousands of years wandered in herds across the massive territory. Fields of crops and fruits grew everywhere, unaided, and plentiful. The land stretched out mile after mile, as far as the eye could see, constrained only by the horizon. There were no walls, only endless fields spotted with flowers, grasses, and trees. It was a beautiful world, and I remember being in awe.
Then it all changedāhumanityās desire to expand and build, increasingly encroached on the land. Families became progressively larger, then homes, towns, cities, and finally, countries were established. Instead of seeking peace and abundance, wealth and authority became the rallying call of the mortals. They viewed the supernatural with hatred. For them, only our deaths satisfied their desire for dominance.
But I was given the key to ending the chaos. The item the gods had given me was sealed in a container, untouched and overlooked until it called to me. A sweet melody echoed through the air, promising retribution for my childrenās untimely end.
And I answered the call. Holding it in my hands, it shined like the sun, blinding me to its contents. Lights danced and flashed around me in a myriad of colors as if a prism was set aflame. It was a box made of cypress wood, light honey brown, with a golden sun engraved on one side. The other side was smooth and unscratched, a word engraved in it that promised revenge.
Inside the box lay a jar, a key, and a note. The key was warm to the touch, searing my hand with its heat and brimming with magick. The message from my creators reminding me of my purpose for being sent to this world.
The gods had sent me as punishment. My sole purpose was to bring despair and destruction to those who were unworthy. The box smelled of blood, death, regret, and loss. It was bitter and vile, like acid on the tongue, like honeysuckle wine left out in the sun for far too long, the taste of a broken heart.
One word.
It takes only one word to know the meaning of true evil.
Pandora.
Iāve been fascinated with mythology and folklore since I was old enough to look up my name in the encyclopedia, so I was excited to read this book. The Myth and the Monster has a lot to recommend but also some challenges.Ā
We begin with the backstories of Medusa, and DanaĆ«, learning about them before they became the tragic mythological characters we know today. These stories are woven throughout the book with an ongoing story of Lilith and the Raven Society, a band of unique individuals, all with special gifts or supernatural powers and ties to mythology and folklore. The main character, Chloe, has been charged with leading the group to the City of the Unspoken. There she hopes to find answers about her role in the group and the key to completing the quest to save the world from destruction.Ā
I love the premise of this book, as the author brings immortals and all manner of supernatural creatures from the pantheon of world literature into play. Ms. Geer-Robbins writes movingly about how perceptions of āmonstersā can be manipulated by what is written when the truth could be very different. She does a wonderful job with settings and world-building and the dialogue feels natural. The pacing of the individual storylines is good, and I found myself wanting to get back to each of them to find out what happened next. I thought the side characters were interesting and supported the plot.
In full disclosure, the draft I read didnāt have a title page, so I was initially unaware that this was the second book in a series. I was glad to find there was a previous book to explain the plot and character issues I was encountering. However, even for a mythology/folklore junky like myself, I felt there was too much of a good thing with the sheer number of characters, and there were some writing issues, which is why Iāve given this book three stars. In my experience, most series books have a narrative arc. Here there were so many plots and subplots, it was difficult to figure out how they all fit together and their importance. Sometimes even the characters were confused. With the many characters, it took me a while to figure out all the connections and backstories. I also encountered a number of serious copyediting issues that were distracting, e.g., using āmonotonousā instead of āmonogamousā. Even with the challenges, I enjoyed the book and would like to go back and read the first one.
If you are a fan of American Gods, Circe, or even Wicked, I think you would like this. However, I do recommend that you begin with the first book! Ms. Geer-Robbins has created a fascinating tale that will certainly capture your imagination.