Tag: Folklore

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon

Fiction

I amused myself by selecting a book with the word ‘first’ in the title to read as my first review of the year, and I didn’t even need to go out and buy anything as I already had The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon in my to be read pile. I was drawn to it because the cover called to me, it alluded to an ominous story within. So I was a bit taken aback when instead of horror I got a Nordic inspired tale of curses, clans, and destiny. 

The very little I do know about Nordic lore comes from watching the Thor movies of the Marvel Universe and seeing a little bit of the show Vikings. I don’t know how prominent runes are in the Nordic culture, or if they are just one of the fictional elements of the book, but this story has them as a central societal pillar. The fictional island nation of Saylok consists of six clans that surround a central kingdom and their temple. Keepers, men of Saylok that have felt a calling to the temple, live their learning about the power of the runes and keeping that power safe. The Keepers understand the importance of not letting the runes be used or understood by just anyone, as putting power in the hands of the wrong person can yield terrible consequences. And this is exactly what happens when Desdemona, sister of Keeper Dagmar, is wronged and wants vengeance. She curses the entire island in her anger, thus beginning a drought of sorts on the people of Saylok. 

This is actually a really great tale. It is not overly complicated, it is classic. It has a villain, a hero, a love story, or two, conflict, and resolution. It is also a standalone, as far as I know. But if you read it, and like it, the author of this book has written many others that you can check out. When I find a new author, and I like what I have read, I am always curious to see what else they have written to see if it is just as good. And I plan on reading more books by this author in the future.

The United States of Cryptids by J.W. Ocker

Fiction

I wanted the last book I reviewed this year to be something fun and silly. I think I made the perfect choice in this beautiful hardcover book about United States cryptids. 

Why do I even own a book about cryptids? I was watching a playthrough of a game I myself had played and it came to a scene in which there is an encounter with the Jersey Devil. Even though I have lived in New Jersey my entire life, have heard tales about where you might be able to find him if you really want to see him, and have been surrounded by NJ Devils hockey fans, I had no idea why the Devil was associated with New Jersey. As someone who enjoys learning the why of things I decided that it was past time for me to learn about my states namesake of a cryptid.

This book mentions a lot of the more famous monsters and creatures of legend in the U.S., each one being given a few pages of information about the first sightings or origins and sometimes an illustration. Some of the cryptids were scary, some silly, and the short entries of some of them had me wanting to learn more. Reading about a creature called the Ozark Howler made me curious enough to look up what an elk bugle sounded like since its call has been compared to that. I was reminded of a game I enjoyed watching when I was reading about the Wendigo which then made me consider purchasing it and trying to play it for myself. I did learn where the Jersey Devil came from and how it got its name, and I became more curious to learn more about him since his entire history in this book was limited to a few pages. 

Overall, the book is a fan piece written by a man whose biggest hobby it seems is cryptid hunting, not just trying to encounter the cryptids themselves but also in hunting down their stories. This man traveled the country chasing down these stories, visiting museums, festivals, and encounter sites, to get the material for this book. It almost feels as though the towns themselves paid this man a fee to include their local legends in his text in order to encourage more tourists to come to their towns and spend their money on site seeing, monster hunting, and of course, trinkets and souvenirs, to boost their economy. He actually does encourage the reader to go and visit some of these places in a very salesman-like way. That was the only thing that bothered me in the slightest about the book. I appreciate his passion, having something in your life that moves you is a great thing. 

However, he made a comment that kind of irked me. He said something along the lines of proving that a cryptid exists is the worst thing that can happen to a believer. Taking a ‘fake’ creature and turning it from cryptid to legitimate animal or being ruins everything. But I’ve always been of the mindset that isn’t that what the people want? Aren’t they so passionate about their monsters because they want to prove that they truly exist to all the non-believers? It just didn’t make sense to me. I know I would be absolutely delighted if the Jackalope was proven to be a real animal, and not just a cryptid tale that started after a set of brothers attached a pair of antlers to a rabbit for fun.