This book has come in handy as I continue to research the world-building for my WIP novel, Two-Souled Justice. Not only is it massive, but it includes every branch of mythology I can think of plus a few more of which I’ve never heard.
Is it perfect? No, I find some of the entries in (small) contrast to online information on those same mythologies. When I run into conflicting content, I typically pick the one I like best, because it is my book after all and my world-building needs to fit with the ideas I have as to what works and what doesn’t.
This book covers how to communicate with these spirits, which is not an area I’m focusing on either. I’d rather just include them in the background mythology of my book – who they are, what they mean and what type of characteristics they may have for the families of species present in the book (and potential book series).
Would I like it to have a better index? Absolutely, especially as I am only using mythology from the British Isles and would love to narrow it down. But I’ve still found at least 20 entries that have helped or given me ideas to research online by just skimming each page until I find one from that region. For that reason and for the depth of entries, I recommend it for those looking to do research in this area.
One tip, though, for anyone reading this: keep your background research to only that which is necessary. It is sooo easy to get caught in a research rabbit hole and then you lose the time you could’ve used to write your book.
Hopefully soon, I’ll have some world-building posts on this blog to share how tos, tips and tricks from the amazing guy who helped build my world. These posts should give you a better sense of what to avoid and what to focus on when you are working on your book’s background.
What about you? What books and sites do you use for your research? How far down the rabbit hole have you gone and how did you find your way back out?