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    Dragon's Guide to the Elements 

Image Details: Toothless; source: Stack

 For some reason or the other, I have always loved dragons. Whether they are small and cute like in my favorite movie, How To Train Your Dragon, or more behemoth in nature like depicted in the Eragon series, their abilites, power, and intelligence have always fascinated me. Naturally, I was drawn to this charming collection of one-shots. The title sounded like it would be a story from a dragon's point of view, or focus mainly on the dragons, but rather the stories detailed epic battles between men and best. The introduction disclosed that the stories would be inspired by different tales from cultures around the world, which intruiged me, despite seeming a bit like a history lesson. The individual stories were basically a retelling of already well known folk tales, so it is expected that they'd be interesting. While I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, the site itself could have benefited from more image tools and contrast between the different elements to help immerse the reader more deeply. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this storybook!

The Demon Slayer Named Sun

Image Details: Yashima Gakutei's depiction of the Monkey King; source: Wikipedia

Journey to the West and the tales of the Monkey King are things I am very familiar with. I used to watch the movies a lot when I was a child and I have many fond memories of the adventures they had. By the name Sun in the title, I suspected that the story would have oriental inspirations, and the the brief introduction convinced me to read further as the author detailed how he imagines the Monkey King came to be. Despite the interesting subject matter, I was a bit disappointed by the plot. It felt like any other hero adventure that I had read countless times before, borrowing the well-known characters to retell a predictable story. This may also be my personal bias as I have a lot of background on the original story. I also think the author could have used more of the amazing artwork and paintings from Asia to help the reader visualize the Chinese mythology. I would suggest anyone with the time to read this to instead immerse themselves in the original Journey to the West.


This storybook was my favorite and I am very glad that I stumbled across it. The title itself does not explain anything and I found myself wanting to know more. The author's skill impressed me in her ability to immerse readers and help them understand the setting without needing to waste a whole introduction announcing the background of the story. The introduction, instead, was a letter addressed to the wife (reader), and from it, enough inferences could be made to allow the author to jump right into the rich plot. This is also the only story I read that head elements of foreshadowing and symbolism, impressive for a project of this nature. The whole design and color theme of the site added to the daunting experience of the story, helping maintain a sort of apprehensive mood. The story takes the reader through the normal steps of a hero's tale (initiation, quest, journey, etc...) but with an eerie end. People who like darker tales should give this one a read!

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