The Gods of Pegana

Rating:
Summary: Thank the "Gods"
Review: "In the mists before the Beginning, Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be." With that enticing opener, Lord Dunsany kicked off "The Gods of Pegana," an intriguing collection of heroes-and-gods tales that the Irish nobleman created.

It starts off by describing the creator of the gods, MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI (always in capitals), and how the gods created the worlds "to amuse Ourselves." And then Dunsany describes the lord of death Mung and his encounters with a poor man, the "chaunt of the priests," the God of Mirth, the rebellion of the Home Gods, prophets and cities and temples and finally the end of Pegana ("For at the last shall the thunder, fleeing to escape from the doom of the gods, roar horribly among the Worlds").

When it comes to fantasy, nobody has equalled the "fictional Bible" of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Silmarillion. But "The Gods of Pegana" (first published in 1905) got to that turf first, with the littler gods under an overseeing deity (MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI -- isn't that a great name?) who made all of them, the lush language and complex histories. It's not hard to see why Tolkien was a fan of Dunsany's.

Dunsany seems to have been having a good time creating his own myths and legends. But even so, there's a feeling of melancholy to "The Gods of Pegana," and the sense that even at the beginning of the world, things are headed straight for the apocalyptic end. There's little of Dunsany's humor and irony in these stories, though his semi-mythic, descriptive language is very much present ("... then shine the blue eyes of the gods like sunlight on the sea, where each god sits upon his mountain.")

Before the Silmarillion, there was "The Gods of Pegana." This enticing early fantasy is a wonderful example of the invented myth, and a good read for fans of the classic fantasies.

Rating:
Summary: Thank the "Gods"
Review: "In the mists before the Beginning, Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be." With that enticing opener, Lord Dunsany kicked off "The Gods of Pegana," an intriguing collection of heroes-and-gods tales that the Irish nobleman created.

It starts off by describing the creator of the gods, MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI (always in capitals), and how the gods created the worlds "to amuse Ourselves." And then Dunsany describes the lord of death Mung and his encounters with a poor man, the "chaunt of the priests," the God of Mirth, the rebellion of the Home Gods, prophets and cities and temples and finally the end of Pegana ("For at the last shall the thunder, fleeing to escape from the doom of the gods, roar horribly among the Worlds").

When it comes to fantasy, nobody has equalled the "fictional Bible" of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Silmarillion. But "The Gods of Pegana" (first published in 1905) got to that turf first, with the littler gods under an overseeing deity (MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI -- isn't that a great name?) who made all of them, the lush language and complex histories. It's not hard to see why Tolkien was a fan of Dunsany's.

Dunsany seems to have been having a good time creating his own myths and legends. But even so, there's a feeling of melancholy to "The Gods of Pegana," and the sense that even at the beginning of the world, things are headed straight for the apocalyptic end. There's little of Dunsany's humor and irony in these stories, though his semi-mythic, descriptive language is very much present ("... then shine the blue eyes of the gods like sunlight on the sea, where each god sits upon his mountain.")

Before the Silmarillion, there was "The Gods of Pegana." This enticing early fantasy is a wonderful example of the invented myth, and a good read for fans of the classic fantasies.