Customer Reviews

The Isles of the Many Gods - An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain worshipped during the First millenium through to the Middle Ages

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David Rankine and Sorita D'Este did a great researching job for this A to Z index of the many Gods and Goddesses that have been part of the culture and spirituality of the British Isles.

I have to give them big kudos for the quality of research and documentation that is included in this book. The bibliography is probably the largest I've ever seen in association with a pagan book, and it is not mostly referencing other pagan authors. Rather, this is a scholarly work, and if you have ever done any historical research on the British Isles, you will recognize some of these names.

Secondly, the explanation of the work is one of the best introductions I've ever read. Not only do we find out what the book is about, but Rankine and D'Este explain what they did, why they chose the Gods/Goddesses they chose, historical reference for their choices and a some background material that is a must have for the use of this book.

I like the layout of the book, from the front Table of Contents, to the well thought out Index, to the layout of the information on each of the Gods and Goddesses. This makes this a great reference book for anyone looking at the God and Goddesses of the British Isles.

I keep using the "British Isles" reference, because the book does not confine itself to any particular culture or island in that area. The Gods and Goddesses were introduced and evolved based on the cross cultures in that area over a period of time. The book covers all the Deities of the area, and while I did notice some obscure Deities that I did not expect, there were some I didn't recognize and reading through all the material was an education.

If your pantheon includes any of the Gods or Goddesses associated with the geographic area, this book will shed light on origins, lines of progression and some basic information on some of the lesser known Deities. The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book for further reference. Serious followers of the Ancient British traditions will find this book priceless and beginners will find the information will cover just about anything they want to know or research further.

And excellent reference book, a solid scholarly text and a marvelous research job by two people who took the time and effort to make a book worth having. Boudica

In other books dealing with British and in Particular Celtic/Welsh Deities, I have found so many glaring inaccuracies, which have annoyed me intensely, as it shows the lack of scholarship of certain authors and I am not even a scholar on the subject.

Why is this book different? Because, as I turned the pages, I have not only been surprised by the wealth of knowledge and information between its covers, but also been very pleased with the level of writing and scholarship. A lot of research must have gone into this book and it surpasses any other on the market by far.

For anyone interested in working with British Deities or just learning about them, this book is invaluable.

This book succeeds at being a great reference work for pagan deities worshipped in the British isles in the pre-Christian period. I was pleasantly surprised to find more than I expected. There were Celtic deities, Roman ones, Greek, Egyptian, Persian (these ones coming over to this country with the Roman occupation), Saxon one and more. I was particularly pleased that the authors avoided idle speculation, but backed up their work with verifiable archaeological and literary sources.

I'd just like to respond to the reviewer who criticised the work for being too pricey. The Kindle Edition (which I read) is *not* that expensive, and given that Kindle reading apps are free, this is not really a fair criticism.

I found this to be a well researched book but the entries seemed a little short. I also think the kindle edition could really benefit from a full table of contents with links to the individual entries for the gods and goddeses for easier use and quick reference.

A comprehensive coverage of the gods of the islands of the mighty. There are a few omissions like Gog and Magog. Any one interested in the gods of Merlin's Isle would value this. No real depth about the myths related to the gods. Some entries barely more than inscription dedicated to this God exists at name of place

I bought the kindle version of this and i found adjusting the text slightly awkward nothing to dramatic as it did not effect reading this fantastic book! I found this book a great source for starting looking into the pagan gods of the British isles, the amount of knowledge contained within the pages is incredible there is more information then i thought of and its presented in an easy way to read and understand! I feel the book has been well researched and put together and i would readliy recommend this for anyone who is interested!

The book is everything that I was looking for. Good information and detail. However for the price paid I would have expected more....

I personally believe it is well overpriced for the size and amount of information contained. However, what is in there has been very thoroughly researched. Not sure if I would prefer to have the book or keep the money! Perhaps it is a matter of quality over quantity. Just don't think it is worth that much.