The Coyote Road edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

I like to read books of short stories to find new authors and am often pleasantly surprised to find tales by those whose books I already enjoy. This collection of short stories written by well–known authors and less well-known authors alike is no exception.

Don’t be mislead by the title, though, because while there are many tales of Coyote inspired by the North American tales, (some which take awhile for the reader to recognize him!) the authors also use tricksters from other mythologies. “The Listeners” by Nina Kirki Hoffman is one such tale, focusing on Hermes the Greek trickster god. She gives us the usual Grecian background but the tale itself is something new.

The majority of the short stories only touch on the tradition myths, taking well known aspects of the tricksters and creating whole new characters and tales. I have my favorites, but I won’t spoil them for you here. Go read it and then we’ll talk!

This is the type of book you can dip into and put back and then dip into again or just read from cover to cover.

One word of warning – these tales, just like Ellen Datlow and terri Windlings other collections are more for teens and grown-ups than children. Make sure you read the tale first before starting a bed time story or you might get an awkward question or two!