This is a question that bothers me only because, in the 20/20 of hindsight, it should have been obvious that I was in the mythological wrong. You would think that, even listening, the name, capaill uisce, would have set off alarm bells in my head to clue me in that my imagination was a little off. As you’ve probably guessed, I went into The Scorpio Races with the complete image of a Greek-inspired world. When first listening to The Scorpio Races, I imagined the word looking something more like this: kapalishka. In Stiefvater’s novel, the water horses are called capaill uisce (pronounced: “CAPple ISHka”) which, of course, I only learned how to spell after the fact when I finally bought the novel. The kelpie lived in the lochs of Scotland, preying on any humans it encountered, leading to it often being referred to as some kind of demon. The mythological inspiration for The Scorpio Races comes from Scottish folktales of the kelpie, a shapeshifting water spirit that was usually described as adopting the form of a beautiful black horse. Drape then with charms, hide them from the sea, but today, on the beach: Do not turn your back.” ( TSR, 2) I loved it, but this is not a review of The Scorpio Races - this is me telling you that I completely misread its mythology…and yet, in my head at least, it all still worked. I dove headfirst into this world for however many hours and did not resurface until I had finished.

Rather like how poetry can be appreciated when read, but the rhythm and metre should be experienced in a spoken-word format. I’d picked up the audiobook from my library because, having already listened to the available books in her Raven Cycle quartet, I knew Stiefvater’s writing possessed a musical quality to it that made listening to her novels even better than reading. This award-winning novel by Maggie Stiefvater tells the story of a fictional horse race that takes place every year on the island of Thisby, where the mounts involved in this contest are mythical, carnivorous horses from the water that are equal parts dangerous and breathtakingly gorgeous.Īnd that’s all I knew when I went into the book for myself in 2014. One just gets the mysterious map and decides for oneself whether the journey is interesting, the destination satisfying. One is unbiased, unhindered neither by hype - for good or ill - nor by “buzzwords” or perceptions. It’s a mystery between two covers, wrapped up in countless words and pages. Going into a book “blind” is a fun experience. “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” ( The Scorpio Races, 1) Ravin' Girls: A… on It’s All Greek to Me: Mi… Games inspired on Sampling: A Transformative Fai…

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The scorpio races review