Praise for The Penguin Book of Dragons (Penguin Classics, 2021).
Philip Pullman, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Golden Compass: "I love the way Scott Bruce has scoured so much ancient lore to bring us this treasury of dragon-related information, and I shall turn to it frequently.”
Adam Gidwitz, New York Times Bestselling Author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and The Inquisitor's Tale: "Scholarly and thrilling. By collecting some of the foundational -- and also most surprising -- historical sources on these guardians of the 'boundary between the known and unknown,' Scott Bruce has created the new indispensible resource for anyone who cares about dragons."
ImaginAtlas (11/19/2021): "Delightful ... An engaging way to immerse yourself in the world of dragons. Each section is a short trip to a different land and time period, providing a fascinating blend of fantasy and history ... We learn about dragons, certainly, but also much about ourselves."
Publishers Weekly (09/08/2021): "Bruce's expert commentary provides helpful context throughout. The result is a well-researched survey for those with a deep interest in dragons."
Atlas Obscura (10/21/2021): "A guide to the fantastic beasts and where to find them in the world's mythological and literary traditions ... Scott Bruce knows a thing or two about what scares us."
Adam Gidwitz, New York Times Bestselling Author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and The Inquisitor's Tale: "Scholarly and thrilling. By collecting some of the foundational -- and also most surprising -- historical sources on these guardians of the 'boundary between the known and unknown,' Scott Bruce has created the new indispensible resource for anyone who cares about dragons."
ImaginAtlas (11/19/2021): "Delightful ... An engaging way to immerse yourself in the world of dragons. Each section is a short trip to a different land and time period, providing a fascinating blend of fantasy and history ... We learn about dragons, certainly, but also much about ourselves."
Publishers Weekly (09/08/2021): "Bruce's expert commentary provides helpful context throughout. The result is a well-researched survey for those with a deep interest in dragons."
Atlas Obscura (10/21/2021): "A guide to the fantastic beasts and where to find them in the world's mythological and literary traditions ... Scott Bruce knows a thing or two about what scares us."
Praise for The Penguin Book of Hell (Penguin Classics, 2018).
Philip Pullman, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Golden Compass: "Now that I know what Hell is like, I shall take more pains to avoid it. This is an amazing collection."
New York Times Book Review (09/02/2018) "For when everyday life has got you down, dip into over three thousand years’ worth of depictions of a fiery, tortuous afterlife of eternal punishment. From the Bible through Dante and up to Treblinka and Guantánamo Bay, here is a rich source for nightmares."
The Washington Post (10/24/2018): "You will be [frightened] by Scott G. Bruce's THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL, in which writers from antiquity to the 20th century describe the eternal, infernal hereafter. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
Chicago Review of Books (10/25/2018): "This fascinating collection kept me reading long after midnight, and the images it put in my head kept me up even longer. A deeply engaging read."
New York Review of Books (12/20/2018): "THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL ... is an anthology of sadistic fantasies that for millions of people over many centuries laid a claim to sober truth."
The New Yorker (01/21/2019): "A new and quite terrifying compilation."
NPR Purdue (WBAA) (05/17/2019): "Like so many of the Penguin Classics collections, it is thoughtful, expansive, accessible to the intelligent reader and the inquiring mind ... Certainly a book that will make you think about life, about being human, and about what might await us in the future."
Los Angeles Review of Books (09/08/2019): "Finding language to describe the indescribable is the paradox of hell. Bruce supplies a brief for the possibility of approaching this null point in THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL."
New York Times Book Review (09/02/2018) "For when everyday life has got you down, dip into over three thousand years’ worth of depictions of a fiery, tortuous afterlife of eternal punishment. From the Bible through Dante and up to Treblinka and Guantánamo Bay, here is a rich source for nightmares."
The Washington Post (10/24/2018): "You will be [frightened] by Scott G. Bruce's THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL, in which writers from antiquity to the 20th century describe the eternal, infernal hereafter. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
Chicago Review of Books (10/25/2018): "This fascinating collection kept me reading long after midnight, and the images it put in my head kept me up even longer. A deeply engaging read."
New York Review of Books (12/20/2018): "THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL ... is an anthology of sadistic fantasies that for millions of people over many centuries laid a claim to sober truth."
The New Yorker (01/21/2019): "A new and quite terrifying compilation."
NPR Purdue (WBAA) (05/17/2019): "Like so many of the Penguin Classics collections, it is thoughtful, expansive, accessible to the intelligent reader and the inquiring mind ... Certainly a book that will make you think about life, about being human, and about what might await us in the future."
Los Angeles Review of Books (09/08/2019): "Finding language to describe the indescribable is the paradox of hell. Bruce supplies a brief for the possibility of approaching this null point in THE PENGUIN BOOK OF HELL."
Praise for The Penguin Book of the Undead (Penguin Classics, 2016).
Philip Pullman, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Golden Compass: "A marvelous treasury of ghostdom. It's exactly what I wanted to read. Scott Bruce has done a great job of assembling these accounts of the uncanny, and I know I shall keep it close by my bed for a long time."
Publishers Weekly (08/08/2016): "Exceptionally well-curated . . . His approach is scholarly, but he presents the contents with an enthusiasm that makes these mostly obscure works accessible to the casual reader."
Library Journal (09/01/2016): "[The Penguin Book of the Undead] succeeds well as an education in how stories of wandering spirits have reflected throughout history common human anxieties about death, the disposal of mortal remains, and the fate of the soul ... Recommended for readers interested in the supernatural, its religious and cultural significance, and depiction in the medieval era."
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/28/2016): "The scariest stories you'll ever read this Halloween were written a thousand years ago. This wonderfully fun and creepy anthology ... is guaranteed to be of interest to anyone fond of zombies, ghosts, ghouls, ancient horrors, and dread warnings from beyond the grave."
The Telegraph (UK) (10/30/2016): "The brilliantly named Penguin Book of the Undead ... presents a surprisingly detailed and unpleasant collection of stories about evil spirits and the restless dead from antiquity to the Renaissance, complete with enough macabre hauntings, bloody confrontations and shambling corpses to match a shelf-ful of present-day horrors."
Publishers Weekly (08/08/2016): "Exceptionally well-curated . . . His approach is scholarly, but he presents the contents with an enthusiasm that makes these mostly obscure works accessible to the casual reader."
Library Journal (09/01/2016): "[The Penguin Book of the Undead] succeeds well as an education in how stories of wandering spirits have reflected throughout history common human anxieties about death, the disposal of mortal remains, and the fate of the soul ... Recommended for readers interested in the supernatural, its religious and cultural significance, and depiction in the medieval era."
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/28/2016): "The scariest stories you'll ever read this Halloween were written a thousand years ago. This wonderfully fun and creepy anthology ... is guaranteed to be of interest to anyone fond of zombies, ghosts, ghouls, ancient horrors, and dread warnings from beyond the grave."
The Telegraph (UK) (10/30/2016): "The brilliantly named Penguin Book of the Undead ... presents a surprisingly detailed and unpleasant collection of stories about evil spirits and the restless dead from antiquity to the Renaissance, complete with enough macabre hauntings, bloody confrontations and shambling corpses to match a shelf-ful of present-day horrors."