New Book Review - Uncanny: The Origins of Fear by Junji Ito

Name - Uncanny: The Origins of Fear

Written by - Junji Ito

Translated by - Jocelyne Allen

Published by - Viz Media LLC

First things first, I got this book from Edelweiss as an ARC, so thank you Edelweiss and Viz Media LLC for this opportunity.

It really is a joy to get under the skin of a creative mind, getting to learn how that brain of their works, seeing what influenced to create their masterpieces, and most of learning about their life and knowing that they are as normal an individual as us in many aspects. 'Uncanny: The Origins of Fear' is such a deep dive into the mind of one of the greatest horror manga artists ever, and it is very enjoyable.

The book has a gorgeous layout with many drawings and layouts from the mangaka, as well as some interesting bits of his life, from his early childhood up to his struggles to make a living, then finally turning into a full-time creator of mangas. It is not an easy path being one of the best, especially when you also have to learn enough to make it all matter, and it is also amazing to see how Junji Ito's mind works in deciphering meaning and ideas out of his everyday experiences.

The author divided the whole thing into five carefully thought out chapters. The first two work like an autobiography, with details from his childhood, his initial work as a dental technician, all the whole trying to write and draw mangas, to finally his breakout into the manga world slowly through his sheer determination and creativity. The most interesting part about these first two chapters is the fact how Ito writes about his various influences and how these moulded him; I really loved this because I am not very learned in Japanese manga history. I gained lots of recommendations from this section to enrich my TBR pile.

Sadly for those who hadn't read much work of Junji Ito, the last three chapters delve into spoiler filled territory, as Ito delves deep into his creation process through numerous examples of his works. These three deal with his exploration of how he gets his ideas, to his points of view and inspiration about some iconic characters he created, ending the last chapter by going into a detailed glimpse into his drawing process with some delightful arts on display.

As a non-fiction book, this was quite enjoyable. This should cater especially to the taste of readers who are already his fans. But that doesn't mean there isn't enough to enjoy for casual readers of him or the people just starting to get into his work. The drawings throughout the book are honestly enough for any enthusiast of manga to collect this one.

A resounding 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Feral and Hysterical by Sadie Hartmann

Name - Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women

Writer - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - Page Street Publishing

This is the second book by Sadie Hartmann dedicated to creating lists of horror fiction recommendations. This time her focus is entirely on horror written by women and the book is arranged neatly into different topics listing her recommendations, each with a synopsis and her own thoughts about the books in a short review.

I really loved some of the creative list making and vibe selections and while like any normal reader wasn't much enthusiastic about a few categories. But therein lies the true depth on offer here, as the author really attempted to cater to almost every kind of taste that different readers have.

There are also five small essays by an interesting selection of authors shining even more light into female experience and expertise regarding understanding horror medium. These added a fine sense of variation among the lists and reviews.

Another great thing about the book is the great artwork on offer dispersed all throughout the book, almost perfectly conveying the mood for each list. In a reference book like this, these brilliant sketches really added an extra reason to keep coming back for more.

Hopefully she will keep writing this kind of books about books in the future, maybe about other genres, maybe about films or TV shows. I really like her prose style and her genuine sense of love for the works and her energetic approach.

I am gonna give this 4.5 out of 5 stars (mostly cause I liked the first one even more).

Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature, edited by Becky Spratford

Name - Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature

Editor - Becky Spratford

Writer - Various 

Introduced by - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - S&S/Saga Press

I'll start with a bit of introspection, regarding my realization of my own appreciation of horror as a genre. As a child, I used to be very afraid of anything remotely to do with horror. I remember going to sleep early to avoid watching X-files with my older siblings; as a matter of fact, even the opening score was enough to scare me.

But as I got older and slowly fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, I gradually entered the world of horror in all its forms and variations, and began to understand that it has the ability to transform into anything and can also influence almost every other genre, creating remarkable fusion and falling in love with it quite inevitably.

This collection of essays deals with very interesting and enjoyable experiences of some famous names in horror writing, and mostly tells us their tales of growing up and falling in love with the genre, as many of us did all over the world.

The writing is often uneven and varied as is the nature of such a collection, but almost all the pieces are deeply emotional and thought provoking, and will surely leave the readers also reminiscing their own stories.

The editor did a brilliant job of selecting the authors and arranging the essays, making this a perfect experience for horror fans.

This gets 5 stars out of 5 from this nostalgic horror fan.

New Book Review - Horror for Weenies by Emily C. Hughes

Name - Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch

Writer - Emily C. Hughes

Published By - Quirk Books

Maybe I do like non-fiction books about other fictional works or maybe I do great research and pick up the best in these kinds of books, but anyways 'Horror for Weenies' is yet another solid entry of referencing book on movies, focusing on great horror films from various subgenres.

Firstly, a warning, if you don't want to know the whole plot about the movie on offer don't read that chapter, as it discusses the whole plot with nice little snippets by the author, which is a great addition if you saw the movie or if you decide to watch it before reading the specific chapter.

The author's prose was quite enjoyable, the 'why it matters' section was simply outstanding and the book recommendations she offered at the end were like the icing on the cake. I really enjoyed reading about her viewpoints and her insight into the movie makings and tidbits.

Someone who was very afraid of horror stuff in childhood (the sound of the X-files theme song was enough to send me hurriedly to bed), but started to love horror as a genre as I grew up due to its versatility and awesome catalogue to enjoy, this book was a very enjoyable experience indeed.

I will give this full marks based on the purpose it was trying to accomplish, 5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered

Name - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered

Writer - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - Page Street Publishing

Well, if you are like me and have gotten into the intriguing world of horror fiction in the last few years after traversing through other branches of genre fiction, this book is specifically curated for the likes of you. If you are like me, you have often wondered if it was possible to ignore the vast richness of the past works of horror fiction and check out the good stuff from the last decade this book is for you. If you just want to test out the different sub-genres of the immensely versatile world of horror for the first time, well, what do you know, this book is also for you. 

'Sadie Hartmann' did a brilliant job of just taking post 2000 books and making a huge list putting in varied tastes of modern readers into consideration. There are also some delightful author spotlights focusing on some lesser known yet highly imaginative authors who are emerging into the genre as future giants. Also some short non-fiction pieces from some of these authors. 

I really loved the way Sadie arranged her recommendations into various sub-genres (would have loved a few more like space horror, medieval horror, etc. though) and then listed them with not only a synopsis type post but rather her take on the novel or collection. I loved her little at a glance feature below the review particularly. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to people like me who love books about books, and also to people looking for some solid modern horror recommendations and also to people who are trying to get into the genre. Solid and thoroughly enjoyable reading material. 

I'll give this one full marks, 5 out of 5 stars.