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Book Review: Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith, foreward by Lisa Kroger

Cover art for Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith

Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith, with a foreword by Lisa Kroger.

Black Spot Books Nonfiction, 2023

ISBN-13: 978-1645481300

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

I read an uncorrected ARC of this book.

 

Unquiet Spirits is a collection of 24 personal essays by women across the Asian diaspora, grounded in the authors’ family history, relationship to their culture, and the supernatural.

 

One of the takeaways from reading this is that the Asian diaspora is far from monolithic. Each of the authors has a distinct background and set of circumstances: one certainly cannot speak for all.

 

Some of the authors include Nadia Bulkin, who is Javanese-American, Geneve Flynn, who is a Chinese-Australian born in Malaysia, Rena Mason, who is a first-generation immigrant to America of Thai-Chinese descent, and Tori Eldridge. who was born in Hawaii and is of Hawaiian, Korean, and Norwegian descent, all of whom approached their essays differently.

 

The diversity of the authors and their choices of what each individual focused on is what really drew me in. That I read almost 300 pages in tiny print on a PDF is a testament to the quality of the writing.

 

I learned a lot from these essays: in Lee Murray’s essay on displaced spirits I learned that Chinese immigrants to Australia expected to be returned to China for burial, or become hungry ghosts, and from Nadia Bulkin’s essay that the terms “amok” and “latah” originated in Indonesia, to name just a few. The authors wrote about growing up feeling out of place, feeling unwilling or unable to meet expectations about filial duty, marriage, and motherhood. They wrote about hungry ghosts, fox demons, and yokai
They wrote about finding and using their voices.

 

I read this a few essays at a time. There’s a lot to think about in each one, so I think that’s a good way to approach this book. I highly recommend taking the time to do so.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Book Review: Don’t Break The Oath: Women of Horror Anthology #4 edited by J Girardi and J Pipe

 

Cover art for The Oath

 

Don’t Break the Oath: Women of Horror Anthology #4 edited by J Girardi & J Pipe

Kandisha Press 2021

ISBN-13: 979-8750064694

Available: Paperback- Kindle edition

 

Women are increasingly taking the lead as horror authors and the present anthology is already number four in a successful series penned exclusively by female writers.

Unfortunately, I’ve missed the previous three volumes but I’ll certainly do my best in order to secure a copy of the whole series.

The current volume features twenty-three tales and, as customary with short story anthologies, not all the included material worked for me, although the average quality is certainly more than acceptable. But, as always, some stories really stand out and here they are.

“The Coachman’s Cottage” by Anna Taborska is a conventional, yet powerful, tale about the ghost of a woman walled up alive by her vengeful husband, haunting a man occupying an abandoned cottage.

Sonora Taylor contributes “Capable of Loving”, an insightful, disquieting piece featuring a creepy little girl bound to become a criminal, while Angela Yuriko Smith pens “Perfect Girlfriend”, an offbeat tale with a distinct SF flavor, featuring an inhuman doll endowed with extraordinary abilities.

“The Kinda True Story of Bloody Mary”  by Tracy Cross is an intriguing, very dark horror story about Bloody Mary, unfortunately wrapped up in a slightly boring context.

The vivid “ Fluid” by RA Busby is a piece of body horror addressing the terrible consequences of physical transformation.

While a fifth installment has been already announced, please enjoy what those dark lady writers have produced so far.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Book Review: Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror edited by Catherine Benstead, S.C. Parris, and Violet Burns

cover art for Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror

Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror edited by Catherine Benstead, S.C. Parris, and Violet Burns

Hear Us Scream, 2021

ISBN: 9780645235500

Available:  Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition Bookshop.orgAmazon.com )

 

Vivid and intimate, these nonfiction reflections examine how and why folks find homes in the horror genre.

 

The women and nonbinary contributors’ offer personal horror journeys that blend and balance scholarly insights with intensely personal revelations for a unique and powerful reading experience. Despite considerable diversity in contributors’ backgrounds, some common threads emerge in the essays. Authors address themes like life lessons from horror’s surviving characters; horror as a place of self- recognition, community, and discovery; first experiences with horror; the connection between histories of trauma and horror enthusiasm; and the (mis)representations of marginalized identities. The result of the converging themes from distinct perspectives delivers a smart celebration that find pleasure and critical engagement with the genre. The inclusive potential of horror is centered, while raising incisive questions about future directions, and the pathways presented reflect the dynamic value of horror’s diverse voices. Horror lovers will find an enthusiastic appreciation of horror’s many worlds, interesting entry points, and room for emerging conversations. Much like the genre itself, I suspect this book will feel like home to many readers, who recognize and revere similar moments and remembrances.

 

Hear Us Scream is a welcome addition that will find enthusiastic readers across the community of horror lovers. Both horror content creators and fans will find much to enjoy and relate to in this empowering set of reflections about all types of horror, from B-movies to mainstream features, and more. Some individual essays include trigger warnings for a range of topics, and complex topics are handled with candor and care. Libraries with strong horror collections and pop culture sections will benefit from adding this title. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by E.F. Schraeder