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Book Review: Shapeshifters: A History by John B. Kachuba

Shapeshifters: A History by John B. Kachuba

Reaktion Books Ltd, 2019

ISBN-13: 978 -1789140798

Available: Hardcover

 

 

Do you know the origin of the word berserk?  Have you heard about a community of vampires in Buffalo, New York? Do you think of Jesus as a shapeshifter? These are some examples of information from the ancient past to the present that you will find in John B. Kachuba’s Shapeshifters: A History. This is a short book packed full of interesting details from myths and legends from around the world, historical research that sifts through the beliefs about shapeshifters in different cultures, and many brief stories of the exploits, drama, and dangers associated with these sometimes frightening creatures whether animal, human, or supernatural in form.

 

Kachuba presents a wide-ranging array of shapeshifters that stretches the definition of the word from physical transformations to psychological anomalies. He branches out to consider masks and costumes as ways people attempt to shape shift. Individual chapters suggest narrow categories such as the shapeshifting powers of gods, goddesses, and faeries, even gender transformations, but within the chapters, there is an attempt to pull in so many different categories, time periods, cultures, and religions that some sections become descriptive lists interspersed with storytelling and repetitive analysis. The vampire and werewolf chapters contain mainly information that will be familiar to most seasoned readers, but even so, there are fresh perspectives and analysis.

 

As Kachuba takes us back and forth through the centuries, he provides historical perspective and takes time to examine the origins of the beliefs and how they have been related to morals, values, education, and parenting. He notes the positive and negative influences that a belief in shapeshifting has had around the world and over time. The section on literature and the media provides young adult readers with information on related books, films, art, and television shows that will reveal how shapeshifting is still interesting to us today. Overall, this entertaining book is the type you’ll want to dip into according to your whims and use to further your own explorations on the topic. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

Editor’s note: Shapeshifters: A History was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction.

Posted on April 7, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Eden by Tim Lebbon

Eden by Tim Lebbon

Titan Books. 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1789092936

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

 

Lebbon’s back to nature horror again, which is where he shines the brightest. His novels The Silence to The Nature of Balance, set the bar for subsequent titles as Scott Smith’s The Ruins and the movie A Quiet Place. Lebbon’s skill at turning the natural world on its ear and creating believable, unique adversaries from both animal and plant kingdoms is unsurpassed.

Eden will undoubtedly draws comparisons to Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, but Lebbon’s tale veers into thriller territory rather than the straight out weird  of Vandermeer’s  world (althoughthat’s a stellar read itself). The pacing of the story is akin to the best thrill rides, replete with rocket-fast action scenes, balanced with smooth exposition that avoids the trap of  miring the reader in information dumps.

In Lebbon’s near future, the world has become almost unlivable due to pollution and climate change. Sounds familiar, in our age of disgusting deregulation of environmental laws and reckless destruction of pristine lands. Lebbon never preaches but doesn’t have to– anyone living through today’s world and its frightening descent into chaos will likely be chilled by the “news” clips preceding each chapter that describe life in the “Virgin Zones.” These zones were set up in thirteen areas across the world to jumpstart nature and give environments human-free time to develop.

Of course, men are never smart enough to follow directions.

These clips often feature the “guards” of each zone, the Zeds, a force to prohibit intruders that bring to mind ICE and border patrols here in the states, and these set up the tone for each scene.

Thrill-seekers Dylan and his daughter Jenn, along with his team, enter Eden, the oldest, most pristine, and dangerous of the zones, to race through it. Jenn also has another motive– to find her mother, Kat, who abandoned the family years ago and entered the zone with her own team, which Dylan and Jenn quickly learned was ill-fated.

The search also expands as the characters seek a legendary Ghost Orchid, which is reported to have miraculous healing properties. When they find a corpse that is growing within a tree and through it, the dread and tension become as thick as the humidity of the jungle. Lebbon creates a world both claustrophobic and horrific, almost as if Clive Barker set out to rewrite the book of Genesis.

When follows is a discovery of creatures that grew unencumbered by human involvement, possibly to halt it from tainting this new world. These new organisms will do whatever possible to keep their home free from the infection of humans.

Dylan and Jenn’s journey is a thrilling one that incorporates the best elements of suspense, horror, and science fiction and surpasses the high expectations set by previous efforts.

Lebbon’s recent foray into thrillers and his Relics trilogy are on display here with stellar description and characterization that elevates it in a gorgeously painted world– with teeth. This could be our future. Highly recommended reading.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on April 7, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: The Chill by Scott Carson

The Chill by Scott Carson

Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1982104597

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

When authors decide to try another genre, it can be a fun ride. The newest name to jump into the darkest end of the pool and go for broke with a horror novel is Scott Carson, better known as New York Times bestselling thriller writer Michael Kortya. Kortya wrote a few books with supernatural elements before going to pure thrillers, but as Scott Carson, he goes all out with a straight horror novel that vacillates between slow burn atmospheric dread and balls-out fights; a mix, perhaps, of Peter Struab and Michael Marshall Smith.

Far upstate in New York State, an old town exists– underwater. The residents who lived there lie drowned beneath the dam that was built to supply New York City with water through a series of tunnels. Those who built the reservoir at Galesburg over eighty years ago had the people leave, bought them out of their homes, and resettled them in Torrance (a Stephen King nod?).

Or so people were told.

Those who didn’t leave still dwell beneath the surface, and their time has come to reclaim their town, along with exacting a bit of revenge on the descendants of those who profited on their deaths.

Back in Torrance, Chief Steve Ellsworth keeps a lid on everything– all except for his son, Aaron, who has returned from a failed stint in the Coast Guard as an ace swimmer and diver. Now plagued by an addiction to drugs and alcohol, he meanders through the town evading rehab and responsibility. All of that changes one fateful evening when he decides to swim in the Chillewaukee reservoir, known to locals as the Chill, to battle the current and prove himself one more time.

An odd photographer, Mick Fleming, a man with a long lineage in the area, emerges from nowhere to discuss the history of the town, the dam, and nothing much at all. Afterwards, Aaron accidentally kills the dam inspector with a bottle toss, only to see Fleming walk out of the woods as if nothing had ever happened. Chief Ellsworth, environmental officer Gillian Mathers, and others witness the event, are convinced Aaron’s lost to substance abuse, and take him home. This act sets the story into motion, as Fleming learns of his role in the town’s revenge, while Gillian’s father, working in the tunnels beneath the Big Apple, begins to see the ghosts of those who perished during the construction of the century-old system.

The histories of the main players unfold with an artful touch as the dread and suspense build towards a conclusion that might be inevitable. Like the best horror writers, Carson knows the characters are the key to a solid story. He builds each of them, every one flawed and fragile. Watching them both crumble and strengthen is a treat. This is what makes The Chill an ultimate success. Its unique premise, coupled with one of the most talented writers publishing today, results in an entertaining book that will likely keep readers of both genres happy. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on April 3, 2020 by , Reply
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