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Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Cover art for Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Viz Media, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781974719860

Available: Hardcover, Kindle, Comixology

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

 

Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection brings together twelve of the horror mangaka’s earliest works. In “Bio House,” a young woman is invited to a strange meal where the after-dinner digestif is a rather unwelcome surprise. “Face Thief” tells the story of Yumi Machida, a student who transfers to a new school where a girl changes her own face. In “Where the Sandman Lives,” Yuji doesn’t sleep. He asks his friend Mari for help, but what she sees as Yuji’s other half awakens is something she shouldn’t see. There is some really good body horror in this particular story. In “The Devil’s Logic,” classmates of school girl Kazumi Morimoto witness her throwing herself off of a building. One of them discovers why this seemingly happy girl decided to take her own life, only to be compelled to do so himself. “The Long Hair in the Attic” sees Chiemi fall into a deep depression after her boyfriend breaks up with her. She returns home to the news from her little sister that there are rats in the attic. When she wakes in the morning, she discovers a rat has become tangled in her long black hair, so she decides to cut it, with disastrous results. In “Scripted Love,” Takahashi has a bad reputation in a small theatre troupe, but Kaori ignores her friend’s warnings. When Takahashi does finally break her heart, Kaori takes the VHS and script he wrote for her and discovers her true love. A vengeful family hides an army deserter for eight years after the end of World War II in “Deserter.” Other stories in this collection are “The Reanimator’s Sword,” “A Father’s Love,” “Unendurable Labyrinth,” “Village of the Siren”, and “Bullied.”

 

While the stories in this collection are not the strongest in Ito’s career, they are well worth reading. The artwork is definitely early work as well, but it isn’t bad. There is still the good storytelling and excellent body horror Ito fans can expect. This is a must for collectors of his work, and libraries wanting to grow their manga collection. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on January 5, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow

Cover art for Christmas and Other Stories: An Anthology of Solstice Horror

 

Christmas and Other Horrors:: An Anthology of Solstice Horror edited by Ellen Datlow

Titan Books, 2023

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1803363264

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy:    Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

 

Many people think of the Christmas season as a cheerful time of year, but it’s always been a time where sprits, gods, and terrifying creatures roam. Ghost stories set at Christmas abound: Charles Dickens and M.R James both published them every year. Coinciding with the winter solstice, it’s also a time of sacrifice. Christmas and Other Horrors draws on this tradition, with a wide variety of stories, ranging from folk horror to apocalyptic clifi.

 

There are several stories I found especially enjoyable.

In “The Importance of a Tidy Home,” ,by Christopher Golden, grotesque creatures local to Salzburg, Austria murder residents of homes that haven’t been tidied for the new year;

“The Ghost of Christmases Past”, by Richard Kadrey, describes Christmas Eve with Laura, who boards herself into her house every year to prevent the return of a cannibalistic witch who ate her brother in front of her, to her husband’s disbelief;

“All The Pretty People” by Nadia Bulkin, describes a Festivus party reuniting college friends, who are surprised when their friend Sam, who ghosted them months ago, arrives

“Cold”, by Cassandra Khaw, is an apocalyptic clifi story in which a saint, Brede, arrives every year on the winter solstice, asking if she can stay and sleep until spring… but what happens when spring doesn”t come? The figurative language and world-building in this story were fantastic.

In “Löyly Sow-na”,by Josh Malerman, Russell visits his Finnish girlfriend Hannele’s family, where he is trapped in a sauna with her father. I had no idea how this story was going to play out!

“Grave of Small Birds”, by Kaaron Warren, is a folk horror tale in which a bad-tempered reality show chef specializing in medieval cookery takes a job on a small British island with strange Christmas traditions. While it was fairly predictable, the setting was well-done. The main character was unlikable, so I found the ending very satisfying. This was a very atmospheric story, and descriptions of the island and its unusual traditions were excellent..

 

While the winter solstice and the Christmas season have passed, I can recommend this book for any time of year.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on January 3, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Midnight Masquerade by Greg Chapman

 

Midnight Masquerade by Greg Chapman

IFWG Publishing Australia 2023

ISBN: 978-1922856432

Available :  paperback, Kindle edition (pre-order, ships Oct. 31)

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

This is my first encounter with Greg Chapman (and I’m sure it won’t be the last).

 

The present collection, assembling both previously published material and brand new stories, has been, to me, an enticing reading experience. 

 

In her introduction to the book, Lisa Morton states that Chapman’s  spiritual father is Clive Barker, and this already explains many things. But Chapman has a voice of his own, a narrative voice able to scare and to delight, never ordinary and never boring (which nowadays is a rarity, at least for me).

 

Reviewing this collection is both an easy and a difficult task at the same time. You have to read it to understand what kind of writer Chapman is.

 

So I will simply mention the stories which, to me, really stand out. And I will avoid the use of adjectives such as “unusual”, “offbeat”, “bizarre”, “astonishing” etc., although they keep coming to my mind.

 

“The Last Night of October” is a tense and quite  terrifying novella, although it may be a bit overlong to fully maintain suspension of disbelief until the very end.

 

“Second Coming Circus” features a priest facing an abnormal situation which is totally beyond his understanding, while in “Octoberville”, a traveling agent has a car accident in the outskirts of a very peculiar town.

 

“Vaudeville” is a very imaginative tale, blending fantasy and reality, taking place in a forest populated by half-alive, half-dead monsters, hungry for young people’s flesh.

 

A new collection by Chapman is scheduled for 2024. I’m already eagerly looking forward to it.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on August 31, 2023 by , Reply