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Book Review: Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson.

Quirk Books, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1683691389

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

For anyone claiming to be a horror fan, this is an essential. Women have long been a force in horror and speculative fiction, yet the majority of readers are only familiar with Shirley Jackson, Mary Shelley, and a few others.  Yet, there are dozens more, and it’s doubtful most horror readers are aware of them, much less tried one of the tales by the authors highlighted by Kroger and Anderson.
While I’m somewhat embarrassed to not recognize many of the names in this book, I’m also thrilled by it. After meeting Lisa Kroger, I was wowed by the breadth of the insight both authors had into the importance of women writers in the horror canon.

“Mad Madge” Margaret Cavendish took 1666 by storm (that’s a long time before Frankenstein was written). She was a storm herself, described here as a “Kardashian” of her times (yet one who had a purpose). Her The Blazing World was a science fiction tour de force. In the nineteenth century, Elizabeth Gaskell won the admiration of Charles Dickens and spurred a unique relationship with him. Her ghost tales changed views at the time, while she took societal ills head on– rare for women to do successfully at that time. Amelia Edwards predated Indiana Jones by more than a century, and unlike the famed iconic figure, was real. This lady lived adventures that would have made Indy blush– and then there was her writing. For all her wild excursions, she became a power in quiet horror in the world of Victorian ghost tales. Many others follow, but they’re best discovered while reading the book.  The authors here have captured the stories of each writer as a person first, then as a writer. Kroger and Anderson know their material, yet steer clear of academic jargon. They have penned a highly readable book that one could tear through in a single sitting, although it’s unlikely that that will happen. Most readers will stop from time to time and check libraries, used bookstores and online sources for the stories of the writers detailed within.

This is a treasure trove of amazing tidbits and histories of women who shaped the genre as we know it. From pure adventure to Gothic romance, from science fiction to all-out horror, Kroger and Anderson school the reader on what’s crucial to filling in the holes in readers’ learning about what makes horror what horror truly is. Dive in and enjoy– you’ll want to track down these authors’ works before you even finish reading. Five stars isn’t enough here– this book is crucial, essential to the history of the genre for any true horror fan (as well as or fans of women who bucked the system and challenged what was accepted). You will NOT be disappointed. My interview with the authors will be posted on Monster Librarian soon. Check it out– these two women know their histories and explain it well. They’ve hooked me. Highly, highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: As has been noted in the past, many reference books on horror authors include relatively few women. Librarians and academics focused on related topics will want to consider this as a complement to other biographical reference books on authors of horror and supernatural fiction. 

Posted on August 30, 2019 by , 1 comment

Book Review: A World of Horror edited by Eric J. Guignard, illustrated by Steve Lines

A World of Horror edited by Eric J. Guignard, illustrations by Steve Lines

Dark Moon Books, 2018

ISBN-13: 9780998938325

Available: Paperback, hardcover, Kindle edition

A World of Horror includes twenty-two dark and speculative fiction stories written by authors from around the world, each presenting the legends, monsters, and myths from their homelands. The book presents a vast array of diverse tales that will linger with the readers after consuming the tales between its pages. Guignard includes an introduction regarding cultural diversity in fiction, recognizing that representation is powerful and long overdue. There is a wide range of storytelling in this book that hold all the genres of horror or speculative fiction, and what they do to the genres are incredible. The following are only a few of my favorites from the anthology.

Two stories from authors hailing from South Africa are must-reads in this anthology.  “Mutshidzi” by Mohale Mashigo tells the tale of an African teenager who raises her younger brother and must run the household after their mother dies. She begins to see and hear things that remind her of her mother, but there is so much blood. In the speculative fiction piece “Chemirocha” by Charlie Human, a South African pop song is personified, and how it needs to survive. While not in essence a horror story, it can bring up in the reader a bittersweet memory of that one song that may have affected them in their lifetime.

“One Last Wayang” by L. Chan from Singapore struck a particular chord for me, as my grandmother in-law gifted three wayang puppets to me several years ago. Wayang is a form of puppet theatre that makes use of shadows cast by the puppets to tell a story. Isa’s grandfather tells him of his youth living in a tight knit community, of the hardships they faced, and of the traveling entertainment that would pass through the village. One particular wayang troupe put on a mesmerizing show, and the shadows seemed a bit too real to have been created by the wayang puppets. What follows is the grandfather’s horrific discovery. Without giving anything away, I have a different feeling about the wayang puppets sitting in my office now…

In Thersa Matsuura’s “The Wife Who Didn’t Eat”, a modest Japanese farmer’s prayer to the gods comes true for a bride who was as hardworking as he is, and who doesn’t eat anything. The gods see fit to answer his prayer, but he later discovers the truth about his dutiful wife. I loved the language and twists in this story.

People with disabilities in horror fiction usually take the form of the villain or monster, but Dilman Dila, from Uganda, brings us the story of Agira, a crippled hunter who is shunned by his village but is the only one who can face the “Obibi”.

“Honey” by Valya Dudycz Lupescu is a story from Ukraine with the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster at its center. Luba Ivanova has stayed in her home, even after the evacuation and warnings about the environment and dangers that living in her home could entail. It’s years later and she opens her home to urban explorers who regularly make their way to the Chernobyl site. What they find in the forest outside her door is something they could never dream of seeing in their lifetimes, and they never get the chance to tell the world about it. Luba never minds this ritual of delivering the last meal to her guests, with the exception of the most recent visitor. He reminds her of someone she once knew. Will she let him wander out in the night after their meal?

There are so many more stories in this anthology I could discuss, but I don’t want to give too much away. Guignard’s selections are powerful, and the authors each bring unique tales from regions some of us may never have explored before. I find myself wanting to read more by those who contributed to A World Of Horror. I have a feeling you will, too.

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on January 24, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Faction 9: A Novel of Revolution by James Firelocke

Faction 9: A Novel of Revolution by James Firelocke

James Firelocke, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-0999568293

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition.

 

 

On the surface, it seems like a great plot.  The future United States still operates under our current political system, but has been fully hijacked by evil capitalistic pig warmongers who have made serfs (or slaves) out of most of the population.  Small groups called ‘factions’ are fighting back behind the scenes, trying to take America back for the people, and stopping the enslavement of the population.  If the idea had stopped there and been better written, this could have been a good book.  However, Faction 9 makes for a lackluster reading experience.  The plot is part of the problem: it is cluttered with unneccessary and distracting ideas, such as alien metallic insects and humans with feline DNA. These add nothing to the basic premise, and strain the story’s credibility.It will appeal to a select crowd, but would have been better suited to a comic book or graphic novel format.

The use of elaborate language and cartoonish portrayals of the characters also detract from the story.  One notable example of the language problem is saying that a character ‘strained to achieve colonic climax’ when sitting on the toilet. Character development is minimal at best, and cartoonish in the case of the villains.  The author throws in every cliché when describing the money-loving evildoers.  Gold toilets, eating only steak and lobster, toilet paper with the Constitution printed on it, seeing every female as a sexual target, all people are their slaves, money is God…you get the idea.  You can’t even hate the villains in this: they are so laughable you don’t feel any emotion about them.  The protagonists aren’t much better. There is little backstory on how they became revolutionaries fighting for the people, and you wind up not caring what happens to them.

The author does have skill, but it only comes in flashes.  The time spent describing the foolishness of government hurdles when trying to do something as simple as changing a computer password was excellent, and his description of prisons in the future showed good imagination.  But, those moments were too few, and it’s not enough to save the story. While most readers won’t want to slog through this, the book could find a place among YA readers, or people looking for any story that involves despising conservatives, in terms of politics. It will appeal to a select crowd, but would have been better suited to a comic book or graphic novel format.

 

Contains: mild violence and profanity

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on December 5, 2018 by , 2 comments
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