carrionkid's Reviews (86)

The Quest of the Holy Grail

4.0

I can't say this is my favorite translation, some of the choices made are overly simplistic to the point of detriment by way of making the text almost juvenile (such as calling the seige perilous 'the seat of danger'), however it would definitely be more accessible for someone unfamiliar with Arthurian legend and medieval lit.

Content Warnings

The Hellbound Heart

Clive Barker

5.0

A fantastic cornerstone of horror that's just as solid as the movie despite, or perhaps because of, the differences between the two. Eerie and excellently paced and unbelievably tight.

Content Warnings

Le Morte d'Arthur

Thomas Malory

4.0

About as good as a text singlehandedly translated by a man in jail for literally every crime on earth can be, regardless of the fact half the time he's like "as the french book sayeth..." And leaves out a significant chunk of important details.

Content Warnings

Trans Historical: Gender Plurality Before the Modern

Greta LaFleur, Masha Raskolnikov, Anna M Klosowska

4.5

This was an extremely interesting read and although I don't necessarily agree with all of the collected essays, each one provides a multitude of ideas and methodologies to consider.

Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe

John Boswell

4.5

A very interesting and refreshing look at the premodern world. Well sourced and objective, informative, and fairly accessible as far as academic texts can go.

Everville

Clive Barker

4.0

I didn't realize this was a sequel until I was already fairly far into this book, but it's a testament to the skill of world building that I never once felt *lost* while I was reading it. It's one part cosmic horror, one part dissection of storytelling, and it is a great mess of threads weaving together into an excellent whole. I'll definitely have to go back and grab the first book in the series.

Content Warnings

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Susanna Clarke

5.0

For the longest time, I thought I hated fantasy. Turns out all I needed was an impossibly dense book replicating the experience of reading a textbook because this book absolutely FLOORED me. The immersion of the universe is impeccable, the payoff is all so incredibly satisfying. The footnotes are such a perfect touch to the work and the way the threads of plot weave together is just fantastic.

Content Warnings

This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It

David Wong

5.0

It's rare for a sequel to be just as good as the first book but this one manages to knock it out of the park. It fits the same tone and energy as the first book without feeling repetitive and there's a marked improvement in the craft of the narrative. It's much tighter and every twist and turn of the plot drives it further and further to an extremely poignant end.

Content Warnings

John Dies at the End

David Wong

5.0

I've actually read this several times before but I got hit with the mad desire to reread it. What appears to be a horror comedy about cosmic, eldritch terrors on the surface actually belies a surprisingly nuanced and sympathetic story of mental illness and disability. It's insane, balls to the wall crazy, funny, clever, and overall just a compelling read.

Content Warnings

Universal Harvester

John Darnielle

5.0

I'll admit, I picked this book up because I was familiar with Darnielle as a singer-songwriter, but it was WELL WORTH IT. A non-linear narrative is hard to pull off, but this one is crafted masterfully. The slow building dread is perfectly executed and the mystery surrounding the events happening in the small, sleepy towns of the Midwest is one created with great narrative care. Overall, a very stressful and cathartic book.

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