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Book Review: The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

 

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope.

Redhook, 2022

ISBN-13 ‎978-0316377911

Available:  Paperback, Kindle edition, Audible

Buy:   Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

The Monsters We Defy takes place in an alternate Washington, D.C. during the Harlem Renaissance. This world has Enigmas (similar to demons) who will offer you a gift (Charm) always in company with a catch (Trick). Clara has the second sight. Her Charm is a mystery, but her Trick is to help anyone who asks. A woman brings her son, who has become unresponsive, to Clara for help, but there is a ward around the cause that prevents her from helping. The condition spreads through the poor Negro population, with the “Afflicted” then being collected in trucks and disappearing. The Enigma who holds Clara’s debt, the Empress, tells her a ring worn by Miss Josephine, an opera singer in cahoots with the mob, is the cause of the Afflicted. The Empress says she will clear Clara’s debt and that of any who help her acquire the ring, except the Enigma called the Man in Black.

 

Clara meets Israel Lee, a musician in debt to the Man in Black, who also wants the ring and to prevent the Empress from getting it. Israel’s gift is to be able to hypnotize with his music and be admired by all, but his Trick is that he cannot have true friends. In addition, she meets Jesse Lee, who can erase memories, at the expense of his true love being able to recognize or remember him, and Aristotle, an actor who can play any role but never be seen as himself. They, and Clara’s albino roommate, a former circus freak, plan to take back the ring at a party for the Luminous 400, the wealthy Black upper class.

 

Clara is based on Carrie Johnson, a 17 year old girl , who shot and killed a detective who broke into her bedroom during the Red Summer of 1919. She was convicted, but got a second trial where she was freed. Langston Hughes also appears as a minor character. There’s also a “drag bsll” which is pretty cool! Zelda is a really fun character and learning about Black albinism was really interesting. Penelope had challenges with researching during the pandemic, but the world-building is great, and this is a fascinating read. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on September 6, 2023 by , Reply

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

Posted on January 7, 2023 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galan, lettering by El Torres

Cover art for Lucky Devil volume 1 by Cullen Bunn

Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galán, lettering by El Torres

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506721996

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, Comixology   (  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Stanley has terrible luck. His three-year relationship is tainted by an affair his girlfriend is having. He’s a gofer for a corporate organization where his higher-ups constantly demean him. Then, he gets possessed by the demon Lord Zedirex the Tormenter. After Zed causes a particularly grisly massacre at a burger joint, Stanley goes for an exorcism, but it all goes horribly wrong. The demon lord is definitely shunted from Stanley’s body, but Stanley retains Zed’s powers. After Stanley takes his wrath out on everyone who wronged him, he uses his newly gained power to form a cult, joining forces with the existing International Church of Lucifer. However, Stanley’s message, that God and Satan are no longer important if humans can obtain power on their own, gets him the wrong kind of attention.



When Stanley gets a bit too comfortable with his new role, the legions of Hell take notice. Zed tries to warn Stanley that he is garnering too much attention. The hapless human needs the former demon lord’s help, but Stanley’s hubris might get in the way.

 

There is so much to like with Bunn’s Lucky Devil. The exorcism gone wrong, resulting in the displacement of demonic power, was an interesting plot point and drove the story along well. Stanley is a sympathetic character, even when he is relishing in the attention he gets from the power he wields. He never becomes insufferable, and he remains human, despite his demonic powers. Zed acted as the voice of reason for Stanley at times, something which I didn’t expect.

 

Lucky Devil is necessary for Cullen Bunn fans. Readers who are looking for a unique take on demonic possession or who like a bit of humor in their horror will enjoy this.

 

This volume collects issues #1-4.

 

Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on January 2, 2023 by , Reply
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