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Book Review: Eynhallow by Tim McGregor

cover art for Eynhallow by TIm McGregor

Eynhallow by Tim McGregor

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2024

Available: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

 

Tim McGregor’s writing evokes the ghosts of 19th century English writers who captured the mystery of human beings and the wild forces of nature that remain untamed around us and in us. His latest book, Eynhallow, is an irresistible mix of science fiction and horror, with a twist of Gothic terror and a dash of old legends.

 

This story about an unusual, hardy woman opens in 1797 in the nearly deserted Orkney Islands, where four families are struggling to survive. Agnes, a devoted mother, has always acted out of necessity, the only reason she married and stays with her abusive husband. She now cooks and delivers meals to their new, wealthy neighbor, for a price. Her days revolve around family life, and occasionally helping to bring a neighbor’s child into the world. It is a monotonous existence, but Agnes has a curious and active mind that is constantly evaluating and analyzing everything and everyone around her. She also has many questions she feels she must answer about herself, what she wants, and whether she can have what she most desires.

 

As she pursues these answers, Tim McGregor’s atmospheric descriptions of the weather, vegetation, houses, characters, and even the church and food take on a life of their own, putting the reader into a state of growing uneasiness about Agnes’s safety and security. Slowly but surely, we discover that she has a role to play in another story, a famous one about a monster created from dead human body parts, who is now alive. McGregor brings the two stories together in surprising ways, reminding us of what we already know about Victor Frankenstein and his Creature, and filling in new details about the challenges of dealing with the monster’s demands and the unforeseen consequences of what Frankenstein dreamed would be the greatest scientific achievement of all time.

 

In the end, Eynhallow, meaning holy island, is far from it. It is a place of violence, pain, torture, and death. Just as Mary Shelley made her audience consider the boundaries between God and man, the spiritual and the scientific, and life and death, so too does Tim McGregor, but with an important difference. McGregor’s audience has had a much greater chance to explore these boundaries and observe their crossing. It is in that context, one of greater understanding, that we can truly see an earlier horror story becoming a contemporary one… and a permanent nightmare.

 

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Posted on March 19, 2024 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: The Glass Scientists, Volume 1 by S.H. Cotugno

Cover art for The Glass Scientists, Volume 1

The Glass Scientists, Volume 1 by S. H. Cotugno

Razorbill, 2023

ISBN-13: 978593524442

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

The Glass Scientists is a webcomic created by S. H. Cotugno. Set in 19th Century London, Dr. Henry Jekyll founds The Society for Arcane Sciences, a place where mad scientists prove they are more than just that. They can thrive in an accepting environment where they can conduct their experiments without fear of interruption, defy laws of nature while in a safe area, and make friends while doing it. London isn’t the ideal environment for these eccentrics, with officers of the law and other officials concerned about their practices after the Frankenstein incident. With mobs taking it into their own hands, or pitchforks and torches, to hunt down what they don’t understand, Dr. Jekyll has his work cut out for him in trying to improve public opinion, as well as keeping up the morale of the scientists within the walls of the Society. There is also the new play debuting right across the street, allegedly based on the “very real” story of Dr. Frankenstein and his Creature, just as Dr. Jekyll is about to show everyone the value of the Society within London.

 

So many things are against the good doctor. His own alter ego, Edward Hyde, is hellbent on running amok, and nearly causes the complete dissolution of the Society for Arcane Sciences. The Creature arrives, carrying the very doctor who created him, Dr. Frankenstein: both prove to be quite different from the little play going on across the street. Things spiral further out of Dr. Jekyll’s control, and his once loyal friends and colleagues begin to turn against him. Their search for the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde is yielding no results: Dr. Jekyll, having shut him into the deepest corners of his mind, thinks them both safe. He is terribly wrong.

 

I enjoyed this interpretation of the Jekyll and Hyde tale. Rather than being fully separate from each other, each knew the other was present. They could hold conversations together and understand each other’s thoughts and motivations. The transitions between Jekyll and Hyde’s dialogue were easy to follow, as the text was white against a black field when Hyde was communicating in the doctor’s head. Dr. Jekyll could also allow Hyde to take over for a time, with Jekyll’s tall brunette gentlemanly figure turned into the green-eyed, blond-haired, unkempt Hyde. You know mischief will ensue with Hyde around. The Society’s lodgers are a great addition to the story. Newly discovered werewolf Jasper Kaylock, manager and cook of the Society Rachel Pidgley, and Dr. Frankenstein are fantastic characters. A few examples of the Society’s scientists are Miss Lavendar, a Junior Extremofaunic Zoologist; Dr. Ranjit Helsby, Exploratory Bathynaut; and Dr. Maijabi, Ectoplasmic Pathologist. I loved all of them, but I won’t list them all here.

 

The artwork in The Glass Scientists is crisp and the colours are wonderful. Volume One collects Chapters 1-7 of the webcomic and includes a short story, “The Creature and the Coffeehouse”,  as well as“The Vault,” which includes a brief history of Cotugno’s creative process, and additional materials. The story contains LGBTQ+ themes and characters, making this an inclusive title. The creator recommends the comic for ages 13 and up. The creator of one of my favourite shows, The Owl House, wrote a blurb for the first volume, which gave me a hint that I would enjoy it. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Posted on November 20, 2023 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli, art by Stefano Cardoselli

cover art for Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli

Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli, art by Stefano Cardoselli

Independent Legions Publishing, 2020

ISBN-13: 9788831959827

Available: Paperback  ( Bookshop.org )

 

Dr. Jamaica Foxy, a brilliant scientist, creates Franky, an eight-foot tall gentle giant. Dr. Foxy teaches Franky life lessons, essentially raising him. Franky even calls her Mom. He loves his mother, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and watching baseball games. Apart from his mother, Franky has only one friend in the world: thirteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Set in the summer of 1977 in Brooklyn, New York, the Son of Sam killings keep people off the streets… most people, anyway. One morning, Dr. Foxy’s path crosses that of some white supremacists wandering the streets looking to start a fight. When Dr. Foxy doesn’t return home after hours of waiting, Franky searches for her himself. What he discovers enrages him, turning him into a force of vengeance.

 

I love seeing what authors can do with the Frankenstein story. While this isn’t the first one where the authors have used Black Lives Matter as a focus, it is one that has a unique take on the monster tale. Dr. Foxy is a Black woman striving to improve her community through her science, teaching and raising Franky to be a caring, thoughtful individual. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous time in history, the authors call out the racial injustice faced by Black Americans today. The authors created a powerful story in Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein). The artwork is stark in its presentation, black and white art using negative space effectively. I would put Cardoselli alongside Mike Mignola and Frank Miller in its presentation.

 

Linda D. Addison provides a short but powerful introduction to this incredible graphic novel.  Recommended.

 

Contains: depictions of white supremacists, gore (in silhouette), violence against Black community, violence against women

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Editor’s note: Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel. 

Posted on March 31, 2021 by , Reply
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