Books to Die For

E.B. Hudspeth's THE RESURRECTIONIST

I've always had a strange soft spot for alternative histories and accounts of worlds that could be ours, were it not for subtle supernatural influences or slightly mad science. This may, in fact, explain why I'm drawn to horror fiction, more than say high fantasy or science fiction. Horror often occurs at the intersection of ordinary and the bizarre and difficult to explain.

This week's Book to Die For, E.B. Hudspeth's THE RESURRECTIONIST: THE LOST WORK OF DR. SPENCER BLACK (published by Quirk Books), lives at those crossroads. Part fictional biography and part alternate medical history, it's a heavily (and gorgeously) illustrated glimpse into some very mad science.

From the review in Rue Morgue #135:

This beautiful oversized hardcover is very much two books in one, which combine to tell a single (mostly) complete story about the life and work of the fictional - though presented here as real - Dr. Spencer Black. The first half of the book serves as Black's biography, tracing his childhood roots in mid-19th-century America through to his first steps through the doors of medical school, where his interest in insect biology amd human birth defects (notably conjoined twins) really flourished. But as Black's early fascinations devolve into obsession, the doctor's genius takes a decidedly darker turn, which ultimately sees Black disgraced amongst his peers, as his experiments become ever more bizarre and unpalatable (including attempts at growing tissue to graft together living creatures in a shed behind his home). 

The latter half of the volume is dedicated almost exclusively to highly detailed medical textbook-esque sketches of various mythological and chimera-type beasts. (Ever wonder what a man might look like with an elephant's cranium and trunk? The answers are revealed within.) Each image contains a detailed key - utilizing actual medical terminology - of the creation in question, and some even contain short essays, further linking them to Black's research.

If you've got a penchant for weird stories and even weirder fantastical faux science, then this is a book screaming for your coffee table. If this review doesn't sell it, just imagine the confused looks THE RESURRECTIONIST will garner from your slightly drunken friends as they try to determine if there's any veracity to this account of mad, mad medical fiction. 

THE RESURRECTIONIST hardcover is currently on sale on Amazon.com for under $15 USD. A digital version is also available.