The Resurrectionist
by E B Hudspeth
Review by Mida
The Resurrectionist is a luxuriously illustrated guide to the anatomy of creatures from myth and legend. Filled to the brim with incredible detail, it’s a morbidly fascinating exploration of how different beasts could be put together. There is no hand waving of details here; every tendon and bit of sinew is rendered painstakingly on the page for you to pore over.
But that is only half the experience one gets when reading. Between the spreads of Harpy, Minotaur and Pegasus anatomy, we follow an exploration of the fictional Dr. Black as he discovers – or, the book argues, creates – unsettling remains. The ambiguity of the origins of Black’s specimens is at the heart of the story, Frankensteinian amalgams of animals from the natural world and some that defy belief.
I love this book so much. A Gothic horror in the footsteps of Mary Shelley and Robert Louis Stevenson, it creeps under your skin and lingers there for days. This is not a book you want to read in a hurry or if you want a definitive conclusion. But if you want to savour something rich and bitter and a little bit gross, I have no better recommendation.
Perfect for people who read Dragonology or Spiderwick as kids and have grown up wanting something a bit spookier.
