E. B. HudspethRezensionen

I was surprised by how much I loved this.
The first part of this book was written like a biography of the titular Spencer Black, a Victorian era doctor/scientist and his experiments. The second part are scientific plates of his creatures.

I'm not a big fan of horror, but I liked how this blended real taxonomy with disturbing Victorian imagination. With all the gothic horror and dubious scientific discoveries that the real Victorian era produced, a man like Dr. Black is not too far fetched.
The old writing style. The cold, wikipedia-style summary of Dr. Black's life. The use of real medical terms and taxonomy. The paragraphs and letters inserted into the text. The use of exact years. All of it makes for an immersive book about a mad scientist.

There's no doubt that this book is fantastically put together. It's a gorgeous, high-quality book with impressive art and impeccable detail. Hudspeth's talent as an artist is on full display, as is Quirk Books' commitment to interesting, out-of-the-box books that require a different type of commitment from mainstream fiction. (I've loved every Quirk Books book I've picked up by the way...until...uh...this one.) So.

The thing is, this book reads and feels like more of an experiment than a novel or fully grown story by the end. It's as if the biography--the written part of the text--is just an excuse to show off the gorgeous drawings of Hudspeth, but the problem is that it reads like a biography, and leaves so many threads unanswered/unfollowed that, in the end, the book feels like an experiment vs a completed experience with real power and follow-through/impact. Part of me thinks that, put simply, the book needed a third part where some of those early threads could have been followed, but realistically, I'm not sure that would be possible. Because, looking back on the whole read, it does feel as if the biography is simply a way to justify putting all of the art into play without dealing with the burden of creating a full narrative that would really develop any sort of character and/or story arcs that could deliver emotional impact on top of more detached horror.

And perhaps the book was never meant to deliver a fuller story--it certainly reads as more of an art display, justified by lengthy text to develop horror behind the art--but at least for this reader, I ended up feeling less-than-satisfied with the book as a whole. It's possible I should be thankful for the brevity of the biography, though--if I hadn't flipped pages forward to know that the art was coming, and to know that there was very little biography left, I'd likely have given up on the book. The writing is fine, and interesting, but the story itself is so anchored into the tone of being a biography, and so summary-based and often vague, without the details of character to make the characters come to life in moments of non-horror, I had trouble getting through it, particularly at the end.

I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book to, beyond readers who want a non-traditional horror read.

《I have butchered many men. All are innocent and equaled when they are on the table. All are exquisite and grotesque.》

RTC.

I have never felt like such a fence-sitter as I do now, having completed this book.

The story of Dr. Spencer Black is fascinating, if light. The reader gets a brief 65-page write-up of the life of Dr. Black, every moment of it an amazing story. It leaves you REALLY wanting more. More depth, more details, more everything. This story could in itself fill a 400-page novel. Instead we get what we get, with so many of our questions unanswered.

The remaining 140-odd-pages are Dr. Black's Codex Extinct Animalia. Essentially we get a few entries of mythological creatures that Dr Black claimed were once real, and his anatomical drawings of them. At first glance, the drawings are interesting, but after about 3 creatures you realize that there isn't much substance in these entries. Readers that are well-versed in anatomy would find the diagrams lacking, and those without any anatomical knowledge wouldn't be able to make heads-or-tails of it (excuse the pun).

Personally I think this would have been a great sidepiece to an amazing novel of a mad scientist and his decent into the creation of these creatures. But it's not, so I just kind of don't know how to feel about it.½

Very interesting and very creepy. The anatomical diagrams look like something out of a (perverse) medical textbook. I intend to keep this in my library simply because of the *representation* aspect (illustration) of it. Book is very well designed, with patterned endpapers, and even *smells* like an interesting book!

Geniale.
Grottesco e disturbante, affascinante ed fiabesco.
Weird e gotico.

Mary Shelley incontra Lovecraft e si mettono a parlare di Darwin praticamente...

La biografia di un folle scienziato che mette in discussione gli assiomi della scienza medica alla ricerca di una verità forse folle, forse incredibile ma decisamente possibile.

Letto per la ReadingTheDark Challenge per gennaio si merita 5 stelle a mani basse.

2.5 stars rounded up

When I got the book I was weary because it wasn't a chapter book but a little children's looking book. I put off reading it because of how small it was, I was disappointed at how little pages there were because I had tremendous hopes for this book and I couldn't wait to read it. There are only 61 pages describing Dr. Spencer Black which are divided into chapters, each chapter describes a specific time period in his life ie, childhood, university, etc. That really disappointed me as I wanted to read about his whole life bit by bit because I found the summary very intriguing. I wanted to read about Dr. Black's life and how he spiraled into madness and in detail his creations of sowing the animals together, I got some of it but not enough that I was satisfied. The writing style was nice and was interesting but I wish the author had went more in depth.

The second book in this book was based off of Dr. Black's The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy of mythological creatures. The drawings were really detailed and gave us the exact locations of bones and muscles. Also included was the known information about that animals. I thought it was interesting reading about the creatures and looking at the anatomical illustrations for them. Though this book was just a disappoint in my opinion.

2.5 stars rounded up

When I got the book I was weary because it wasn't a chapter book but a little children's looking book. I put off reading it because of how small it was, I was disappointed at how little pages there were because I had tremendous hopes for this book and I couldn't wait to read it. There are only 61 pages describing Dr. Spencer Black which are divided into chapters, each chapter describes a specific time period in his life ie, childhood, university, etc. That really disappointed me as I wanted to read about his whole life bit by bit because I found the summary very intriguing. I wanted to read about Dr. Black's life and how he spiraled into madness and in detail his creations of sowing the animals together, I got some of it but not enough that I was satisfied. The writing style was nice and was interesting but I wish the author had went more in depth.

The second book in this book was based off of Dr. Black's The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy of mythological creatures. The drawings were really detailed and gave us the exact locations of bones and muscles. Also included was the known information about that animals. I thought it was interesting reading about the creatures and looking at the anatomical illustrations for them. Though this book was just a disappoint in my opinion.

I enjoyed this book, but I wish the "biography" section were longer. That was my favorite part, and it left me wanting so much more. The Codex Extinct Animalia is beautiful, and that beauty is what pushed this book from a 3-star to a 4-star for me. Had there been story to the book, more about Dr. Black and his life, I feel certain this would have been a 5-star read for me. Overall, it feels like a very elaborate art piece, which is not by any means a bad thing, but Hudspeth gives just enough story to make you desperate to find out more about the man behind these horrific and strangely beautiful ideas.

And when I say horrific, I really do mean horrific. The animal cruelty in this book is almost unbearable. But it still somehow leaves you wanting to delve even further into the dark and twisted mind of the man behind it all.

The premise of this book was really great. Unfortunately I read it on my phone instead of in book form so I think I lost some of what made the illustrations great (because it was smaller and I couldn't zoom), which I think was probably the best part of the book. The story was interesting, if sparse. I got the feeling the author put a lot of work into the illustrations and created a backstory afterwards, to give them a context. I almost tagged this sci-fi but decided on just science, because nothing about Dr. Black's life ever existed outside of our own reality. In my interpretation, he was just a man who interpreted things incorrectly in order to confirm a theory insupportable by evidence but that he espoused much too fiercely. It drove him out of reality in a seriously creepy way. I love mad scientists.

TW: pet/animal experiments, purposeful disfigurations, and insanity.

Macabre, grotesque, & horrifying, for the biography part of the novel. Fascinating, beautifully drawn artwork in the back. I was not a fan, and I have no one to recommend it to. The artwork is the only reason this novel gets three stars, in my review.

Read this : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/609976707?book_show_action=true&from_r...

The book is separated into two parts; a brief history of Dr. Spencer Black's professional life and personal life and Dr. Black's Codex Extinct Animalia itself. The story of his life is easily read in one sitting and is quite interesting, while The Codex Extinct Animalia is only a brief description at the beginning of each chapter describing and classifying the animal shown in the drawings of that chapter. Those drawings of various cryptids are where this book stands out. The medical sketches of muscle and bone structure are worth the time taken to look through them and see how these animals may look under the skin.

The Resurrectionist is the fictitious biography of Dr. Spencer Black, 0chronicling his life and career, his projects and incredibly strange ideas. The son of a grave robber, Dr. Black studies at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs—were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind? The novel is actually two books in one. The first, the biography of Dr. Spencer Black, and the second Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a “Gray’s Anatomy” for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed anatomical illustrations. I found the biographical portion of the book strange and at times horrifying and gut-churning. Interestingly, The Codex’s illustrations and artwork are fascinating and beautiful. I never fully understood the point of the book, but did appreciate the beauty. 3 out of 5 stars.

Horrible book. Like a book version of criminal minds. The guy's insane, his journal writings are horrible and little or no additional information about him are supplied. All vague references to what he did. More info on his "brilliant work on Ward C would have been useful." What happened to him and his brother? Ending left much to be desired. His mythical chimera beings are just plain stupid.

Seems to be put together with snippets of information

I found the main character increasingly disturbing and disliked the disjointed storytelling method of using journals. If you enjoy reading about serial killers from a first hand perspective, and don't mind getting into their head a little, and if you're really dedicated to Victorian Era novels, then you might make it through this one. There were no redeeming qualities about this character at all. The one quality that was initially somewhat redeeming - his scientific curiosity and intelligence - becomes increasingly subsumed by madness. The artwork is amazing, and the attention to detail is wonderful. I really felt like I was reading the diary of a madman, and not a fictional work.½

The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth takes the form of a brief biography of the notorious Dr. Spencer Black, a renowned scientist whose bizarre beliefs on mutations in the human form lead him increasingly into madness. Interspersed with accounts from his personal letters and diary entries, the book tells the tale of a genius’s fall from grace and his slow steps into insanity.

While the premise is already intriguing, the book never quite lived up to its potential. “Brief” is a key word, as the actual biography part takes up only 65 pages, with the rest being in-depth anatomical drawings of the bizarre creatures Dr. Black envisions in his Codex Extinct Animalia. It felt like a flimsy pretext, as if the pictures – though admittedly gorgeous and just twisted enough so that you can’t look away – were created first and the rest came after. This ordinarily wouldn’t bother me, except it felt like the same lavish devotion that was given to the pictures was not shown toward the story; parts of it felt rushed, and the author missed that balance between “just enough to be scary” and “not so much detail that it doesn’t become scary”. It is the difference between, “You are alone in a dark room” and “You are alone in a dark room when you hear the tap-tap of claws along the floor”. The reader’s imagination is an extraordinary thing, one that horror writers are keenly attuned to, knowing exactly how much to leave to the imagination, but not giving enough just feels cheap. The ending is deliberately left ambiguous, which is par for the course in horror novels, but several times during the story, the reader is left wanting. There is a brief anecdote regarding an incident when “one of his creatures, the Serpent Queen, attacked a member of the audience” but “Nothing more is known about the performance or the victim” (59). Later, there is mention of his son, Alphonse, carrying on his father’s work, but “little is known of Alphonse or his work” (63). There is even another instance where he discontinues the Codex for reasons unknown (66). His brother also disappears mysteriously (65). The story portion, as I mentioned, is only 65 pages; the trick is oversaturated in that short amount of time.

The Codex Extinct Animalia, as I mentioned, has some truly beautiful, bizarre, and weirdly compelling pictures of the anatomical properties of the mythological creatures Dr. Black argues really existed; they are oddly intriguing, but there are so many of them and they are so in-depth that I had to question who this book was really for. Even I couldn’t be bothered to read every single skeleton and muscles that were labelled in each of the drawings. For something that took up a major portion of the book, it didn’t have enough to it to keep it interesting. Some additional notes from Dr. Black, perhaps showing further his descent into madness, might have added something to it to keep the reader’s interest.

A good novelty read, but not something that is destined to make a lasting impression, I’m afraid. Hudspeth’s drawings and writing are more than serviceable, and if he chose to develop them more, I’m certain he could write (and draw) a perfectly chilling novel; The Resurrectionist, however, was just too short and overused the same tricks too often to win me over.

The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth takes the form of a brief biography of the notorious Dr. Spencer Black, a renowned scientist whose bizarre beliefs on mutations in the human form lead him increasingly into madness. Interspersed with accounts from his personal letters and diary entries, the book tells the tale of a genius’s fall from grace and his slow steps into insanity.

While the premise is already intriguing, the book never quite lived up to its potential. “Brief” is a key word, as the actual biography part takes up only 65 pages, with the rest being in-depth anatomical drawings of the bizarre creatures Dr. Black envisions in his Codex Extinct Animalia. It felt like a flimsy pretext, as if the pictures – though admittedly gorgeous and just twisted enough so that you can’t look away – were created first and the rest came after. This ordinarily wouldn’t bother me, except it felt like the same lavish devotion that was given to the pictures was not shown toward the story; parts of it felt rushed, and the author missed that balance between “just enough to be scary” and “not so much detail that it doesn’t become scary”. It is the difference between, “You are alone in a dark room” and “You are alone in a dark room when you hear the tap-tap of claws along the floor”. The reader’s imagination is an extraordinary thing, one that horror writers are keenly attuned to, knowing exactly how much to leave to the imagination, but not giving enough just feels cheap. The ending is deliberately left ambiguous, which is par for the course in horror novels, but several times during the story, the reader is left wanting. There is a brief anecdote regarding an incident when “one of his creatures, the Serpent Queen, attacked a member of the audience” but “Nothing more is known about the performance or the victim” (59). Later, there is mention of his son, Alphonse, carrying on his father’s work, but “little is known of Alphonse or his work” (63). There is even another instance where he discontinues the Codex for reasons unknown (66). His brother also disappears mysteriously (65). The story portion, as I mentioned, is only 65 pages; the trick is oversaturated in that short amount of time.

The Codex Extinct Animalia, as I mentioned, has some truly beautiful, bizarre, and weirdly compelling pictures of the anatomical properties of the mythological creatures Dr. Black argues really existed; they are oddly intriguing, but there are so many of them and they are so in-depth that I had to question who this book was really for. Even I couldn’t be bothered to read every single skeleton and muscles that were labelled in each of the drawings. For something that took up a major portion of the book, it didn’t have enough to it to keep it interesting. Some additional notes from Dr. Black, perhaps showing further his descent into madness, might have added something to it to keep the reader’s interest.

A good novelty read, but not something that is destined to make a lasting impression, I’m afraid. Hudspeth’s drawings and writing are more than serviceable, and if he chose to develop them more, I’m certain he could write (and draw) a perfectly chilling novel; The Resurrectionist, however, was just too short and overused the same tricks too often to win me over.

This kind of book has long been needed and I hope more mythical and folklore creatures get the same treatment.

This book is gorgeous and creepy. The story itself is heartbreaking. The first half is a biography, supported with letters, journal entries and drawings. The second half is The Codex Extinct Animalia, Black's own work detailing the species that he believes came before and between humans, the ones that one could catch glimpses of in the freak shows of the late 1800s. This is a unique book that horror aficionados will definitely want on their shelves.

http://webereading.com/2015/02/the-resurrectionist-lost-work-of-dr.html

Marvelously done anatomical drawings of creatures of myth, but a stale fictional biography.

The Resurrectionist was written for a very specific audience – who that audience is I’m not exactly quite sure. It’s definitely not one that I can think of anyone right on hand to recommend it to. Perhaps those that enjoy fictional biographies, somber crazed scientists but in an overall droll package? This is the second fictional biography/autobiography I’ve read and it was interesting to see how this was done. I definitely prefer the autobiography approach more so than the biography. Perhaps if it had been written as such Spencer Black would have been more dynamic and gripping of a character. I think it has a pretty accurate flavor of the time period right of the 1850′s to early 1900s. Of the 208 pages, really only the first 65 of those pages are the biography. The remaining portion of the book is made up of ‘The Codex Extinct Animalia’ which is exactly what it is but being of completely mythological and or creatures of legend. Every few pages you’ll see a different creature along with the notes about that creature from Spencer Black.

The pictures were fascinating, and even some of the details about the creatures – They were gorgeously drawn, even considering your saw the musculature of them. Students with an Art Major I think would appreciate it. This was indeed the reason why I decided to read it, because I love art. Everything else in The Resurrectionist was rather stale and flat. I was expecting sensationalism, pizazz! – a mad lunatic doctor that performs experiments and was reminiscent of perhaps Dr. Frankenstein – but alas that isn’t what I got. I think there could have been more done to really connect you to Spencer Black to make the reader more interested in his life and then also his work. I think perhaps by keeping the tone of the work so close to what perhaps the time period was, and also too closely to that of a medical or research account of things that it left me as the reader no real desire to know about him or at time to even continue reading. There were also some gruesome scenes of animal experimentation that may not suit all readers. I didn’t mind that because I have a medical background. Also, I believe the blurb on the back gives ample warning of what you can expect by “Deliciously macabre and beautifully grotesque.”

Admittedly I really didn’t know how to describe my feelings for this one – I’d have to settle on ambivalent.

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review. All opinions are completely my own.*

This was bought on sale. I'm really glad I didn't pay full price. It was entertaining enough in the first section, the 'biography' of Dr S Black. It gives info about his beginning, his career, and his descent into what others considered madness. But the chapters were short and the story was really more a synopsis than a biography. Then came the Codex, and that too was mildly entertaining. But there was little information about the animals, other than a brief description and then several diagrammatic images per creature. I read the entire book in about an hour.

The first 65 pages of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth is a fascinating “biography” of the titular doctor, a man who believed that the creatures of mythology actually existed at one time and could be reborn into our world with the proper surgical technique. It’s a tragic tale of a medical prodigy who had already completed medical school with high honors at the age of 20. Black was a man of intense curiosity who reveled in dissecting every type of animal, including humans (which he had dug up from their graves for his father’s scientific work when he was a child, hence the “resurrectionist” label). But his curiosity took a tragic turn when he began his work of recreating mythological creatures, starting with the grafting of wings onto his beagle. His brother describes the scene in his journal, making one remarkable note that passes without acknowledgement: “The animal flinched in response to Spencer’s voice; its wings flapped as it tried to stand.” The wings were functional? Wow.

I could have used much more of this story, in much greater detail; that is, I’d have loved a fully-fledged novel. But Hudspeth’s imagination apparently tends more toward images than the written word. The bulk of this book is a copy of a fictional Codex Extinct Animalia, allegedly written and drawn by Black. Only six copies were ever printed, Black’s “biography” explains, because for some reason Black withdrew it at that point. This is a copy of one of those six extant volumes, we are told. It is full of remarkable artwork, with drawings of the bones and musculature of various types of mythological creatures, from the sphinx to the harpy. I would have liked more explanation of how the animals worked, anatomically. For instance, how does the centaur’s musculature work to support the human portion of the body? The drawings lead me to believe that the animals would always suffer from severe back pain, and that remaining upright would be excruciating. Similarly, how can the back of a cerberus support three heads without upper back and neck aches? It seems to me that if an artist is going to draw the musculature of these creatures, there should be some narrative that explains them.

Still, this oversized volume (not a coffee table book, but larger than the average) is a worthy addition to the libraries of those who enjoy fantastical artwork. It brings to mind the early work of Wayne Barlowe (particularly his Guide to Extraterrestrials and Guide to Fantasy), and similarly rewards plenty of gazing.

Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-resurrectionist-the-lost-work-of-dr...½

Featuring two books in one beautiful hardcover, The Resurrectionist is both intriguing and beautifully grotesque at the same time. The first half of the book features the fictional biography of a man named Dr. Spencer Black. Spencer and his brother, Bernard, had a rather unusual upbringing. Having a father who was a respected professor of anatomy, the brothers often assisted him in digging up corpses for the dissections he performed for his students. Spencer grew up to attend medical school and attacked his studies with a passion. He excelled and had a promising career ahead of him. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way he is drawn into the darkness and becomes obsessed with genetic deformities. As he spiraled into insanity, Dr. Black theorized that deformities were not accidents, but rather the body's attempt to regrow what it once had eons ago. Around this time Dr. Black began experimenting with surgically recreating mythical beasts he believed once roamed the earth. He even went so far as to create a traveling carnival show of his creations.

Written in a style that incorporates some of Dr. Black's journal entries, poetry, and drawings, the biography abruptly ends with his disappearance adding to the mystery of the man. Nevertheless, the short biography sets up the tone for the second half of the book, The Codex Extinct Animalia. The codex features a brief introduction and anatomical drawings for eleven creatures shrouded in myth and legend including Sphinx Alatus, Minotaurus Asterion, and Canis Hades.

The Bottom Line: This gorgeous hardcover book is a keeper. I'm a big fan of books that are a bit different and dark; this one is definitely both. As I read it I was reminded of the anatomy and physiology texts I studied back in college. Having a basic knowledge of anatomy helped me appreciate the book even more. As other reviewers have mentioned, the text is somewhat lacking and repetitive in areas; however, I thought that may have been intentional since the main character is obviously mad. Hudspeth’s illustrations are fantastically macabre and spellbinding. Enthusiastically recommended for adult readers looking for something eccentric with a dark and disturbing twist. Also, recommended for those with an interest in mythology. This would make an interesting coffee table book to be sure. Note: Some sections describing Dr. Black's experiments are extremely disturbing. Additionally, due to the anatomical illustrations, this book is not recommended for sensitive readers or children.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.

Oddly, this is the second EarlyReviewer book I've received from LibraryThing titled The Resurrectionist. Unfortunately, this is an ARC copy where most of the illustrations are "TK"-- which is a shame because most of the book is illustration! It purports to be a copy of the Codex Extinct Animalia by the late nineteenth-century anatomist Spencer Black, who drew all the strange creatures he'd dissected. But without those pictures, what's the point? That said, I'm not sure how into dozens of pages of fake skeletons I was gonna be anyway; what's here didn't exactly set me alight. The early portion of the book, a recounting of Black's life, is complete, but it's marred by anachronistic uses of "scientist" and "genetics."