kurumipanda's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide, Antisemitism, Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Rape
julianh's review
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, Body horror, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide
znnys's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an interesting read! I really don't know a lot about WW1 besides the basics and this really taught me a lot about that time period, through the lens of something I find genuinely interesting - horror. I've seen a lot of criticisms for this book addressing the fact it's more focused on the fiction than the historical facts of WW1, but I found the author's framing very engaging and accessible for those of us who do not usually read about war history.
I learned so much from this book. Leonara Carrington and Otto Dix were entirely new names to me, and they were so fascinating to read about. I learned things about Salvador Dali and TS Eliot that shocked me. Kafka has been a longtime favorite of mine, so I was delighted to read about him. I discovered a lot of new literature and movies through this book.
Some people have suggested it has a disjointed structure, though I disagree. I didn't really have any difficulty following it.
I will say that I wish there had been further exploration on more "modern" horror. By "modern", what Poole really means is 20s/30s. Which technically is modern, considering world history and all, I guess. I nonetheless liked reading about this post-WW1 horror, though the Lovecraft sections were a bit exhausting. Towards the end of the book, Poole does touch on some slightly more contemporary works, but I do wish he had spent more time expanding a bit further. For example, he briefly touches on how the image of the gas mask has become a pretty iconic symbol of wartime horror. I would have loved to see his take on how enduring that symbol is throughout so much modern media.
I learned so much from this book. Leonara Carrington and Otto Dix were entirely new names to me, and they were so fascinating to read about. I learned things about Salvador Dali and TS Eliot that shocked me. Kafka has been a longtime favorite of mine, so I was delighted to read about him. I discovered a lot of new literature and movies through this book.
Some people have suggested it has a disjointed structure, though I disagree. I didn't really have any difficulty following it.
I will say that I wish there had been further exploration on more "modern" horror. By "modern", what Poole really means is 20s/30s. Which technically is modern, considering world history and all, I guess. I nonetheless liked reading about this post-WW1 horror, though the Lovecraft sections were a bit exhausting. Towards the end of the book, Poole does touch on some slightly more contemporary works, but I do wish he had spent more time expanding a bit further. For example, he briefly touches on how the image of the gas mask has become a pretty iconic symbol of wartime horror. I would have loved to see his take on how enduring that symbol is throughout so much modern media.
beckysbookshelf's review
I expected this book to be more about horror movies and tying them into WWI but it was really more about WWI and tying horror movies into that- so not quite what I was looking for. I feel like someone whose more into war history than I am would like it.
jmross10's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I picked this book up as part of a reading challenge where I was tasked to read something "horror". While I'm not sure this is what the readathon creator had in mind, I'm quite pleased with the selection. I probably wouldn't have picked it up for myself otherwise but found it really fascinating and informative.
Poole did a good job of breaking down the different components of Horror and explaining how they related back to the Great War. I appreciated that he didn't try to push the narrative that everything started there and took the time to give the necessary context for how certain things - like death dolls or the transition of Horror to a genre - evolved over time.
For me, one of the most frustrating aspects of historical non fiction is the tendency for authors to bounce around the timeline in a really confusing manner. While Poole doesn't have the book setup in a truly linear fashion, I think how he choose to break down the components of horror helped keep all the details from getting muddled.
Lastly, I really appreciated that he didn't limit himself to the war period of 1914-1918, but used the full extent of necessary history to properly convey his point. It gives his argument more credence and context in the grand scheme.
Poole did a good job of breaking down the different components of Horror and explaining how they related back to the Great War. I appreciated that he didn't try to push the narrative that everything started there and took the time to give the necessary context for how certain things - like death dolls or the transition of Horror to a genre - evolved over time.
For me, one of the most frustrating aspects of historical non fiction is the tendency for authors to bounce around the timeline in a really confusing manner. While Poole doesn't have the book setup in a truly linear fashion, I think how he choose to break down the components of horror helped keep all the details from getting muddled.
Lastly, I really appreciated that he didn't limit himself to the war period of 1914-1918, but used the full extent of necessary history to properly convey his point. It gives his argument more credence and context in the grand scheme.