pbobrit's review against another edition
4.0
A rather fun anthology of short stories, based on objects in the collection of Dr Thackery T. Lambshead. A variety of great writers have contributed including Alan Moore, Michael Moorcock and Charles Yu. The stories vary widely in tone and style which makes it perfect, either for dipping in and out or reading cover to cover. One for fans of steampunk, Lovecraft and Poe.
enid08's review against another edition
4.0
An exceptionally weird book that includes some of my favorite exceptionally weird authors. I love the conceit of the authors being part of universe in which Thackery T. Lambshead collected his curiosities.
readerxxx's review against another edition
2.0
This book looked amazing in the book store and if I had read an actual hard copy version it would probably have been amazing. In ebook format, its really not good. This really isnt a story as much as it is a fictionalized inventory of oddities that a collector put together over the years with strange histories. If you are looking for stories, you may want to look elsewhere. I didnt bother finishing this one.
paulgtr234's review against another edition
4.0
As with most anthologies this was a bit of a mixed bag. There were few true 'bad' entries but there were many articles that had little interest to me. That's OK, its what anthologies are supposed to be about I think - the box of chocolates theory. There were multiple entries that did work incredibly well, notably entries by Garth Nix, Holly Black, and China Mieville. Each of their pieces were striking and heartfelt and made this anthology a worthy effort.
drowsyreaper's review against another edition
4.0
Not what I was expecting but it was awesome nevertheless. Academic and esoteric essays about fictional objects are something I need more of.
talentedmisfit's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a pleasure to read, and it is one to browse through. Pick the passages that appeal to you first, then come back and read others. The book combines a feel of nonfiction, kind of like like reading an exotic guide or even something like the 10th edition Brittanica combined with a good fiction collection. There is also a subtle sense of humor along with a sense of wonder in the collection. Since I borrowed the copy I read, I did feel a bit rushed, but this is a book I would not mind buying so I can go back to it now and then. If you like Steampunk, Victoriana, or similar genres, you will enjoy this book. The photos and art in it are pretty good too.
sarah1984's review against another edition
5/6 - This book is wacky. And I mean WACKY with a capital W!! It's like a 'choose your own adventure' books crossed with a non-fiction full of footnotes. Every paragraph or so I'm flicking to the contents to find the page number for the correct section that further describes the occult item that was just mentioned in passing in the main body of the text.
If you go by the page numbers I'm only up to page 23, but if you go by the number of pages I've actually read it'd be more like 33. I've had to flick to the 'further reading' on all the items catalogued in the cabinet so many times that I reckon I'll have read 100 pages by the time I hit page 50. To be continued...
9/6 - I'm not sure I'm quite the right audience for this book. Half the time I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's real and what's not, who's real and who's imaginary and I'm pretty sure I'm missing hilarious 'in' jokes because, as I said I don't know what the hell's going on. To be continued...
14/6 - This just isn't my kind of book, for all the reasons I already gave plus the fact that other books are calling me 100 times more insistently than this was. I've returned it to the library and won't be attempting it again. This is more a book to be owned and read every so often, rather than all at once. It's more like a reference book than a novel, despite it's complete fictionality - you go to it to look up a specific subject/item, you don't read it in order cover to cover. There was nothing wrong with the writing or characters, it's just not my kind of book.
If you go by the page numbers I'm only up to page 23, but if you go by the number of pages I've actually read it'd be more like 33. I've had to flick to the 'further reading' on all the items catalogued in the cabinet so many times that I reckon I'll have read 100 pages by the time I hit page 50. To be continued...
9/6 - I'm not sure I'm quite the right audience for this book. Half the time I don't know what's going on, I don't know what's real and what's not, who's real and who's imaginary and I'm pretty sure I'm missing hilarious 'in' jokes because, as I said I don't know what the hell's going on. To be continued...
14/6 - This just isn't my kind of book, for all the reasons I already gave plus the fact that other books are calling me 100 times more insistently than this was. I've returned it to the library and won't be attempting it again. This is more a book to be owned and read every so often, rather than all at once. It's more like a reference book than a novel, despite it's complete fictionality - you go to it to look up a specific subject/item, you don't read it in order cover to cover. There was nothing wrong with the writing or characters, it's just not my kind of book.