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Monday, February 25, 2013

"Uzumaki" Vol. 1, 2, & 3 by Junji Ito

Vol. 1

Synopsis - (from goodreads.com)

KurÔzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of KurÔzu-cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return.




Vol.2

Synopsis - (from goodreads.com)

KurÔzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. But the spirit which haunts it does not have a name or a body, only a shape: uzumaki the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It possessed the father of teenage Kirie's withdrawn boyfriend Shuichi, causing him to remake himself in its image before he died. It grows in ferns, in seashells, in curls of hair, and in the crooked folds of the human brain. Giant snails are sighted near the high school. An eerie glow shines from the abandoned lighthouse. Mosquitoes fly in drowsy curves and feed on blood. As more people are caught in the pattern, over the town of KurÔzu-cho hangs the spiral smoke of cremated corpses; because even in death, there is no escape..




Vol.3

Synopsis - (from goodreads.com)

With their town devastated by titanic hurricanes, the citizens of the spiral-haunted town of Kurôzu-cho--including Shuichi, Kirie and her family--find themselves cut off from the outside world. Reporters and rescue teams cross the mountain range into Kurôzu-cho only to find themselves unable to leave. Trapped inside the cursed ruins, the desperate survivors struggle and huddle together, waiting to run into giant snails or worse. The very laws of nature are changed as the spiral sucks them in. And to fight it, or to escape, the last survivors must go to the heart of the horror to witness what may be their eventual fate..

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Rating - 4 out of 5

Genre - Sequential Art, Manga, Horror

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~Review for Uzumaki, Vol. 1, 2, & 3~

The only reason this book (series) was given 4 stars was because of the artwork. This series was suggested to me by some people on Tumblr. They said it was "really scary" and freaked them out. I asked if it was really scary or just little kid scary. I was promised a really, truly, scary, horror story. 

Once again I have been deceived and let down by what others perceive as "horror". 

This is in no way scary. It is a very interesting story, do not get me wrong. I liked the story, but the artwork outmatched the merry-go-round of stories. The artwork is beautiful!

I recommend this book to the youngsters out there who like Japanese horror stories.


"Trolley No. 1852" by Edward Lee



Synopsis - (from goodreads.com)

In 1934, horror writer H.P. Lovecraft is invited to write a story for a subversive underground magazine, all on the condition that a pseudonym will be used. The pay is lofty, and God knows, Lovecraft needs the money. There's just one catch. It has to be a pornographic story . . . All Aboard Trolley No. 1852 Through the midnight bowels of New York City, the trolley travels. Admitting only a special sort of passenger, and taking them to a very select destination . . . The 1852 Club is a bordello unlike any other. Its women are the most beautiful in the whole city and they will do anything. But there is something else going on at this sex club. In the back rooms monsters are performing vile acts on each other and doors to other dimensions are opening . . .

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Rating - 4 out of 5

Genre - Splatterpunk, Horror

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I love Edward Lee. He is one of my favorite authors. This book just continues with the grotesque and weird that I have come to adore from Lee. It takes you on a trippy journey that some may not be ready to venture. I loved each and every character in this book. Yes, I may be gushing a bit, so what. I, in some strange way, related to them all. I love characters that I can relate to in a bizarre way. 

If you are looking for a review with a rundown of what happened, I am not your chick to get reviews from. I simply give my opinions of the book and what I have read. That is why I post a synopsis on my blog!

I do recommend this book for Edward Lee fans. If you cannot handle gore and twisted imagination, this is a never-read.


"The Menstruating Mall" by Carlton Mellick III



Synopsis - (from goodreads.com)

Ten ridiculously stereotypical consumer victims (a yuppie, a housewife, a retiree, a jock, a bible thumper, a cowboy, a preppy, a gamer, a goth, and a white suburban gangsta) find themselves unable to leave the mall one day. There is nothing stopping them. The doors are unlocked. Other shoppers are able to come and go as they please. But for some inexplicable reason, these ten people cannot pry themselves away from their shopping miasma. The mall closes, and they won't leave. Days pass, and they're still there, eating meals in the food court and sleeping in department store bedroom displays. Then they begin to die off, one by one, murdered by a mysterious killer, and they still won't allow themselves to escape.

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Rating - 2 out of 5

Genre - Horror, Comedy (Sci-Fi)

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What did I think? That is a good question. I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I understand Mellick's prose, but this story just did not do it for me. As some reviews I have read compared it to the "Breakfast Club", well, yes it is true with a horror twist. I was pretty much bored with the story after a few pages. The ending simply made my eyes roll so far back I almost saw an alternate universe looming around. Suffice it to say I may or may not give Mellick another try. I did enjoy The Cannibals of Candyland. I shall see how I feel in a few months.

As for recommending this book to anyone, well, if you like The Breakfast Club and are willing to sit through a bunch of whiny people trying to figure out how to leave a mall, then read it. It bored me to tears and did not see much horror in it as I would have liked. I really hesitated to call it "horror" under the genre, but that is what they classify it as.