REVIEW: Welcome to Your Body: Lessons in Evisceration by Ryan Marie Ketterer

Synopsis

Each limb tells a story. Every organ shares a secret.

A woman saves the leg of her dead child. A man leaps from soul to soul, trying to find a pure heart. Uteri wander, skin peels back, and human bodies liquify all over this world.

Slice into the anatomy of this collection to discover all the unseen horrors the human body can deliver.

Brand new stories from Alex Wolfgang, Ai Jiang, Mary Rajotte, Julie Sevens, Christopher O'Halloran, Sasha Brown, Bridget D. Brave, Taylor Ketterer, Demi-Louise Blackburn, Lindsey Ragsdale, Emma E. Murray, Johnathon Heart, P.L. McMillan, Rachel Searcey, Bryan Young, Kai Delmas, and David Worn, with a foreword from Paula D. Ashe.

Format 234 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 28, 2024 by Salt Heart Press

About the Author

Ryan Marie Ketterer is from Malden, Massachusetts. Her work can be found in anthologies from Dark Peninsula Press and Dark Pine Publishing. She’s a fan of the weird and uncanny, and her writing draws most of its influence from the works of Shirley Jackson and Thomas Ligotti. When she isn't writing stories, Ryan is writing code for a software startup in Boston, MA or training for another road race. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @RyanMarie47. 

My Thoughts

Welcome to Your Body is a collection of short stories in the "body horror" genre. I did not know that this was a thing! "Body horror" is horror that involves the human body. Anything horrifying, cringe-worthy, or downright disgusting that you can think of that revolves around the human body would be "body horror".

I was reticent going into this and not sure what to expect. I knew I'd read body horror before but didn't realize that it had a special classification and was a "thing". I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

What I found was a girl battling the tooth fairy for her teeth.

How much money did the Tooth Fairy have? Where did it get it? What would it do once I'd surrendered all of my teeth? I imagined going even deeper. Taking my fingers, bone by bone. Maybe it would never be done collecting me.

A mother who keeps the leg of her dead child. A woman who finds her own body decaying. 

A sense of peace overwhelmed Rachel. The idea of dying became petty, a fear born entirely of ego. This was the way of things. Whatever she lay on would be gone soon, but there would remain something else, the writhing mass of insects that would eventually be eaten away by another, then another, then another, transforming it into itself again and again until the endless, hollow march of decay wore it away to nothing.

A man who becomes an Ouroboros. I especially loved this reference since my first tattoo was of an ouroboros, and it's rare that you hear it referenced. If you don't know what an ouroboros is, it is a snake or dragon eating its own tail forming either a circle or a figure 8.

But by far my favorite was Vincent is a Poseur Asshole. Equal amounts irreverent and revolting, this was a great finale for this collection of stories. 

My final word: This is a short story collection, so there are varying writing styles, and there are going to be some stories that you like more than others. It wound up being even better than I'd anticipated. Many of the stories had a real "literary" feel-- well-written, probing, surprisingly developed for some quite brief stories. Overall, I enjoyed this collection and found it adequately creepy and at times thought provoking.

Pre-order Now from the Publisher:

Salt Heart Press

Warnings:

Contains graphic death and decay, sexual references, violence.

My Rating:

---

The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida.

I received a copy of this book to review through Book Sirens. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.  

REVIEW: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Synopsis
for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.


Paperback, 815 pages for the complete book (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy only is 143 pages)
Published April 30th 2002 by Del Rey/Ballantine Books (first published 1992)
ISBN  0345453743 (ISBN13: 9780345453747)


About the Author
from Goodreads

Douglas Noël Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Hitchhiker's began on radio, and developed into a "trilogy" of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a comic book series, a computer game, and a feature film that was completed after Adams' death. The series has also been adapted for live theatre using various scripts; the earliest such productions used material newly written by Adams. He was known to some fans as Bop Ad (after his illegible signature), or by his initials "DNA".

In addition to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams wrote or co-wrote three stories of the science fiction television series Doctor Who and served as Script Editor during the seventeenth season. His other written works include the Dirk Gently novels, and he co-wrote two Liff books and Last Chance to See, itself based on a radio series. Adams also originated the idea for the computer game Starship Titanic, which was produced by a company that Adams co-founded, and adapted into a novel by Terry Jones. A posthumous collection of essays and other material, including an incomplete novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.

His fans and friends also knew Adams as an environmental activist and a lover of fast cars, cameras, the Macintosh computer, and other "techno gizmos".

Toward the end of his life he was a sought-after lecturer on topics including technology and the environment.

Check out the author's blog


My Thoughts

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Town/Environment:

This book takes place...you know... in space...

By NASA, ESA, and R. Humphreys (University of Minnesota) (HubbleSite) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A human unwittingly winds up a galactic hitchhiker, and of course meeting lots of aliens along the way. An absolutely crazy story, at times babbling gibberish and at other times you feel as if you almost have genius within your grasp, but are frantically grabbing air as you try to catch yourself. It's okay. Just go with it.

There were lots of little passages that made me chuckle, or perhaps just cock my head in wonder...

Time blossomed and shrank away. The highest prime number coalesced quietly in a corner and hid itself away forever. (page 56)

Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now. (page 91)

...they discovered only a small asteroid inhabited by a solitary old man who claimed repeatedly that nothing was true, though he was later discovered to be lying. (page 100)

And this book introduced me to what may become my favorite book passage of all times...

Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the Universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning" four of his audience died of internal hemorrhaging, and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos is reported to have been "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his twelve-book epic entitled My Favorite Bathtime Gurgles when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save life and civilization, leaped straight up through his neck and throttled his brain. (page 45)

My final word: This book sort of makes me think of Saturday Night Live. I heard that Jeremy Renner called Jon Hamm for advice on appearing on the show. Jon Hamm suggested that Renner simply let loose and go with it. You can't take yourself too seriously or be self-conscious, or it just won't work and will come off awkward and uncomfortable. Just give into the childishness. This book is like that. An utterly ridiculous and preposterous story with moments of childish brilliance. A fun ride, and I look forward to the rest of the collection.

Buy Now:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Cover: A
Writing Style: A
Characters: A
Storyline/Plot: B+
Interest/Uniqueness: A+

My Rating (for the first book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy):

Disclaimer:

The book I am reading is The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is the entire Hitchhiker collection, but I am reviewing it book by book.

TLC BOOK TOUR and REVIEW: Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury

Synopsis

"What do you imagine when you hear the name" . . . Bradbury?

You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze . . . or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect . . . "almost."

Ray Bradbury--peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors--is a literary giant whose remarkable career has spanned seven decades. Now twenty-six of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.

Paperback, 464 pages

Published July 10th 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks

ISBN  0062122681 (ISBN13: 9780062122681)

My Thoughts

Normally when I do a "review", one of the first things that I do is to introduce the author and their bio. However this book is a collection of short stories, a book of many authors. But all of those authors are serving tribute to a man they all respect. Ray Bradbury. So I thought this time I would instead talk a little bit about the man that this book honors.

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was a well-respected author in the fantasy, horror and mystery fiction genres. Credited with writing 27 novels and over 600 short stories, Bradbury is most well-known for his novel Fahrenheit 451, and for his story collections in The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man. A number of his works were adapted to film, including Fahrenheit 451, and a short story titled I Sing the Body Electric, which was adapted for the 100th episode of The Twilight Zone.

My first thought at looking at the book cover is that it has a very "Ray Bradbury" feel. Cartoonish drawings of spacemen and radios and circus tents and hieroglyphics and bones. It's fun, creepy, quietly alluding to the stories held between the covers.

The book is a collection of 27 short stories by well-known authors like Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, Audrey Niffenegger, and one of my favorites, Robert McCammon. They each pay tribute by offering up a short story "inspired" by Ray Bradbury. Each story includes a little postscript explaining the idea behind the story, or to expound on what Bradbury has meant to them and how he has inspired them.

Author Dan Chaon tells of how he wrote as a 12-year-old to Bradbury about his dreams of being a writer, and that this began decade-long relationship during which he would send Bradbury his writings and Bradbury would critique them and encourage him. Their relationship came to an end after Chaon went to college, and upon learning of this Bradbury chastised him in a letter:

"Why are you going to college? If you aren't careful, it will cut across your writing time, stop your writing stories. Is that what you want? Think. Do you want to be a writer for a lifetime? What will you take in college that will help you be a writer?"

Bradbury's attitude regarding college seems well documented. Even Wikipedia states:

He told The Paris Review, "You can’t learn to write in college. It’s a very bad place for writers because the teachers always think they know more than you do—and they don’t." 

Unfortunately I am only about halfway through this collection of short stories, but so far I am really enjoying it! There are some really intriguing ideas hidden in these stories. "The Girl in the Funeral Parlor" begs the question: What if you met the love of your life after they had died, and you missed your chance with them? "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" is a sweet and sad story of childhood. I loved the innocence of childhood friends Gail and Joel. "Little America" was another favorite, keeping you guessing, trying to sort out just what is going on. I have to agree with what the author Chaon was told by Bradbury though. Bradbury told him that the story was too short.

"It is an idea in search of conflict, but you are close to finding a short story-- some nice ideas there. Develop them!"

I felt the same way about this story. It just left me filled with questions. It opened the door onto a great story without letting me come inside and experience it.

The editors refer in their introduction to a form of storytelling known as "shadow theater", which is as they state:

"...an art from which this anthology derives its name. Utilizing paper cutouts held between a light source and a translucent screen, shadow puppetry dates back more than two thousand years...And like the fantastic modern myths of Bradbury himself, shadow theater also portrayed fantastic stories of fable and folklore. It's moving figures became shadowy metaphors for ancient myths and modern truths..."

What a perfect way to describe these short stories!

Ironically even though Ray Bradbury just passed away June 5, 2012, this collection includes an introduction by him. He was well aware of this tribute collection and refers to himself as the Papa welcoming all of his children home to the reunion.

My final word:  The title of this collection is very apropos. You do have the feeling when you read these stories that you are watching shadows, blurry figures dancing on a paper screen. How funny that illusion and allusion are so close in terms, because within these pages they are lovers, blending and melding and becoming one. I happily recommend this book to all fans of sci-fi, horror, and everything Ray Bradbury!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this tour:

Check out the master schedule for the book tour:

Thursday, July 19th: A Reader of Fictions
Monday, July 23rd: The Blog of Lit Wits
Tuesday, July 24th: the state that i am in
Wednesday, July 25th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
Friday, July 27th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Monday, July 30th: The Road to Here
Tuesday, July 31st: Between the Covers
Thursday, August 2nd: Tiffany’s Bookshelf
Monday, August 6th: The Ranting Dragon
Tuesday, August 7th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Wednesday, August 8th: Shall Write
Thursday, August 9th: Book Addict Katie
Monday, August 13th: Cold Read


My Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.