The Resurrectionist - Review

Author: E.B. Hudspeth

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Hardback

Pages: 208

This has been on my TBR for too long. I've even picked it up a couple of times, started it, and never finished. I've come to be a big believer in putting books down if I'm not feeling them, or in the mood. This is a book where there doing that did me a favor. I'm also really glad I waited for a physical copy. There are so many little details I feel might have gotten lost in an e-reader format.

What originally drew me to this book is the mad scientist aspect of the story. I'm such a sucker for this trope that it always grabs my attention. The other piece that artwork that is attached to the story. I always love when books get to add sketches of the characters and creatures between the pages. While I have a great imagination. It's always nice to see what all those pieces look like from the author's perspective. 

The story itself is told years after the events occur as a sort of unofficial biography of Dr. Black and his descent into madness. This story is told through letters and journal entries, as well as newspaper clippings and word of mouth from those that knew Dr. Black or saw his shows. It's a quick short story of this man's life and brilliance, but it does leave a lot of questions unanswered. And, while that is annoying I didn't feel unsatisfied at the end of the book. Most of these questions could be answered but by Dr. Black himself, and since he went missing it makes sense these holes in the story will be there. So plot holes, but with purpose.

The Resurrectionist is also a book inside of the book. Not only does it contain the history of Dr. Black, but it includes the book he was working on about these mythical creatures he supposedly encountered on his travels. This is where the artwork comes into play because Dr. Black sketched all of these creatures and their musculature, as well as wrote a little about each creature how it came to be. 

As a whole, this is a fun and quick read. The biography at the start of the book is a wild ride, and it's not hard to fit a man like Dr. Black in that period of the Freak Shows and Circus Acts. I devoured the first half of the story watching this man slowly lose himself into madness. Hoping to see how and why all of this came to be.

The art attached to the second half of the book was brilliant. I went through each page slowly to take in each page and all the work the author put on each page. The time it took for each of these pages blows my mind. Which why I'm glad I read the physical copy of this, to be able to take in the details.

All-in-all I enjoyed this book and I'm glad I finally got around to reading this one!

HAPPY READING!!