baylaurels's reviews
295 reviews

As a long-time lover of cryptids and cryptid books, it's always a treat to read a new one, especially one that introduces me to some cryptids I was not previously familiar with!

I enjoyed the art throughout the book, though I do think it would probably land better as a physical copy instead of digitally (as you lose the 2-page spread of art and text together in several places). 

I also appreciate that the author was sensitive to their position as an outsider to a lot of these legends, and the prejudices that can seep into how they are portrayed. The introduction did a good job to show the care that Quinney seems to have put into organizing the structure and stories to be respectful towards the cultures and people these stories are pulled from - I am not part of any of the groups that could really speak to the success of this, but it seems at the very least a promising attempt.

I did appreciate the inclusion of content warnings throughout for some of the more grusome stories, though I did find it a little inconsistent (death probably could have been included on 50% of them, due to the nature of a lot of cryptids). 

My only major gripe with the book is I feel like the information on a few of the cryptids was lacking - while some had multiple pages, others were limited to not even a full page, or simply described the appearance but didn't have much information on things like sightings, behavior, or stories. It is not too much of an issue if you're taking this as more of a beginners guide/overview, but I would have loved a little more info on some pages where there was already more room available on the page. Additionally, I agree with some points I've seen in other reviews that formatting some things like size or time period more consistently in a list like location was could help a little with placing some of the creatures into their context upfront. I also would have loved artist credits on the page for the guest artists - especially as some of them left comments on the page already! (They are credited fully in the back, it is just harder to flip back and forth in an e-book!)

Overall, I enjoyed it! Definitely recommend checking out a print copy to enjoy the art, and I will be researching some of the new creatures that I've learned about!

This digital ARC was provided by the publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing through NetGalley. This is an honest review.

Like many others, I have recently become obsessed with the author's other work - Delicious in Dungeon. I'm so glad I decided to branch out and try this short story collection, I really enjoyed it! 

I think one of Ryoko Kui's biggest strengths as a writer and specifically as a fantasy writer, is her creativity in world building and fresh depictions of familiar creatures. Each of these short stories were unconnected tales, covering a range of settings and magical creatures, and I think this format really let her show off these skills in her writing. Additionally, the art is fantastic. 

My favorite stories were #2 (The Mermaid Refuge) and #5 (Byakuroku the Penniless - which also had my favorite art). 

Would definitely read other short stories by this author, and recommend it to any fans of fantasy manga!

I haven't cried this hard over a book in a WHILE