Dr. Bob Curran: Encyclopedia of the Undead
Dear Dr. Curran,
Are werewolves undead, or are they alive? Is the Baba Yaga an undead creature, when she was never a living person? Is the Golem undead, when its very life comes from sorcery and incantation? Is H.P. Lovecraft undead? Or did he ever write about undead creatures?
In short, I believe your Encyclopedia of the Undead was misnamed. Less than half of the book is about undead creatures, unless you define "undead" as "alive". It's more an Encyclopedia of Horror Mythology. As such, you wrote a detailed and interesting book. Your monsters aren't in alphabetical order but grouped by cultures and times, which makes the book a quick and informative read. Definitely some inspiration for the aspiring fantasy writer. But on second glance, it turns disappointing. Twice so from an author with a "Dr." in front of his name.
Why? If you used any sources, you decided not to list them. For lack of a scapegoat, I must believe it was you who butchered all those German book and film titles ("Nosfertu, eine symphonie des gruens", page 63), turned the Caucasus into "the Caucus Mountains" or "the Caucuses" (both on p. 287), mis-transcribed and mistranslated Кощей Бессмертный (same page) and so on. Since all the chapters about Europe need double-checking, how far can I trust the rest? Could I base a fantasy novel on some of your information, or would I embarass myself with misspelled moster names?
On page 240, you have a creature that half of time you call "Ulagu", half of the time "Ugalu". Which is it, Dr. Curran? And a certain writer is "Lafacio Hearn" on page 299, "Lafcadio Hearn" on the following page. Wikipedia says the second is right. Almost every name in the book has two or more versions. Sometimes each of them lacks some letter or has one too many. Forgive the personal question, Dr. Curran, but are you dyslexic? If so, why didn't you get somebody to proofread and double-check your work? Ah, but you did work with an editor, it says so on the copyright page. Either she didn't notice how people and monsters change names on every other page throughout the Encyclopedia, or you ignored all her red marks in the manuscript. The result is frustrating me. When I read an encyclopedia, I want reliable information. If I have to ask Wikipedia about everything, I might as well keep browsing there.
Yours sincerely
Christina Widmann de Fran
Encyclopedia of the Undead: A Field Guide to Creatures that Cannot Rest in Peace by Dr. Bob Curran
published in 2006 with New Page Books
ISBN: 1-56414-841-6
Available on Amazon.co.uk.
