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Book Review of The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases

althea avatar reviewed on + 774 more book reviews


A very strange volume allegedly a guide, as the title states, to bizarre diseases, this book has contributions from some of the top names in the business (Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, China Mieville, Kage Baker, etc), but the entries arent really (quite) stories
Each author has made up a disease, syndrome or ailment, and prepared a short (most are 2-4 pages) entry regarding this ailment, its history and symptoms. The imaginary diseases range from the funny to the truly disturbing and grotesque. Although it purports to be a current edition, the aesthetics of the book are definitely 19th-century, and inspiration (and illustrations) are definitely taken from the medical texts of that time.

Entertaining, but a bit repetitive after a while, since theres no connection between segments, or narrative.