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wisecraic's review
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
**I was provided an electronic ARC through NetGalley.**
Rachel Quinney presents Cryptids, Creatures & Critters, an encyclopedic collection of the aforementioned accompanied by associated illustrations. Known as EldritchRach on social media/Etsy, Quinney had a successful Kickstarter campaign for the production of this book which features their own illustrations in addition to several guest artists.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been a fan of EldritchRach for years and have made purchases through their Etsy. There was no potential for this book to not be a hit for me.
Quinney acknowledges the impacts of imperialism/colonialism on the shifting descriptions of creatures throughout folklore, mythology, and legend. The content of the book is split into creatures best described as Cryptids and those designated as Folklore creatures or Mythology creatures. The included creatures do tend toward Western origins, but Quinney did make deliberate effort to include content from diverse backgrounds. The content included is well researched and the art is beautiful, full-color, and of various artistic styles depending on which of the included artists did the illustration. In addition, the layout of the book is visually neat and appealing not just as an encyclopedic collection of creatures, but could easily function as a coffee table book.
Overall, I was glad to be able to read this book early and would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in the subject matter. Quinney understood the assignment with this book and fulfilled it beautifully with their signature style.
Rachel Quinney presents Cryptids, Creatures & Critters, an encyclopedic collection of the aforementioned accompanied by associated illustrations. Known as EldritchRach on social media/Etsy, Quinney had a successful Kickstarter campaign for the production of this book which features their own illustrations in addition to several guest artists.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been a fan of EldritchRach for years and have made purchases through their Etsy. There was no potential for this book to not be a hit for me.
Quinney acknowledges the impacts of imperialism/colonialism on the shifting descriptions of creatures throughout folklore, mythology, and legend. The content of the book is split into creatures best described as Cryptids and those designated as Folklore creatures or Mythology creatures. The included creatures do tend toward Western origins, but Quinney did make deliberate effort to include content from diverse backgrounds. The content included is well researched and the art is beautiful, full-color, and of various artistic styles depending on which of the included artists did the illustration. In addition, the layout of the book is visually neat and appealing not just as an encyclopedic collection of creatures, but could easily function as a coffee table book.
Overall, I was glad to be able to read this book early and would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in the subject matter. Quinney understood the assignment with this book and fulfilled it beautifully with their signature style.
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
4.0
Cryptids, Creatures & Critters features 90 different creatures from all around the world. Each creature’s page includes the sighting location, cute artwork of the creature, 1-2 pages of the lore behind the creature, and for some, content warnings. This book contains cryptids, and creatures from folklore and mythology.
This was an easy to read creature book with cute artwork and a brief description of the creature. After reading J. W. Ocker’s book, The United States of Cryptids, I was eager to see what this book would include, considering it features creatures from all over the world, and is not limited to cryptids. Each entry was easy to read and provided a basic description (usually 1-2 pages) of what that creature was and how it came about. This was great for someone just wanting to get a brief overview of what the creature is and made the book go by very quickly. If you are looking for more details around sightings and lore behind cryptids, I do recommend Ocker’s book.
I only have two real complaints about this book. First, a pronunciation guide for some of the names of these creatures would have been great, especially in the folklore section. Second, in the cryptid section I question why a creature named Globster is included because it’s not a creature at all, but a decaying ocean animal that has washed ashore.
Overall, if you are interested in cryptids and creatures of folklore and mythology, I highly recommend this book. It features great artwork and is easy to read so it's great for beginner creature researchers or as a great reference book.
*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
lisamchuk's review
4.0
I'm not overly familiar with cryptids et. al. so went into this book hoping to learn new tidbits and I certainly did! This is more of an encyclopedia: the entries are split into three parts (Cryptids, Folklore, and Mythology), and also includes a lengthy reference list. Each entry includes a full colour illustration, description, and geographical information. I do think the author tried to be as comprehensive as possible covering global locations and cultures. It's a very visual book, though I think it could've included even more illustrations as some pages do have larger blank spaces between entries, and a map would've been a nice addition. In some cases the descriptions were quite expansive yet others were sparse, but kudos to the author for all the information gathering as this must have been an extensive amount of research (on topics where not a lot of information is always available or reliable for obvious reasons).
I appreciated the explanation at the beginning about cultural appropriation, misrepresention, and colonialism, and thought the author did a good job at curating the inclusion of entries, including content warnings, and explaining problematic elements throughout.
This is one to buy and keep around to dip into, and could be considered a Kickstarter win for those lucky enough to back it before it was traditionally published.
Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I appreciated the explanation at the beginning about cultural appropriation, misrepresention, and colonialism, and thought the author did a good job at curating the inclusion of entries, including content warnings, and explaining problematic elements throughout.
This is one to buy and keep around to dip into, and could be considered a Kickstarter win for those lucky enough to back it before it was traditionally published.
Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
ybarrajune's review against another edition
funny
informative
fast-paced
5.0
[NetGalley ARC]
Amazing book on cryptids and creatures from folklore and mythology ALL OVER THE WORLD by a queer author and a diverse cast of talented contributing illustrators. You would want a colour e-reader for this. My only critique is I wish the notes were presented as footnotes for an easier reading experience instead of separate pages in the appendix section.
I would definitely buy the physical book for my humble home library.
Amazing book on cryptids and creatures from folklore and mythology ALL OVER THE WORLD by a queer author and a diverse cast of talented contributing illustrators. You would want a colour e-reader for this. My only critique is I wish the notes were presented as footnotes for an easier reading experience instead of separate pages in the appendix section.
I would definitely buy the physical book for my humble home library.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Cannibalism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Child death, Suicide, Sexual violence, Animal death, Death, Torture, Misogyny, Colonisation, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
jettreads's review
informative
fast-paced
3.5
This review is for an advanced reader eBook from NetGalley.
The art in this book is fantastic! There are images by the author and by guest artists. I love that there are so many images, one with each description to bring the creature, cryptid, or critter to life. I'd give it 4.5 to 5 stars for the fantastic artwork alone.
There was a lot of time and energy put into this book and it shows. There are end notes, acknowledgements of changes in the mythos given colonization and expansion, and many warnings for readers who need or prefer possible TW, though nothing is particularly detailed in graohic language.
The reading level and readability is a bit hodge-podge and piece-meal. I assume it's because the author is trying to stick to the research, but it reads as a better fit for kids or young adults (minus the content that can be TWs), giving this book for me a 3-star rating on written content. I would love more details on each of these creatures.
The art in this book is fantastic! There are images by the author and by guest artists. I love that there are so many images, one with each description to bring the creature, cryptid, or critter to life. I'd give it 4.5 to 5 stars for the fantastic artwork alone.
There was a lot of time and energy put into this book and it shows. There are end notes, acknowledgements of changes in the mythos given colonization and expansion, and many warnings for readers who need or prefer possible TW, though nothing is particularly detailed in graohic language.
The reading level and readability is a bit hodge-podge and piece-meal. I assume it's because the author is trying to stick to the research, but it reads as a better fit for kids or young adults (minus the content that can be TWs), giving this book for me a 3-star rating on written content. I would love more details on each of these creatures.
emilyyjjean's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Great illustrations and insightful information about Cryptids, Creatures & Critters!
I loved the introduction and the how to read sections at the beginning of this book; they really helped frame the information moving forward. The illustrations were great, and brought life to the information being presented. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my shelf at home.
I loved the introduction and the how to read sections at the beginning of this book; they really helped frame the information moving forward. The illustrations were great, and brought life to the information being presented. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my shelf at home.
arcadiap's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This was a really interesting compendium of cryptids! There were so many cultures represented, and it was interesting to see how similar creatures evolved in varying areas. I thought it was very helpful that nearly every entry had trigger warnings on it. That is a great addition. I found the commentary on how outside forces (usually Christianity) affected the story of the cryptid to be fascinating. Many of their stories changed dramatically with the influx of Christianity and sin doctrine. It’s also very interesting how many cultures around the world have wronged women spirits/demons who lure men to their deaths. I liked all of the images, it was very helpful to bring them to life. I will note, they look a bit weird on a kindle. They were clearly meant to be viewed in color. I will probably go back and look at them on my phone so I can enjoy them as they were meant to be.
baylaurels's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
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.
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.