A review by pizzamyheart
The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke

4.0

NOTE: This book is created from the podcast Lore narrated by Aaron Mahnke. The chapters in this book corresponds to episodes in the podcast and the wording is almost identical. The major difference is that these chapters are organized by topic. There are a few illustrations, but no more than 8.

With that out of the way, let's dive into the book.

There's a reason the podcast has been such a success. It's well written, well performed and has an interesting subject matter. It covers everything from vampires, to ghosts, to possessed dolls (I'm referring to you Robert!). Even without Mahnke's narration, the book is enjoyable. How could it not be? The wording is the same as the podcast. The biggest difference is that the book reorganizes the episodes and streamlines them by topic. Some stories are hard to swallow (yes, referring to the vampires and consumption chapter), but they're still interesting.

The way I see it, you have 2 options. Listen to the podcast or read this book. In my opinion, there's no real reason to do either. They're the same. Personally, I enjoy the music and Aaron's narration for the podcast. But with a book, you can read it much faster and everything is presented in a more streamlined order. It's really a matter of which you prefer: book or podcast.

Now what about the TV show? I'd recommend watching it in addition to either the book or the podcast. Even though the stories are covered in the book/podcast seeing it portrayed by actors makes them even more gruesome. But heads up, the first two episodes (vampires and the brain surgeon) are visually hard to watch.