I’ll need to start this one with a bit of a story – but please bear with me, it has relevance.
When I was pre-teen, I became very interested in stories of the unknown. Whether it was ghosts, unsolved murders, UFO’s or just things that were weird, I read pretty much anything I could get my hands on – the Tutankhamen ‘curse’, Jack the Ripper, Borley Rectory, you name it.
One of my favourite reads, which I almost had on permanent loan from my local library, was a hardback of the best of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. This well-read (and re-read!) book had stories of strange animals, weird weather and ghostly goings on which kept me most interested. The tales were rarely more than a couple of pages in length, told in a straightforward manner that sounded like they might just be true.
What has this got to do with Lore? Well, this might just be the up-to-date version of that book I was reading forty-odd years ago. It tells of, amongst other things, vampires (Count Dracula especially), ghosts, lost villages, ancient burial grounds, demonic possession, elves, and things that have mysteriously disappeared.
Based on a podcast, the book is a lively narrative, told in that straightforward disarming style that seemed so familiar to me. It is rather personable, told as if someone is talking to you (see those podcast origins?) and full of casual phrases and mannerisms that will either endear or annoy.
Reflecting its origins, most (though not all) of the camp-fire style tales are American in source, which is perhaps to be expected. (I must admit that to my younger self, with the Ripley’s, that wasn’t a problem – if anything, it inspired me to look at places beyond my hometown, which led to… a future career.)
As with the Ripley’s, most of the stories in Lore are a page or two in length. There’s a lot of crafty hooks to lure you in – chapters that begin “Hollywood is obsessed.” or “No one wants to die.” are bound to keep the reader interested.
Throughout, the text is appropriately illustrated in shades of black and white by M S Corley – like the text, they’re not too scary, and made me think more of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey than Gahan Wilson.
In short, this is an entertaining book, enigmatic and yet also light on the depth and generally cheerful in tone that, any youngster (like me as a young adult), will absorb like a sponge. This would be a great one to read aloud at Hallowe’en, I think. And, as it will soon be a TV series on Amazon Prime, this would be a great book to get youngsters engaged in reading before the series starts.
The World of Lore, Volume 1: Mysterious Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
Published by Wildfire, October 2017
320 pages
Review by Mark Yon
I love LORE by Aaron Mahnke and listen to it when I run or hike, if I’m by myself. Thanks for the article and the reminder the book is out!
Not a problem: thank you for the Thank You, Mary. I had heard of the podcast, but not heard the podcast before I read the book.(I am catching up with it now, though.) It’s not as well known here in the UK as it is in the USA, although with the Amazon series soon to appear, I suspect that will soon change.