Book Review: Ghosts of the Tsunami

Ghosts of the Tsunami

Writer:                          Richard LLoyd Parry

Publisher:                      Jonathan Cape

Type:                              Hard Cover

Pages:                             251

Genre:                            non-fiction

Published:                      2017

ISBN:                             9781911214182

 This is a handsome hardcover, the dust jacket has a shinny wave very reminiscent of The Great Wave of Kanagawa. Under the dust cover is a nice blue tome with metallic silver title on the spine. There a five maps at the beginning which are very helpful, and some black and white pictures. The book ends with extensive notes and index.

 I will note right upfront this book isn't as advertised. I pre ordered this book based on the description on a bookstore website.  It was described as an exploration of the paranormal events encountered after the 2011 Japan Tsunami. But while the book does indeed address some of the paranormal, that certainly is not the main focus of the work.

 It isn't until eight chapters in that we really get a good look at some paranormal activity. But the work is fascinating anyway. It examines the Tsunami and its effect on the people. The book deals especially with one school that lost many children. 
 The book examines grief, politics, law, precognitive dreams, possession, ancestor worship, all in relation to the Tsunami.

 Despite the book not being what i expected, i did really enjoy it. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Tsunami, grief and survival. It really doesn't deal with enough paranormal activity to highly recommend it to the parapsychologist unless your also interested in the non paranormal aspects of the Tsunami. 

 I really do wish someone would write a book on the paranormal activity related to the Tsunami. 

Review: The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons 

A field guide to Japanese Yokai

 

 

Author:                               Matthew Meyer

Publisher:                            Self Published (Kickstarter)

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   219

Genre:                                  non-fiction

Published:                            2012

ISBN:                                   13-978-0-9852184-0-9

 This book has an aged hardcover look to the cover but is indeed softcover. The black writing on the dark cover makes the title difficult to read at a glance. The book itself is ten inches tall, seven inches wide and a little over half an inch thick.
 The pages inside look aged and this makes the book look very cool. Every other page is a amazing full colour picture of the Yokai in question. The other page being a short description of the Yokai.

 Every description has the Yokai's name, its English translation, some alternative names that the Yokai goes by, its habitat and diet. Then there is a description of the Yokai divided into Appearance, behavior, interactions, origin and legends headings.While you may be able to find the information on the Yokai from many sources the authors artwork is truly beautiful.

  
 And sadly it is in the descriptions that this work is let down, there are so many grammar issues within this book that i honestly feel i paid too much for it. It felt like it had not been proof read or had perhaps gone through a last minute auto-edit that messed with the context of many sentences. It is readable but if your a real stickler for grammar this might not be the book for you. It is a real shame because this book looks great and the art is fantastic.

 The back of the book has references, bibliography and an index (which gives incorrect page numbers), its also where i discovered that this book was produced via kickstarter crowdfunding. I was not aware of this when i purchased it and also hadn't seen any reviews describing the extent of the grammatical errors. However i also haven't seen a book on Yokai (in English) that is as beautifully illustrated.

 I really want to love this book, it is a good reference, even just for the illustrations, but is let down by the grammar errors and the exorbitant price i paid for my copy.
 I would recommend this book for those interested in the Paranormal, Cryptozoological, or mythological if you are not too concerned with grammar and if you can find it at a reasonable price.
 Also note that my only copy is the 2012 edition, and that there was a revised edition released in 2015 that may address the grammar issues. If you have an updated copy please feel free to comment and let us know.

Book Review: The Sacred Science of Ancient Japan; Avery Morrow

The Sacred Science of Ancient Japan

Lost Chronicles of the Age of the Gods

Authors:                                Avery Morrow

Design:                                  Virginia Scott Bowman

Publisher:                             Bear & Company          

Type:                                     TPB

Pages:                                    214

Genre:                                   Nonfiction

Published:                            2014

ISBN:                                    978-1-59143-170-1

Source:                                 Independently purchased 

*

"The first English translation and examination of secret Japanese writings dating from the paleolithic to classical eras."

The book itself is well produced, and it has some photos, pictures and diagrams scattered throughout. I didn't notice any spelling or grammatical errors.

The book is a good read for those interested in alternate history, or parahistory as the author calls it. It delves into the rediscovered ancient writing from an earlier age, and things can get a little out there. However its a good kind of out there, it really kind of reinforces that old quote;

"History is written by the victors"

 unknown origin

I really don't want to spoil any of the surprises these history's have in stall for the reader. Suffice to say there are magical flying ships and ninjas!

I have to applaud the author for using the correct non-religious terminology when dealing with calender year naming.

BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current Era. This used to be written as BC.

CE is the abbreviation for Common Era (also Current Era). This used to be written as AD.

*I should note that i would have scored this book higher if i were a little more familiar with Japanese history and language. While the auther does a commendable job in catching the reader up, i still felt a little lost at times. I would add a half star each, if you have a intense interest in Japanese history, if you love alternate history's, if you are fascinated by all things Japanese, or if you have a basic knowledge of Japanese writing.

It was a good read, and very interesting i don't think i am the target reader though.

Avery Morrow has published his research into Asian folk traditions in many academic journals and he has a blog.