Wednesday, 11 June 2008 08:43 pm
(no subject)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deckardcanineI'm not finished with Carol K. Mack and Diane Mack's A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits, but I've read more than enough to form an opinion of it.
The subject appeals on many levels: imaginative fantasy, cultural history, fables, societal comparison and contrast, religious influence, sheer trivia. Sometimes it's a bit scary. Some of the lore is engagingly action-packed, especially in Hindu mythology. Most of the subversive spirits, whether species or named individuals, have been unfamiliar to me. Certain themes are likely to work their way into some future writing of mine. In a way, it's great for broadening understanding.
That said, it's not a great book for reading for a long consecutive period. The encyclopedic, episodic format is a big reason for that problem. So is the subject matter. Sure, it looks pretty cheery next to the Lovecraft collection I finished right before starting this book, particularly since every spirit has an exploitable weakness -- some of them comically doofy -- but we're still talking about a perceived real world where malicious or at least temperamental and dangerous spirits show up at every turn, even sometimes in your head. There's only so much fun to be had in that thought.
My one other complaint is that the organization of the book could use a little work. It makes sense to categorize the spirits by habitat (e.g., mountain, ocean, domicile), but beyond that, the order of spirits in each chapter seems random. Each spirit gets an introduction, and most get subsections titled "Lore" and "Disarming & Dispelling Techniques." This is fine except that there's a lot of spillover among the subsections, which suggests sloppy editing to me. It's also not always obvious whether the spirit in question is considered a demon, a fairy, or what. All nitpicks, I know.
I'm reviewing this now because I'm afraid of forgetting to share some interesting parts later. One example of a somewhat fearsome yet moronic demon is the Palis. It is said to sneak up on sleepers in the Arabian desert and lick the soles of their feet until they bleed to death in their sleep. You can repel it with salt, but the best known method is to travel in even-numbered groups and sleep in pairs with your soles pressed together. The Palis will circle the "two-headed human" ad nauseam in a vain search for soles, finally departing at dawn.
Perhaps a more fun example is the better-known Kappa of Japan (whom I recall seeing in a not-so-evil capacity in Final Fantasy VI, but whatever). One of its defining features is a head crater filled with a magical fluid. Bow repeatedly, and the Kappa will bow back until all the fluid has spilled out, leaving it powerless. As my dad said after chuckling, "Only in Japan!"
My favorite part of the included Hindu lore pertained to Mahisha-Asura. The story starts with the demon meditating long enough to earn a boon from Brahma. Knowing that he can't directly ask for immortality, he asks to live until he is defeated by a woman, thinking that'll never happen. As soon as I read that, I thought, "I'm going to love this story."
The demon who inspired me to write this post today (no, the devil didn't make me do it) is actually part of Judeo-Christian legend in Armenia. While there is nothing funny about his murderous nature, I was immediately struck by his species name: the Al. Legend has it that St. Peter met one and asked him to identify himself. I said "Oh no" when I read the response: "Call me Al." Baaaa-bop, bop, bop... baaaa-bop, bop, ba-bop...
The subject appeals on many levels: imaginative fantasy, cultural history, fables, societal comparison and contrast, religious influence, sheer trivia. Sometimes it's a bit scary. Some of the lore is engagingly action-packed, especially in Hindu mythology. Most of the subversive spirits, whether species or named individuals, have been unfamiliar to me. Certain themes are likely to work their way into some future writing of mine. In a way, it's great for broadening understanding.
That said, it's not a great book for reading for a long consecutive period. The encyclopedic, episodic format is a big reason for that problem. So is the subject matter. Sure, it looks pretty cheery next to the Lovecraft collection I finished right before starting this book, particularly since every spirit has an exploitable weakness -- some of them comically doofy -- but we're still talking about a perceived real world where malicious or at least temperamental and dangerous spirits show up at every turn, even sometimes in your head. There's only so much fun to be had in that thought.
My one other complaint is that the organization of the book could use a little work. It makes sense to categorize the spirits by habitat (e.g., mountain, ocean, domicile), but beyond that, the order of spirits in each chapter seems random. Each spirit gets an introduction, and most get subsections titled "Lore" and "Disarming & Dispelling Techniques." This is fine except that there's a lot of spillover among the subsections, which suggests sloppy editing to me. It's also not always obvious whether the spirit in question is considered a demon, a fairy, or what. All nitpicks, I know.
I'm reviewing this now because I'm afraid of forgetting to share some interesting parts later. One example of a somewhat fearsome yet moronic demon is the Palis. It is said to sneak up on sleepers in the Arabian desert and lick the soles of their feet until they bleed to death in their sleep. You can repel it with salt, but the best known method is to travel in even-numbered groups and sleep in pairs with your soles pressed together. The Palis will circle the "two-headed human" ad nauseam in a vain search for soles, finally departing at dawn.
Perhaps a more fun example is the better-known Kappa of Japan (whom I recall seeing in a not-so-evil capacity in Final Fantasy VI, but whatever). One of its defining features is a head crater filled with a magical fluid. Bow repeatedly, and the Kappa will bow back until all the fluid has spilled out, leaving it powerless. As my dad said after chuckling, "Only in Japan!"
My favorite part of the included Hindu lore pertained to Mahisha-Asura. The story starts with the demon meditating long enough to earn a boon from Brahma. Knowing that he can't directly ask for immortality, he asks to live until he is defeated by a woman, thinking that'll never happen. As soon as I read that, I thought, "I'm going to love this story."
The demon who inspired me to write this post today (no, the devil didn't make me do it) is actually part of Judeo-Christian legend in Armenia. While there is nothing funny about his murderous nature, I was immediately struck by his species name: the Al. Legend has it that St. Peter met one and asked him to identify himself. I said "Oh no" when I read the response: "Call me Al." Baaaa-bop, bop, bop... baaaa-bop, bop, ba-bop...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
...man goes walkin' down the street...