The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black

This is a really promising premise: Brilliant young 19th Century surgeon becomes convinced that creatures of mythology were actual once-living creatures based upon contemporary genetic mutations and birth defects "showing" dormant, archaic traits. Increasingly obsessed with the idea, when he cannot find fossil evidence, he begins to create the creatures themselves in his laboratory, using living and recently dead specimens for his experiments. While he is at it, he begins to make detailed, extensive anatomical drawings of the creatures based, he claims, on actual specimens. Increasingly obsessed and persecuted, he and his experiments disappear.

The book is divided into two sections. The first is a sort of thumbnail biography of the mysterious Dr. Black; the second is his illustrations. Both have their charms, but both fall just short of the ambitious mark they set.

The "biography" has the makings of a very good short story - the premise is good and interesting and there are some very nice details. The problem is that the very nice details are not enough to sustain momentum and the characters come across mostly as ciphers. No one really emerges to care about, and while it is interesting, it is not gripping. It is perfectly readable, but not involving.

The second part, the Codex Extinct Animalia, is a lot of fun to look at, but again, there is something that keeps it shy of being absorbing. In part, I think, it is that while the drawings are very good, they lack a certain quality that imbues the best anatomical drawings. They don't quite live, the way the best scientific drawings (19th C or contemporary) do. IN part, too, while it is interesting to see the insides, if you will, of the minotaur or harpy, these creatures may just be too familiar to us to inspire either shock or awe. I confess that my comparative anatomy is not good enough to know if there is something very clever and subtle I am missing, but I don't think so.

Much more interesting might have been early "photographs" of some of his experiments. The book certainly posits Dr. Black and his work as well-known and much viewed in his day. The technology certainly existed for their to have been accompanying photos of these marvelous and grotesque attempts at recreating (resurrecting) these mythical beings. (Thinking of what JK Potter might do with such a conceit.)

Neither fish nor foul, The Resurrectionist, is a noble try and a genuinely interesting idea. The execution just falls a little short of The Satisfactionist.

They say not to judge a book by its cover. But with the cover of "The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black," what you see is what you get.

And to be honest, the picture of a winged-humanoid skeleton, with every bone carefully catalogued, was enough to reel me into checking out this book. It's a pseudo-biography of a fictional man who devoted himself to the scientific study of ancient mythical creatures -- and while E.B. Hudspeth spins a fine fictional biography, the illustrations are what really took my breath away.

The book tells the story of Spencer Black, a 19th-century physician whose father was a grave-robbing professor of anatomy. That fascination with anatomy carried over into Black's career -- first he became fascinated by transformation in the insect world, and then by the workings of the human body. But when he encounters the corpse of a "fawn-child," his research took an unexpected turn.

After that, Dr. Black came up with a shocking, controversial theory: that mythical creatures were not only real, but were ancestors of humanity. According to him, birth defects were just those ancient genetic traits trying to resurface. So he tried to create his own "mythical" creatures by grafting together body parts from different animals -- which, unsurprisingly, the scientific community was unimpressed by.

The late 19th century is a perfect era for the fictional Dr. Black -- it was a time of massive technological advances and strange new pseudosciences. Just think of the Fiji Mermaid. So while "The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black" is an entirely fictional work, EB Hudspeth manages to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality -- you can almost believe it is a biography of a real person.

He also does an excellent job writing a pseudo-biography, exploring the events in Black's life (failed surgery, death of his children) that fueled his obsessions. Hudspeth even writes letters to/from Black, as well as a journal entry from his brother Bernard about his first, horrifying "graft."

But the most fascinating part of the book is not the fictional biography, but the "The Codex Extinct Animalia." In this, we can see beautifully detailed drawings of sphinxes, harpies, fluttering multi-finned mermaids, dragons (serpentine and regular), pegasi, and countless other mythical creatures. Not only are these the most realistic depictions of mythical creatures I have ever seen, but they are the most scientifically plausible.

Hudspeth achieves this by examining these creatures down the muscles, organs and bones, which are catalogued in painstaking detail. He even catalogues them by different orders and fictional families -- for instance, the Siren Oceanus is a member of the family Sirenidae and the genus Siren, with internal lungs covered in gills.

"The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black" is an exquisite piece of work -- a solid, sometimes horrifying pseudo-biography, followed by exquisitely realistic depictions of mythic creatures. If nothing else, read this for Hudspeth's beautiful illustrations.

The illustrations and plates in this book are wonderful, and the book is aesthetically lovely. However, the short "biography" of the fictitious Dr. Spencer Black was more than I could handle. At only 65 pages, you'd think I could manage it, but I threw up my hands (and almost my lunch) around page 46.

I'm usually game for something fairly grisly, and didn't have a problem (or so I thought) reading about grave robbers, "resurrectionists," of the 19th century. Smelly old corpses being exhumed and stolen in the middle of the night - hey, no problem.

But I absolutely cannot read about vivisection. When I got to the part about crazy Dr. Black's experiments in that arena, I couldn't go on. Yes, I know it is fiction, this particular tale, but it is so very deeply disturbing to me that I am going to have trouble washing the images out of my mind. And this is with not finishing the book. Perhaps people with stronger stomachs than mine will do better with it, but I can't imagine anyone short of a serial killer in training actually enjoying it.

Five stars for the creativity and artistry of the illustrations, but all the good is negated by the writing.

I was given a copy of this book for review.

This is an excellent read as well as a great art book as well. The first half is the biography of the fictional Dr Black; his childhood, his education, his marriage and family lif and his disection of a fawn.? Yes, a fawn. He theorizes that the semi-human creatures of legend might be evolotionary offshoots of humanity. He gets disgraced in the medical community, but turns to the side-shows to show off his "recreations" of the creatues of legend.

The second half of the book is the art of his "recreations" shown as medical diagrams of the skeleton and muscles of Mermaids, Centaurs, Chymeras, Harpies and more. I do hope we get a follow up book, there are no many other creatures they could show; Nagas, Lamias, Gryphons, etc.

If you are a Role Player, then this book would make a great prop for your game and possibly give you some ideas for new adventures as well.

The story of a madman, the life and works of Dr. Spencer Black. E.B. Hudspeth has brilliantly laid out the fictional life of Dr. Spencer Black and created such an interesting and complex character. I have to say this is the most unique book I have ever read (to date). This was written so wonderfully and in such a way that Dr. Spencer Black seemed so real. The story is so dark, mysterious, strange and intriguing and completely captivated me. There were points in the story that were so odd and strange, but worked well explaining the insanity seen in Dr. Black. I highly enjoyed the matter in which the book was laid out especially with the addition of "lost works" throughout the biography that brought to life the main character, Dr. Spencer Black. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful as well and a great addition to work alongside the story and life of Dr. Spencer Black.

Before purchasing, I expected this book to essentially be a mock version of a regular anatomy book. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it actually held a story as well. The story follows the life of Dr. S Black, who I found both easy to love, and easy to fear. The struggle this character faces, alongside of the incredible illustrations, makes it very easy for the reader to find themselves lost in the world created by the author. I highly recommend this to anyone with a taste for the more macabre side of life.

Most people will want to pick this book up purely for the art. The illustrations are are simply beautiful, and convey a sense of realism. But the story, which fulls fully a third of the book, is an enjoyable corollary to the art. It explores the fictional biography of the title character, Dr. Spencer Black, an ostracized scientist with traces of Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Moreau. This will make an excellent addition to any bookshelf or coffee table.

Reading the first half of this book I feel like I’m going over the sparknotes page of a fantastic horror story. The ideas are all there, it’s a fantastic concept, it’s gothic and engaging and it takes a turn into carnie noir before crashing into its grisly and morbid conclusion. If this was a novel, I’d love it to bits. But it’s not a novel, it’s an incredibly short read that glosses over everything it brings to the table. It’s not a biography, it’s a Wikipedia page.

And then there’s the second half of this book, beautifully drawn anatomical studies, rendered in a vaguely uncanny artstyle that fits the vibe of the book like a glove. But it’s just that, anatomical studies with a few short blurbs cast away to the side.

On a positive note, this book has left me wanting more. So that’s definitely worth something.

Wow, not knowing what to expect I was first impressed with the quality of the book, from the way the pages feel and the quality of the paper and illustrations it's simply first class from the moment I touched it.

It's history, vision, twisted and amazing all rolled up in one. Imagination, art, insane? You'll have to be the judge, I for one went from stunned to impressed and back to stunned. First class work.

1000 years from now they'll unbury a copy of this book and people will believe its an historical account. 😂