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3 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Dance The Ghost With Me. . . .
21 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
To distill an entire subculture into one book isn't any easy task. In the case of "Encyclopedia Gothica," it's even harder as Goths are constantly asking the question "What is Goth ?" and reinventing the definition. Surely, there will be at least one Goth who reads this book and exclaims "They included Band X ?! They're not Goth !" or "Why wasn't Band Y included ? They're G.A.F.!" (Exclamation #2 was my refrain when I discovered that the band This Ascension was missing an entry. By the way, if you don't know what G.A.F. is, you need this book.)
Nevertheless, the author does an admirable job of including the right stuff and leaving out the superfluous. Enduring Goth stuff and stuff that Goths have loved forever (Sisters of Mercy; Kambriel, the fashion designer; Hammer Horror films; Snakebite cocktails, etc.) are included while flash-in-the-pan micro-trends and the promising-but-too-new are not. (Sorry, Coilhouse magazine.)
What elevates Encyclopedia Gothica above other reference works are the wry opinions of the author. With typical Goth snarkiness, what could have been a dry reference work becomes much more entertaining, even if you don't agree with the author's viewpoints. (Personally, I didn't think Winona Ryder was all that bad in "Bram Stoker's Dracula," although she was upstaged by Sadie Frost. )
In any case, Encyclopedia Gothica, in short order, has earned a place on my bookshelf right next to my copies of Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil" and Voltaire's "What Is Goth ?" and "Paint It Black: The Guide To Gothic Homemaking." All dark hearts should get a copy. . . .
Nevertheless, the author does an admirable job of including the right stuff and leaving out the superfluous. Enduring Goth stuff and stuff that Goths have loved forever (Sisters of Mercy; Kambriel, the fashion designer; Hammer Horror films; Snakebite cocktails, etc.) are included while flash-in-the-pan micro-trends and the promising-but-too-new are not. (Sorry, Coilhouse magazine.)
What elevates Encyclopedia Gothica above other reference works are the wry opinions of the author. With typical Goth snarkiness, what could have been a dry reference work becomes much more entertaining, even if you don't agree with the author's viewpoints. (Personally, I didn't think Winona Ryder was all that bad in "Bram Stoker's Dracula," although she was upstaged by Sadie Frost. )
In any case, Encyclopedia Gothica, in short order, has earned a place on my bookshelf right next to my copies of Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil" and Voltaire's "What Is Goth ?" and "Paint It Black: The Guide To Gothic Homemaking." All dark hearts should get a copy. . . .
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Haunting
28 Sep 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a beautifully presented, lovingly-written account of the who's who, what's what, origins, and history of the Gothic arts. Less "Goth for Dummies" than a well-organized and comprehensive guide to the wonderfully dark underworld by one who has obviously lived it. The lovely cover art makes this a great (Halloween) gift for your favourite night person. It would fell right at home on the shelf amongst the Poppy Z. Brite and Ann Rice or displayed on the mantle or coffee table.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Another bore for "Gothdom" by another self-entertained author.
9 April 2012
Format:Hardcover
Not even worth the waste of brain while while you read it for free during your wait at the blood-draw clinic. One of these days someone will actually produce a timeless work (note: this Encyclopedia is already more outdated than the 1911 Britannica) that treats the Gothic-influenced *movement* (medieval Gothic Architecture and its acoustic spaces, lightscaping, and psycholgical influence was the primary artistic root influence) in the arts and pop culture with keen intellect that doesn't reduce it to triviality and a trite reflection on one's own celebrity opinion from within the 'scene'. Oh but wait! Someone already came close with Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin! Meanwhile, I must point to a seemingly unrelated, but even better book which will provide one with an understanding of ANY movement's inability to define itself: On the Boundaries of American Evangelicalism: The Postwar Evangelical Coalition. Jon Stone's analysis of the American Evangelical movement from a social structural model provides plenty of example and reflection for Goths to better understand the inability to define themselves and the constant battle to set boundaries to the outer limits of "Gothdom" [ahem]. But please, NO MORE GOTH ENCYCLOPEDIAS, A-to-Zs, or How-to-Be-A-Goth Guides! Let it be!
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