Friday, 8 November 2024

Happy Birthday Book of Beasts!

Just over a year ago my study of the TV series Beasts was published by Headpress. Following an amazing book launch at the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, attended by Beasts actor Jane Wymark and Nigel Kneale experts Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray, reviews started to come in.

To mark the book's birthday I've collated some of the reviews below.

Rodd Lott reviewed the book for the website Flick Attack and noted "Screen doesn’t just dig; he excavates. Reading each chapter is like getting a DVD commentary so detailed — on-set information, post-airing reaction, every moment broadcast and each evolution from Kneale’s original script — it runs over the allotted time."
The full review can be found here: https://flickattack.com/2023/10/the-book-of-beasts/

Starburst's Martin Unsworth commented "Screen’s weighty book is the first and certainly most comprehensive writing on the 1976 series that’s ever been attempted... Each chapter is meticulously researched and, given Screen’s access to archive material, utterly fascinating."
The full review is here: https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-book-of-beasts/

Ben Rickett's from Curious British Telly admired the depth of research: "This is more than just a review of the series, this is a deep dive into the depths of the mechanics behind Beasts... a fascinating read and one which contains jaw-dropping levels of detail."
Full review located here: https://www.curiousbritishtelly.co.uk/2023/10/the-book-of-beasts-out-now.html

Andy Paciorek reviewed the book for the Folk Horror Revival website and Fortean Times magazine (Issue 447, August 2024): "As well as rigorously covering production tech-specs and post-production reaction, Screen’s book is the most interesting, inviting and entertaining commentary on the work of Nigel Kneale I’ve encountered. A great tribute to possibly Nigel Kneale’s most peculiar body of work."
Full review can be read here: https://folkhorrorrevival.com/2023/11/19/book-review-the-book-of-beasts-folklore-popular-culture-and-nigel-kneales-atv-horror-series-by-andrew-screen/

Adrian Smith reviewed the book for the Cinema Retro website and noted that "It’s an incredibly deep dive and one which will keep fans of the show, and of strange 1970s British television in general, thoroughly engrossed."
The full review is available here:

https://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/12442-BOOK-REVIEW-THE-BOOK-OF-BEASTS-BY-ANDREW-SCREEN-HEADPRESS.html


Stuart Carter, writing for Vector - The magazine of the British Science Fiction Association, said "I doubt you’ll find a more complete account of this series unless you were on set when each episode of Beasts was filmed... The Book of Beasts takes an exhaustive look at a particular era of Kneale’s work, and whether you’re a fan of either the man himself or simply the genre he largely operated within, I highly recommend it."
The full review can be read here

https://stupc.wordpress.com/2024/11/25/book-review-of-the-book-of-beasts-by-andrew-screen/



The book can be ordered directly from Headpress
https://headpress.com/product/the-book-of-beasts/



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