Akata Witch Response

Akata Witch was a very interesting read and I enjoyed every bit of it. The world described in Akata Witch, is just so distinct. The world described is just something that isn’t predictable yet there’s a familiarity about it. The presence of magical insects such as, the giant red grasshopper and a wasp that creates sculptures for praise adds a sense of fantasy to the story. Real world issues however, still occur in this story like sexism, racism and classism, which is a very interesting parallel between fantasy and real life. It’s interesting to see what the author wanted to keep in, in terms of real world experiences. I appreciate that Okorafor writes her young adults as young adults. The characters speak, argue and enter relationships and then handle these things like actual young adults; this story isn’t sugar coating anything.

            I’ve been a fan of witch related stories my whole life, I guess I just enjoy that magical/fantasy driven plot. Media such as, AHS Coven, The Craft or kiki’s delivery service have always interested me and I feel as though stories like the previously stated ones all have perfect character development. I feel like fantasy related stories tend to just focus on the magic or conflict at hand rather than giving characters a personality that viewers can relate to, such as Blair Witch Project. Akata Witch is one among money of my favorite witch related stories because this story is so different from other witch stories. There’s more to think about in Akata, not just magical and fiction but real world issues and relationships. Akata was very interesting and I would definitely read it again.           

Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation Response

I really enjoyed, Annihilation, because it was something so different and something that I have never read before. When entering Area X with the four women, you as the reader are looking for any uncanny thing or spot like the lighthouse, the reed beds or the tower. However, the uncanny doesn’t live in these spots but rather lives in the character’s development and observations. The uncanny is hardly a thing in Annihilation and rather the actual state of the world. In Area X, familiarity is fiction, looking at the biologist, she keeps falling back on scientific explanation and not asking the world questions or even questioning her transmogrifying self. The biologist is confronted by a question, is she more X than human? And, instead of trying to fix this issue, she decides that kind of questioning is meaningless, "A religious or superstitious person, someone who believed in angels or in demons, might see it differently. Almost anyone else might see it differently. But I am not those people, I am just the biologist; I don't require any of this to have a deeper meaning" (192). In Annihilation, science is present to handle what is considered the uncanny and the biologists doubt at the end of the book shows human frailty and ambition.

            I was very intrigued when reading the end of this story and to see that there wasn’t really an ending at all, considering this is a trilogy and that ending won’t come until two books later. Finishing this story, I am left with so many questions such as, will they ever be able to go home or is X now home?  

Spiral by Koji Suzuki Response

Spiral is the continuation of Ring, a Japanese horror trilogy centered around a mysterious VHS tape, where if you watch it, you die in seven days. Japanese horror or K-horror has always interested me, especially when the US adapts Japanese horror stories into films. I grew up watching the two Ring movies and was very interested in reading the Japanese version to see the difference. Ring and Spiral are completely different from that of the two American, Ring, movies, it’s much more unusual and shocking. When it comes to Japanese horror, I feel as though the authors, filmmakers or artists find such a unique and unusual way to tell their stories. The ghost in Spiral is Sadako also known as Samara in the US film. I really enjoyed reading this book because I am such a fan of the series and I was surprised with how the plot turned from the first book. The main character being an autopsy doctor performing an autopsy on Ryuji, who died because of the tape in the last book, goes on a journey to find out why so many people have died in such mysterious ways. This story does have a typical ghost story going on but also follows a stranger detail. In this story, it is somewhat explained how these people are dying and it is connected to a virus all these individuals share, and it is ring shaped.

            What I enjoy so much about J-horror stories is that they are always surprising and suspenseful, you never really know what will happen next. I was shocked when reading that Ryuji actually planned for his own resurrection and had planned it secretly in the first book. I’m always kept on my toes when reading this genre.