The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases

Book Info: Genre: Medical Guide Satire/Speculative fiction shortsReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Anyone who likes a laughMy Thoughts: If you want to know what sort of lunacy to expect from this book, here is just a tiny taste.Discussing Ballistic Organ Syndrome: “In rare cases, the Ballistitis virus infects the patient's entire body. Eventually, some event causes one or more cells to rupture, after which the patient's body is disrupted in an explosive ejection of all bodily organs. This manifestation of the syndrome frequently occasions the death of the patient; at best, the loss of all bodily organs will cause considerable inconvenience and distress (as set out in Doctor Buckhead Mudthumper's Encyclopedia of Forgotten Oriental Diseases).” [pg. 4]Letter to Dr. Wexler, of whom the writers are not fond: “Dear Sir: Kindly send your anthrax-soaked missives elsewhere. And if you want to get serious about contagious letters, then invest in some smallpox like a normal person.” [pg. 286]There are also a couple cookbooks mentioned that sound interesting: “French Cuisine with Codeine” and “Mousses with Morphine”.I will point out that I would not say this book is lavishly illustrated. Each entry generally has only a single illustration; sometimes there is a second at the end of the section. Now, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, which I'll be reading and reviewing next, does have a lot of pictures. But this one, not so much.Still, if you like a laugh, you'll enjoy the clever way each author creates a “character” for themselves, and the creative uses of real information mixed with their own creations that fill this satirical book. I enjoyed it a lot.Disclosure: I bought this book for myself. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: “Imagine if Monty Python wrote the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, and you sort of get the idea. Afraid you’re afflicted with an unknown malady? Finally you have a place to turn!” —Book SenseYou hold in your hands the most complete and official guide to imaginary ailments ever assembled—each disease carefully documented by the most stellar collection of speculative fiction writers ever to play doctor. Detailed within for your reading and diagnostic pleasure are the frightening, ridiculous, and downright absurdly hilarious symptoms, histories, and possible cures to all the ills human flesh isn’t heir to, including Ballistic Organ Disease, Delusions of Universal Grandeur, and Reverse Pinocchio Syndrome.Lavishly illustrated with cunning examples of everything that can’t go wrong with you, the Lambshead Guide provides a healthy dose of good humor and relief for hypochondriacs, pessimists, and lovers of imaginative fiction everywhere. Even if you don’t have Pentzler’s Lubriciousness or Tian Shan-Gobi Assimilation, the cure for whatever seriousness may ail you is in this remarkable collection.

This book is based on a clever concept and the faux-disease names are amusing. I expected it to be hilarious. Instead, it made me yawn. The writing itself plodding, rather than clever. I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, though. I thought mistakenly this might be a good way into the genre.

This book is full of goofy fun. I can see why some medical libraries keep it on the shelf. Some of the diseases are so far out there that you have to wonder about the authors.

An imaginative collection of tales disguised as whole body scratching diseases. I'm sure the authors -and editors- enjoyed the creative act with the same guilty-sick pleasure of pocking a dead rat with a stick.Structured alphabetically, but warranteed to be sought for further random consultation as needed.

One of the worst books I've bought this year. I loved City of Saints and Madmen, and Im a big fan of Vandermeer's writing - his style, his game playing, all of it. But this book was a huge disappointment. The introduction is good in the best sense of silly. The disease entries are not much more than the rainy day musings of a bunch of 13-14 year olds as they sit playing video games. At times they border on the sort of stuff Beavis and Butthead might concoct, "Heh heh, how about ...". As I said, a huge disappointment. Shame on you mister Vandermeer for creating a waste of time book like this. I want my money back.

Gift for daughter, as requested. She loves it

Great book about sick people.

Wow. The most underwhelming book I've ever purchased on Amazon. It's a great idea...and that's about it. I couldn't find a single entry that I liked. I tried several; most I couldn't finish, they were so stunningly uninteresting, uninspired, and unfunny. I tried to find them humours. I saw how they were trying to be. I wanted to like it. I dropped it off at Goodwill.

Not as amusing as it thinks it is