Creatures of Near Kingdoms

The last time I read this kind of book in a Malaysian context was [b:The Malaysian Book of the Undead 6080375 The Malaysian Book of the Undead Danny Lim https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327196347s/6080375.jpg 6373057]. Both books are encyclopedias of fantastic creatures endemic of our country, so many were immediately familiar to most and possibly even sighted by others.As a book, ‘Creatures of Near Kingdoms' presents itself as one-page entries by Zedeck Siew, accompanied by a woodcut illustration by Sharon Chin. All 75 of them.I read somewhere else that this book spent a long time in the making, and I think it was worth it. The fauna and flora were described in lush prose that leaves you wondering about Haunted Frangipanis and Obligation Worms and Allergy Bunnies. The illustrations lent an old-time-y sense of being back in the old days where collectors and scientists machete their way through the tropics to discover specimens.Most of them start with “Look”, which is a nice hook that connects all the entries together, but also grated on my eye-ear after a while. Not a one-sitting read for this spotter. I eventually left the book in the toilet so I can get a few more pages in, and be away long enough to wonder what else is coming. Feel free to adapt this strategy.Do I recommend this? Heck yeah. It's the kind of book I'd come back to over and over, just to dip in at a random page and see what I find. Hopefully I won't find some other nefarious creature hidden inside the four pages that are mysteriously thicker than others.