Great Minds: Two Takes on I WATCHED THEM EAT ME ALIVE

BookTubers—readers and critics who share their reading and opinions on YouTube—have quickly become some of the best (and most entertaining) resources online for those who embrace the wild, the obscure, and the strange in fiction.

In short, our kind of people.

Tim from Secret Fire Books and Jeff from Jeff's Cave of Cool Books both recently posted their thoughts on The Men's Adventure Library's I Watched Them Eat Me Alive collection, and while it's safe to say they both enjoyed the book equally, their videos discussing it make for an appealing contrast.

Jeff aptly describes Deis' and Doyle's pair of introductions to the book (subtitled Two Takes on Killer Creatures in Men's Adventure Mags) as "two takes, but they are not in opposition, just complimenting each other." The same might be said of these two BookTubers' approach to the same book.

Tim at Secret Fire Books was the first to post his thoughts. Tim's got a big personality, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic bookshopping pal who wants to make sure you don't miss the good stuff as you navigate the stacks. He takes the viewer through some of the books' highlights, offering fun commentary on stories (and especially the artwork) that fills the book. 

"It's gorgeous, I love it so much. So freakin' cool... Robert and Wyatt have been doing a great job with The Men's Adventure Library. This was fantastic!"

Tim reviews the hardcover edition, which includes additional content the softcover does not. Watch Secret Fire Books' video HERE. 

Tim from Secret Fire Books

Jeff from Jeff's Cave of Cool Books reviews the softcover edition. He has a low-key style and takes a different approach, providing an in-depth page-through that explores the book from cover to cover, commenting in detail not only on the book's stories and artwork, but on The Men's Adventure Library more broadly, alerting viewers to our other books that Eat Me references in its text.

Jeff from Jeff's Book Cave

Jeff really gets what we're trying to do, both in Eat Me specifically, as well as our broader goals for The Men's Adventure Library. We try to bake in little clues and cues in our books to reward regular readers of the series, and I think Jeff caught all of them. Watch Jeff's Cave of Cool Books' video HERE.

It's a rewarding thing to have your work reviewed and analyzed by readers who bring such sincere enthusiasm and appreciation for our efforts. These guys read a lot of books in this area, and it's meaningful to know they are digging what we do. 

Our thanks to Tim and Jeff, and to all the BookTubers who embrace what we do and help spread the word about it.

I Watched Them Eat Me Alive is available from Amazon as a 120-page softcover and 128-page expanded hardcover HERE.

Read for the Season: October

Support the independent press that's committed to scaring the pants off you. Read New Texture books.

Cryptozoology Anthology: Strange and Mysterious Creatures in Men's Adventure Magazines 

Edited by Robert Deis, David Coleman, and Wyatt Doyle

Available now in softcover, ebook, and expanded hardcover editions: http://amzn.to/1PRQrta 

Maneaters: Killer Sharks in Men's Adventure Magazines  

Edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle 

Available now in softcover and expanded hardcover editions: https://amzn.to/2W7ay7j

Dollar Halloween

Photos by Wyatt Doyle

Available now in hardcover: https://shorturl.at/lALTZ

Atomic Werewolves and Man-Eating Plants: When Men's Adventure Magazines Got Weird 

Edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle 

Available now in softcover and expanded hardcover editions: https://amzn.to/3qdYIrk

I Watched Them Eat Me Alive

Edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle 

Available now in softcover and expanded hardcover editions: http://amzn.to/2tRiKZl

I WATCHED THEM EAT ME ALIVE out now!

Out today from New Texture and The Men’s Adventure Library: I Watched Them Eat Me Alive, a full-color illustrated look at the frequently outrageous “killer creature” genre of pulp fiction stories and artwork featured in vintage men’s adventure magazines from the 1950s through the 1970s.

From man-eating shellfish to vicious snakes, from revenge-minded pumas to flesh-eating squirrels and bloodthirsty otters (!), literally any member of the animal kingdom turned killer in the imaginations of the men’s adventure magazine editors, writers, and artists, and eager readers ate the stories up for decades. Men’s Adventure Library editors Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle explore a bizarre and unique strain of hard-boiled pulp in this new, full-color collection, packed with tense stories of man vs. beast by men’s adventure greats like Walter Kaylin and Robert F. Dorr, and copiously illustrated with reproductions of spectacular covers and savage illustrations by “Weasels Ripped My Flesh” artist Wil Hulsey, Clarence Doore, and many others.

I Watched Them Eat Me Alive is available as a 106-page softcover for just $9.95, and in a deluxe 126-page hardcover edition for $24.95. The expanded hardcover features even more killer creature excitement, including ripsnorting work by pantheon men’s adventure artist Samson Pollen, and a long-lost tale of bloodthirsty crustaceans by SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg!

Order both editions from your local independent bookseller, or buy them via Amazon here...if you’ve got the guts!