A Manifestation of Monsters
Examining The (Un)usual Suspects
by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker, Foreword by Ken Gerhard
Trade Paperback, 216 Pages, 85 Illustrations
$19.95, ISBN: 9781938398520
Genre(s):
Cryptozoology
The spectacular front-cover painting by American artist Michael J. Smith, depicting 17 astonishing mystery beasts and other controversial entities, was the inspiration for this latest book by leading cryptozoologist Dr. Karl Shuker.
Ever since first seeing it in 2012, Shuker has wanted to prepare a book incorporating this painting's eclectic company of creatures, but the fundamental problem that he faced was how to categorize them collectively. Eventually, Shuker concluded that only one such term could satisfy all those requirements. Indeed, it was tailor-made for this purpose. The term? What else could it be? “Monster”!
Derived from the Latin noun “monstrum” and the Old French “monstre,” “monster” has many different definitions—a very strange, frightening, possibly evil/ugly mythical creature; something huge and/or threatening; a mutant, or abnormal animal; even something extraordinary, astonishing, incredible, unnatural, inexplicable. These definitions collectively cover all of this book's subjects—and so too, therefore, does the single word “monster” from which the definitions derive.
Consequently, this book is a manifestation of monsters—a unique exhibition, a singular gathering, an exceptional congregation of some of the strangest, most mystifying, and sometimes truly terrifying creatures ever reported.
About the Author: Born and still living in the West Midlands, England, Karl P.N.
Shuker graduated from the University of Leeds with a Bachelor of
Science (Honours) degree in pure zoology, and from the University
of Birmingham with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in zoology
and comparative physiology. He now works full-time as a freelance
zoological consultant to the media, and as a prolific published writer.
Shuker is currently the author of 22 books and hundreds of articles,
principally on animal-related subjects, with an especial interest in
cryptozoology and animal mythology, on which he is an internationally
recognized authority, but also including a poetry volume. In addition,
he has acted as consultant for several major multi-contributor volumes
as well as for the world-renowned Guinness Book of Records/Guinness
World Records (he is currently its Senior Consultant for its Life Sciences
section); and he has compiled questions for the BBC’s long-running
cerebral quiz Mastermind. He is also the editor of the Journal of
Cryptozoology, the world’s only existing peer-reviewed scientific journal
devoted to mystery animals.
FLASH
A laminated hardback edition of this book is available for a limited time. Order from Amazon or Barnes & Noble in the US. Or worldwide from the Book Depository.
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One of "The Best Cryptozoology Books of 2015." — Cryptozoo News
CONTENTS
Foreword by Ken Gerhard
Introduction
Chapter 1: Captive Nandi Bears in Britain—Or a More Slothful Surprise?
Chapter 2: Bilbo Baggins Versus the Mongolian Death Worm?
Chapter 3: Monitoring Some Lesser-Known Giant Mystery Lizards
Chapter 4: The Camp Fircom Caddy Carcase—Monster or Montage?
Chapter 5: Rothschild’s Lost Tusk and the Non-Existent Elephant Pig—An Enduring Cryptozoological Conundrum From Africa
Chapter 6: Mystery Frogs and Toads—Seeking Lost and Unidentified Species
Chapter 7: The Zoo That Never Was—A Mirage of Cryptozoological Delusions and Illusions
Chapter 8: Rat Kings—A Tangled Tale of Tangled Tails
Chapter 9: The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary—Half Plant, Half Animal, Wholly Amazing!
Chapter 10: Oarfish Origins—And a Very (Un?)Likely Sea Serpent
Chapter 11: Why Blood-Drained Carcases are Not the Work of Chupacabras or Other Supposedly Vampiric Cryptids
Chapter 12: Horned Rodents, Devil’s Corkscrews, and Terrible Snails—Real-Life Crypto-Palaeontological Detective Stories
Chapter 13: Bothersome Beithirs, the Loch Ness Monster, and Other Freshwater Mystery Eels?
Chapter 14: Pigging Out at Christmas—It’s Grim With the Gloso (and Nattravnen)
Chapter 15: From Nung-Guamas to Buderim Beasts—A New Collection of Exceptionally Strange Cryptids
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Index
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