Nigel Suckling

Whoa, it was always cool as a child to listen to the fishermen down the street talk about the seas and what lay beneath. They were from the Old World and they spoke with respect of the ocean that was their livelihood. I thought of them when I read this book, thinking of all the tales they used to tell me and how I bloody well believed them.

The Kraken is here and Nessie and the Giant Squid, along with Merhorses and Mermaids. Everything is brightly illustrated with a historical overview, with chapters divided by different types of monsters of the depths.

We really don't know what truly lives down below, perhaps dinosaurs that never really left us. Enjoyable read all the way through.


Book Season = Spring (time to boat)… (mehr)

Nigel Suckling, one of the foremost authorities on unicorns, leprechauns, and angels, has developed a taste for blood. Book of the Vampire is a stimulating and chilling look at world-wide and ages-old myths about blood-sucking creatures. The accounts range from South America’s Chupacabras to Malaysia’s penanggalan, whose disembodied flying heads terrified believers. Suckling begins his inquiry with Bram Stoker, whose classic Dracula revived a flagging interest among Victorians for elegant hosts with curious appetites. The book digs deep into Stoker’s influences from ancient cultures, including the lamia and the succubus myths from Rome, Greece, and the Middle East, and also examines vampire myths from a spiritual perspective. Bruce Pennington, a well-known and extremely popular fantasy artist, contributes gorgeous illustrations that contribute to the Vampire attraction.… (mehr)