MONSTER! - THE A-Z OF ZOOFORM PHENOMENA (ISBN 1905723105)

Zooform Bonanza:
As an author in the strange-creature genre, I'm always looking for new, comprehensive and well-researched reference books. It helps if they are fun, besides. Neil Arnold's new "MONSTER!" book hits each of those nails on their warty, pointy-eared heads. Even Karl P. Shuker, a pre-eminent writer and researcher in this field who wrote the foreword, confesses to finding entries in Arnold's book of creatures he had never before heard or dreamt of. Arranged alphabetically for easy look-up, the entries also contain brief commentaries on the "zooform" likelihood of the creature in question, explaining their relation to other known or unknown entities and opinions on the reliability of the report. Arnold also enforces his own ratings system, from 1-4 stars, on the solidity of each entry. Speaking of solidity, Arnold makes it clear up front that he believes many of the creatures described in the book are "zooform" or non-flesh-and-blood in nature. He does his best to sort them out, which increases the book's usefulness as a reference source. "Mystery cats," for instance, rate 3 stars and the comment that they are simply out-of-place felids, while the Karakura, "a vague night-demon from Turkish lore" rates only one star and a note that too little is known about it. I rate Arnold's book five stars, with the comment that anyone wanting to bone up on unknown creatures throughout world history will want MONSTERS! at their fingertips. And I'm still swooning over the revelation of Japanese vampire cats and the High Hat Sasquatch. - Linda S. Godfrey, author Strange Wisconsin; More Badger State Weirdness, The Beast of Bray Road, and Hunting the American Werewolf.

A 'MONSTEROUS' ACHIEVEMENT!!:
The first of its kind, Neil Arnold's 'Monster - The A-Z of Zooform Phenomena' is truly a literary wonder. Ambitious and well written, 'Monster' is the first book to ever attempt to chronicle in one volume the multitude of zooforms that have terrified mankind since the beginning of our species. Not to be mistaken for another cryptid book, 'zooforms' (a term coined in 1990 by Jon Downes of the CFZ), by definition, are supernatural manifestations in animal, or quasi-animal, form, spectral creatures which only briefly visit this world from the twilight dimensions of some other time and place beyond human reckoning.Packed with hundreds of entries describing spectral entities from all over the world, 'Monster' shows us that we are not alone here in our own dimension; that we are being visited by a host of anomalies from phantom felids and hell-hounds to shape-shifting werewolves, griffins, dwarves, waterhorses and winged humanoids which cannot possibly be flesh and blood entities. At just under 400 pages in length this book is sure to provide the reader with hour after hour of beastly delights. As a Fortean writer myself I can appreciate the monumental effort that has gone into producing such a mammoth tome and whole-heartedly applaud Arnold's attention to the detailed research he's put into it. Invaluable as a reference guide, 'Monster' is a must have addition to any Fortean library. Extremely entertaining and thought provoking, this book is most highly recommended to anyone interested in learning just what type of monsters may lurk in the shadows of our world, waiting patiently for unwary passersby. Best read in the safety of one's well lighted living room. A monumental effort! B.M.nunnelly Author - 'Mysterious Kentucky'