Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science behind your favorite monsters by Carlyn Beccia

First I missed when this was published, then I put off reading it. I don't know why - I personally have no interest in cryptids or movie monsters, but I always love Beccia's creepy, informative work! Of course, when I finally got around to reading this, it was awesome!

Beccia takes eight classic monsters and dissects (heh) their history, science, and probability. She starts with Frankenstein's Monster, placing him in context of the scientific revolution and the discoveries being made in electricity. Next she looks at Dracula and readers will find out if you can really drink blood (spoiler alert - you can't!). Zombies, real and imaginary, are introduced, then King Kong, who says "I hate science! Science makes my size impossible." Werewolves have a brief chapter, but there's more meat (heh) on the Kraken. There's a reasonably unbiased discussion of Bigfoot (as always, if Bigfoot was real, there would be poop) and it ends with Godzilla, with a reflection on the aftermath of the atomic bomb and the continued threat of nuclear weapons in the world today.

The book is illustrated throughout by Beccia, ranging from the deliciously evil, an exquisite black and white decoration of a female vampire with a trail of blood, to the explanatory pictures of relative weight and mass, showing how King Kong is simply too big to exist (and a dung beetle is comparatively stronger than a human!). There are charts showing the calories in each part of the human body, and a pack of eager and then exhausted werewolves outhunted by a smug cat.

The book ends with a reflection on how science can be wrong, illustrated by Beccia's drawing of a T. rex with and then without feathers. There is a page of notes, extensive bibliography, glossary, and index.

This book works equally well as a straight narrative and as a browsing experience. It is a little awkwardly shaped, laid out in a rectangle that is almost picture book-shaped with a spine that feels flimsy to me. However, the creepy topics and copious illustrations will encourage any readers who might dismiss this as a "baby book" and caregivers who object to the layout probably wouldn't like the subject matter anyways.

Verdict: Another excellent book from Carlyn Beccia, sure to appeal to a wide range of monster, science, and history-loving readers. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781512449167; Published 2019 by Carolrhoda; Purchased for the library