What a riveting read. Seriously, this is one of the best books I've ever read and is certainly an important one in the genre. Of course I'm sort of octopus-obsessed...

Ellis guides us through the webs of supposed myths and monster tales in order to set the mood and then relates these idiosyncrasies to the various sea creatures of today that act in similar fashion. His legendary references date from thousands of years ago (Pliny and Aristotle come to mind) to just within the last few years. There's a lot of references in this book -- obviously since this is a research book -- which can also encourage further exploration.

He explores all the various aspects of the elusive sea creatures (namely the giant squid, the leviathan, the octopus as a monster, the sea serpent, etc.) and ties them altogether into a narrative that is neither totally technical or incredibly breezy - just right.

The most fascinating chapters are by far the ones on the cephalopods, namely the giant squid - and its feral thuggery with the massive sperm whale - and the 'monster' octopus.

A good portion of what is written is pure speculation, since data and observation show up inconclusive, however Ellis does an excellent job in dispelling some of those haughty monstrous myths about the said sea creatures - i.e. the giant squid is actually a passive creature.

There are references to popular culture in the book that are distracting but like in most books, you just need to wade through the dung to get to the treasure. Luckily it doesn't detract much from the rest of the book, so its all good. You really need to read this book if you enjoy the aquatics, it is awesome.

May 01, 2008

To much scientific information about squids, whales etc

The chapters about sea serpents was the best and the one about blobs and globsters was pretty interesting, but that is about it as far as descriptions of sea monsters go. The rest is mostly about actual identifiable creatures like the whale, shark, octopus and squid. The book mostly goes into the history of how man first came across such creatures of the sea and their initial reaction and then study of the creatures. One thing I found annoying about the book was the constant reference to movies and how incorrect their portrayal of certain creatures like the giant squid were. Also the author goes on a rant about the whale and how almost god-like they have become and how they are even a better species than mankind, he seems to have a bit of a fetish for the whale and it really weirded me out. He also seems to want to blame books for the destruction of many sea creatures, like the shark or whale, but I really doubt many whalers read "Moby Dick". I really went into this book with great curiosity and excitement and the first couple chapters were great but the chapter on squids, whales, etc etc. got a little boring, I would of just picked up a book about whales if I wanted to learn about them. What I really wanted to hear more about was actual sea monsters, which this book seems to leave out. 5 stars for the detailed information about almost everything under the sea, but only 3 stars for information of unknown sea monsters.
June 16, 2005

Just plain fun

"Monsters of the Sea" is a book that'll bring out the 11-year-old kid in anyone with a shred of curiosity. It's great fun.

Richard Ellis, a capable and lively popular science author, is always wrestling with how to frame his material. His book "Deep Atlantic," for example, took a long time coming together because he couldn't figure out how to narrow his subject down to a book's length. Even then it included some repetitive material, as a few reviewers noticed. I've read a handful of his other titles now, and this one and the excellent "Encyclopedia of the Sea" are the two where he really succeeded in figuring out how to structure things. This is an effortless read.

"Monsters" alternates between reviewing people's mythological, "monstrous" ideas about sea creatures and describing the animals as they actually are: you read all the Kraken stories, and then you learn about squid, and the giant squid in particular. That outline of the book works really well. First you hear the old sea yarns, and then those lead you into the marine biology. Both sides are written very engagingly.

And then there are the loose ends. There's a chapter in this book about "blobs and globsters" that I really figured I'd be bored by. Not at all. Those are the enormous things that washed up on beaches that nobody's really explained. Ellis can't write the second chapter about them -- there's no marine biology that's explained the things, not yet.

This book, like any good popular science, could lead you in a lot of different directions. If you're interested in Deep Sea life, Ellis's Deep Atlantic would be good -- or you could try William Broad's "The Universe Below" if you're more into the mechanics of submersibles and sunken ships. There are lots of books about sharks and whales of course. Ellis wrote one about the Great White shark that's supposed to be good. He also gathered lots of his giant squid material for a book on Architeuthis Dux.

I'd recommend starting with this one, though. It'll get your sense of wonder going.
December 24, 2002

Cryptozoological Writing at its Finest

Actually, as a writer, Ellis leaves something to be desired. He can be a little repetitive and disorganized at times (but is that more a criticism of him or his editor?). However, the content of this book is incredibly interesting, and it is presented very well. Ellis maintains a very good degree of subjectivity, considering the strange matters that he is discussing in the book. The topics, ranging from the myth and history of mermaids (which we now know as manatees and dugongs) to the strange blobs that have washed up on several beaches in the past century, to the giant squid which Ellis would go on to write an entire book about, are fascinating. The degree of detail he goes into when describing both the mythology behind these monsters, and the science and natural history of the creatures we now believe formulated these myths is amazing.
June 20, 2001

really good

It was a really great novel. His desciption of tentacles made me laugh. The St. Augustine monster that wased ashore he thinks is a 200 foot octopus. Other than that he debunked every other sea monster.
May 18, 2000

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Search for the Giant Squid: The Biology and Mythology of the World's Most Elusive Sea Creature
by Richard Ellis

Singing Whales and Flying Squid: The Discovery of Marine Life
by Richard Ellis

Sea Dragons: Predators Of The Prehistoric Oceans
by Richard Ellis

Encyclopedia of the Sea
by Richard Ellis

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
by Claire Nouvian