Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo

Jon Downes tells us about the imminent release of Karl Shuker's new book, Alien Zoo:

"Ever since 1997, Alien Zoo, Dr Karl Shuker’s cryptozoology news column has been a regular feature in Fortean Times – the world’s premier magazine devoted to unexplained phenomena of every kind, and inspired by the writings and researches of scientific iconoclast Charles Fort.

"Dr Shuker has also penned many longer, more detailed ‘Lost Ark’ articles for Fortean Times, surveying an immense diversity of controversial and newly-revealed creatures worldwide. Today, not only are both of these long-running FT series hailed as cryptozoological classics but now, for the very first time, an extensive compilation of each of them has been meticulously prepared by Dr Shuker, incorporating numerous remarkable illustrations (including many rare or previously-unpublished examples), and presented here in book form.

"So if the weather outside is wet and windy, or even if it’s fine but you’ve nowhere exciting to go, how would you like to visit a mesmerising realm of monsters and mystery beasts from the comfort and safety of your very own armchair?

"Where can you meet alien big cats and snake-headed dogs, resurrected thylacines and death worms from the Gobi, nightgrowlers and goatsuckers, lake monsters a-plenty and sabre-tooths alive-o, paradise parrots and rainbow serpents, glowing lizards and donkey-eared deer, sachamamas and curupiras, whale-chomping sea monsters and murderous jellyfish, giant rats and New York sqrats, rock-painted mermaids and unicorn bones, river dragons and elephant birds, blood-sweating horses and squids from the swamps, man-beasts, müshmurghs, and mapinguaries, didis, dodos, dodus, and dobhar-chús, orang pendeks and albatwitchers, Nessie teeth, yeti hairs, and archangel plumes, pouched skunks and pig ponies, duendes and cureloms, horse-eels and globsters, flying snakes and cats with wings, scratch monsters and shell monsters, mystery quails from New Zealand and mini-men from Maine, tigers in Tanzania and lions in Chile, sex-mad super-otters and cow-snatching tiger trees, seal mothers, ghoul cats, mouse-whales, and other Icelandic exotica, the lost songbirds of Audubon and new species from New Guinea, mokele-mbembes, kuil kaaxs, nittaewos, banakons, Saharan crocodiles, Birdzilla...and who knows what else too?

"In Karl Shuker’s Alien Zoo, that’s where! So what are you waiting for? Its gates are still open, so let’s go inside - right now!"