Monsterology (Ology Series)

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Walk the Plank: Lubber mentions it in Pirateology as a rumored method of execution—but goes on to list several punishments that are more common and more horrifying, such as being dragged along the ship’s hull with ropes. Our Sphinxes Are Different: Monsterology describes sphinxes as lions with either human, hawk or ram heads; any of these three varieties may have wings or be flightless. They greatly enjoy riddles, a trait they share with dragons.

Dugald A. Steer was born in 1965 and lives in Surrey. His love of books and reading led him to study English Literature and Philosophy at Bristol University where he was an avid contributor to the Poetry Society Magazine. After stints working for Friends of the Earth and the Duchy of Lancaster Office, Dugald trained to teach English and spent the next five years in Spain, living in Galicia and Andalucia, writing in his spare time. Books introduce us to new worlds, exciting characters and possibilities that ignite our imagination. Whether it’s a dangerous Thriller that gets your heart racing, or a quirky debut with a distinct voice you just can’t put down; a great book can whisk you away somewhere new and stay with you for a lifetime. This (fiction) compendium of monsters charts the discoveries of the intrepid explorer, Dr. Ernest Drake, who sailed the world in search of seemingly mythical beasts. His record includes beasts of the earth, water, air, and semi-human creatures found around the world, drawing from the mythology of myriad cultures and presenting his findings as fact. Dragon Hoard: Dragons' hoarding instinct is driven in large part because lying on their hoards presses gems into their soft underbellies, creating a form of armor over these vulnerable areas. Science Is Wrong: Merlin claims so in Wizardology, but it’s an interesting variant—the sciences he’s familiar with are alchemy and astrology. One of his criticisms of alchemy is even that lead and gold are base elements and cannot be broken down or transmuted in anything less than a molecular level, something any chemistry scientist would know.Pirate Parrot: In the finale of Pirateology, the rescued castaway’s pet parrot flies over to Drummond’s pirate ship.

Mix-and-Match Critters: Plenty in Monsterology. Chimeras are lions with additional goat and snake heads and dragons' tails; nues are a Japanese relative of chimeras with catlike bodies, monkey faces and snakes for tails; bakus are tapir/elephant crosses with tiger paws; manticores have lion bodies, human heads and scorpion tails; griffins and hippogriffs, as per usual, have eagle-like front halves and lion- or horse-like, respectively, hindquarters. What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Played with in Monsterology. Sphinxes, cyclopes, fauns, centaurs and gorgons are listed as man-like beasts and mostly described as intelligent animals, despite sphinxes being noted as highly intelligent and capable of speech, cyclopes being credited with having built ancient Cretan ruins and fauns and centaurs both crafting and using complex tools. Giants and gnomes, by contrast, are noted to be as intelligent as humans and only given cursory descriptions, as the narrator says that a zoology book isn't the right place to talk about them. In October 2007, Codemasters announced a licensing agreement to create video games for the Wii and Nintendo DS based on Dragonology, Wizardology and Pirateology. [3] Nik Nak was to develop the Wii titles. [4] Film adaptations [ edit ]Arbitrary Skepticism: In Monsterology, Ernest Drake denies the existence of the minotaur and the Mongolian death worm despite accepting the existence of griffins, centaurs and gorgons. Throughout the books, he also expresses skepticism on the subject of dinosaurs, which he describes as "rather improbable creatures", although he accepts their former existence in Monsterology. Our Manticores Are Spinier: Lions with human heads, three rows of teeth and scorpion tails that can shoot poisonous, invisible barbs, evolved ia convergnent evolution. Four variants exist: Arabian and Indian unicorns are the traditional lithe, graceful type, being distinguished by the Arabian variant's longer mane and short beard; Sumatran and Serican unicorns are squat, bulky, piglike animals with small horns on their foreheads. Serican unicorns even have small tusks. Treasure Map: Lubber finds one to Arabella Drummond's treasure in the beginning of Pirateology, but with a vital piece missing, it's basically useless. The piece Lubber recovers before his death from the marooned member of Drummond's crew is stored in the hidden cache of the journal's last envelope, and the coded message reveals the treasure to be hidden in the northwest corner of the Krakatoa Island which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1883. Steampunk: Some of the books go into it, but Illusionology (set in 1915) takes the cake, having lots of gear imagery and motifs on it, as well as discussing early electric technology and automatons.

Our Mermaids Are Different: Monsterology has a pretty traditional take on Merfolk, except that they mean no harm to the people they charm with their song. They simply don't realize that humans are unable to breathe underwater. Conversely, they can't breathe air for long and Ernest Drake muses that an "overwater suit" could be designed to allow them to travel on land.The book describes how a four-legged dragon with wings could evolve via Darwin's theory of genetic mutation. This is inaccurate on two levels. One, there is no known way for a tetrapod to evolve an extra pair of limbs, and two, Darwin never discovered genetic mutation. Bakus, instead of devouring bad dreams and leaving the good ones, are described as simply having a catlike soothing effect on people when stroked. Giants are only mentioned in passing, being sapient beings and thus not really a subject for a zoology work, but the one shown resembles a well-dressed British gentleman in every respect other than being over twice the height of a lamppost. Giants are also described as aggressive, but easily outwitted. Curse: A priest of Isis warns Emily Sands and her team that the tomb of Osiris is cursed. They don't listen, and that's the last we hear of them.