Regular readers might know that I can’t just do dystopian analysis of current events all the time; sometimes I have to get into something completely different. With regard to that, I have reviewed a few Bigfoot books, and picked up some classic novels as well as books on philosophy.
Today we take a look at two good books; the first is “Monsters & Marine Mysteries – by author Max Hawthorne – known for his “marine horror” series of books using the “Kronos Rising” title.
Hawthorne is a former weightlifter, avid sport fisherman, and tough guy with a good polish of humor.
He has a very scientific approach, a knowledge of how to scale things to an accurate size, and is a skilled interviewer. He has the receipts, too. “Monsters & Marine Mysteries has detailed descriptions of marine monster sightings, and even some attacks.
Hawthorne is of the camp that some sea creatures – huge turtles and squids for instance – are being sighted and have severely damaged and even sank large boats.
Additionally, he speculates about the existence of animals that are prehistoric relics, which may have found a niche to survive and evolve to our modern times. These include huge prehistoric sharks, as exhibited by bite marks on known animals such as Great White Sharks.
I myself have written about the possibility of such prehistoric serpents in this article:
“When Orcas Island Had A Sea Serpent”
https://www.covertbookreport.com/when-orcas-island-had-a-sea-serpent/
In “Monsters & Marine Mysteries”, Hawthorne makes a very convincing argument that sea monsters are indeed out there.
There are dozens of first-hand reports, and Hawthorne provides evidence of attacks. These include huge squids that have sunk large vessels, and in one very convincing account, damage to a 438 ft. Navy destroyer in 1978.
The USS Stein was indeed attacked by a “Mega Squid”, to the point where the ship’s sonar transponder was damaged and the ship had to return to port in San Diego.
The estimated size of the beast was well over 100 feet, and Hawthorne speculates that it mistook the ship for it’s prey; a large whale. As the squid “tasted” the possible prey, it clearly damaged the sonar unit.
There is also a possibility that the squid may have become very aggressive because Sperm Whales are a major rival to squids, and such animals have historically been spotted fighting.
During repair, numerous “sucker claws” (from tentacles) were recovered from the sonar dome’s covering.
Hawthorne cites case after case of large sea creature sightings – and a warning that even relatively common fish like a Grouper can do serious damage to humans. Hawthorne has a picture of him landing a 400-pound Grouper, the kind that can leave serious bites.
After reading “Monsters & Marine Mysteries”, I purchased the first book in Hawthorne’s “Kronos” series of marine horror novels, and will tackle that after some books on philosophy and the Socratic Method.
I enjoyed Hawthorne’s presentation and dedication to accuracy, detail and scaling the creatures for size.
You can find his website at this link:
And his Twitter account is @max_hawthorne
Enjoy this wet and wild examination of sea monsters!
“The Hoopa Project”
By David Paulides
“The Hoopa Project – Bigfoot Encounters In California” Is a little different than other Sasquatch books I have read so far. Paulides is a seasoned former cop and conducts interviews of witnesses as such. He even has the witnesses to encounters sign affidavits that affirm they are telling the truth. Paulides explains that this makes the witnesses feel that the whole thing is a very serious affair, and that they are taken seriously.
The entire book is based on sightings of Bigfoot/Sasquatch on the Hoopa Indian reservation, located in northern California very near Bluff Creek where the famous “Patterson-Gimlin” film of a female Bigfoot was taken.
Most of the people interviewed are Tribal members, and some are related to each other.
What makes this book of sightings so different, is there are very few violent-type encounters, if any.
Many are quite scary but mostly passive sightings of the creature, and there is at least one encounter where an old woman shares some kind of communication with the Sasquatch.
In fact, aside from stealing garbage, the only negative account involves cats disappearing from one house. Many of the encounters occur in close proximity to previous sightings, and could involve the same animal or group of animals.
Nearly all the sightings are extremely detailed, so much that Paulides hired a talented forensic artist to reconstruct the images of the Sasquatch. All the witnesses interviewed conclude that the forensic drawings are spot on. The drawings are worth the price of the book alone, It’s great art that dovetails with the detailed sightings.
This book really got me thinking about the different types of sightings that are reported all over the world. But let’s stick to North America for now.
West Coast Bigfoot seem to be larger than those reported in the deep south, for instance. Additionally, the forensic drawings of the creatures from the Hoopa Reservation show distinctive human features, especially facial features.
What could explain this?
Well, one old tribal member states that in (darker) past times, tribal members used to abandon some children in the wilderness, and others would hide there to avoid nearby warring tribes.
Additionally, while listening to a recent podcast on the subject, a speaker commented on the large number of Chinese laborers that worked on railroads, in mines, or hauling timber for instance.
Is it possible that abandoned children or kidnapped Chinese laborers eventually bred with the Sasquatch? Could that account for the uniquely human features described in creatures found on the Hoopa Reservation?
It is sometimes said that those with very human features are less violent than others that appear to be more ape-like.
David Paulides is a pretty fair writer, and after reading “The Hoopa Project”, I am interested in checking out his “Missing 411” series. Those books describe his investigations into missing persons in National Parks. From interviews with Paulides that I have heard, he appears to believe there is a significant cover-up by authorities regarding these strange disappearances.
But that’s for a whole different review later.
Paulides does a great job charting out demographics, geography and cultural implications of the people and the area. The encounters describe more of the “Keepers of The Forest” personality of Bigfoot.
I really enjoyed reading about the Bigfoot encounters on the Hoopa Reservation, which are very detailed and of course include the beautiful forensic drawings of nearly all the creatures.
Glad I got “The Hoopa Project” for my library, and will order some of the “Missing 411” books soon.
– John Titus
