‘In this enchanting and fascinating exploration of monster stories around the globe, Jubber discovers not just the beasts themselves but people and places, history and imagination, fears and obsessions. He blends child-like joy with the wisdom of generations as he tackles giants, ghosts, zombies, and robots to reveal deep insights about past conflicts, collective trauma, and our changing relationship with the natural world. A magical yet deeply human journey that will haunt you long after the final page.’

‘Monsterland is a tour de force. It combines scholarly folklore academia with nature writing at its best. Nicholas Jubber is an amusing travel companion, with a self-deprecating humour and unobtrusive presence. The shoestring nature of his travel budget makes him even more endearing. Like a modern-day troubadour or Romantic poet, he recounts tales of sleepless nights in bus shelters, a disused mill in Serbia, and his beloved tent, battered by the gales of Orkney. It made we want to canoe through the bayous of Louisiana, pray in the temples of Kyoto, and clamber over the clifftops of Cornwall. In showing how monsters are mirrors to our deepest fears, this is an erudite, surreal but also profound meditation on the human psyche.’