73 books like Creature

By Hunter Shea,

Here are 73 books that Creature fans have personally recommended if you like Creature. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Forgotten Island

Steve Stred Author Of Mastodon

From my list on non-typical creature-feature books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by all things ‘creatures’–from massive Grizzly bears that roam the mountains to Kraken that swim in the depths of the oceans to massive Anaconda that are worshiped in the Amazon rainforest. Having discovered The Weekly World News tabloids at my grandma’s, I couldn’t get enough of what makes us question what lurks in the trees or swim in the waters around us. I’ve taken that love of all things cryptid and used those moments of awe and fear that I had while discovering these creatures all those years ago and placed them into the novels I write.

Steve's book list on non-typical creature-feature books

Steve Stred Why did Steve love this book?

This book gives us a non-typical main character thrust into a horrible situation–lost on an island the locals refuse to visit.

There, she finds horrendous creatures have inhabited a subterranean area. Told with frantic pacing, this book is hard to put down.

By David Sodergren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Forgotten Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Ana Logan agrees to go on holiday to Thailand with her estranged sister Rachel, she hopes it will be a way for them to reconnect after years of drifting apart.

But now, stranded on a seemingly deserted island paradise with no radio and no food, reconciliation becomes a desperate fight for survival.

For when night falls on The Forgotten Island, the dark secrets of the jungle reveal themselves. Something is watching them from the trees.

Something ancient.

Something evil.

Combining the cosmic horrors of HP Lovecraft with the grimy sensibilities of the Video Nasties, The Forgotten Island is an…


Book cover of Return to Dyatlov Pass

Steve Stred Author Of Mastodon

From my list on non-typical creature-feature books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by all things ‘creatures’–from massive Grizzly bears that roam the mountains to Kraken that swim in the depths of the oceans to massive Anaconda that are worshiped in the Amazon rainforest. Having discovered The Weekly World News tabloids at my grandma’s, I couldn’t get enough of what makes us question what lurks in the trees or swim in the waters around us. I’ve taken that love of all things cryptid and used those moments of awe and fear that I had while discovering these creatures all those years ago and placed them into the novels I write.

Steve's book list on non-typical creature-feature books

Steve Stred Why did Steve love this book?

Many people are aware of the story of Dyatlov Pass, where a group of Russian hikers were found frozen to death in mysterious circumstances, but Moncrieff takes it a step further and introduces a creature that very well might be the reason behind everything.

Told with whip-cracking prose, this novel is impossible not to finish in a single sitting.

By J.H. Moncrieff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Return to Dyatlov Pass as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1959, nine Russian students set off on a skiing expedition in the Ural Mountains. Their mutilated bodies were discovered weeks later. Their bizarre and unexplained deaths are one of the most enduring true mysteries of our time. Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered. The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one…


Book cover of The Curse of the Viper King

Steve Stred Author Of Mastodon

From my list on non-typical creature-feature books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by all things ‘creatures’–from massive Grizzly bears that roam the mountains to Kraken that swim in the depths of the oceans to massive Anaconda that are worshiped in the Amazon rainforest. Having discovered The Weekly World News tabloids at my grandma’s, I couldn’t get enough of what makes us question what lurks in the trees or swim in the waters around us. I’ve taken that love of all things cryptid and used those moments of awe and fear that I had while discovering these creatures all those years ago and placed them into the novels I write.

Steve's book list on non-typical creature-feature books

Steve Stred Why did Steve love this book?

While this is technically book three in the Grant Coleman series, it was my first book by James, and I had no issues diving into it without knowing what happened in the first two books.

Coleman is a paleontologist who ends up in crazy situations, and this one had everything I love in creature feature books–huge snakes, the Amazon jungle, and next-to-no odds of survival.

By Russell James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Curse of the Viper King as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paleontologist Grant Coleman and environmentalist Janaina Silva, lost in the Amazon rain forest, discover an isolated logging camp, and the chance to hitch a ride back to civilization. But the workers uncover a fossil of a giant snake, almost fifteen meters long. Grant is thrilled, but the superstitious workers believe they have let loose a demon. That night, the world begins to unravel. A mysterious creature attacks the camp, kills several men, and sinks the only boat that can get them home. Soon Grant and the others are in a battle against colossal spiders and a descendant of that great…


Book cover of False Bodies

Steve Stred Author Of Mastodon

From my list on non-typical creature-feature books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by all things ‘creatures’–from massive Grizzly bears that roam the mountains to Kraken that swim in the depths of the oceans to massive Anaconda that are worshiped in the Amazon rainforest. Having discovered The Weekly World News tabloids at my grandma’s, I couldn’t get enough of what makes us question what lurks in the trees or swim in the waters around us. I’ve taken that love of all things cryptid and used those moments of awe and fear that I had while discovering these creatures all those years ago and placed them into the novels I write.

Steve's book list on non-typical creature-feature books

Steve Stred Why did Steve love this book?

McConvey does a remarkable job of giving us a detective novel masquerading as a horror novel. I loved the main character, Eddie ‘The Yeti’ Gesner, a deeply flawed and grief-stricken man who is a cryptozoologist. 

Having this novel take place in Newfoundland, Canada, worked perfectly to allow McConvey to fill the story with squid-based events and profound historical elements, and with the addition of the corporate greed angle, it felt timely and topical.

By J.R. McConvey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked False Bodies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A genre-bending noir, and perhaps the squiddiest novel ever written, False Bodies creates a horror/thriller blend of the renowned Newfoundland culture seen in shows like Come From Away with the heart-pounding tension and creeping fear of Alien.

False Bodies follows monster hunter Eddie “The Yeti” Gesner to Newfoundland, to investigate a mass death on an offshore oil rig—which some say is the work of a kraken. A mysterious incident in Eddie’s life has made him obsessed with chasing unfathomable things, but when an antique diary plunges him into a watery world of squid cults, tentacled beasts and corporate greed, Eddie…


Book cover of The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness

Rebecca Dimyan Author Of Chronic: A Memoir

From my list on chronic illness to laugh, cry, and everything in between.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a woman who suffers from chronic illness, I am interested in sharing my experience and learning about other women who also suffer and survive their chronic conditions. I have had endometriosis, a painful disease, since I was a teenager. I’ve always enjoyed stories about different kinds of chronic illnesses, and I appreciate the way pain and sickness can be translated into memorable books. 

Rebecca's book list on chronic illness to laugh, cry, and everything in between

Rebecca Dimyan Why did Rebecca love this book?

O’Rourke blends personal anecdotes, meticulous research, and compelling conviction as she argues that how we treat chronic illness needs to change.

She unpacks the complex nature of autoimmune conditions offering the history of Western Medicine’s approach to illness and even shedding a light on why so many sick people are often left without definitive diagnoses or helpful treatment plans. This is a multi-dimensional portrait of autoimmune disease and chronic illness that I could not put down.

By Meghan O'Rourke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Invisible Kingdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, The New Yorker, Time, and Vogue

“Remarkable.” –Andrew Solomon, The New York Times Book Review

"At once a rigorous work of scholarship and a radical act of empathy.”—Esquire

"A ray of light into those isolated cocoons of darkness that, at one time or another, may afflict us all.” —The Wall Street Journal

"Essential."—The Boston Globe

A landmark exploration of one of the most consequential and mysterious issues of our time: the rise of chronic illness and…


Book cover of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

Roy A. Meals Author Of Muscle: The Gripping Story of Strength and Movement

From my list on friend your body’s marvelous machines.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been in love with biology since first playing with earthworms and marveling at the sprouting of radish seeds as a five-year-old. Further interest and curiosity led me to positions as nature counselor at summer camps and an eventual college degree in biology. Medical school was at times tedious, but the efficient, compact, durable mechanics of the musculoskeletal system totally engaged my interest. A residency in orthopedic surgery and a fellowship in hand surgery were natural follow-ons. My other passion is a love of teaching, taking a learner from where ever their understanding is presently and guiding them to what they need to know next. And they should have fun in the process.

Roy's book list on friend your body’s marvelous machines

Roy A. Meals Why did Roy love this book?

Any author who voluntarily has his nose packed and totally obstructed for over a week attracts my awe as one who is committed to walking the walk of his subject.

Nestor’s descriptions of this experience and the immense joy he encounters when his nasal airways were unblocked and his sense of smell restored sets the stage for an engaging tour through the science and art of a vital bodily function that we mostly ignore—respiration.

He posits that humans have been ignoring breath for centuries at our detriment and which accounts for sleep apnea, snoring, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. He poses means of relief. What a fresh breath.    

By James Nestor,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Breath as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE PHENOMENAL INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY BOOK PRIZE

'Who would have thought something as simple as changing the way we breathe could be so revolutionary for our health, from snoring to allergies to immunity? A fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations' Dr Rangan Chatterjee

There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. In Breath, journalist James Nestor travels the world…


Book cover of A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet, and Disease

Anne Biklé Author Of The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

From my list on microbiomes, gut health, food, and farming.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been enamored with the natural world and how it works. This trait, among others, led me into the fields of biology, natural history, and environmental planning. Even as I witness our species chiseling away at the planet, I find hope and solace. Working alongside the tenacity and resiliency of plants, animals, and soil microbes, I've helped landscapes as large as a river basin and as small as a garden come to life and flourish. Give nature half a chance and she can do wonders.  

Anne's book list on microbiomes, gut health, food, and farming

Anne Biklé Why did Anne love this book?

Ravella, a gastroenterologist, takes readers deep into the human immune system and its go-to process—inflammation. 

She provides illuminating details about macrophages (a type of immune cell) and how dietary patterns can shift their normally helpful activities to harmful ones. And only recently was it learned that immune cells need certain fats (omega-3s) to make the compounds that end an inflammatory event. Where do we get Omega-3s?

In the foods we eat, among them fatty fish like salmon, grass-fed meat and dairy, and certain nuts and seeds. I also love the history of science and Ravella provides generous sprinkles of various characters and their ideas throughout the book to share how intertwined inflammation is with human biology. 

By Shilpa Ravella,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Silent Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inflammation is the body's ancestral response to its greatest threats: injury and foreign microbes. But as the threats we face have evolved, new science reveals simmering inflammation underneath the surface of everything from heart disease and cancer to mysterious autoimmune conditions.

In A Silent Fire, gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella takes us on a lyrical quest across time, around the world and into the body to reveal hidden inflammation at the root of modern disease-and how we can control it. We meet an eccentric Russian zoologist, the passionate yet flawed inventor of Kellogg's Cornflakes, and dedicated researchers working on the frontiers of…


Book cover of An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases

Tamara Duker Freuman Author Of The Bloated Belly Whisperer: A Nutritionist's Ultimate Guide to Beating Bloat and Improving Digestive Wellness

From my list on science books to make yourself health-fad proof.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an evidence-based dietitian who’s worked in gastroenterology practices for over a decade and have seen countless patients defrauded by modern-day snake oil salespeople and unqualified influencers trying to hawk fad diets, unregulated supplements, pseudoscientific lab tests, and more. Knowledge is power, and scientific literacy—understanding how our bodies actually work—is the best defense against being led down a harmful rabbit hole of health misinformation. I love popular science books, and I especially love it when people can write about science with humor and intelligence without ‘dumbing it down’ or oversimplifying; these books all meet that criteria!

Tamara's book list on science books to make yourself health-fad proof

Tamara Duker Freuman Why did Tamara love this book?

Long before everyone and their mother knew about the gut microbiome and its impact on overall health and immunity, Velasquez-Manoff blew my mind with this impeccably researched book about the connections between specific “old friends”—microorganisms that had long been part of the human species’ inner ecosystems—and risk of developing autoimmune disease. Forget the fearmongering explanations you’ve seen on social media blaming GMOs, gluten, lectins, or the dietary demon du jour; this book has actual evidence-based answers to the question of why allergies and autoimmune diseases are on the rise.

The author is a journalist with a knack for storytelling and making complex science accessible—and he is also affected by multiple autoimmune diseases himself. His storytelling takes readers all over the world to different societies at different periods and introduces us to specific bacteria, worms, and viruses—“old friends”—whose erasure from our collective inner ecosystems seems to foretell a rise in the…

By Moises Velasquez-Manoff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked An Epidemic of Absence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A brilliant, groundbreaking report on the dramatic rise of allergic and autoimmune disease, and the controversial therapies scientists are developing to correct these disorders.

From asthma to Crohn’s disease, everyone knows someone who suffers from an allergic or autoimmune disorder. And if it appears that the prevalence of these maladies has increased recently, that’s because it has—to levels never before seen in human history. These days no fewer than one in five—and likely more—Americans suffers from one of these ailments. We seem newly, and bafflingly, vulnerable to immune system malfunction. Why? One possibility is that we have systematically cleaned ourselves…


Book cover of The Wahls Protocol Cooking For Life: The Revolutionary Modern Paleo Plan to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a holistic adult and child psychiatrist, astrologer, shamanic practitioner, and energy healer who has been in practice for 35 years. I am thoroughly familiar with the conventional paradigm for treating psychiatric illness, but I no longer endorse it and, in fact, believe that it causes harm. I am convinced that there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in medicine at this time of collapse and breakdown on the planet. The sacred's vital role in healing needs to be acknowledged, as does the role of nutrition and lifestyle, as well as a need to identify and treat the root causes of illness rather than simply suppressing symptoms with pharmaceuticals. 

Judy's book list on cultivating resilience and courage during these profound times of rapid transformation on our planet

Judy Tsafrir Why did Judy love this book?

Dr. Terry Wahls is an absolutely brilliant physician whose accessible book describes a treatment approach that is enormously effective for treating the inflammation that is at the heart of so many conditions. She reversed her own illness with it. She had rapidly progressive degeneration of her nervous system due to multiple sclerosis, which resulted in her needing to use a wheelchair. Through implementing her own protocol, she is now back to riding her bike.

I recommend this book to 95% of the patients in my practice because the dietary approach that she clearly describes makes such a difference in their health and well-being. I like the fact that she outlines three stages of implementing her protocol so that a person can begin with the least restrictive and, if desired, can take it to the next level.

This approach offers flexibility and allows a person to ease into making lifestyle changes.…

By Terry Wahls, Eve Adamson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wahls Protocol Cooking For Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The cookbook companion to the groundbreaking The Wahls Protocol, featuring delicious, nutritionally dense recipes tailored to each level of the Wahls Paleo Diet.

The Wahls Protocol has become a sensation, transforming the lives of people who suffer from autoimmune disorders. Now, in her highly anticipated follow-up, Dr. Wahls is sharing the essential Paleo-inspired recipes her readers need to reduce and often eliminate their chronic pain, fatigue, brain fog, and other symptoms related to autoimmune problems, neurological diseases, and other chronic conditions, even when physicians have been unable to make a specific diagnosis. Packed with easy-to-prepare meals based on Dr. Wahls’s…


Book cover of American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts

Eric Eyre Author Of Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic

From my list on the opioid crisis written by journalists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a West Virginia-based journalist. I have covered the opioid epidemic for nearly 10 years. In 2017, I was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for stories about massive shipments of OxyContin and other painkillers to small towns in Appalachia. 

Eric's book list on the opioid crisis written by journalists

Eric Eyre Why did Eric love this book?

McGreal’s book fell a bit under the radar, but in my mind, it’s one of the best books of reportage on the opioid epidemic. As a reporter for The Guardian, McGreal covered the drug crisis for years. American Overdose connects all the dots that caused it. The book starts out, “Even as a teenager, Henry Vinson wanted to be an undertaker,” then takes flight from the hollows of West Virginia to the halls of Congress. McGreal is a tenacious reporter and a superb writer. He’s one of the first reporters to lay bare the Food and Drug Administration’s cozy relationship with Purdue Pharma. And he introduces readers to former DEA agent Joe Rannazzisi, who tried to put the brakes on massive shipments of painkillers to small towns across America, but was forced to step aside after Big Pharma complained about him to powerful U.S. lawmakers. The story builds from…

By Chris McGreal,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked American Overdose as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2019

A devastating portrait of America's opioid painkiller epidemic - the deadliest drug crisis in US history.

One hundred and fifty Americans are killed each day by the opioid epidemic. But, as Chris McGreal reveals it was an avoidable tragedy driven by bad science, corporate greed and a corrupted medical system. He tells the stories of the families devastated by painkillers they thought would heal, and the physicians and scientists who took on the drug companies behind the epidemic. American Overdose is a powerful account of the terrible human cost of the…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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