Man-Made Monsters: A Field Guide to Golems, Patchwork Solders, Homunculi, and Other Created Creatures

by Bob Curran, Ian Daniels (Illustrator)

Life exists all around us, in forms that we can readily and easily identify. But what if there were, lurking in the shadows, other forms of life that are not so familiar, creatures created not by Nature, but by Man? We know their names--Frankenstein, the Golem, the homunculi of the ancient alchemists; they exist in our stories and myths.

But just what are these mysterious creatures, and do they actually have some basis in reality?

In his fascinating and wide-ranging new book, Dr Bob Curran explores man-made monsters and the truth behind the myths.

You'll learn fascinating details

Genres: Occult, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

BOB CURRAN is an educational psychologist in Coleraine University. His interests are broad-ranging but are focused especially on history and story. He has written several books, including The Field Guide to Irish Fairies, The Wolfhound Guide to the Shamrock, Creatures of Celtic Myth, The Truth about the Leprechaun.

Reviews

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to a strange coincidence, as noted before, I was able to review a book which concerns itself with a topic related to my essay in the issue 15 of the Gatehouse Gazette.

The book in question is
Man-Made Monsters: A Field Guide to Golems, Patchwork Soldiers, Homunculi, and Other Created Creatures
Quite a long title and the book contains everything the title promises.

Man-Made Monsters, Dr. CurranDr. Bob Curran, the author, is an expert in the field of modern myths and has authored books like The Dark Spirit in the past. Being an anthropologist myself I felt more than just a little honored being offered the opportunity to review this book.
Dr. Curran covers a lot of ground, both historically and geographically. The created beings he studies range from Frankenstein to the Golem to homunculi and tulpa to robots and finally to clones. He visits the lands of Europe, the Near and the Far East and shows the reader the various traditions and legends surrounding man-made monsters, or simply created beings, of the various regions. He focuses on both the creations and their creators. Through this, we meet a lot of historically significant people, like Dr. John Dee. I was quite amazed to find so many illustrious names connected to the study of alchemy and the creation of life. The less-known, and often more extreme, examples of men dabbling in weird and sometimes forbidden arts, were more fascinating, though.
The history of electric reanimation in particular and the people involved in it were at the same time morbidly fascinating and rather chilling.
Here, the book becomes bot a celebration of human couriousness, scientific thinking and ingenuity as well as a warning against the evils men are capable of in persuit of a goal.

The next thing that struck me are the connections Dr. Curran demonstrates. The “knowledge” of creating artificial life was wide-spread even in the Middle Ages, when there was hardly any infrastructure in Europe, and connected Europe to the Near East and Asia. Alchemy especially was not a European but a Eurasian phenomenon, although the philosophical background was slightly different.

He also demonstrates clearely, how deep the stories, myths and legends go in human society and the psyche of the society. In an interesting dichotomy, the power to create life was at the same time be viewed as a devine favour granted to pious men (i.e. the famous Rabbi Löw, Creator of the original Golem) and as a diabolic act connected to the black arts (especially the creation of homunculi).

Towards the end of the book, when robots are discussed, Dr. Curran is using a little too many mays and mights and so, if one is inclined to believe such things, the case could be constructed of Dr. Curran supporting the idea of the ancient Chinese being in possession of automated metal dragons. All he does is connect ideas to certain ancient Chinese myths, nothing else. But the way he makes these connections could be taken as a hint towards flying dragonships in ancient China.
But this is the only complaint I have. Dr. Curran gives an excellent and in-depth view of the myths sourrounding created beings, the scientific reality of earlier days and the present and a lot of useful backgrond information on the life and times of the real, supposed or mythical creators of artificial beings.

This review would not be complete without mention of the excellent artwork provided by Ian Daniels. His images of the created beings are hauntingly beautiful and give the myths and stories Dr. Curran writes about a visual manifestation. I am especially enchanted by the clockwork lady on the back-cover.

All in all, Man-Made Monsters: A Field Guide to Golems, Patchwork Solders, Homunculi, and Other Created Creatures is an excellent book. It is both enlightning and entertaining. No gentleman or lady researcher into the weirder aspects of science and the human mind should be without.

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review Brought to you by OBS staff Member Karolina

Excerpt: Life exists all around us, in forms that we can readily and easily identify. But what if there were, lurking in the shadows, other forms of life that are not so familiar, creatures created not by Nature, but by Man? We know their names–Frankenstein, the Golem, the homunculi of the ancient alchemists; they exist in our stories and myths.

But just what are these mysterious creatures, and do they actually have some basis in reality?

In his fascinating and wide-ranging new book, Dr Bob Curran explores man-made monsters and the truth behind the myths.

You’ll learn fascinating details about:
The 19th century scientist who tried to bring the dead back to life – the model for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

The Man of Clay who lumbered through the streets of medieval Prague at the command of early rabbis

Tales of robots that may have existed in the ancient world and threatened Greek and Roman warriors.

Cloning and the artificial creation of life, and what strange and mysterious areas they may be heading into.

Man-Made Monsters is essential reading for anyone who wants to explore artificial beings and peer into the dark recesses of the human mind…where they may indeed be hiding. Source

Review: As someone who adores Ancient history (and has studied it), myth and legend, and who has studied psychology – I adored this book. The excerpt delivers exactly what it promises. Dr Curran combines really compelling narrative with myths and legends around popular monsters, such as Frankenstein, Golems and as well as looking at artifacts such as ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian texts and discusses what it means for people for these things to exist. From suspicious doctors playing god (Giovanni Aldini and the story of George Forster, as well as the legend and connection of Johann Dippel to Frankenstein) to Ancient Chinese texts, this book is a great way to explore creation myths and people’s fascination with life and death.

My favorite exploration of Mythology and legend that appear in Dr Curran’s book, being the ancient history geek that I am, is probably chapter 3, “ the thing in the jar” , which combines ancient historical texts, religious beliefs, and the ancient art of alchemy to discuss the mysterious works of the mysterious knights Templar and the secrets experiments done. This particular chapter also briefly speaks of things such as mandrakes, which of course now appears in popular culture such as Harry Potter.

I’d definitely say this was an enjoyable read for anyone who wants to delve into creation myths and the history behind them, and even those who consider themselves quite well versed in these topics. The art in this book, done by Ian Daniels, is also phenomenal.

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