27 - a book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature

[Erika]

I read "At the Waters Edge" by Sara Gruen, the characters are looking for the loch ness monster // plesiosaur so I would say it counts.

[Katy]

I've been considering going non-fiction with this prompt. Any suggestions on that front?

[Brandon]

Katy wrote: "I've been considering going non-fiction with this prompt. Any suggestions on that front?"

Pick an extinct creature you think is cool: dinosaur, sabertooth tiger, woolly mammoth, trilobite, etc. The chances are good that there is a book out there on the subject.

[Jackie]

Katy wrote: "I've been considering going non-fiction with this prompt. Any suggestions on that front?"

The Last Unicorn: A Search for One of Earth's Rarest Creatures: It's non-fiction about an expedition to try to find any remaining members of a one-horned deer-like species. They were unsuccessful and at this point it's most likely extinct. It's a good read if you enjoy Nat Geo documentaries.

[Katy]

Jackie wrote: "Katy wrote: "I've been considering going non-fiction with this prompt. Any suggestions on that front?"

The Last Unicorn: A Search for One of Earth's Rarest Creatures: It's non-fict..."

Thanks for the suggestion. I've actually started reading The Lore of the Unicorn. It's pretty interesting, so far, if a bit dry.

[Tori]

I just finished reading Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. Dinosaurs and time travel. A fun read!

[Umairah (Sereadipity)]

Crown Of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto is about phoenixes and their riders so I guess that counts!

[Liz]

The first 2 Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child deals with extinct creatures. I enjoyed reading them both.

[Solenn]

I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker for this prompt..

[Shelley]

Does anyone think Lanny might fit here? I really want to read that book so I am trying to make it fit somewhere

[Shelley]

I went with The Priory of the Orange Tree. It's a long high-fantasy epic that is a stand alone! No obvious place for a sequel! Dragons play a large part and I really enjoyed it.

[Cyndy]

I read The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis, the last of the series. I liked this one, but not as much as the first and sixth. It was close to a page turner, possibly because it was the last. I don't know why I didn't read these when I was younger, probably because I didn't care much for fantasy / unreal genre as a kid.

[Siobhan]

Into the Drowning Deep features imaginary creatures (mermaids, albeit not benevolent ones) and is $2.99 on Kindle today (30 April)!

[Patricia]

I'm planning to read Frankenstein for this one.

[Linda]

If anyone else out there is like me, and prefers their fiction to be realistic, I'd recommend Remarkable Creatures for this category. It's about two women in the early 1800s who hunt for fossils and end up finding fossils from creatures that are extinct. Which was very interesting since that is not a concept that people had at that time. For one thing, the religious community had issues with the idea that God may have made creatures and allowed them to die out. The fact that these fossil hunters were female, and of different classes added interest to the story too. I really liked the book.
It could also work for a book about a hobby, and one based on a true story since the characters were real people.

[Jette]

Do you think Prey by Micheal Crichton would work? The GoodReads description is:

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour.

Every attempt to destroy it has failed.

And we are the prey.

Micro-robots aren't really creatures, but they are self sustaining, intelligent, and evolving. As artificial intelligence is becoming more of a reality, the lines between a "creature" and and object are starting to blur.

What do y'all think?

[Jackie]

I'm in favor. They can reproduce, they do things to promote their own survival...that's at least as alive as bacteria. I feel like we sometimes get so wrapped up in whether or not ai is 'sentient' and totally gloss over the question of whether or not they're alive. The question is, at what point will I start to feel bad for turning off my computer?

[Megan]

Jette wrote: "Do you think Prey by Micheal Crichton would work? The GoodReads description is:

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles -- micro-robots -- has escaped..."

I'd say no, as those aren't imaginary creature--robots ARE a real thing--and they're not extinct either.

[Drakeryn]

I would count it. Robots exist, but not the kind of robots that are featured in Prey.

It's like if you wanted to count Clifford the Big Red Dog - dogs exist, but not house-sized dogs. His size is the imaginary part. (And the robots in Prey differ from real-life robots in a lot more than just size.)

[Jackie]

Yes, exactly, Clifford is a Kaiju like Godzilla.

[Katie]

I just finished The Cove, I really loved it, and it turns out it fits here!

Features the extinct Carolina Parakeet.

Also, first and last are Rs if you want to put it there.

[Melinda]

Alicia wrote: "I don't know how to hook links to books on the iPad, but At Waters Edge was good (LochNess monster).

How about Court of Thorns and Roses? It has fairies right?"

I used the sequel as my book for this prompt (I'm also one of the few people on Goodreads who didn't love it). Fairies totally count :)

[L Y N N]

I've read these this year and all of them would work for this prompt:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Arrival
Artemis Fowl
Emlyn's Moon
The Night Circus
Uprooted
The Book of Hidden Things

[Charity]

Not sure if they've been mentioned and my browser is being weird, but Thirteenth Child, Thursday Next, and Moon Called are all books I've read this year that would work for this prompt that I can recommend as good.

[Emanuel]

I read the books of trilogy Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy.

[Amanda]

I read The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. It was perfect for this one.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

The more I think about this prompt the more I realize how few creatures I think are purely imaginary. Most of them may be changed so much they count as imaginary anyway, but when you trace stories back to their roots there's so often a grain of truth somewhere back there...

[Nadine in NY]

Raquel wrote: "The more I think about this prompt the more I realize how few creatures I think are purely imaginary. Most of them may be changed so much they count as imaginary anyway, but when you trace stories ..."


Don't overthink it!! Narwhals are real, unicorns are imaginary, end of story. Dinosaurs are real, dragons are imaginary, done. Grizzly bears are real, Bigfoot is imaginary. And so on.

[Katy]

Nadine wrote: "Don't overthink it!! Narwhals are real, unicorns are imaginary, end of story. Dinosaurs are real, dragons are imaginary, done. Grizzly bears are real, Bigfoot is imaginary. And so on. ..."

And I'm very upset that unicorns aren't real. I read the Lore of the Unicorn for this prompt and learned that if you drink out of water right after a unicorn has dipped its horn in, you won't age. There were even instruction on how to hunt one ( to capture not to kill it). Alas, I guess eternal middle age is not for me. Old age here I come:(

[L Y N N]

Nadine wrote: "Raquel wrote: "The more I think about this prompt the more I realize how few creatures I think are purely imaginary. Most of them may be changed so much they count as imaginary anyway, but when you..."

You made me laugh! ;)

[Erin]

The Golden Compass

For a kid's book, it was pretty deep. I'm excited to see the show on HBO.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Nadine wrote: "Raquel wrote: "The more I think about this prompt the more I realize how few creatures I think are purely imaginary. Most of them may be changed so much they count as imaginary anyway, but when you..."

I think you're right, that's the only way to handle it for sanity.... At least with dragons, which I'm likely to use here anyway, I'm covered either way: imaginary or extinct, doesn't matter which!

[Jennifer]

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

[Karla]

I was planning on reading Kraken by China Mieville, but I'm not sure if it counts or not since it's a giant squid, at least according to the summary.

[Nadine in NY]

Yes Kraken definitely counts for this category!! It’s full of imaginary creatures.

[Gabby]

I just finished Peter Darling. I’m assuming it fits this prompt with Tink and the mermaids.

[Catherine]

Do you think I could read Monsters of Men (Chaos walking 3) by Patrick Ness for this prompt, if we call the sparkle the imaginary or mythical creature? I guess it might be stretching it a bit...

TBH I'm sort of not into this prompt, which normal would be a good thing as it means I expand my reading horizons some, but I just need a comforting read right now!

[Drakeryn]

The Spackle absolutely count! Any aliens would count, and the Spackle play a huge role in book 3, so it's better alien rep than most.

[Johanne]

Agree 100% with you Drakeryn.

[Jaclyn]

I used the second installment Red Seas Under Red Skies of the Gentleman Bastard series (the first one The Lies of Locke Lamora would work too if it's on your TBR list). I just finished The Name of the Wind and it would work well for this prompt also.

[Jenny]

Does The Night Circus work for this prompt? I've not read it, and for such a popular book, I know surprisingly little about it, but I want to read it and I was wondering if it would fit here. I'm not looking for spoilers other than whether or not you think I could use The Night Circus for this prompt. Thank you! :)

[Jenny]

Oh, I do have The Night Tiger! I could read that. :)

[Jill]

Does anyone know if The Sword of Summer would count for this prompt? I am assuming there would be some imaginary/extinct mythological creatures in it

[L Y N N]

Jenny wrote: "Does The Night Circus work for this prompt? I've not read it, and for such a popular book, I know surprisingly little about it, but I want to read it and I was wondering if it would fit here. I'm n..."

I counted The Night Circus for this prompt. Both the fathers were very very old and I felt they qualified as imaginary creatures.

[Janette]

Does a feeling robot in the image of a human qualify as an imaginary creature?

[KF-in-Georgia]

Yes. Robots in the image of a human don't exist, but they don't feel, either.

[Joana]

[Laura]

Would throne of glass work for this??

[Julie]

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco. It's a sequel. I loved the whole series and will be reading more by the author. These books are dark fantasy. I believe they are young adult, but very well written and not terribly dumbed down.