A Book Set Somewhere You've Always Wanted to Visit

Title: Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter
Author: Josh Gates
Published: Gallery Books, 2011
Started: 12/31/14
Finished: 1/02/15

I think I will start all of my blog posts with the above format for each post regarding a "challenge" book.  If you are unaware of the challenge, please refer to my previous post.

I'm not sure if I broke the rules or not, but I actually started reading this book before the New Year, but I am counting it anyway as more reading time took place in 2015 than it did in 2014 for this particular book.  I bought Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter by Josh Gates on Amazon a couple days ago and rushed right into the reading.  I am big fan of the popular SyFy show Destination Truth, hosted by Josh Gates and was sad to see the series end in 2012.  I was completely unaware that Gates had written this book until it popped in my recommendations on Amazon, so I give credit to the technology that claims to know what I want, because in this case it was correct.

I liked the show for multiple reasons.  I liked that it was not overly in your face about the "unknown".  Unlike the show Ancient Aliens, Destination Truth came across as skeptical, more concerned about the answers than trying to prove the existence of mythological creatures and paranormal phenomena.  I also enjoy Josh Gates' witty humor.  His humor brings a different angle to a show like this.  Last, but certainly not least, I always enjoyed the cultural aspect of the show.  The show was part cryptozoological/paranormal investigation and part cultural experience.  But, alas, this post is not about the show, it's about Gates' book.

The funny thing about the book, is that it reads very similar to how the show is viewed.  Gates uses his sense of humor perfectly to describe many of his travel experiences.  The book is more about travel, culture, and experiences, than it is about hunting monsters and the unknown.  He speckles the book with informative insight on traveling, case files about monsters, creatures, and myths (with his own personal opinions about their existence or lack thereof), and a little into how Josh Gates became the Josh Gates we see on television.

When I was reading many of the chapters retelling accounts that are shown in the very episodes I have watched multiple times, I couldn't help but to hear the dialogue that is used in each episode.  Gates writes in a way that is easy to understand, which is just fine, as he is not trying to be someone he is not with the writing of this book.  As I was reading the book, and now that I am finished, I am envious of the travel that Gates gets to do as his career.  That is why I chose this book for the book that is set somewhere I have always wanted to visit.  This book takes place all over the globe, with snapshots into Egypt, the Himalayas, Iceland, Mexico, the Amazon, Russia, Peru, and many other places.  As I was reading this book, I kept telling myself "I want to go there" with the ending of each chapter.  Gates is very adamant that people travel which becomes apparent in two chapters specifically.  The book makes me want to pack my bag, purchase a plane ticket, and go somewhere, without a tour guide, and without an itinerary.

I don't think you have to be a fan of the show or even have seen the show to enjoy this book.  Destination Truth is not necessarily a guide to the show, or even a behind the scenes look at the show, though it can be.  I read it more as a travel manual, a memoir (which is in the subtitle), and accounts of adventure.  One quote in particular that I appreciated and enjoy is "...every story has worth, since a person takes the time to tell it.  The key is to listen."  Gates is writing of the myths and legends he has heard in the 5 seasons (at the time 4 seasons) of Destination Truth and how the creatures, monsters, etc. may not be real the stories themselves are very real.  Many times Gates gives us this glimpse of other cultures, sometimes humorous, other times serious.  It's humbling to read these accounts knowing there is so much out there.  At times the stories he is retelling from these cultures sound ridiculous and it is easy for us to shrug them off with a smirk of disbelief, but many of these stories, legends, and myths are some of the thread that make up these cultures.  Gates has done a wonderful job making this ever apparent in the writing of this book.

I easily recommend this book to anyone and give it a great review.