This faux history of a mad scientist obsessed with mythological creatures and physical deformities consists of a "biography" of Dr. Spencer Black and a copy of his Codex Extinct Animalia. While the story is intriguing, I found the illustrations of the codex to be the most fascinating. The detailed drawings mirror scientific illustrations of real skeletal and muscular systems including Latin labels and multiple perspectives of the body. I would love to use these as inspiration for drawing skeletons in a high school art class!