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Title: The Monstrumologist
Series: The Monstrumologist #1
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
Pages: 452
Format: Digital Edition
| Synopsis: |
12 year old Will Henry has been taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, as both his parents died in a fire and Will’s father worked for Dr. Warthrop. This is his story, recorded from a series of journals written much later.
Dr. Warthrop is a monstrumologist and he makes it his life to study monsters. When a graverobber brings the corpse of a headless monster to Dr. Warthrop, events from the past begin to catch up with the present. Dr. Warthrop’s father was also a monstrumologist and it turns out he was trying to domesticate the anthropophagi and brought some to America. Now they have bred and attacked and killed a family in New Jerusalem.
Dr. Warthrop brings in a professional monster hunter, Dr. Kearns and they, along with Will Henry and some former soldiers from the town of New Jerusalem must seek out and kill the nest of anthropophagi. Led by a cunning matriarch, the anthropophagi won’t succumb easily. It doesn’t help that Kearns appears to be an immoral killer who lives for the thrill of it. Who will live and who will die? Nobody important to the continuation of the series dies, if that’s any comfort.
More importantly, are these journals true or is the old man claiming to be Will Henry just a nutcase who died alone and ungrieved?
| My Thoughts: |
Lovecraftian through and through. While not cosmic horror, it is horror meant to be beyond that of mortal ken. It is also written to mimic someone writing from the 1880’s’ish, so if you don’t like Dickens, you might have some issues with the style and pacing.
Horrific, brutal and harsh. Mentally, emotionally, physically.
Will Henry might be 12 years old, but this book is in no ways meant for a 12 year old. Blood, brain matter and gore. Warthrop is the worst sort of person, forgetting his own humanity and never recognizing it in others. He is the quintessential Mad Scientist and I hated him. Will is going to grow up with scars so deep that he’ll probably end up dying while doing his duties. Much like his father, who probably died due to Warthrop’s hidden experimentation.
It was really hard to read this book and enjoy it. Will is abused by Warthrop mentally and emotionally and pushed beyond his physical limits, not because Warthrop is out to hurt him,but because Warthrop is obsessed. This was a true Horror genre book to me.
It was well written and since I enjoy Lovecraft AND Dickens, the style didn’t bother me one bit. In some ways it reminded me of a version of Frankenstein, but with all the gore and violence noted. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it just seemed very Frankenstein’ish to me.
I’ll continue the series on but I’ll be taking note of the tone of the series and adjust myself accordingly.
★★★★☆
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 
I’ve read every other novel Yancey has written, but something about this one (and the sequels) haven’t appealed to me. You’ve made it sound like the quality one should assume from him, but still not for me.
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Quality is top notch. I’ll probably go on to try his other stuff after I finish this series.
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It will be, I warn you, very different in tone/feel.
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Well, as long as they aren’t blatantly and sickeningly young adult, that’ll be for the good.
This was a tough read…
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He has an adult mystery series, too.
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Good to know!
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I really enjoyed this one. I couldn’t believe it was marketed as a YA book though, like you said, there are some really heavy themes in here including emotional abuse. And it was soooo gory. I had a blast with it though, I love books that creep me out, and everything from the intro with the girl (and the nasty gift the monster left in her) to the claustrophobic scenes near the end in the tunnels gave me the chills.
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Yeah, that tunnel bit at the end creeped me out. And then the whole reveal about Kearns going to England and being the Ripper? Maaaaann, I hope we don’t see him again.
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I have actually wanted to read this for *ages*! I’m glad you liked it even if it was super dark.
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Oh my goodness, was it dark. Classic horror even while being written recently…
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hehe well that’s good to know- I’ll have to read it when I’m in the mood 😉
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Well, well, well. The author of the 5th Wave has written other things than… the 5th Wave!!! Okay, I did know that, but I rarely see anyone talk about this series. I’ll definitely check this out now though. I looked it up and saw it was tagged YA too, and I’m glad you mentioned that it didn’t read like one. The writing sounds perfect to me, and the mere fact that the violence and gore is not restrained in it is a huge plus!!
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I know this is marketed as young adult and is from a YA imprint, but it is NOT ya. I’m not sure I’d let my imaginary kids read it unless we were having a good discussion about it. Once they turned 16! It is just plain horrific…
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I honestly have yet to read a solid pure horror book. I find that it is a colossal task for authors to scar me, but I do hope I’ll find one that will blow my mind (yeh.. I’ve only read the first book of King’s The Dark Tower series, so I guess it would be nice to read one of his classic horror stories to see what horror is like too).
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I tend to stay away from horror in general, so I’m not jaded to it. Hence why a book like this has the impact it does.
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That’s a good point. You and your desire to not get desensitized by violence. #CantForget
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That’s me, Saint Bookstooge, Pacifist Extraordinaire!
😉
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LOVECRAFTIAN AND DICKENS? SAY NO MORE. *runs to add it to Goodreads and make a mental note to buy it*
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Well, I’d give it a read before buying it. I know it is completed at 4 books, but I’ve heard extreme opinions on both sides about the final book.
So, Buyer Beware 😉
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