The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

“We are slaves, all of us . . . Some are slaves to fear. Others are slaves to reason--or base desire. It is our lot to be slaves . . . and the question must be to what shall we owe our indenture? Will it be to truth or to falsehood, hope or despair, light or darkness? I choose to serve the light, even though that bondage often lies in darkness.”

If you must know, I am in the midst of an insane semester (hence my long absence). However, I am currently taking an intensive class on adolescent literature so I will have many books to throw your way in the coming weeks.

The first book I bring you is of the horror genre. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey is not something I would have picked of my own accord (because I am namby-pamby when it comes to horror), but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Plot:
Due to an unfortunate accident, a young boy by the name of Will Henry is left orphaned and then adopted by an eccentric doctor whose life's work is dedicated to the study of monsters (aka monstrumology). One dark and stormy night (exaggeration on my part), a grave robber comes to the home of the doctor bearing a curious load on his cart. What the grave robber delivers is the corpse of a young woman entangled in the embrace of the corpse of a dreadful monster. The doctor is able to identify the monster as Anthropophagi, a frightful creature that feasts upon human flesh. Thus the adventure begins as the doctor and Will Henry set about to eradicate their city of a pack of these man-eating monsters.

I do not suggest this book for the squeamish. Although the horror aspects can be quite thrilling, there is a bit of gore (as can be expected with monsters who eat humans like candy), which is not an aspect every reader loves. But like I said, I was pleasantly (gruesomely?) surprised by this novel and was greatly entertained. Although, the author's word choice can get tiring because he overuses certain words such as "macabre." We get it, the whole ordeal is quite macabre.

A fun read if you're looking to try some horror on for size.

-KB

Rating: 3/5