The Monstrumologist: Volume 1 (Monstrumologist, #1)

by Rick Yancey

• ISBN10: 1416984496
• ISBN13: 9781416984498
• Publish Date: 20 July 2010 (first published 22 September 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I don't normally read Horror, but since this was book of the month for a group I'm in, I picked it up. I have to say that The Monstrumologist is the most gruesome thing I have ever read, but I liked it. It tells the tale of Will Henry, a twelve year old orphan, who is assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. Warthrop isn't a normal doctor, but actually studies monsters. One night, a strange package is delivered to his home, and upon opening it, a very disturbing surprise is unveiled. It's a dead carnivorous primate wrapped around a dead human girl. And she's pregnant with it's demon spawn, which is still alive. That first chapter is disturbing and really sets the tone for the rest of the book. What follows is a monster hunt, as Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop try to figure out how this monster got there, how many there are, where they're hiding, and ultimately eradicate them.

Like I said, The Monstrumologist is gruesome. There's blood and guts and insane amounts of violence in every chapter. This put me very much out of my element, but the story wouldn't have worked without it. I survived though, and ultimately I'm glad I read it, because the story was super interesting. The focus is on the monster known as Anthropophagi. It's kind of human, but not really. It's distantly related, and actually preys on us exclusively. There are tons of detailed descriptions of this beast, so it was all too easy to picture it and its violent hunting/feeding actions. I felt like I got a crash course in every aspect of this species: anatomy, biology, ecology...everything! It was all very well done, and never felt info-dumpy. I just wish there had been some sketches included to complement my imagination.

There's not really much that I can say without giving away too much of the plot. It's a pretty simple monster hunt, but there are lots of creepy surprises and twists along the way. One other thing that I will mention about The Monstrumologist is that I liked how it was written as kind of a diary. There's a prologue of the author and how he came upon it, followed by "the contents," and then there's an epilogue about how the author did research about the people and events included in the diary. I thought this was a very nice touch, and upped the creepy factor because it made Will Henry's story feel like so much more than fiction.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[nannah]

Holy crap, was this book dark and scary.

I suppose I've never had the stomach for horror, but this is the first YA book (even of those that proclaim themselves to be in the horror genre) that's haunted me after I closed the covers. I actually shouted out loud during some parts and had to stop to regain my calm.

And of course, I just had to read this at night, too. I really make the smartest decisions.

Overall, I really, really liked The Monstrumologist, despite that the adjective-bogged down descriptions removed me from the scene PLENTY times during each chapter. (almost once every page--seriously, this book is completely stuffed full of adjectives and almost unnecessary descriptors.) The highlight of this book is most certainly the difficult-to-make-out, sometimes touching, sometimes troublesome relationship between the Monstrumologist himself and the young main protag: Will Henry. Yancey does an excellent job at getting a confused reaction out of me regarding Pellinore, the Monstrumologist. For most of the time I was certain I disliked most of him, and then he turns around and does something that makes me want to kiss him and rethink my opinion. And then seconds later, I'm positive he's only a horrible, selfish thing. In the end, it turns out I simultaneously love and judge him, and that's what makes him so DARN interesting. A more complex and thought-out character I've rarely read in YA fiction.

Definitely excited to get my hands on the second installment.

[limabean74]

Loved this book. Is now one of my favorite series. I loved the writing style. Being set in 1888 made it a lot more creepy, I'm not sure why that era is so spooky to me, but I loved it anyway. I'm not into writing reviews that explain the entire book ill just say at times it was a little wordy but it kept my attention until the end. The Main character Will Henry was VERY likeable and you really felt for him. Dr Pellinore was someone you wanted to hate but there was something about him that made you want to like him :) Rick Yancey really painted an amazing picture of what the late 1800's was like and the setting gave just enough creepiness to really set a spooky mood. It had some humor to it and some gore. It really is a fantastic book that I think isn't getting nearly enough attention......Well written, Rick Yancey, well written :)

[lizarodz]

I finished listening to The Monstrumologist audio book a few days ago and since then I have been thinking on how to begin this review. This book was a rich mix of horror, mystery and something else I quite can’t put my finger on, but that combined put together a masterpiece that I am afraid I lack the words to describe.

Our protagonist and narrator is Will J. Henry, a 12-year-old orphan that is the assistant to the monstrumologist, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. Will is such an endearing character, and by the end of the story I felt like we intimately knew him; his loyalty, his fears, his eagerness to please his master, his resourcefulness give us a glimpse of the great man he is sure to grow up to be. Dr. Warthrop’s character is a mix of the good and the bad. I would like to think that he really cares for Will, but he is such an unlovable character himself, so full of knowledge and self-evident genius, and at the same time lacking the common sense and basic empathy that most people have. *SNAP TO Will Henry*. What to say about Jack Kearns? Only that monsters come in all shape and sizes.

What made this novel so fascinating to me was not only the original plot, the Gothic experience, the feeling of jumping out of my skin every few minutes or making disgusted faces at everyone (remember I was listening to it while driving!), but the storytelling itself. Mr. Yancey is a master, and I bow to you sir. Words become the things that he uses to craft a magnificent story, in which the metaphor and simile become an art. Read this expert from chapter one:

But nothing had prepared me for what the old man delivered that night. I daresay your average adult would have fled the room in horror, run screaming up the stairs and out of the house, for what lay within that burlap cocoon laid shame to all the platitudes and promises from a thousand pulpits upon the nature of a just and loving God, of a balanced and kind universe, and the dignity of man. A crime, the old grave-robber had called it. Indeed there seemed no better word for it, though a crime requires a criminal...and who or what was the criminal in this case?

will most definitely snap to and read The Curse of the Wendigo (which I already own!) soon and The Monstrumologist has made Mr. Yancey one of my favorite authors.

About the cover: Creepy, uh? Well, the book IS creepy, and not for the weak of stomach, that’s for sure!