Der Monstrumologe Und Das Drachen-Ei (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Dark and labyrinthine, and a satisfying conclusion to the Monstrumologist Quartet. The conceit is that Rick Yancey has collected and published/edited the journals of Will Henry, detailing Will Henry's life from the time he was first adopted at a young age by Dr. Warthrop, a harsh and passionate hunter of monsters. In this final volume, we follow Will Henry as he comes into his adulthood through trials and tests of human nature that mold him into... well, I won't spoil that for you. It's dark and fascinating. At first this volume seemed a little confusing because of the way the "journals" slip into madness and non-linear story-telling. But those parts read like poetry, and it begins to have a lilting rhythm to it. Truly excellent writing, with heavy observations and lots to ponder long after you've finished reading it. One of my absolute favorite series for the more clever young adults, and easily worth reading for grownups, too. :) The Final Descent by Rick Yancy was a remarkably disappointing conclusion to The Monstrumologist series. The publishers may have had the right idea initially canceling his contract after The Isle of Blood. Admittedly I would still have been disappointed not to know how Will Henry's story ended but I would have gotten over it. It would have been preferable to where I find myself now.In this final installment the author takes the likeable character that was Will Henry and corrupts and twist him until he is hardly recognizable. I assume it was an attempt by the author to be somehow clever or deep. To illustrate the cliche theme that when people hunt monsters long enough they in turn become monsters themselves. So instead of maintaining the integrity of his main character and hashing out open mysteries about Will(how long did he really live, did he steal Lilly's husband's name, is any of it real in terms of the book reality) we get a bullshit cop out. He becomes a mythical aberrant creature by virtue of killing almost everybody he confronts. Like the beast he has hunted he eventually fades into obscurity as time passes and the people who knew of him died off. That's his end and in my mind it only serves to highlights all my unanswered questions from this series. Another thing I found disappointing about this book was the Will/Lilly relationship. I expected it would be a strained relationship do to Will's medical condition. I didn't however expect there to be awkward rapey then abusive vibes from Will. It was like a complete 180 for him. He became a total ass to her for no discernible reason like he was not even the same character. Lilly's role in the story is odd because when he is not forcing himself on her or manhandling her his is unburdening himself on her with his current events. She never has anything of value to say in return like her sole purpose is to rehash and affirm Will's thoughts. She usually does this with next to no emotion like when Will initially told her about killing two men and almost a kid. She might as well have shrugged her shoulders. It's not till the author needs her to distance herself from Will that it gets under her skin.The last thing that bugged me about this book was the T. cerrejonensis allegedly the penultimate trophy of monstrumology(we will forget about The Magnificum from The Isle of Blood). It was a shocking let down that this creature was so mundane and practically irrelevant. I originally became interested in the Monstrumologist series because of the cryptozoological premise. In all the previous books I felt Rick Yancy did a phenomenal job of balancing Will's story with that of the monsters they hunted. The Anthropophagi, Wendigo, and The Magnificum were just as central to the plots as what was happening with Will Henry. It was very cool and creepy at times but there was none of that in The Final Descent.To wrap this review up if I were to describe this book in one word that word would resoundingly be "Disappointing". If you have read the previous books and not this one do yourself a favor and pass on this book. You won't find any of the answers or closure you might be hoping to get in the conclusion of this series.
What do You think about Der Monstrumologe Und Das Drachen-Ei (2000)?
Affecting and gut-wrenching, an exceptional and stirring finale to a memorable series.
—Missginna
A very good finale to a chilling and thrilling series.
—Meg
Not bad, though I preferred the previous volume.
—thakkarzz
great prose but ultimately anticlimactic imo
—Squem
