Gothic horror at its purest, The Monstrumologist captivated and often horrified me. When an old grave robber discovers a dead monster with a half eaten girl, it marks the beginning of some truly nasty deaths in and around the town of New Jerusalem. Warthrop, the monstrumologist, and his twelve-year-old assistant, Will Henry, must unravel the origins of the nightmarish Anthropophagi in North America. Were these beasts meant to become a weapon or a science experiment?Using monsters written about by historians and writers like Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Shakespeare, brings an enormous amount of credibility to this story. The accounts of twelve-year-old Will Henry, of the gruesome events in the town of New Jerusalem in 1888, is written down in a believable, gorily descriptive and thoroughly scary manner. I absolutely loved that the author wrote the whole book in the kind of prose that would have been used in the late nineteenth century. The main character, Will Henry, is well rounded and very realistic for a boy of twelve. Still mourning his dead parents, he does his best to please his guardian, or perhaps employer, dr. Warthrop. Whether Warthrop truly cares for the boy is only revealed much later in the book.Although Warthrop gives the impression of being the typical crazy scientist, he shows remarkable clarity of mind and thought when lives are threatened. He is, however, not averse to sacrificing lives when there are no other choices. The other brilliantly crafted major character, John Kearns, with his warped sense of humor, many names, and disgustingly cruel ways, is hinted to being a well-known historical villain. Apart from the nonstop action in this book, the account of Anthropophagi destroying the crew of a slave ship had me biting my nails. Although none of the characters have extensive backstories, the bit given here is sufficient to make even the more dubious characters come to life.A page turner in the true sense of the word, The Monstrumologist is an absolute must read for anybody who likes horror combined with an excellent, often profound, supporting storyline. (Ellen Fritz) I have always loved monster books. There is something compelling about darkness and the feeling that something is creeping up behind you. As a future teacher of English, my inclination is to assign the monster classics I have loved reading: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. However, my high school aged siblings struggle with the antiquated language in these texts, even while they are enjoying the creepy content. "The Monstrumologist" solved this problem for me.Rick Yancey's novel mimics the language and form of these classics without being so outdated that students will struggle. The dark subject matter is present. Gothic settings abound. Monsters run rampant. Evil lurks around every corner, described in ornate and eloquent prose.Further, Yancey's characters toe the line of good and evil. As Warthrop, Kearns, and Morgan go to great lengths to eradicate the fabled Anthropophagi, Will Henry tags along and questions his elder's actions. At what point do questionable steps aimed at a noble end become themselves immoral? How long can a worthy goal carry unworthy actions? These are the questions brought up by Yancey's novel. It is a compelling story full of potential for in depth discussions and I look forward to teaching it to my students someday.
What do You think about The Monstrumologist (2009)?
Scary, gory, and written with great skill. The perfect start to Halloween.
—jasmineashleyn
fantastic middle school novel. Beautiful language, very gory. Perfect!
—tekara
