The Monstrumologist Genre: paranormal, historical-fiction, horrorNew England during the late 19 century is where the story takes place. Will Henry is an orphaned boy who is an apprentice to Dr.Warthop, who is very cold and doesn't show his emotions. Together they study about the Apthropophy, which is a species that basically eats humans. I loved the book because it was a different from what I had imagined it would be. The imagery that the author used was very descriptive and vivid. It has suspense, blood and gore. This book is not for a younger audience or people who cannot handle horror situations. Though widely billed as a horror novel, The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey is on the less scary side. It follows the story of 12 year old Will Henry, who works as the assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthtop, a monstrumologist (one who studies monsters). When an old grave robber arrives at Dr. Warthrop’s door in the middle of the night a dead specimen of Anthropophagi he found in a dead girl’s grave, Will Henry and Warthrop are pulled into a deadly mystery. The Anthropophagi, a species of humanoids who have no heads, but instead have eyes on their shoulders and mouths at their solar plexuses, are designed to feed on human flesh. While this all sounds quite horrific, the resulting story is more gore than horror. As the superhumanly-strong Anthropophagi begin to feed on living beings, the blood and viscera spill liberally. There was very little in terms of spine-tingling suspense—it read more as an action movie mixed with a slasher flick than a true horror experience. However, it undoubtedly has its charms. The characters, while not particularly likable, are all very real and well fleshed-out. The doctor’s relationship to Will Henry, in particular, shows a depth and a symmetry that many authors never achieve; while the doctor is borderline abusive to Will Henry, the story is written as a flashback in a journal, so the older Will Henry can reflect on Warthrop and the way in which his life was shaped by the doctor without overwhelming emotion. The rest of the cast of characters is similarly vibrant—not even the secondary characters are left as cardboard cutouts. The man who reveals much of the back-story behind the monsters’ presence in America, Captain Varner, is only present in the story for a short amount of time, but his impact on the story and his character itself is remarkably vivid. Similarly, the doctor who is in charge of the mental facility where Varner resides is only in the story for a matter of 10 or 15 pages, but is one of the most despicable characters I’ve read in recent memory. While the novel as a whole fails to hold up as a horror book, the characters brilliance deserve a read. However, this book is not for those who cringe at gore or violence. What the book lacks in true horror, it makes up for plenty in blood.
What do You think about The Terror Beneath (2009)?
A cool concept, but read like a James Cameron film treatment
—xiopau
Absolutely HATED it. TERRIBLE, BORING, HORRIBLE!
—melanie
