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madamryno's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Awesome introduction to a spooky series! I'm hooked! The protag sometimes gets a little lost in his monologuing, but it snaps back in good time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Child death, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Death of parent
I'm surprised that this is listed as YA given how graphic the violence gets. Boy howdyjean_atlas's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
milesjmoran's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Suicide, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
kyy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Gore, and Body horror
leighsnerdlife's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
the_one_krissy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
What I got from this novel was not at all what I was expecting when I picked it up.
In a nutshell, this is the tale of Dr Warthrop, a monstrumologist, and Will Henry, his assistant/apprentice/ward, who discover their home town is plagued by monsters and have to do something about it. Sounds simple enough, and it kind of is, except the book starts with the very gruesome discovery of one of these Anthropophagi and its victim, quickly followed by the autopsy of said monster.
And let me tell you I was shaking in my boots and fighting to keep my dinner down before I was fifty pages into this book. Rick Yancey does not skimp on the grisly details, and the monsters infesting the town are aggressive ravenous beasts and absolutely terrifying. At times I had to put this book away for a while because it was making me physically ill.
Not that it isn't a good book, because it is. Just... a bit heavy with blood and gore.
Both main characters are likable, poor Will Henry in particular. The monstrumologist is the archetypal manic-depressive mad scientist, whose work is his life and who seems able to function without food and sleep indefinitely. He's fond of raspberry scones, though, which instantly endeared him to me.
Plot-wise this was a rather straightforward monster tale - not too complicated, although it did have a bit of depth as far as the main characters were concerned. A strong three stars, I think, but I'm frankly undecided if I'll continue with this series. Maybe, once my stomach has stopped churning.
In a nutshell, this is the tale of Dr Warthrop, a monstrumologist, and Will Henry, his assistant/apprentice/ward, who discover their home town is plagued by monsters and have to do something about it. Sounds simple enough, and it kind of is, except the book starts with the very gruesome discovery of one of these Anthropophagi and its victim, quickly followed by the autopsy of said monster.
And let me tell you I was shaking in my boots and fighting to keep my dinner down before I was fifty pages into this book. Rick Yancey does not skimp on the grisly details, and the monsters infesting the town are aggressive ravenous beasts and absolutely terrifying. At times I had to put this book away for a while because it was making me physically ill.
Not that it isn't a good book, because it is. Just... a bit heavy with blood and gore.
Both main characters are likable, poor Will Henry in particular. The monstrumologist is the archetypal manic-depressive mad scientist, whose work is his life and who seems able to function without food and sleep indefinitely. He's fond of raspberry scones, though, which instantly endeared him to me.
Plot-wise this was a rather straightforward monster tale - not too complicated, although it did have a bit of depth as far as the main characters were concerned. A strong three stars, I think, but I'm frankly undecided if I'll continue with this series. Maybe, once my stomach has stopped churning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Blood
bumblebeefarts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
iamastraythought's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Abandonment
michelle_leitheoir's review against another edition
2.5
I have to admit, I really hated this book at the outset. I mean, really hated it. But like so many times in the past, my patience was rewarded, though only to a certain extent.
For at least the first half, I found Dr. Warthrop to be completely and utterly unlikable. I could not imagine a single reason that Yancey could present that would make me care about what happened to his title character at all. He was cold and unfeeling and emotionally abusive to Will Henry, who had no choice but to put up with it, seeing as how he was a 12-year-old orphan. I thought that made Warthrop’s behavior especially reprehensible - not only that he would behave that way, but that he would behave that way to someone when he knew they had nowhere else to go. Plus, being harsh and insulting and making someone feel like you couldn’t care less about them, only to reel them back in with soothing words (like Warthrop’s favorite, “Your services are indispensable to me,”) is classic abuse. Even that line indicates Warthrop didn’t value him - it’s Will Henry’s services he valued, not Will Henry himself.
Oh! I almost forgot his constant insistence that Will should be thankful to him, and that he refused to accept any responsibility for mistakes that had quite a dear cost. My “abusive and manipulative” alarm bells were ringing loud and clear.
But at the same time, there wasn’t much about Will Henry that compelled me, either. Granted, I doubt I would be much more than a mopey doormat if I had been orphaned at a young age and taken in by my parents’ emotionally abusive employer, too, but I had a hard time finding a good connection point with him.
Honestly, the first half of the book just seemed like an excuse to get some super gory, massively gross monster attacks on paper. I did my best to find a story under all the dismemberments and blood, but I had a hard time finding one.
But then. THEN. Will Henry found his voice, stood up to Warthrop, and BAM, we had some compelling character development. I do wish that the relationship between Will Henry and Warthrop had gotten warmer than it did, but finally the emotional abuse was ending, and Will Henry showed that he could stand up for himself and set some boundaries. They finally started to seem like a team, which was important when the maverick Kearns shows up to upset the delicate balance of the investigation.
By the way, Kearns was the best thing about this book. Definitely a ghoul and a scumbag, but he managed to bring a dry levity that this book badly needed.
So I definitely saw improvements by the end of the book. It’s just . . . eh, I don’t know, not my brand of horror? I like things a little more on the “moody, atmospheric, and spooky” end of things. Or at least, much farther away from the “BOOGIDY BOO SCARY MONSTER EAT HUMANS OM NOM NOM” end of things than this book was. Between that and the emotional abuse that I can’t quite forgive or ignore, this is only a 2.5/5 for me, and I’m honestly kind of relieved that I didn’t care enough about these characters or this story to continue with the series. Felt like a good standalone anyway.
For at least the first half, I found Dr. Warthrop to be completely and utterly unlikable. I could not imagine a single reason that Yancey could present that would make me care about what happened to his title character at all. He was cold and unfeeling and emotionally abusive to Will Henry, who had no choice but to put up with it, seeing as how he was a 12-year-old orphan. I thought that made Warthrop’s behavior especially reprehensible - not only that he would behave that way, but that he would behave that way to someone when he knew they had nowhere else to go. Plus, being harsh and insulting and making someone feel like you couldn’t care less about them, only to reel them back in with soothing words (like Warthrop’s favorite, “Your services are indispensable to me,”) is classic abuse. Even that line indicates Warthrop didn’t value him - it’s Will Henry’s services he valued, not Will Henry himself.
Oh! I almost forgot his constant insistence that Will should be thankful to him, and that he refused to accept any responsibility for mistakes that had quite a dear cost. My “abusive and manipulative” alarm bells were ringing loud and clear.
But at the same time, there wasn’t much about Will Henry that compelled me, either. Granted, I doubt I would be much more than a mopey doormat if I had been orphaned at a young age and taken in by my parents’ emotionally abusive employer, too, but I had a hard time finding a good connection point with him.
Honestly, the first half of the book just seemed like an excuse to get some super gory, massively gross monster attacks on paper. I did my best to find a story under all the dismemberments and blood, but I had a hard time finding one.
But then. THEN. Will Henry found his voice, stood up to Warthrop, and BAM, we had some compelling character development. I do wish that the relationship between Will Henry and Warthrop had gotten warmer than it did, but finally the emotional abuse was ending, and Will Henry showed that he could stand up for himself and set some boundaries. They finally started to seem like a team, which was important when the maverick Kearns shows up to upset the delicate balance of the investigation.
By the way, Kearns was the best thing about this book. Definitely a ghoul and a scumbag, but he managed to bring a dry levity that this book badly needed.
So I definitely saw improvements by the end of the book. It’s just . . . eh, I don’t know, not my brand of horror? I like things a little more on the “moody, atmospheric, and spooky” end of things. Or at least, much farther away from the “BOOGIDY BOO SCARY MONSTER EAT HUMANS OM NOM NOM” end of things than this book was. Between that and the emotional abuse that I can’t quite forgive or ignore, this is only a 2.5/5 for me, and I’m honestly kind of relieved that I didn’t care enough about these characters or this story to continue with the series. Felt like a good standalone anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
velvetvoid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Gore