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petealdin's review
4.0
I read quite a few negative reviews for this novel before purchasing it, but I have to say that overall I enjoyed it. It may be that I purchased the audio book version (Audible) -- which at the time was supercheap -- and that this enhanced the story because of the voice acting. But it held together and kept me interested til the end.
It's a new take (for me anyway) on a morality tale. I winced at the frequent profanity especially when aimed at God, and the constant questioning of the angel and demon got a little repetitive, but yeah, good story, told well.
SLIGHT SPOILER:
However, on reaching the cliffhanger ending, I felt that I'd read/heard enough and I won't be getting the sequel. That said, the novel is fine as a standalone and the cliffhanger lent a circularity to the story that I actually found satisfying in itself.
It's a new take (for me anyway) on a morality tale. I winced at the frequent profanity especially when aimed at God, and the constant questioning of the angel and demon got a little repetitive, but yeah, good story, told well.
SLIGHT SPOILER:
However, on reaching the cliffhanger ending, I felt that I'd read/heard enough and I won't be getting the sequel. That said, the novel is fine as a standalone and the cliffhanger lent a circularity to the story that I actually found satisfying in itself.
knallen's review
4.0
This was a kindle free book and typically I don't expect much from them. I was quite wrong on that count. I loved the premise and I really enjoyed the characters. I was rooting for Henry to do the right thing and yet I understood and sympathized when he (sometimes) failed to do so. This is serial and set to have a sequel or a 'season two'. I'm quite interested in what's going to happen next with Henry and the mess he's gotten himself into.
kenniem's review
2.0
Monstrous by Sean Platt and David Wright is a book that has good points. Its premise is one of my favourites, what happens after death. Henry Black just died. He and his family were attacked in their home. He finds himself in limbo, confused and frightened he makes a hurried deal with a demon named Boothe to get back his family. He returns to the land of living but not as the Henry he knows. He is now a monster.
That sounds awesome right? The story is good; it is a classic revenge story, guy gets killed comes back from the dead to get his revenge on his murders. This book could have been awesome. Unfortunately it falls flat for several reasons a massive one being the protagonist, Henry. He is just awful, just the worse person in that universe at that moment. He didn’t start like that right out the gate. At first I was rooting for him, I wanted him to get his revenge and save his family but by the end I just wanted him to be real so I can punch him in the face and tell him to grow the hell up. I hate him with a passion. I know I don’t normally spoil books or plot points but with this book I have to make an exception because I have to explain why Henry is such a horrid character.
First, I have to cover the undertones of the book. Well, I say undertones but it basically beats you over the head with it. In this book Heaven, Hell and Limbo are proven to be there with the big man upstairs watching us all.
Henry is a non-believer, and while he accepts that God exists now, he doesn’t fully understand the concept of Free Will. Throughout the book, Henry has to make a choice and every time he makes the wrong one he blames God for it. Not himself for making the stupid choice in the first place, nope he blames God. Henry doesn’t take responsibility for anything that he does. Boothe tells him not to let anyone see him, Henry isn’t careful and someone takes a picture him which ends up on the news. A religious cult sees this and dresses up as Henry goes to a church and kills several children because Henry killed a few of their followers ‘It’s not my fault.’ Says Henry. This is a mirror of his life when his wife, Samantha, talks about what Henry was like when he was alive. Henry was a comedian , his wife worked for a charity organisation that helped women who were in abusive relationships. Henry made a sketch calling the organisation ‘Waah’ which resulted in his wife getting fired from a job she loved. ‘It’s not my fault, they got offended too easily. ’ Says Henry. The final nail in the coffin for me was near the ending,. It made me not want to continue the series.
That's not the end of it, you want to read the rest SPOILER ALERT, click the link:
http://wp.me/p1gOxm-33Y
That sounds awesome right? The story is good; it is a classic revenge story, guy gets killed comes back from the dead to get his revenge on his murders. This book could have been awesome. Unfortunately it falls flat for several reasons a massive one being the protagonist, Henry. He is just awful, just the worse person in that universe at that moment. He didn’t start like that right out the gate. At first I was rooting for him, I wanted him to get his revenge and save his family but by the end I just wanted him to be real so I can punch him in the face and tell him to grow the hell up. I hate him with a passion. I know I don’t normally spoil books or plot points but with this book I have to make an exception because I have to explain why Henry is such a horrid character.
First, I have to cover the undertones of the book. Well, I say undertones but it basically beats you over the head with it. In this book Heaven, Hell and Limbo are proven to be there with the big man upstairs watching us all.
Henry is a non-believer, and while he accepts that God exists now, he doesn’t fully understand the concept of Free Will. Throughout the book, Henry has to make a choice and every time he makes the wrong one he blames God for it. Not himself for making the stupid choice in the first place, nope he blames God. Henry doesn’t take responsibility for anything that he does. Boothe tells him not to let anyone see him, Henry isn’t careful and someone takes a picture him which ends up on the news. A religious cult sees this and dresses up as Henry goes to a church and kills several children because Henry killed a few of their followers ‘It’s not my fault.’ Says Henry. This is a mirror of his life when his wife, Samantha, talks about what Henry was like when he was alive. Henry was a comedian , his wife worked for a charity organisation that helped women who were in abusive relationships. Henry made a sketch calling the organisation ‘Waah’ which resulted in his wife getting fired from a job she loved. ‘It’s not my fault, they got offended too easily. ’ Says Henry. The final nail in the coffin for me was near the ending,. It made me not want to continue the series.
That's not the end of it, you want to read the rest SPOILER ALERT, click the link:
http://wp.me/p1gOxm-33Y
rendier's review
3.0
Started a bit slow, but ended a bit more interesting. Still, it felt a bit heavy handed and forced...
meaghanbethany's review
2.0
~Possibly includes spoilers~
Monstrous is about a well-off comedian called Henry, who lives comfortably with his wife, Samantha, and their daughter Amèlie. One day their sizeable house is broken into, but it seems the only thing the attackers want is Henry's life, and his daughter's. Henry and Amèlie end up killed and in Purgatory, although separated, where Henry meets a man in white and a man in black. Instead of waiting for his judgement from God, the man in black - Boothe - persuades Henry to go back to the Earth plane as one of the undead, to seek revenge on his (and Amèlie's) killer. However, Henry is turned into a monster who feeds from violence and sorrow.
I didn't really connect with this book. Henry was just so easily persuaded by Boothe and Randall (the men in white and black), forever jostling with his alliance to one or the other, that by the end it was completely unconvincing. Noone can be that indecisive. Also, there were a lot of profanities, which wouldn't normally bother me, but there were so many that it just seemed forced and cheesy. One thing I did like about the book was that for a long while I was never really sure about who was the bad guy out of Randall and Boothe. There's a massive plot twist at the end of the book, which I also liked, even though it was unexpected enough to make you feel a little uneasy.
Monstrous is about a well-off comedian called Henry, who lives comfortably with his wife, Samantha, and their daughter Amèlie. One day their sizeable house is broken into, but it seems the only thing the attackers want is Henry's life, and his daughter's. Henry and Amèlie end up killed and in Purgatory, although separated, where Henry meets a man in white and a man in black. Instead of waiting for his judgement from God, the man in black - Boothe - persuades Henry to go back to the Earth plane as one of the undead, to seek revenge on his (and Amèlie's) killer. However, Henry is turned into a monster who feeds from violence and sorrow.
I didn't really connect with this book. Henry was just so easily persuaded by Boothe and Randall (the men in white and black), forever jostling with his alliance to one or the other, that by the end it was completely unconvincing. Noone can be that indecisive. Also, there were a lot of profanities, which wouldn't normally bother me, but there were so many that it just seemed forced and cheesy. One thing I did like about the book was that for a long while I was never really sure about who was the bad guy out of Randall and Boothe. There's a massive plot twist at the end of the book, which I also liked, even though it was unexpected enough to make you feel a little uneasy.
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