Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wasn’t what I expected and I didn’t want to keep reading it.
I saw this browsing my library’s new ebook offerings and thought it sounded good and scary. After downloading the book, I learned it fell into the "Christian fiction" genre. Not being too sure what that meant in practical terms, but nonetheless pretty sure I was not the target audience, I figured it ultimately didn’t matter as long as the book delivered. And it did prove a pretty decent, fast-paced read, though not the thrill-ride I’d hoped given a title like Monster and the rousing reviews.
To really get on board with this book, you must be willing to suspend both disbelief and even the most rudimentary understanding of [thematic spoiler]
Putting aside the [more specific spoilers ahead]
Let’s just say you'll find plenty to talk about in this book, whether you’re the target audience for Christian fiction or just a MST3000 fan.
To really get on board with this book, you must be willing to suspend both disbelief and even the most rudimentary understanding of [thematic spoiler]
Spoiler
evolutionary theory. You must also be willing to believe 1) that people with Ph.D.'s in the biological sciences have a very crude understanding of evolutionary theory themselves (and lack the basic reasoning skills and intellectual rigor that would have allowed them to get into, much less graduate from, any doctoral program) and 2) that evolutionary theory is easily, maybe even regularly, disproved, but university faculty continue to dedicate their lives to a widespread fraud just to get the grant money.Putting aside the [more specific spoilers ahead]
Spoiler
deeply flawed science, you also have a character who interprets her problems as God picking on her. I suppose if someone normally attributes her blessings to God, she’s going to take it a little more personally when things start going badly. Her experiences do allow her to overcome a personal challenge, however, which implies maybe the whole ordeal was part of God’s plan after all. Which might be nice and uplifting, except you’re left wondering if that many people really had to suffer violent deaths just so she could lose her stutter.Let’s just say you'll find plenty to talk about in this book, whether you’re the target audience for Christian fiction or just a MST3000 fan.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Gore, Murder
DNF. i called it quits at “he had to be the daddy, all eight feet of him”
Interesting enough to keep me listening, but not my favorite. A bit on the absurd side.
The first time I read the night time chase scene that happens early on in this novel, I could barely sleep afterwards. The tenseness of the dark forest, the screaming and howls heard by Reed and his wife Beck as they flee down unknown tracks is gripping, as is Beck's subsequent kidnapping. It is a brilliant way to open a novel.
The hunt to find Beck then takes up the rest of the novel, along with a side plot of one character investigating the origin of the creature. The novel seems to go at a slower pace after the midnight pursuit, but the tension gets ratcheted right back up for some sequences.
For those who might be scared of Peretti as a Christian author, rest assured, you can read this. He has some things to say about evolution and cloning, but nothing is layered on too heavily.
This is a very exciting book about man vs nature, and well worth your time.
The hunt to find Beck then takes up the rest of the novel, along with a side plot of one character investigating the origin of the creature. The novel seems to go at a slower pace after the midnight pursuit, but the tension gets ratcheted right back up for some sequences.
For those who might be scared of Peretti as a Christian author, rest assured, you can read this. He has some things to say about evolution and cloning, but nothing is layered on too heavily.
This is a very exciting book about man vs nature, and well worth your time.