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A review by jamierose
Classic Monsters Unleashed by James Aquilone
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This collection, as the title suggests, pays homage to the monsters (human and inhuman) from classic literature, legend and film. The usual suspects of Dracula, werewolves and Frankenstein's monster are reimagined but there's also a wide range of ones you less commonly see retold, like The Fly. As with most short story collections, what you end up with is a bit of a mixed bag, some stories that sing from the page and others that left me ambivalent or (in a couple of cases) just completely confused. It makes the book as a whole hard to rate.
As someone whose classic monster background is firmly based on the literary kind, I found the less satisfying stories were often the ones based on film monsters. While they were standalone short stories I think I would have appreciated them more if I understood the originals and how they were being twisted into new shapes. So, if you're a fan of classic monsters films, I think this would probably be a really fun read.
I did appreciate the way that the gender, sexuality and race norms of the originals were played with, a modern take on old themes that worked well. And some of my favourites were the ones where the monsters weren't necessarily the villains; there were some satisfyingly morally grey monster protagonists mixed in here.
As someone whose classic monster background is firmly based on the literary kind, I found the less satisfying stories were often the ones based on film monsters. While they were standalone short stories I think I would have appreciated them more if I understood the originals and how they were being twisted into new shapes. So, if you're a fan of classic monsters films, I think this would probably be a really fun read.
I did appreciate the way that the gender, sexuality and race norms of the originals were played with, a modern take on old themes that worked well. And some of my favourites were the ones where the monsters weren't necessarily the villains; there were some satisfyingly morally grey monster protagonists mixed in here.