Monday, October 26, 2009

The Monstrumologist-- Rick Yancey



Deep in his basement, the Monstromologist hangs an Anthropophagi from hooks. A grave robber knocked on his door in the middle of the night and delivered the beast to the only person he knew that could deal with something so grotesque. The anthropophagi is a hideous beast, profoundly strong, extraordinarily vicious, and it only eats one thing: live human flesh.

Will Henry is a young boy who lives with Dr. Warthrop, the Monstrumologist. He is an orphan, and Dr. Warthrop calls upon him for both mundane and horrifying tasks. Will Henry cooks all the meals and goes to the market, and he also helps Dr. Warthrop dissects monstrous beasts and hunt them down. The story is told through a series of journals Will Henry kept, and readers fall instantly into his world of macabre and midnight horrors.

In my opinion, this book epitomizes what's needed in YA horror right now. With the vampire and werewolf craze upon us, it's always good to find a true horror book that isn't a thin veil for romance. This book can be graphic in its descriptions of blood and guts, and even truly frightening at times, but all of it is appropriate for the genre and the purpose of the book. I would recommend this book to teens who like horror but don't want fluff, fans of Darren Shan's Demonata books (but are also good readers), or to teens who like classic horror like Frankenstein or Dracula.

P.S. Don't you love the cover?
P.P.S. This is a Mock Printz book too!

1 comment:

Ms. Yingling said...

This was AWESOME. You are exactly right-- horror without vampires. I'm thinking about buying two copies.