Halloween Week Book Review & Giveaway: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Title: The Monstrumologist

Author: Rick Yancey

Genre: Young Adult, Horror

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (US & UK)
Publication Date: September 2009 (US)/October 2009 (UK)
Hardcover: 448 pages (US)

Stand alone or series: First novel in what appears to be a planned trilogy (or at least duology)

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: On a totally superficial note, the US cover won me over instantly. I saw it in the bookstore, hadn’t heard anything about it and immediately was drawn to its eerie vibe. When I read the blurb, I was even more convinced that I needed to read this book. Stat.

Summary: (from Amazon.com)
These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed.

But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets.

The one who saved me…and the one who cursed me.

So begins the journal of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.

Critically acclaimed author Rick Yancey has written a gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does a man become the very thing he hunts?

Review:

The Monstrumologist is a tale within a tale – it is the posthumous story of a man named Will Henry, who claims to have been over one hundred and thirty years old before he died. After his passing, a collection of his meticulously detailed journal are discovered in his retirement home, and interested in discovering more about the strange man who was Will Henry, the director of the home passes the journals along to a local author – The Monstrumologist is the publication of the first three of Will Henry’s journals.

Our story proper begins in 1888, in the small New England city of New Jerusalem. Twelve year old Will is an orphan after the untimely death of his mother and father in a perilous blaze. With no where else to turn, he is taken in by his father’s former employer, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, monstrumologist. Life with Warthrop is anything but easy, as the self-absorbed doctor makes many, at times impossible demands of his young apprentice. But one fateful night when the caretaker from the local graveyard comes seeking the doctor’s help, life for young Will Henry plunges into a blood-drenched nightmare of unfathomable monstrosities. The caretaker brings the monstrumologist “an abomination” – the cold, dead remains of a recently buried young woman…in the claws and fangs of a dead, unspeakable monster. The creature, an Anthropophagus, is one that is very familiar to the monstrumologist from his studies, though Will has never seen such a creature before. Tall and muscular, the anthropophagi are humanoid in form, save that they are headless – their small flat eyes are on their shoulders, and their torsos are dominated by a mouth of razor sharp, sharklike teeth. As for the anthropophagi’s sole source of food? Human flesh. The doctor and Will soon learn that New Jerusalem is infested with an unthinkable population of the anthropophagi – who are native to the African continent and not to be found in the New World, according to all of Warthrop’s studies – and it is up to them to figure out not only how the monsters reached the Americas, but also to stop them before they multiply and devour the good people of the town.

I have never read Rick Yancey’s work before, though he is a well established author of young adult literature, best known for his Alfred Kropp titles. As such, I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Monstrumologist, besides its promising premise and admittedly gorgeous US cover. And, what can I say? I was blown away by this book. Not only is The Monstrumologist a superior horror novel with immense crossover appeal, packing in enough gore and viscera (but never in a cheesy or overly-gratuitous way) to please the horror following, but also telling a damn fine story with wonderful plot developments, deep characters, and impeccable world-building.

At first glance, The Monstrumologist seems a straightforward, Monster-of-the-Week special. And, to a superficial extent, it is. The overall conflict of the book is pretty simple – unthinkably dangerous, ravenous monsters must be stopped before they take over the east coast, boy and doctor fight to stop the spread. And yet, this brief synopsis does The Monstrumologist a grave disservice. For this novel is also a tale about a lonely, desperate boy looking for a mentor and stability, just as it is also the story of a man so damaged and egotistical that he puts his own theories and studies before the greater good. It would have been easy for Mr. Yancey to have written this book as a ‘boy finds a father figure in an aloof man who is only aloof because his own father was distant’ sort of story – but he doesn’t. Mr. Yancey’s characters go beyond this simplistic trope, daring to create layered, at times unlikable (even repulsive) characters. One such character is the monstrumologist himself, Pellinore Winthrope. A man so set on his own opinions and absorbed in his own ego and rightness, his decisions cost the town of New Jerusalem dearly – and yet, Mr. Yancey shows humanity and sympathy for this character, revealing his childhood and his own need to exonerate his name from the legacy of his past.

The most intriguing character, of course, has to be the narrator – young, keen, observant Will Henry. As the journals were written when Will was a much older man, his twelve year old voice is colored by his older self. But surprisingly, this strengthens his narrative as it blends his innocent naivete with older, wiser foreshadowing. It also makes him an unreliable narrator at times, as readers wonder whether or not his memories are tainted by later events. As a young man, Will Henry is a hero the caliber of the Harry Potters and Oliver Twists of the literary realm – he captures your heart, your sympathies, your dreams and fears by virtue of his honesty and his bravery in the face of hopelessness. Young Will Henry’s loyalty and open trust is something to be admired by readers of all ages, and I was instantly smitten with him.

As for the writing and the story itself, Mr. Yancey has a gift for detail and a writerly authority that is rarely seen in young adult novels. He manages to bring 1888 alive, embracing the Victorian Era language and ideals fully in The Monstrumologist. Mr. Yancey manages to capture an understanding of the current science and sentiments of the era, as the monstrumologist and his colleagues discuss eugenics, classic theology and literature. Of course, there are also the horrific elements and bloodthirsty horror fans will not be bored at all with this novel. There are enough bloody descriptions to sate and engage even the most reluctant reader – but as the best works in the genre do, underlaying all the gore, Mr. Yancey gives a strong, beating heart to this story.

Simply put, this is one of the best horror novels I’ve read this year, and I cannot wait for more Will Henry. If only the next collection of his journals were published already…In the words of the monstrumologist, snap to, Mr. Yancey! Snap to.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the first chapter:

ONE
“A Singular Curiosity”

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed.

But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets.

The one who saved me…and the one who cursed me.

I can’t recall what I had for breakfast this morning, but I remember with nightmarish clarity that spring night in 1888 when he roused me roughly from my slumber, his hair unkempt, eyes wide and shining in the lamplight, the excited glow upon his finely chiseled features, one with which I had, unfortunately, become intimately acquainted.

“Get up! Get up, Will Henry, and be quick about it!” he said urgently. “We have a caller!”

“A caller?” I murmured in reply. “What time is it?”

“A little after one. Now get dressed and meet me at the back door. Step lively, Will Henry, and snap to!”

He withdrew from my little alcove, taking the light with him. I dressed in the dark and scampered down the ladder in my stocking feet, putting on the last of my garments, a soft felt hat a size too small for my twelve-year-old head. That little hat was all I had left from my life before coming to live with him, and so it was precious to me.

He had lit the jets along the hall of the upper floor, though but a single light burned on the main floor, in the kitchen at the rear of the old house where just the two of us lived, without so much as a maid to pick up after us: The doctor was a private man, engaged in a dark and dangerous business, and could ill afford the prying eyes and gossiping tongue of the servant class. When the dust and dirt became intolerable, about every three months or so, he would press a rag and a bucket into my hands and tell me to “snap to” before the tide of filth overwhelmed us.

I followed the light into the kitchen, my shoes completely forgotten in my trepidation. This was not the first nocturnal visitor since my coming to live with him the year before. The doctor had numerous visits in the wee hours of the morning, more than I cared to remember, and none were cheerful social calls. His business was dangerous and dark, as I have said, and so, on the whole, were his callers.

The one who called on this night was standing just outside the back door, a gangly, skeletal figure, his shadow rising wraithlike from the glistening cobblestones. His face was hidden beneath the broad brim of his straw hat, but I could see his gnarled knuckles protruding from his frayed sleeves, and knobby yellow ankles the size of apples below his tattered trousers. Behind the old man a broken-down nag of a horse stamped and snorted, steam rising from its quivering flanks. Behind the horse, barely visible in the mist, was the cart with its grotesque cargo, wrapped in several layers of burlap.

The doctor was speaking quietly to the old man as I came to the door, a comforting hand upon his shoulder, for clearly our caller was nearly mad with panic. He had done the right thing, the doctor was assuring him. He, the doctor, would take the matter from here. All would be well. The poor old soul nodded his large head, which appeared all the larger with its lid of straw as it bobbed on its spindly neck.

“‘Tis a crime. A bloody crime of nature!” he exclaimed at one point. “I shouldn’t have taken it; I should have covered it back up and left it to the mercy of God!”

“I take no stances on theology, Erasmus,” said the doctor. “I am a scientist. But is it not said that we are his instruments? If that is the case, then God brought you to her and directed you hence to my door.”

“So you won’t report me?” the old man asked, with a sideways glance toward the doctor.

“Your secret will be as safe with me as I hope mine will be with you. Ah, here is Will Henry. Will Henry, where are your shoes? No, no,” he said as I turned to fetch them. “I need you to ready the laboratory.”

“Yes, doctor,” I responded dutifully, and turned to go a second time.

“And put a pot on. It’s going to be a long night.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. I turned a third time.

“And find my boots, Will Henry.”

“Of course, sir.”

I hesitated, waiting for a fourth command. The old man called Erasmus was staring at me.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” the doctor said. “Snap to, Will Henry!”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “Right away, sir!”

I left them in the alley, hearing the old man ask as I hurried across the kitchen, “He is your boy?”

“He is my assistant,” came the doctor’s reply.

You can read a full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts:

In addition to being one gorgeously written book, The Monstrumologist comes in a beautiful package. Not only is the US cover gorgeous, but the inner pages of the book are occasionally decorated with beautiful illustrations (this applies to the UK version as well, though the cover is lamentably different). Check out some of the art:

Really cool stuff. And, equally cool is the book trailer, below:

There’s also a lovely book website to check out, HERE.

Verdict: Absolutely recommended to readers of all ages and genre preferences – there’s enough goodness here to go around for everyone.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff

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Giveaway Details:

Courtesy of Simon & Schuster UK, we are giving away FIVE copies of The Monstrumologist and The Hollow by Jessica Verday. Each winner will receive a copy of BOTH books. The contest is open to residents of the UK, United States and Canada and will run until Saturday, October 31st at 11:59 PM (Pacific). In order to enter, tell us what monster you’d fearlessly face down to save the world. Good luck!