The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Title: The Monstrumologist

Author: Rick Yancey

Published: September 2009

Source: The Library

Synopsis from bn.com:

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety 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 starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was eating her, Will's world is about to change forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagus—a headless monster that feeds through a mouth in its chest—and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatenning to overtake and consume our world before it is too late.

The Monstrumologist is the first stunning gothic adventure in a series that combines the spirit of HP Lovecraft with the storytelling ability of Rick Riorden.

Well, I'm not really sure about this book. There's no denying that it's extremely well written, but I didn't really connect with it. It was very vocabulary heavy, and there were a lot of times where I thought that something was being explained unnecessarily, or that parts could be cut out. Basically, I found it boring.

I know, how could I find a book about human eating monsters boring? Well, I'm not really sure. I just know that it took me four days to read it, and that's because I had trouble picking it up after I put it down.

If The Monstrumologist were a movie, it would most definitely be rated R. There are quite a few scenes of gore, and they are described down to the last detail. It's not a book for someone with a weak stomach. The imagery in this book was fantastic. Everything was described to the last detail, which may be a reason why I found it boring.

The story picks up with the arrival of the mysterious Dr. Kearns, a monster hunter, who came to exterminate the monsters. Oh, and might possibly be Jack the Ripper.

This book wasn't for me, but I'm sure that there are people out there who would enjoy it immensely. Don't let my review keep you from picking it up.

Characters: 6/10
Writing: 8/10
Plot/Pacing: 6/10
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 8/10
Overall: 38/50 C
Cover/Title: 5/5 The cover is appropriately creepy, and the title fits.