The Isle of Blood

by Richard Yancey
May 16, 2012

What am I going to do?  I've just finished book three in the Monstrumologist series and must wait for book 4. There was a danger of the fourth book never being published. The publisher decided not to do anymore because the sales of the first three were not stellar.  But the reaction of fans convinced them to let us finish out the series.  There are three more folios in Will Henry's journal so there must be at least one more.
But then what will I do?

I have really enjoyed this series.  The Victorian era setting (is it still "Victorian" if it is set in 19th Century America?); the element of mystery and science fantasy are all great.

Will Henry tells a story that Warthrop wishes he wouldn't. It is a notable tale that the monstrumologist would rather not have the world know.  One evening a package is delivered to Harrington Lane. Inside is a nidus, an extremely dangerous item that will kill anyone that touches it within a matter of days.  Dr. Warthrop and the indispensable Will Henry set out to find out where it came from. The nidus is an excretion of the most sought after monster on earth. Monstrumologists from many nations would love to be the one to actually see, capture or kill the magnificum.  Of course, no one wants this honor more than Pellinor Warthrop.

Along the way Warthrop and Will Henry run into many dangers, many old friends and some new ones. Because this is supposed to be a true tale from the journals of Will Henry, some of the new friends are actual people including Arthur Conan Doyle and Arthur Rimbaud.

Isle of Blood has more of  the feel of a mystery book than the others.  It's in  the last fourth of the book that we find what is the magnificum.

According to Rick Yancey's FB page, the fourth and final (!gasp!) book will be called The Final Descent and will be published in Fall of 2013.  How will I wait that long?

The Curse of the Wendigo

by Rick Yancey
May 12, 2012

Dr. Pellinore Warthrop is a monstrumologist, but he is a man of pure science. He doesn't believe in superstition and the supernatural.  When his former fiance comes to him to tell her that her husband is missing he is torn.  The woman married his best friend and now that friend is said to be a victim of the wendigo, a mythological shape-shifting beast that feasts on human hearts.  But loyalty to his friend wins out and Dr. Warthrop and his assistant Will Henry travel to the Northwest to rescue John Chanler.

They encounter some strange things in the wild and eventually find John Chanler. They bring him back to New York. But have they unleashed a monster?  Dr. Warthrop doesn't think so, but "there are more things in heaven and on earth...than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

I didn't like this as much as The Monstrumologist, but it was still so good.  More was revealed about the character of Pellinor Warthrop and his past.  We also get to see inside the Monstrumologist Society.

I love this series. One reviewer described it in this way:

 "The style is reminiscent of older classic horror novels, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, mixed with the storytelling sensibilities of Dickens."

As with the first book, The Monstrumologist, some of the scenes are pretty gross, but it doesn't overwhelm the story.  Looking forward to reading book 3!

The Monstrumologist

by Richard Yancey
May 9 2012

I needed something to read on my lunch break, this was sitting on a cart next to the elevator and so I started reading The Monstrumologist.
Kind of funny that I'd chose this one to read during lunch. The photo on the cover is only a hint of the blood to be found inside.

Anyone that's weak of stomach or scared of blood shouldn't read this, although, I don't think that it's gratuitously bloody.  We are talking about man-eating monsters, after all.

I wouldn't call this a gory book. There's too many other things happening in the story to categorize it that way. And while it could be called a horror novel, I hate to put it in that category. It's not quite science fiction. It is an adventure novel. It has horror elements. And it's set in the 19th Century. How much better can it get?

Monstrumology:1: the study of life forms generally malevolent to humans and not recognized by science as actual organisms, specifically those considered products of myth and folklore.
2: the hunting of such creatures.

 In the present day (mid 2000s) the director of a nursing home gives a writer (Yancey) the journals of a deceased resident in hopes that some clue to living family or friends can be found..  The dead man, William James Henry, had claimed to have been born in 1878.   He had no one to speak of and, in fact, he didn't speak of his life.  He had been found injured and brought to the nursing home where he spent the rest of his days.  The journals were discovered under Will Henry's bed and revealed a story that isn't to be believed.  That story is the basis of this book.

When he was only a boy of 12 he was taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, noted scientist and philosopher. Will Henry's father had been Walthrop's assistant until his and his wife's untimely death.  Will is no more than a convenient (or inconvenient, depending upon the day and Warthop's mood) assistant.  One night a local grave robber brings to Dr. Warthrop something horrible.  And that's where the adventure begins.  Warthrop and Will Henry attempt to unravel the mysterious existence of a colony of Anthropophagi, a beast written of by Shakespeare, Herodotus, Pliny the Elder.  They have no heads. Their eyes are on their shoulders and their mouths are in their midsections.  They are incredibly strong and can leap great distances.  A formidable enemy.

How a colony of beasts native to the continent of Africa got to New England is what Dr. Warthop wants to find out.  Stopping the beasts from killing is what others want.  Will Henry, the young assistant, is stuck in the  middle of the nightmare.

Along the way Warthrop and Will Henry struggle with their own personal monsters and learn that monsters come in many forms.

I loved this book. I didn't mind the bloody scenes  involving the monsters. The mystery and adventure of the monster hunt and the 19th Century setting captured me immediately. To me the characters were interesting and not the superficial characters you'd expect to find populating a monster story.
I finished reading The Monstrumologist at about 1:00 am.  After a good night's sleep and a few chores, I picked up the second book in the series,  The Curse of the Wendigo.