Common Sense Media Review
Gruesomely good gothic horror too violent for younger teens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
An old man reveals a childhood spent in the late 19th century as an apprentice to a monstrumologist -- a doctor who studied monsters. When a graverobber brings them the body of a young woman wrapped in the corpse of a headless monster, the doctor aborts the monster fetus from her and kills it. The race begins to find and kill any surviving members of the monsters called Anthropophagy. Will has grown up aiding with abominable experiments and dissections, but these creatures could not have been created by even the evilest minds. A hunt reveals that some evil man did import them to the U.S., and now more evil men appear to help hunt them -- some of them both evil and mad. At one point even Will becomes monster bait.
Is It Any Good?
This is shocking, graphically gory pus-and-guts splattered all over an action-packed story with some human moments. The gore and violence are so over the top that it's hard for anyone even the least bit squeamish to look past it. However Yancey is a popular young adult author and this book will have most mature horror fans riveted.
Female horror fans especially may be put off the book's very misogynistic nature. A story with this much imagination could certainly have avoided this -- the 1888 setting is no excuse.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why some readers like horror. What are the differences between Stephen King-like horror stories and this one? Does a gothic setting allow for themes or plots that would not be as acceptable set in modern times? Why or why not?
There are characters in this book who seem as evil as the monsters they hunt. Was Dr. Kearns evil? Was Dr. Warthrop evil?
Why was Will Henry loyal to the doctor? Was he right to be so loyal?
What was the reason the Anthropophayg were brought to the United States?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster
- Publication date : September 1, 2009
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 434
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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