The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist tells a tale of orphan, Will Henry, working as an apprentice to famed monstrumologist, Pellinore Warthrop. Equal parts mystery and horror, we are thrown into the story with the mysterious arrival of a package in a dark and foggy night. From then on, we are taken on a heart-pounding monster hunt told through young Will Henry’s eyes. Along the way, we also learn much about Warthrop and Will Henry’s relationship and come to find that Will Henry very much blames Warthrop for the death of his parents in a fire. I feel it would be unfair to give away what the monster is because I found that a lot of the enjoyment of this book was learning about the monster through Warthrop’s late-night lectures in his laboratory.

            One of the things I really loved about this book was its fast-paced, “need-to-read” nature. When I say I couldn’t put it down, I literally could not put it down. I wanted to know more about every element of the story: the relationship between Will Henry and Warthrop, why is this terrible monster here, what is a monstrumologist and numerous other questions. I also thought that Yancey does a great job of providing a detailed, spooky atmosphere for which the monstrumologist hunts his prey. I felt like, no matter where I was in the book, I had a clear depiction of what Will Henry and Warthrop’s surroundings looked like. I always had an easy time of building the scenes in my head.

            On the outside this book is most definitely horror, but I think it provides more than that for readers, which is the relationship between Warthrop and Will Henry. I don’t want to give anything away, but, like in Rot and Ruin, things aren’t always as they seem, especially when it comes to matters of family. I found that the relationship between Warthrop and Will Henry is similar to that between Tom and Benny Imura in Rot and Ruin because we start off with these two very different characters, with the younger of the two blaming the older for the death of their parents, but as the novels go on we see the relationship turn in to respect and even a fierce loyalty to the elder of the pair.