I was expecting more cheese from this book. Instead, I felt it tried to take itself too seriously. I was also annoyed by the number of typographical and grammatical errors that increased in number as the book progressed. I finally gave up on this book. ( )

A unique and diverse collection of Sci-Fi monster short stories that is imaginative and out of the ordinary; from Nate Kenyon’s “yellow eye” thing at the bottom of a lake to Steven Shrewsbury’s “500-foot Porn Star”, these tales are across the board and always fresh and new. So whether it’s giant crabs or itchy things on the battle field, I’m sure you will find something that will entertain you and make you look over your shoulder… ( )

After a somewhat self-praising introduction by MEG author Steve Alten, this collection (featuring giant creatures of all shapes and sizes) gets off to a good start with 'Present Tense, Future Imperfect,' D.L.Snell's interesting tale that combines oversized critters with . . . political intrigue. Legendary British author Guy N. Smith (famous for his long-running series of giant crab novels) strikes with 'Crabs,' a claustrophobic nightmare featuring over (and under) -sized, pissed-off claw-mongers attacking a beachfront.

A few stories use claustrophobia to their advantage, especially Paul Stuart's 'The Long Dark Submission,' a Buddhist-themed underwater creeper that'll have you gasping for air.

Like most anthologies, this one features a few misses, but none of them come from the three new authors whose work is presented here for the first time; most notable is Evan Dicken's 'Extinction,' a very well-written renaissaince-ish monster mash.

Other memorable offerings come from James A. Moore (a giant brain tumor goes ballistic), Nate Kenyon (one of several water-creature based tales, this being the scariest), Jeff Strand (a giant vampire, featuring an opening sentence that'll keel you over), Patrick Rutigliano (giant lice [yes, LICE!] during WW1--one of my favorites of the lot), and a nifty H.G. Wells-ish collaboration from David Conyers and Brian M. Sammons that packs a clever finale.

MONSTROUS ends on a very high note with a "mini-epic" from the maniacal-word-slinging Cody Goodfellow titled 'The Island of Dr. Otaku,' which reads like a cross between a demented 007 yarn and the wildest Japanese monster romp you've read in years (seriously--this one's worth the price of admission on its own).

A fun, fun, fun time all around--the couple of slower tales don't even spoil the party. ( )