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In 1888, twelve-year-old Will Henry chronicles his apprenticeship with Dr. Warthrop, a New England scientist who hunts and studies real-life monsters, as they discover and attempt to destroy the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh.Tags
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SWEDISH REVIEW
Med står förtjusning gav jag mig i kast att läsa Wendigons förbannelse, uppföljaren till Monstrumologen som jag läste några månader sedan. Jag älskar att läsa gotisk skräck och denna serie har blivit en favorit för min del och jag var nyfiken på vad Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry skulle utsättas för denna gång?
I första boken fick vi lärt känna Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry, deras bakgrundshistoria, varför Will bor och arbetar för Doktor Warthrop. I Wendigons förbannels får vi reda mer om Doktor Warthrop förflutna och jag måste erkänna att jag var förbluffad hur tragiskt hans förflutna är. Just att man fick lära känna honom mer gjorde också at jag kände mer för honom och hans kamp i denna show more bok at rädda en gammal vän mer akut. Som vanligt lyckas Rick Yancey blanda in skräckelement på ett bra sätt i boken. Jag kände dock inte samma obehag som när jag läste första boken, dock så fanns det en och annan obehaglig scen.
Jag tycker att Wendigons förbannels är en fantastisk bok, så otroligt bra och vackert skriven. Yancey har en förmågan att skriva så att jag kan stanna upp mitt i berättelsen bara för att läsa om en vackert skriven mening. Yancey förmågan att skriva tillsammans med fantasin att komma på en sådan fantastisk historia gör boken så otroligt bra.
Nu vill jag bara säga en sak: Läs denna och den föregående boken. Du kommer inte ångra dig!
Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!
ENGLISH REVIEW
It was with great delight that I started to read The Curse of the Wendigo, the sequel to Monstrumologist that I read a few months ago. I love to read Gothic horror and this series has become a favorite for me and I was curious to find out what Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry would face this time?
The first book introduced to Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry and we got to learn the basic fact about them, their background history, why Will live and work for Doctor Warthrop. In The Curse of the Wendigo, we learn more about Dr. Warthrop's past and I have to admit I was taken aback by how tragic his past is. I found that getting to know him more also made at I felt more for him and his struggle in this book to save an old friend acuter. As usual, Rick Yancey's manage to add in horror elements in a good way in the book. However, I didn't feel the same discomfort as when I read the first book, but there was the occasional unpleasant scene.
I think The Curse of the Wendigo is an amazing book, so incredibly good and beautifully written. Yancey has an ability to write so that I suddenly have to take a pause up in the middle of the story just to re-read a beautifully written sentence. Yancey ability to write, together with imagination to come up with such a great story makes the book so incredibly good.
Now I just want to say one thing: Read this and the previous book. You will not regret it!
Thanks to Modernista for the review copy!
Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede show less
Med står förtjusning gav jag mig i kast att läsa Wendigons förbannelse, uppföljaren till Monstrumologen som jag läste några månader sedan. Jag älskar att läsa gotisk skräck och denna serie har blivit en favorit för min del och jag var nyfiken på vad Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry skulle utsättas för denna gång?
I första boken fick vi lärt känna Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry, deras bakgrundshistoria, varför Will bor och arbetar för Doktor Warthrop. I Wendigons förbannels får vi reda mer om Doktor Warthrop förflutna och jag måste erkänna att jag var förbluffad hur tragiskt hans förflutna är. Just att man fick lära känna honom mer gjorde också at jag kände mer för honom och hans kamp i denna show more bok at rädda en gammal vän mer akut. Som vanligt lyckas Rick Yancey blanda in skräckelement på ett bra sätt i boken. Jag kände dock inte samma obehag som när jag läste första boken, dock så fanns det en och annan obehaglig scen.
Jag tycker att Wendigons förbannels är en fantastisk bok, så otroligt bra och vackert skriven. Yancey har en förmågan att skriva så att jag kan stanna upp mitt i berättelsen bara för att läsa om en vackert skriven mening. Yancey förmågan att skriva tillsammans med fantasin att komma på en sådan fantastisk historia gör boken så otroligt bra.
Nu vill jag bara säga en sak: Läs denna och den föregående boken. Du kommer inte ångra dig!
Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!
ENGLISH REVIEW
It was with great delight that I started to read The Curse of the Wendigo, the sequel to Monstrumologist that I read a few months ago. I love to read Gothic horror and this series has become a favorite for me and I was curious to find out what Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry would face this time?
The first book introduced to Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry and we got to learn the basic fact about them, their background history, why Will live and work for Doctor Warthrop. In The Curse of the Wendigo, we learn more about Dr. Warthrop's past and I have to admit I was taken aback by how tragic his past is. I found that getting to know him more also made at I felt more for him and his struggle in this book to save an old friend acuter. As usual, Rick Yancey's manage to add in horror elements in a good way in the book. However, I didn't feel the same discomfort as when I read the first book, but there was the occasional unpleasant scene.
I think The Curse of the Wendigo is an amazing book, so incredibly good and beautifully written. Yancey has an ability to write so that I suddenly have to take a pause up in the middle of the story just to re-read a beautifully written sentence. Yancey ability to write, together with imagination to come up with such a great story makes the book so incredibly good.
Now I just want to say one thing: Read this and the previous book. You will not regret it!
Thanks to Modernista for the review copy!
Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede show less
If I could describe my opinion of this book in one word, that word would be dualistic. It feels like The Curse of the Wendigo is made up of two books: one I loved, and one I didn't. Thus, my feelings toward it are currently one huge, messy, emotional ball of contradiction and ambivalence.
Let's start with the synopsis, giving away as little as possible: Will Henry and Doctor Warthrop are off once again, only this time their location is much more wild- the Canadian bush- and their quarry is much more... mysterious. They're searching for John Chanler, an old friend of Warthrop's, and any clues to his disappearance, but what they find is altogether more sinister.
My thoughts on this section of the book, with Will, Warthrop, and their show more chipper guide, Sergeant Hawk, trekking through the thick Boreal forest?
I LOVED IT.
The writing, though it's exquisite as usual throughout the entire novel, shines especially here, and the setting allows for some really spectacular imagery. Just imagine: spindly tree limbs reaching towards the pale sky, buzzards circling above like a premature funeral procession, nothing but snow and ash for miles and miles. While the little camping trip starts out quite nicely, it goes south rather quickly. Starvation, madness, thirst, frostbite, the whole bit, and all of it is so terrifyingly detailed you'll feel as if you're right there with our unfortunate crew, starving with them, crying with them, going slowly and agonisingly insane with them.
Side note: their time in the woods reminded me so much of this song.
I especially like the personification of nature, monstrumology, and Warthrop's scientific ambition. She's described as an aloof mistress, his true love, the one thing that Warthrop has pursued his whole life and yet the thing that has been the most cruel to him. It was a nice touch, and could so easily have been cheesy, but somehow never was.
Not only is the imagery damn near perfect, but Yancey captures the tone astonishingly well, too. Throughout this whole section (about the first third of the book), there's a lurking sense of foreboding, of something watching you. Suspicion, discontent, and all of it wonderfully subtle. It's more of a slow-burn dread than all-out horror, and it's very cool to see Yancey take a different tract than BLOOD! GORE! PUS! VOMIT! AAAAHHHHH!
All of that changes in the second half. The plot that had been escalating marvellously in the first half- Chanler's disappearance, what's following the party in the woods, why Chanler left for Canada in the first place, why Warthrop felt the need to search for him- is pretty much thrown to the wayside. Instead we board a train to New York City, 1889- for Will Henry, it's a fantastic, overwhelming, sensory city filled with buildings more enormous than he'd even thought possible. Will and Warthrop head to the SASM, the Society for the Advancement of the Science of Monstrumology, and by this point I was getting super excited. I was hoping all (or at least some) of my questions about the Society would be answered, questions I'd had since it was mentioned in passing in The Monstrumologist. Questions like: What are the other monstrumologists like? Are they more or less eccentric than Warthrop? How many are there? What does the Society actually do, and why does Warthrop love it so much? What do the other monstrumologists do when they're not hunting/"studying" malevolent life forms? And, for that matter, what does Warthrop do when he isn't hunting monsters with Will?* Does he just hang around moping, or writing poetry, or staring out windows pensively?
Here's the thing: exactly ZERO of those questions were answered.
Mostly because Will Henry doesn't spend a lot of time with the Society. Yes, he's there, but usually he's daydreaming or asleep because whatever they're doing is like, SUPER boring, you guys. We do get to see the Monstrumarium, though, which is a treat, as it's where all of the specimens of monstrumology- living or dead- are catalogued. Still, I wanted to know more, and the Society could have been explored to a much fuller extent than it was.
Also, Yancey makes the abrupt transition from terror to horror, from subtle something-isn't-quite-right to all-out gross. The pure graphic nature of the gore, violence, and excrement in this book is rather off-putting, and it started to feel gratuitous in a way it never did in The Monstrumologist. I mean, seriously?BABY FACES FLOATING IN RIVERS OF SHIT?! Are you KIDDING me? If that isn't nasty for nasty's sake, then I don't know what is.
The rest of the second half is just... boring. The mystery surrounding Chanler and the events in Canada is still present, but it seems much more like an afterthought here. The plot stalled, and when it did pick up, it felt like a convoluted whirlwind that was too confusing and unrealistic to fully enjoy. I know what you're thinking. Mia, it's a book about a guy who hunts MONSTERS! It's not supposed to be realistic! That's kind of an unfair criticism, no? And you know what, maybe it is unfair to say that. It's just that the first book felt so real, and this one just didn't feel as genuine. However, where the plot and message were murky and muddled, the characters were what really stood out here.
Honestly, I am not exaggerating when I say that the characters are what saved this book from being a two-star read for me. I'm willing to forgive a lot of a book's faults if its characters are great- interesting, genuine, not clean-cut, with complex backstories, personalities, and motivations. Really, in my opinion, this series is as good as it gets in terms of characterisation. Much of The Curse of the Wendigo is a character study of Warthrop, who is so much more interesting than was portrayed in The Monstrumologist. We learn so much about him, his past (tragic, naturally), why he is a monstrumologist in the first place, his lover. And yes, I did just say lover; turns out Warthrop's chest cavity is not entirely hollow after all- he does have a heart. I really don't want to spoil any of this for you guys, so suffice it to say that you'll learn a lot of surprising things about Pellinore Warthrop, and many of his actions, like my beloved Victor from Vicious, can be seen as selfish or selfless, depending on the perspective.
(Side note: now I really want to reread Vicious.)
Now onto Will Henry, and what a nice surprise he was in this book! Let's face it- Will was a total dishrag in The Montrumologist. Not so in Curse of the Wendigo- he really proves his worth in this one, and toughens up- I've heard slow starvation and weeks of surviving in the frigid wilderness will do that to you. For the first time, Will starts talking back to Warthrop, and it's not all "Yes, sir" anymore. I think all of Will Henry's near-death experiences might have loosened him up a bit, because, honestly, the number of times he falls unconscious due to grievous injury are crazy. I counted at least five. By the end, he also becomes disillusioned in a fascinating way, forced into further maturation by the sheer nature of the things he's witnessed (the spoiler tags are actually extremely minor spoilers, but I just tagged them because of the fact that they're super graphic):
My favourite part though, which rivalled my enjoyment of Yancey's superb writing, was Warthrop and Will's relationship. It's not just master/servant, nor is it father/son, and it's not even really mentor/apprentice. Somewhere between all of those lies Pellinore and Will, and the lines between them, which seemed so rigid in the first book, begin to blur in the most amazing way. Will is forced to think of Warthrop differently- as a man who lived and loved once upon a time, a man who had friends he cared about and a bright future with the woman he loved- all of which are nearly impossible for Will to even conceive of. Warthrop, in turn, treats Will less like a servant, and through their horrific journey, despite the screaming matches and the fact that at one point Warthrop calls Will Henry a "thickheaded sycophantic piece of snot" and a "nauseating, worthless mealymouthed half-wit" (ouch), they grow inevitably closer together. It's quite beautiful to watch.
And the last chapter... my god. I didn't cry, but at the last line, I was really close to tears. So many feelings. It's just so exquisitely sad on so many levels, but somehow it's beautiful too.
Poor Pellinore. Poor Will.
I've heard really good things about the last two books in the series, which I am undoubtedly going to read, but I don't own either of them and my library doesn't have them so I'm going to take a little break before continuing. Kearns makes an appearance in the next one, which is fun, and I have to say I hope that the next book is at least slightly less devastating than this one. This one is like a brick to the face, seeingthe last vestiges of Warthrop's life completely wrenched from him, his best friend and ex-fiancee both killed horrifically. It was brutal. So here's to hoping that The Isle of Blood will be able to remedy the plot problems that its two predecessors had, but still be able to pack an emotional punch wrapped in the cloak of Yancey's brilliant writing.
*I am very curious about this. It's not like Warthrop even has a job! He's a scientist, a monstrumologist, and a smarty-pants, but he doesn't get paid. And he doesn't need to, either, because he's loaded. So what does he do all day when we's not cutting up Anthropophagi or killing Mongolian Death Worms or responding to the sorts of summons that kick off this book and its predecessor? show less
Let's start with the synopsis, giving away as little as possible: Will Henry and Doctor Warthrop are off once again, only this time their location is much more wild- the Canadian bush- and their quarry is much more... mysterious. They're searching for John Chanler, an old friend of Warthrop's, and any clues to his disappearance, but what they find is altogether more sinister.
My thoughts on this section of the book, with Will, Warthrop, and their show more chipper guide, Sergeant Hawk, trekking through the thick Boreal forest?
I LOVED IT.
The writing, though it's exquisite as usual throughout the entire novel, shines especially here, and the setting allows for some really spectacular imagery. Just imagine: spindly tree limbs reaching towards the pale sky, buzzards circling above like a premature funeral procession, nothing but snow and ash for miles and miles. While the little camping trip starts out quite nicely, it goes south rather quickly. Starvation, madness, thirst, frostbite, the whole bit, and all of it is so terrifyingly detailed you'll feel as if you're right there with our unfortunate crew, starving with them, crying with them, going slowly and agonisingly insane with them.
Side note: their time in the woods reminded me so much of this song.
I especially like the personification of nature, monstrumology, and Warthrop's scientific ambition. She's described as an aloof mistress, his true love, the one thing that Warthrop has pursued his whole life and yet the thing that has been the most cruel to him. It was a nice touch, and could so easily have been cheesy, but somehow never was.
Around us the forest had been blasted white, and the snow continued to fall, flakes the size of quarters, a heartbreakingly beautiful landscape. Suddenly my eyes welled with tears- not tears of sorrow or despair but tears of hatred, of rage, of a loathing that rose from the very depths of the soul. The doctor had been wrong. His true love was not indifferent. She rejoiced in the brutality of her nature. She savored our slow, torturous death. There was no mercy, no justice, not even a purpose. She was killing us simply because she could.
Not only is the imagery damn near perfect, but Yancey captures the tone astonishingly well, too. Throughout this whole section (about the first third of the book), there's a lurking sense of foreboding, of something watching you. Suspicion, discontent, and all of it wonderfully subtle. It's more of a slow-burn dread than all-out horror, and it's very cool to see Yancey take a different tract than BLOOD! GORE! PUS! VOMIT! AAAAHHHHH!
All of that changes in the second half. The plot that had been escalating marvellously in the first half- Chanler's disappearance, what's following the party in the woods, why Chanler left for Canada in the first place, why Warthrop felt the need to search for him- is pretty much thrown to the wayside. Instead we board a train to New York City, 1889- for Will Henry, it's a fantastic, overwhelming, sensory city filled with buildings more enormous than he'd even thought possible. Will and Warthrop head to the SASM, the Society for the Advancement of the Science of Monstrumology, and by this point I was getting super excited. I was hoping all (or at least some) of my questions about the Society would be answered, questions I'd had since it was mentioned in passing in The Monstrumologist. Questions like: What are the other monstrumologists like? Are they more or less eccentric than Warthrop? How many are there? What does the Society actually do, and why does Warthrop love it so much? What do the other monstrumologists do when they're not hunting/"studying" malevolent life forms? And, for that matter, what does Warthrop do when he isn't hunting monsters with Will?* Does he just hang around moping, or writing poetry, or staring out windows pensively?
Here's the thing: exactly ZERO of those questions were answered.
Mostly because Will Henry doesn't spend a lot of time with the Society. Yes, he's there, but usually he's daydreaming or asleep because whatever they're doing is like, SUPER boring, you guys. We do get to see the Monstrumarium, though, which is a treat, as it's where all of the specimens of monstrumology- living or dead- are catalogued. Still, I wanted to know more, and the Society could have been explored to a much fuller extent than it was.
Also, Yancey makes the abrupt transition from terror to horror, from subtle something-isn't-quite-right to all-out gross. The pure graphic nature of the gore, violence, and excrement in this book is rather off-putting, and it started to feel gratuitous in a way it never did in The Monstrumologist. I mean, seriously?
The rest of the second half is just... boring. The mystery surrounding Chanler and the events in Canada is still present, but it seems much more like an afterthought here. The plot stalled, and when it did pick up, it felt like a convoluted whirlwind that was too confusing and unrealistic to fully enjoy. I know what you're thinking. Mia, it's a book about a guy who hunts MONSTERS! It's not supposed to be realistic! That's kind of an unfair criticism, no? And you know what, maybe it is unfair to say that. It's just that the first book felt so real, and this one just didn't feel as genuine. However, where the plot and message were murky and muddled, the characters were what really stood out here.
Honestly, I am not exaggerating when I say that the characters are what saved this book from being a two-star read for me. I'm willing to forgive a lot of a book's faults if its characters are great- interesting, genuine, not clean-cut, with complex backstories, personalities, and motivations. Really, in my opinion, this series is as good as it gets in terms of characterisation. Much of The Curse of the Wendigo is a character study of Warthrop, who is so much more interesting than was portrayed in The Monstrumologist. We learn so much about him, his past (tragic, naturally), why he is a monstrumologist in the first place, his lover. And yes, I did just say lover; turns out Warthrop's chest cavity is not entirely hollow after all- he does have a heart. I really don't want to spoil any of this for you guys, so suffice it to say that you'll learn a lot of surprising things about Pellinore Warthrop, and many of his actions, like my beloved Victor from Vicious, can be seen as selfish or selfless, depending on the perspective.
(Side note: now I really want to reread Vicious.)
Now onto Will Henry, and what a nice surprise he was in this book! Let's face it- Will was a total dishrag in The Montrumologist. Not so in Curse of the Wendigo- he really proves his worth in this one, and toughens up- I've heard slow starvation and weeks of surviving in the frigid wilderness will do that to you. For the first time, Will starts talking back to Warthrop, and it's not all "Yes, sir" anymore. I think all of Will Henry's near-death experiences might have loosened him up a bit, because, honestly, the number of times he falls unconscious due to grievous injury are crazy. I counted at least five. By the end, he also becomes disillusioned in a fascinating way, forced into further maturation by the sheer nature of the things he's witnessed (the spoiler tags are actually extremely minor spoilers, but I just tagged them because of the fact that they're super graphic):
In a lightless cellar flooded with human waste,a starving infant is held under until it drowns, its tiny lungs filled with the effluvia of six hundred of its fellow human beings, and then its face is peeled off, as one takes off the skin of an apple, peeled off, and cast into Dante's river ...
In the name of all that's holy, tell my why God felt the need to make a hell. It seems so redundant.
My favourite part though, which rivalled my enjoyment of Yancey's superb writing, was Warthrop and Will's relationship. It's not just master/servant, nor is it father/son, and it's not even really mentor/apprentice. Somewhere between all of those lies Pellinore and Will, and the lines between them, which seemed so rigid in the first book, begin to blur in the most amazing way. Will is forced to think of Warthrop differently- as a man who lived and loved once upon a time, a man who had friends he cared about and a bright future with the woman he loved- all of which are nearly impossible for Will to even conceive of. Warthrop, in turn, treats Will less like a servant, and through their horrific journey, despite the screaming matches and the fact that at one point Warthrop calls Will Henry a "thickheaded sycophantic piece of snot" and a "nauseating, worthless mealymouthed half-wit" (ouch), they grow inevitably closer together. It's quite beautiful to watch.
And the last chapter... my god. I didn't cry, but at the last line, I was really close to tears. So many feelings. It's just so exquisitely sad on so many levels, but somehow it's beautiful too.
Poor Pellinore. Poor Will.
I've heard really good things about the last two books in the series, which I am undoubtedly going to read, but I don't own either of them and my library doesn't have them so I'm going to take a little break before continuing. Kearns makes an appearance in the next one, which is fun, and I have to say I hope that the next book is at least slightly less devastating than this one. This one is like a brick to the face, seeing
*I am very curious about this. It's not like Warthrop even has a job! He's a scientist, a monstrumologist, and a smarty-pants, but he doesn't get paid. And he doesn't need to, either, because he's loaded. So what does he do all day when we's not cutting up Anthropophagi or killing Mongolian Death Worms or responding to the sorts of summons that kick off this book and its predecessor? show less
Dang, Yancey really knows how to bring a story to a climax. I think it was even more intense than in The Monstrumologist, which is saying something.
Again, Will Henry's relationship with the doctor is the most intriguing part of this novel. The secondary characters had a lot more to them this time around, which I did like, but Will Henry and the Monstrumologist shone again, and I can't even explain how glad I am that their relationship was still fresh and brilliant and confusing and sometimes horrible. Great writing.
I think things did get a bit lengthy, and by the end of the novel I was really tired of Will Henry having to be saved all the time because he's gone through so much already and I'm sure Yancey's got a whole lot more in the show more plans to torture him with in the next one.
Anyways, still pretty terrifying, although I was less satisfied with the more ambiguous ending on this one. I tell you, though, these books are digging up some macabre streak in me I didn't know I had: I'm now watching zombie shows and getting more books that'll scare the potatoes outta me. Yancey's got a way with making stories that stick with you and making you want more. I'm glad I rented the next one right away! show less
Again, Will Henry's relationship with the doctor is the most intriguing part of this novel. The secondary characters had a lot more to them this time around, which I did like, but Will Henry and the Monstrumologist shone again, and I can't even explain how glad I am that their relationship was still fresh and brilliant and confusing and sometimes horrible. Great writing.
I think things did get a bit lengthy, and by the end of the novel I was really tired of Will Henry having to be saved all the time because he's gone through so much already and I'm sure Yancey's got a whole lot more in the show more plans to torture him with in the next one.
Anyways, still pretty terrifying, although I was less satisfied with the more ambiguous ending on this one. I tell you, though, these books are digging up some macabre streak in me I didn't know I had: I'm now watching zombie shows and getting more books that'll scare the potatoes outta me. Yancey's got a way with making stories that stick with you and making you want more. I'm glad I rented the next one right away! show less
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Title: Curse of the Wendigo
Series: The Monstrumologist #2
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
Pages: 464/DNF'd at 64%
Format: Digital Edition
Synopsis:
Will Henry and his master rescue a friend of the Monstrumologist's at the man's wife's behest. Upon their return, they attend the annual Monstrumologist meeting in New York. The man is not better and the wife is an ex-fiance of the Monstrumologist.
I abandoned this at the 64% mark.
My show more Thoughts:
Warthrop the monstrumologist had a fiance who then married his best friend. The woman reveals that she is still in love with Warthrop and they commit adultery while the best friend lays dying in a hospital. Ouch, right?
Then there is this wonderful piece of narration about it from Will Henry:
'Some would judge them. I do not.
If it was a sin, it was sanctified-
the trespass consecrated by the act itself.
He met himself in the purity of her eyes
and obtained absolution upon her altar.'
~Page 215
All I could think of was the verse from Isaiah:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
What kind of messed up thinking is Yancey putting into his book? I want NO part of something so abhorrent. I DNF'd this book and I'm abandoning the series and I'm now going to avoid Yancey.
☆☆☆☆½ show less
Title: Curse of the Wendigo
Series: The Monstrumologist #2
Author: Rick Yancey
Rating: 0.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
Pages: 464/DNF'd at 64%
Format: Digital Edition
Synopsis:
Will Henry and his master rescue a friend of the Monstrumologist's at the man's wife's behest. Upon their return, they attend the annual Monstrumologist meeting in New York. The man is not better and the wife is an ex-fiance of the Monstrumologist.
I abandoned this at the 64% mark.
My show more Thoughts:
Warthrop the monstrumologist had a fiance who then married his best friend. The woman reveals that she is still in love with Warthrop and they commit adultery while the best friend lays dying in a hospital. Ouch, right?
Then there is this wonderful piece of narration about it from Will Henry:
'Some would judge them. I do not.
If it was a sin, it was sanctified-
the trespass consecrated by the act itself.
He met himself in the purity of her eyes
and obtained absolution upon her altar.'
~Page 215
All I could think of was the verse from Isaiah:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
What kind of messed up thinking is Yancey putting into his book? I want NO part of something so abhorrent. I DNF'd this book and I'm abandoning the series and I'm now going to avoid Yancey.
☆☆☆☆½ show less
We were indeed a pitiful pair, the monstrumologist and I, bound to each other in ways inexplicable to both of us.
This was both an improvement and a disappointment after book 1.
On one hand, both the doctor and Will Henry are more fleshed out. The two of them have a strange relationship where they cannot be without the other, but love is too big of a word. Will Henry is an adopted son and a bullied assistant, the only person who unconditionally believes in the doctor and the one person who knows his flaws better than anyone. In turn, the doctor feels responsible for the boy but can’t see him as a full person either.
This twisted affection was far better written than in book 1
The plot never truly got my attention. The first book felt like show more gripping horror and this one like a supernatural detective novel.
“I have devoted myself to the study of them. Capturing or killing them is something I try to avoid.”
“Doesn’t sound as fun.”
“I suppose that depends upon your definition of ‘fun.’”
This pretty much sums up my feelings.
The macabre science made the monsters interesting to me, and the horror was learning what they were and what creepy biological murder weapons they had.
The hunting and mystery were just meh by comparison. show less
This was both an improvement and a disappointment after book 1.
On one hand, both the doctor and Will Henry are more fleshed out. The two of them have a strange relationship where they cannot be without the other, but love is too big of a word. Will Henry is an adopted son and a bullied assistant, the only person who unconditionally believes in the doctor and the one person who knows his flaws better than anyone. In turn, the doctor feels responsible for the boy but can’t see him as a full person either.
This twisted affection was far better written than in book 1
The plot never truly got my attention. The first book felt like show more gripping horror and this one like a supernatural detective novel.
“I have devoted myself to the study of them. Capturing or killing them is something I try to avoid.”
“Doesn’t sound as fun.”
“I suppose that depends upon your definition of ‘fun.’”
This pretty much sums up my feelings.
The macabre science made the monsters interesting to me, and the horror was learning what they were and what creepy biological murder weapons they had.
The hunting and mystery were just meh by comparison. show less
Rating: 4 stars
Well, it took me forever, but I finally finished The Curse of the Wendigo. So far The Monstrumologist series has been the most satisfying of the YA series which I have picked up over the past couple of years. It's a horror series and makes no apologies about it; and I can clearly envision the scene and characters when reading. I may wait a while before I move on to the The Isle of Blood, but will definitely continue with the series.
Also, was it just me or was Lily a bigger monster then the heart eating, skin stealing Wendigo?! SHE'S EVIL! KILL HER WITH FIRE!
Well, it took me forever, but I finally finished The Curse of the Wendigo. So far The Monstrumologist series has been the most satisfying of the YA series which I have picked up over the past couple of years. It's a horror series and makes no apologies about it; and I can clearly envision the scene and characters when reading. I may wait a while before I move on to the The Isle of Blood, but will definitely continue with the series.
Also, was it just me or was Lily a bigger monster then the heart eating, skin stealing Wendigo?! SHE'S EVIL! KILL HER WITH FIRE!
Author Rick Yancey continues his tale of the eclectic monstrumologist and his young apprentice Will Henry is The Curse of the Wendigo. The story is told, once again, through a collection of folios supposedly discovered by the author and simple edited for publication here. This time, Dr. Warthrop, the monstrumologist, is visited by a woman from his past named Muriel, who is looking for help. Muriel's husband, it turns out, is cursed by a monster, later discovered to be a Wendigo, a horrifying vampire-like monster who is cursed with an insatiable hunger, which only grows as it eats. Will Henry and the monstrumologist travel to Gilded Age-era New York to help Muriel's husband and attend the annual society of monstrumology meeting (which is show more Dr. Warthrop's favorite event of the year) .Will Henry must defeat the horrible Wendigo while dealing with his mentor's scandalous romantic past and some new friends.
Where do I start with Curse of the Wendigo? Well, to begin with, it's awesome. It's just as good as The Monstrumologist, if not better. The pure horror, the outrageous monsters, the fabulous world. Wendigo builds on the solid foundation created in the first novel and expands the world. For example, I thought the inclusion of an entire society dedicated to the study of monstrumology was pretty cool, though it's hard to believe there are other people out there are eccentric as the doctor. Not only that, but Wendigo also takes Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop to New York, where the entire city is terrorized by a horrible monster -and Yancey introduces female characters. Oh yes, female characters, can you believe it? They bring a breath of fresh air to the novel and add a new dimension to Will Henry's universe. Thirteen year-old Lilly, a wanna-be monstrumologist, is a particular favorite. Though she seems to be bad news for Will Henry, she's a spunky, fun character who brought life into every scene she was in. I really hope she returns in future installments of the series.
Probably the best way to describe Curse of the Wendigo is to think of it as a cross between Mary Shelly and Stephen King -it's spine-chilling horror in a literary package. Yancey's writing style is gorgeous. The Gilded Age period nature of the book does add to this, but it's Yancey's prose that truly makes the story shine. There were times where I even went back and re-read certain passages because they were filled with such vivid and engaging imagery. I held on to every word.
As for sequels, I'm not sure what's planned at this point. It this a trilogy, a series? Yancey does write each book as if it were the last, and there is no over-arching plot, so it's hard to tell. I hope to see more, though (read: I want more, and I don't want to wait!). This is truly a wonderfully unique and awesome series that readers shouldn't pass up. show less
Where do I start with Curse of the Wendigo? Well, to begin with, it's awesome. It's just as good as The Monstrumologist, if not better. The pure horror, the outrageous monsters, the fabulous world. Wendigo builds on the solid foundation created in the first novel and expands the world. For example, I thought the inclusion of an entire society dedicated to the study of monstrumology was pretty cool, though it's hard to believe there are other people out there are eccentric as the doctor. Not only that, but Wendigo also takes Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop to New York, where the entire city is terrorized by a horrible monster -and Yancey introduces female characters. Oh yes, female characters, can you believe it? They bring a breath of fresh air to the novel and add a new dimension to Will Henry's universe. Thirteen year-old Lilly, a wanna-be monstrumologist, is a particular favorite. Though she seems to be bad news for Will Henry, she's a spunky, fun character who brought life into every scene she was in. I really hope she returns in future installments of the series.
Probably the best way to describe Curse of the Wendigo is to think of it as a cross between Mary Shelly and Stephen King -it's spine-chilling horror in a literary package. Yancey's writing style is gorgeous. The Gilded Age period nature of the book does add to this, but it's Yancey's prose that truly makes the story shine. There were times where I even went back and re-read certain passages because they were filled with such vivid and engaging imagery. I held on to every word.
As for sequels, I'm not sure what's planned at this point. It this a trilogy, a series? Yancey does write each book as if it were the last, and there is no over-arching plot, so it's hard to tell. I hope to see more, though (read: I want more, and I don't want to wait!). This is truly a wonderfully unique and awesome series that readers shouldn't pass up. show less
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Rick Yancey was born in Miami, Florida on November 4, 1962. He received a B.A. in English from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Before becoming a full time writer in 2004, he worked as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. His first book, A Burning in Homeland, was published in 2003. He is the author of several series including The 5th show more Wave, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, The Highly Effective Detective, and The Monstrumologist. He wrote a memoir entitled Confessions of a Tax Collector. In 2010, he received a Michael L. Printz Honor for The Monstrumologist. The 5th Wave was adapted into a movie. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Curse of the Wendigo
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- The Curse of the Wendigo
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- Dr. Pellinore Xavier Warthrop; William James Henry
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- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
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- PZ7 .Y19197 .C — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
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