Of Books and Monsters

I don't know how about you, but I don't particularly like the word 'monster'. Usually these monsters have a name, like boogeyman, vampire, chimera, troll, or even genetically mutated toads, who are still toads nevertheless. But even so, when people are afraid of something, and it also happens to seem unnatural, they tend to call it a monster (given it's a living thing). So what I want to talk about here are some books that feature these so called 'monsters' and some other monster stuffs. I have to admit, the word leaves so many possibilities. So here we go...


What comes to my mind first when I start thinking about books with monsters is a book I'm currently reading, INTO THE DARKNESS by K.F. Breene. It's not even 200 pages and the only reason it's taken me over a month to get 67% in is that I'm no good at all when it comes to ebooks. I NEED to have a printed copy in my hands (plus I'm also an awfully slow reader). INTO THE DARKNESS features some big sexy paranormal guys, but what I have in mind actually are some other weird things that have popped onto the pages. As of where I am now, I've not seen a name being given to them, so they classify as 'monsters' pretty well.

As for the book itself, what got my attention was the cover. It's in a way similar to a story idea of mine that I love more than any book I've ever read. So I got a bit scared and wanted to see how similar it really is. INTO THE DARKNESS was free on Amazon (and still is at the time of writing this post), so I took the chance and began reading the first ever book on my Windows 8 Kindle. With a relief I can say, the contents aren't in any way similar to my story idea - chances weren't big in the first place, but I guess this motherly instinct of my creations kicked me in the gut. I didn't start blindly, though. When you go to Goodreads and start reading the reviews, the warnings '18+ only!!' pretty much scream in your face. I'm 17. I haven't read many Rated R books. So... lucky for me, I guess, I'm a very thick-skinned person and haven't yet found a reason to blink when blinking wasn't needed for my slowly drying eyes. Cut out all the sex part that I pretty much meh through, there's something still that keeps me interested. Breene's writing is funny and her protagonist is no weakling. So far I like it very much and if anyone else is interested, you can find it in the links below. Oh yeah, the book has sequels!



Goodreads * Amazon * Author's Page * Facebook


And who wouldn't love some zombies? Unfortunately, I can't say I've read many zombie books (in fact, I think I've only read one), but they leave so many possibilities as well. The apocalypse can start with anything from viruses to nature's will to unknown. There are so many zombie books in my TBR list I can't even begin to say how badly I want to have loads of money and years of nothing but free time.

I bought WORLD WAR Z for my sister for Christmas last year because she said they'd just watched the movie at school and that it was awesome. I haven't read it yet, but she has now - she told me it was nothing like the movie at all and was so much more awesome. She told me about some scenes, so many of them that had not been featured in the movie, and I can agree with her. So I guess I recommend all zombie-lovers to pick it up.

The only zombie book I have read is a bit different. Maybe you've heard of it; it also got it's own movie. WARM BODIES is a funny zomromcom with an ass-kicking heroine and without all that cheesy romance stuff we find so often in YA paranormals. In fact, the author, Isaac Marion, has said that he wrote it for adult audience and had never even heard of Twilight before publishing his book. WARM BODIES is more about finding words and being human, and I loved it. My sister has a copy (again, her and the zombies. She believes zombie apocalypse will come one day, by the way). Our friends gifted her a copy of the prequel, THE NEW HUNGER, a few days ago as a late birthday present. A sequel is coming as well, but so far we don't have a cover nor a title. For those of you who have seen the movie but haven't read the book: movie follows the original story quite well, but they've cut out some awesome parts, so I very much recommend you to read it.

Goodreads * Amazon * TBD

Goodreads * Amazon * TBD * Author's Page

What else have I read that has monsters?

How about THE DEVOURING books by Simon Holt? I've read the first two in the trilogy in Estonian translation and am now waiting for the third one to be reduced in price. These translations tend to be awfully expensive, you know. Anyway, I liked these books a lot. They might be a bit horrifying to those who can't stand gore (like me) or get scared easily. But I didn't find them otherwise scary. I'm hoping to learn more about the smoky monsters, especially Quinn, in the third book FEARSCAPE. For those who haven't read them and might be interested: no para-rom with the monsters there. They're completely what you'd call 'evil'.



Goodreads * Amazon * TBD


There are loads and loads of books I could feature in this post that have something you could call a 'monster'. I'll add some clickable covers below which will take you to their Goodreads page. These are books I haven't yet read but would really like to. It will only be a small fraction, of course, but hopefully some of you will find your next read!



So yeah, you can mainly find zombies, vampires or demons of some kind from that list. That's why I said I don't like the word 'monster'. We have a better name for all of them and it's really hard to find something unique. I'd be happy to read about your opinions and picks, though! Feel free to add your ideas in the comments!

I promised to talk about stuff aside from books as well. I don't know if you know, but I enjoy making all sorts of arts. And what's a better way to express yourself than to put heads and legs and spikes and tails together to create your own monsters? And you know what? I love to show off!

Here's something I made yesterday after finding some awesome polymer clay tentacle stuff on deviantART. It's only my third time ever to use polymer clay, but I like the result.






I also got a little inspiration from Julie Kagawa, author of THE IRON FEY and BLOOD OF EDEN books, who makes small polymer clay dragons and sells them on Etsy.

I'm a little more familiar with needle felting. Proof is that I constantly have my fingers full of puncture holes.






You know, I kind of love Slenderman (or Slendy). Are there any fictional books with him? (EDIT: Found out there are, but not many like what I was hoping for.) He's a perfect monster, don't you think? I once even made my sister a Slendy bookmark for her birthday.




I think amigurumi is cool as well. I can only make snakes, though.




I've loved drawing since I can remember. Now I enjoy both traditional and digital art. For the longest time, I only drew animals and other creatures that could as well be classified as 'monsters'. It's only lately that I seriously began studying human anatomy. But monsters continue to be awesome, too.





Who says monsters can't be cute? Or have broken hearts? Therefore being labeled as 'monster' is not certainly a bad thing, in case someone got offended that I posted their favorite book and called the creature a monster. I repeat, I don't like the word either, but it got me to write quite a lengthy post.

So that was my talkative side musing over monsters in books and monsters in general. I think I'll be doing more of those, the "Of Books and Fill the Blank" thingies. You can even tell me what you'd like to hear about and add bookish or non-bookish photos of your topic. Also, tell me what do you have in mind when you think of monsters. Do you agree with what I brought out or do you have your own understanding of the word?

In this conclusion I will add a photo of my sister's bookshelf.



She still hopes to find a human skull from where those three have come from, from the forest behind our house.

Review - The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod

It's another review I'm copy pasting from my Goodreads. I read the book in September this year, but the Estonian translation. I may use some words or terms that are different from what was in the original story when that happens - since about half of the books I read are translations. Just so you know :)


Here I have both the English and the Estonian cover for you to compare.

Genres: Fantasy / Vampires / Mystery / Romance
Length: 375 pages
My Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Description:
'My name is Genny Taylor. I work for Spellcrackers.com. It’s a great job, pays the rent, lets me do the thing I’m good at – finding magic and cracking it – and the bonus is it’s run by witches, which stops the vamps from taking a bite out of me.

Not that vampires are the big bad any more, not since they launched a slick PR campaign – ­ oh, and they brought the goblins on board. Now the vamps are sought-after celebrities, and Getting Fanged and taking the Gift are the new height of all things cool.

But only if you’re human.

And I’m not.

I’m Sidhe fae.

And I know firsthand just how deadly a vampire can be.’


When Mr October, a sexy calendar pin-up vamp, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, an old debt is called in and Genny is forced to help prove his innocence, risking her job and the protection it offers – and threatening to expose her own dark secrets. Searching for the killer plunges Genny deep into the hidden heart of vampire society. It’s not long before she realises that she and Mr October are both unwitting pawns in a centuries-old power struggle between London’s non-human communities . . . and it’s not just her own neck that’s at stake, but the lives of all London’s supernaturals.

My review:
This must be one of the most confusing books I've ever read.

I bought it because our local bookstore had it on low price. I was not very sure what it was even about, except for vampires. I was curious to know, though, and after it sitting in my reading list for quite some time, I finally got to see for myself. I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely not this.

I wouldn't say the writing was bad, and maybe this story even had some potential. But after the first chapters... I realized things went just way out of hand. The story jumped from one place to another, the characters discussed things which were brought to readers with no back story whatsoever. Again and again I had to wonder: what does this all have to do with everything else? It was like pieces from different plots coming one after another, and even at the end of the book I failed to understand what was the part between couple first and couple last chapters all about. I take it that the protagonist, Genevieve, had some bloody past, but aside from bits from here and there, the author didn't seem to even try to explain things. Perhaps the explanation was planned for next books in series, but still. Everything just seemed to be so off that I don't even know what to think.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters. Teenagers were all cliché swoony over the vampire race - the latter didn't impress me at all; no given description brought the slightest shadow of the thought 'sexy' to mind. Everyone else was simply difficult to connect to. Honestly, I would describe them all as a "bunch of horny dudes".

This is what probably irked me the most - everyone being so damn horny like this is what the world was created for. The supposed-to-be-plot seemed more like a secondary aspect. Even in the fear of being killed all Genny could think about was the passion she felt toward the psycho-vampire. I kind of believe it was the author's plan to concentrate on the passion and sex part (although no actual sex was included). I may be only seventeen, which perhaps some may think is too young to talk on this subject, but I'm gonna say: in this book, the 'sexy' part was simply plain and boring and, frankly, usually idiotic, depending on the situation. It took me too long to finish the book.

I wouldn't want to say I don't recommend it to anyone - after all, everyone has their own opinion - so I'm gonna leave it at that. If you like books for reasons other than the plot, then The Sweet Scent of Blood might just be for you.


Click here to see this review on Goodreads.