5 Books on Monsters

I’m kicking off a new series in which I will give 5 book recommendations based on a subject. And in honor of Halloween we are kicking off with monsters. I don’t read a lot of super scary books, but I still managed to find 5 books with monsters, although some of these monsters perhaps don’t fit the conventional monster stereotype.

From "A Monster Calls"

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This is part one of a duology. The story takes place in a dystopian version of our world. A city is divided between a corporation that deal out their version of justice, and a mob boss using monsters for his own gains. In this world monsters are created by bad actions - you hurt someone, you spark the creation of a monster. Both sides of the city are trying to control things in their own way, but when Kate and August get caught in the middle, the unstable equilibrium threatens to topple. Kate is the daughter of the mob boss, and she wants nothing more than to be as tough as her father. August is a monster, spawned from one of the worst actions of a human, but he wants nothing more than to be a human. Things unfold and these two struggle to work together to figure out who is behind the crumbling of the unstable truce of the divided city. 

There are several monsters in this story including vampires and spirits that can steal your soul with music, and some of the humans have some monstrous qualities as well. 

As an added bonus there is no romance in this book!

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

This is a dystopian novel set in 1950s England. A man wakes up in hospital after a minor procedure involving his eyes. He removes his bandages and discovers that almost everyone else has gone blind. He slowly figures out that the blindness is probably caused by a meteor shower in the night, and everyone who saw it has lost their eyesight. He tries to navigate this new world filled with terrified people, but it is complicated by the fact that triffids now seem to reign. Triffids are tall plants that can pull their roots from the ground and walk. They are outfitted with poisonous stingers and while having been essentially tamed before the meteor shower, they now seem to be taking over as people roam the streets sightless and scared. 

The monsters in this story are the triffids, the plants, which might seem ridiculous, but let me tell you, once you get into the story and figure out exactly what has been going on with these triffids, they won’t seem so inconsequential anymore. 

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This is about a boy whose mother is sick and can’t take care of him. A monster comes to visit him and while at first the boy is thankful for the strength the monster lends him, things just never seem to go to plan. In stead of lashing out the boy must learn to accept things as they are, and the monster helps him do that. 

The monster takes the form of an ancient tree and as with most supernatural creatures you should be careful what you wish for, when they proclaim they are here to help you. 

If you decide to read this book, you should definitely go for the illustrated edition as there are some wonderful illustrations in there. The illustrator is Jim Kay, who is also doing the illustrated Harry Potter editions. You could also decide to watch the movie, which came out in 2016 to great acclaim. 

Angelfall by Susan Ee

This is the first book in a series, which I still haven't finished, so I can only vouch for this first book. But this is amazing. We follow Penryn at the end of days. Literally the world has ended and angels have descended from heaven. But while you might think that’s great because they must be here to help guide you to the afterlife, these angels seem to be less benign harp touting creatures and more killer machines with a penchant for alcohol and drugs. Amidst all this Penryn is trying to keep her family safe, but when her little sister is snatched away by an angel she must make a deal with the enemy in order to save her. 

The monsters in this book are perhaps some of the unconventional ones. You’d think angels would be nice, but these ones certainly aren’t. They seem to relish in other people’s misery and it amazes me that anyone can survive under their reign of destruction and terror. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This is also the first in a series. I have read this entire series and I ended up loving it. I’ll admit the first book was a bit of a struggle, but the other two completely made up for that. The story follows Karou, an art student in Prague who has a portfolio of wonderful drawings of imagined monsters. What her friends don’t know however, is that these monsters are actually her family. They live in an underground world, at war with the angels who are slightly more traditional than in “Angelfall”. Still, these angels are set to destroy the monsters and when war breaks out Karou must join the frontlines. What follows is an epic story of adventure, magic, battles, family, love, hope and redemption. 

The monsters in this book takes all sort of shapes. They are composites of humans and animals created via magic and instilled with ancient souls. They might look monstrous, but on the inside you will find a number of human qualities, that will make you ask, “who are the real monsters of this story?”