Monster

by A. Lee Martinez

Book Overview

Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don't like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady - for the future of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316049913
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Orbit
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.3" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

We capture Yeti! Call us for all your pest control needs!

The title I gave this review is from the front cover of the book, which is an ad for Monster Dionysus' pest control firm, Cryptobiological Containment and Rescue Services. We wind up meeting just about every cryptozoological creature you've ever heard of - and quite a few you probably haven't! Each of Martinez' books is a different setting and characters, each his take on a different aspect of fantasy. In my personal opinion, his books alternate between strong ones and not-so-strong, not-so-funny - and after the somewhat strained _Curses_, we were due for - and have received! - a stronger, funnier book. In this volume Martinez seems to be channeling a bit of Christopher Moore - right down to the hapless schnook working a night shift at the supermarket. No turkey bowling here - but then, Moore has never had Rocky Road-eating Yeti, so it balances out. The general plot is ordinary people who have to deal with extraordinary creatures and powers that most of the world can't even see and manages to ignore even when it's right in their faces. Our pest control guy has his degree in runic studies with a minor in cryptobiology from the Greater New Jersey Community Collegius Arcanus (we are significantly and pointedly missing any traces of fancy English private schools here). There are numerous funny points, some of them unusual touches. Gaborchends - malevolent goat people - like Cheez Whiz. Tea has always been considered a soothing beverage; here it goes quite a ways past soothing. You can get a ticket for having a winged horse in a bus stop shelter - particularly if you don't pooper-scoop the horse's debris. For the record, for people searching only for certain sub-genres of fantasy: no vampires, no zombies, no werewolves. Other than people who can do magic, and one who holds the key to the universe, there are no supernatural humans. There is an -alien? - from the sixth dimension, who is a sentient, but otherwise all our fantasy critters are critters rather than humanoid sentients. Well, except for Gracie the easy angel, and maybe Ed and Ferdinand, who are sort of human... you'll see. But no standard vampires or zombies or werewolves. As ever, let's give a shout-out to decent proofreading and copy editing: this book is free of spelling mistakes, stray and unruly punctuation, word misusage, and all those other little annoyances that plague too many books these days. Family reading alert: although Monster has a live-in demon girlfriend and sex is mentioned, there's nothing explicit, and there's almost nothing that most people would consider "bad" language.

Not your average dog catcher

Monster is a animal control expert, but what he catches aren't the average pit bull or occasional alligator. He catches magic creatures upsetting the citizens, who not only don't "get" magic, they can't remember it more than one minute. Monster really isn't a looser, but he isn't going anywhere either. With a extra-dimensional sidekick being who inhabits a sheet of paper, a really good looking demon girlfriend, and business down, Monster has enough problems. Things get worse when he meets a real looser in the local grocery store ice cream freezer. Things go down hill fast with a battle for the Universe with an old lady and too MUCH business. I keep waiting for Martinez to write a looser, but I'm disappointed again, this one is another hit. Martinez continues to write a series of books with wildly different heroes and villains. His heroes range from a mercenary soldier with a problem staying dead, a kobold housekeeper, a robot private eye, to a vampire and werewolf team of good ol' boys cruising the Southwest. His villains run from a insane sorcerer, to a sleazy magician, to the world's most powerful demon, to a cute teenage world destroyer. Martinez keeps writing hits, no two remotely alike.

Monstrous Fun

Monster is stuffed with unconventional fun. Martinez has packed the story with offbeat characters, madcap predicaments, gut punching action, and satisfying plot twists. You'll be savoring the funny bits and turning those pages furiously. Good stuff. Did I mention the Sphinx urine? That's always good for a laugh, right?

Starts off incredibly goofy and turns into something bordering on philosophy, did I read the same bo

When I started Monster by A. Lee Martinez, I was expecting it to be a rip off of the story-telling style of Harry Potter, but slightly more geared towards adults while still trying to pull in a younger audience. It centers around Judy, a normal person living and uninteresting life, and Monster, an exterminator who gets rid of mythical beasts. As the story progresses, an elaborate and really mind-blowing plot that could destroy the entire universe is revealed to them. The first thing you will notice with this book is its strongest point--the action scenes. They are perfectly written, keeping the pace up and making you feel genuinely excited for what's going on. And it's clear that Martinez knows this is his strongest point, because he has action scenes jammed in as much as the book can possibly hold. The dialogue though has a kind of cynical tone to it, both Judy and Monster are at times just plain unpleasant. But just as soon as the thought comes creeping into your head, you get distracted with another action scene. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot, because it gets really good really fast, but it really feels like two books in here. The first one is just kind of a light-hearted fantasy story with plenty of action, and the second is a surprisingly deep and truly mind-blowing exploration into philosophy. This is a surprising book and a very enjoyable and fun read, I highly recommend it. Reviewed by Alex Barry

My favorite ice cream - rocky road with yeti!

If you like well written, really funny fantasy a la Christopher Moore, you will love this book! The scene opens in a supermarket. The store clerks are rather surprised to find a yeti devouring all the ice cream and generally making a mess. But (to the rescue!) a team composed of a young man (Monster) and his assistant paper cutout man come to the rescue. Turns out that magic is everywhere, so much so that there is actually a sort of paranormal animal control. Most of us ordinary folks just don't perceive it. And we quickly forget it when we see it! As the story progresses, we get a wonderful bit of inspired silliness as the hero and heroine take on a cosmic parasite, all the knowledge in the universe, dragons, giant worms, and a truly mean horse and cow. Well written, with a sense of parody about relationship issues, this book has a lot of charm. I plan to read more of Mr. Martinez's works!