Monstre: Volume One

By Duncan Swan

Book Overview

THERE IS NO STOPPING IT.

THE CLOUD IS ARMAGEDDON, STEAMROLLING THE WORLD AT A WALKING PACE.

Day 0. From the wreckage of a research facility in Switzerland, a plume of toxic smoke and ash pours into the sky, forming an impenetrable cloud that is slowly smothering the world in darkness. As Europe disappears beneath the Cloud, a squad of United States marines are sent on a desperate mission to find out what went wrong, and how to undo it before it's too late. Venturing into a cold, dark world, the marines must travel deep under the Cloud, with no comms, no backup, and no idea of what they will face.

Day 89. Half a world away, the Cloud has reached the East Coast of the US. With nowhere to run and no hope of survival, the American people have descended into madness, turning on themselves and each other. From the sidelines, an old Tennessee sheriff watches as his country unravels. But he can't bring himself to take the easy way out. Quitting isn't in his DNA. So when one of his deputies asks him to help protect her family, he leads them west, chasing a miracle--a rumor of an old nuclear bunker that just may be their only hope for survival. Because if the Cloud doesn't kill them, what's hiding in the dark will.

In his thrilling debut novel Monstre, author Duncan Swan crafts a relentless, terrifying, genre-bending tale of courage, desperation, and redemption that shows just how fragile our civilization is, and how far we will go to survive

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1734574003
• ISBN13: 9781734574005
• Release Date: September 2020
• Publisher: Super Hoot Publishing
• Length: 476 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Amzing from page 1 to the last

I was lucky to see the twitter post from the author, Duncan Swan, calling for any reviewers interested in snagging a physical ARC of Monstre in return for for an honest review, which follows below. I was even luckier to fall in the number of people that were told yes, there were copies left, DM me the address. I thank him for this opportunity. I rated this 5 stars. First off, the book itself is gorgeous; after finishing Monstre the whole design resolves its genius. Secondly, I found the chapter and sub-chapter breaks uniquely done; creating this constant shifting, flowing reading experience. Third, characters were well rounded and authentic; I also felt they stayed true to how they were presented to be. There were no out of left field, story driven only actions from anyone. Finally, the only disappointment I felt was at the end, when I saw the sequel will not be released until winter 2021. I read the sneak peek, which I can usually resist, for the little bit more I could squeeze out story-wise. This read could tickle so many different genre readers’ fancy, I could see dark fiction, science fiction, end of world event, dystopian, survival horror, creature horror, alien warfare, and so many other genres be attached to this and still not grasp all the nuances. I was absolutely blown away by how much I enjoyed this, and this is the authors debut novel. Amazing. We have all heard “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” but I feel that can do an injustice; thought and effort went into this as well, and is part of the finished product. When I opened the book mail containing Monstre, the very first thing I said was, “This book is beautiful!” Then I made my husband and sons look at it, but didn’t let them touch it, because it was new and mine. Forgive me, but not sorry. There are four colors used; black, grey, red and white. When you hold the novel it seems intimidating, there is a weight pulling at your arms as you’re gazing at the M, the reddish shadows of serrated teeth within the outlined letter. After reading chapter Day 3 D-Day, I am convinced the book design can be a constant reference to an action that happens there, every time you open the book. I think I did that without spoiling it, until you can read it yourself. Monstre is without a table of contents and the chapters do not begin at 1 and continue on the usual numbered path. The book opens on Day 0 and a location. The sub-chapter is a characters name, introducing the narrator guiding you through that moment. CERN has had an event, once thought impossible; these first introductions are panicked, violent and hook you in instantly. Then next chapter break is Day 89; we are transported from Switzerland to the USA, along with the obvious time jump. We are introduced to new characters, given additional narrators. While European countries were directly affected, America, and the rest of the continent, have their societies crumble while waiting for the inevitable reach of the cloud to cross the land. The location and time jumps happen several times throughout; I thought the nonlinear timeline added to the just absolute immense gravity of the situation happening. For some the event was very quickly here and their part resolved, but for others it was not even to their doorstep; but life for them was already unhinged, unprotected. It was as if the author wanted to apply pressure from different directions to the reader, so there was never really a break. 🎵 Loved it! 🎵 Human nature is complex, flawed, and as varied as pop tart flavours; that gives an author a lot to work with in character creation and development. There are many people introduced in Monstre Volume One, as narrators or interacting with them; not everyone survives, the very summary extinguished that possibility. Whether the person is present from their introduction to the closing of Monstre, or they suffer a meticulously spelled out death, or even an implied one off the page; they were people while I read them. T