Review Detail

Will Henry is an orphan that has been taken on as an assistant-apprentice to the monstrumologist, Dr. Warthrop. He is thrust among a life of oddities and the doctor's ill moods but takes them in stride. When a grave-robber brings the doctor a gruesome discovery, horrendous events are set in motion and Will Henry is witness to them all.
This story was pretty amazing. Horrific, but amazing. The thought and scientific process put into creating a species of monster was well worth the read. As I described the characteristics of the Anthropophagi to my fiancé, I wondered if I would have thought they were real if I hadn't known it was a work of fiction. Who knows. If there really are mentions of these creatures in old texts perhaps there once was a creature similar to the ones described in this book. We certainly have enough oddities in this world in this day and age that I can't close my mind to 'monsters' existing in the past. I like to keep an open mind and an even wider imagination.
I really loved how it was written. I've read a couple of Rick Yancey's other novels and they are extremely fast paced and witty with a lot of dialogue. Perhaps it is because this story is set in a past era, but I really enjoyed the old fashioned 'classic' literature feel that this book gave me. It very much differed from 'The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp' or 'The 5th Wave'.
Overall, I found it to be quite interesting but also slightly terrifying. The Anthropophagi are definitely creep-tastic. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror and would specifically recommend reading it around Halloween.