To be honest; I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It was fascinating, but odd - a view into the world of a writer, drawn back into the story of Frankenstein. Great writing as always from Marcus Sedgwick

This one was not for me unfortunately.

It was very different. Very strange.
The way it was written was almost like a stream of consciousness and that just didn’t work for me for some reason.
I could never really get into the story or feel invested at all.

★☆☆☆☆

This book is a clusterfuck of nothing and I was sorely disappointed by it.

I’ll be completely transparent with you guys, I requested the book purely based off the front cover and because I’d read and enjoyed some of the author’s works in the past. However, this was a huge mistake for me. I never read the blurb because I generally don’t do that for most of the books I read, and I won’t be making that mistake again with a Sedgwick novel.

I had no idea what this was about and so I had no idea what to expect. The story launches completely into itself with no explanation and no way for you to understand the context of the situation without having read the blurb for the book. I hate this about books. I don’t read blurbs and I know a lot of other people don’t, so when I started this I was at a loss for what was happening. This book is confusing and strange, a combination that doesn’t always play out well.

You’re better off reading something that can do this better like The Raven Cycle or Space Opera if you’re looking for a weird story.

“The night is when monsters arrive, when monsters are made.”

GENERAL THOUGHTS & CRITICISMS

I mean, wow… what can I say? This was my first 1 star of 2018. The Monsters We Deserve really takes the cake! It even beat out Zenith, which I only rated 2 stars, for my worst read of the year!

This book has received a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews but I think it really missed the mark for me. In general, a lot of things were about this one. The writing style was pretentious to the point where he was coming off not only as rude but as judgmental and arrogant. Also, at one point in the beginning of the story, and this is what really gets me, he schools the reader on how to use a comma. Thanks, you pretentious asshole, I’m a literature student, I know how to use a comma. And then throughout the whole novel, to keep this pretentious and horrible book going he proceeds to place a whole lot of unnecessary commas in his book. I just hate it so much???

There was so much borderline offensive stuff in this that is never ceased to piss me off. I basically hate-read this and would never have finished chapter 1 if this wasn’t an arc copy. Throughout the book, the author continually treats his reader/s as if they are dumb and no better than the dirt under the author’s shoes.

(There’s also another instance where he goes over what the word for-bidden means. Honestly, this did nothing to help him because the book already feels as if the main character looks down on the reader. You don’t sound smart, you sound like an asshole.

And this is a really minor note, but considering this book is only just over 100 pages, it took me a ridiculous amount of time and determination to finish it. 4 days and something like 40 notes left on my kindle as a result of this book. What a wild ride of hatred and rage.

“I would like to mention that you sent me here, It was your idea.”

WHAT DID I JUST READ?

My main takeaway from this book is that the author didn’t know what he wanted it to be. There is so much genre-splicing that it’s silly. This book feels like the author was trying a whole bunch of different things all in one go and it didn’t pay off. If anything, it felt unedited.

In the beginning, I could picture this as one of those shitty fake-deep oscar nominated movies that you get around the Summer time. Then it turned into a mystery and then a ghost story then a weird coming of middle-age story and then it was straight up an analysis of Frankenstein ft. Mary Shelley was racist and also classist (duh) and also here’s an a-z of why you should not read this book. I saw another reviewer say that reading this was like reading a thesis on Frankenstein and I have to say, I completely agree with them. [LINK]

REPETITIVE AND GRATING

I titled this section the way I feel because at this point it’s 6:15 at night and I’m tired and I just want to go to sleep. This book was just over 100 pages and yet it managed to piss me off completely and really turn me off the author’s future novels. It grated on my nerves and irritated me the entire time I was reading it. It was also so repetitive I couldn’t believe what I was reading. At first, I thought it was just a typo because I was reading an advanced copy but… the repetition stayed throughout the whole novel and it was confusing and weird. It honestly felt like Sedgwick was just trying to get the word count up and thinking his pretentious writing/character would cover him for this one.

Here are some examples if you think I’m being dramatic:

“…beaten and drawn, beaten and drawn”
“Put the shopping away, I put the shopping away and the…”
“I stared at it for the longest time, the longest time…”

The main character is dramatic and obsessed with Mary Shelley and her book, Frankenstein. I’m not entirely sure what the author was trying to accomplish with this book. Maybe he just got fed up one day and wrote a book trying to prove that the author is sperate from their works??? I don’t know, but this book turned out to pretty much just be an ode to why the dude hates Frankenstein.

SO, DO I RECOMMEND IT?

Honestly, no. I thought it was pretty terrible. But maybe if you enjoy Frankenstein or have to do an analysis on the book, this might be the novel for you.

Take my review with a grain of salt though, because as of me writing this, I am the only reviewer to have rated this one star (out of 54 reviews). That being said, it’s still a pretty new release and not many people have actually read it yet.

I haven't read any Marcus Sedgwick before but I loved the writing style of this book. It was both lyrical and filled with beautiful metaphors. The descriptions and imagery were wonderful yet horrifying at the same time, which made this such an amazing read!

A four star read!!

An unusual yet delightful horror read, I loved the atmosphere created within this novel. Wouls highly recommend to people looking for different horror reads.

I’ve been a fan of Marcus Sedgewick for years – he has a wonderful voice and economy of language. That said this wasn’t really for me. It was an interesting piece of writing and I like new takes on old classics – this was heavily influenced by Frankenstein – but ultimately I found it a bit thin on story. If you like slightly more experimental and short punchy pieces this could well be for you though.

'The Monsters We Deserve' is a book that pays homage to Mary Shelley's gothic masterpiece 'Frankenstein' which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. It's certainly a well judged move by the author/publisher to release this just as we've moved into Autumn in the UK and heading towards Halloween. Sedgwick's writing is beautiful and conjures up a glorious atmosphere that lasts the duration of the novel. His lyrical, brutal prose is alluring, and I couldn't stop thinking about the story whenever I had to place it down to attend to something important.

I know you shouldn't commit the cardinal sin of judging a book by its cover, but that is what initially drew me to this book. The use of monochrome really works and attracts the eye. The cover is a little creepy, and I had wondered whether this theme would continue throughout the novel. I was pleasantly surprised that the creep factor was turned up to the maximum at a few select points. At times the often seductive, poetic language strays into the land of the pretentious which, although is sad, didn't affect my overall appreciation. This is well worth investing your time in, especially if you're a fan of Mary Shelley's work or of the horror/young adult genres.

Many thanks to Zephyr for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

A fabulously spooky book filled with jump-scares and things that go bump in the night. Really enjoyed this creepy book. At first, it made my head spin a bit, was he writing about himself or another author, but once I got my head around it, I couldn't put it down!

A modern Gothic tale that owes as much to A Christmas Carol as it does to Frankenstein.
I personally found it pretentious (to be perfectly honest, "wanky" was the word I used) and the ending is infuriatingly abrupt after so much writer-ly angst, but it's filled with powerful imagery and there are some wonderful moments that are genuinely creepy.

I love Marcus Sedgwick's lyrical, atmospheric writing. This is a perfect book for the anniversary of Frankenstein, and I've always wanted a book about that particular Geneva holiday.

The cover for this book really drew me in, then the blurb it sounded all gothic and full of horror. Then i got to reading the book, yes it is filled with gothic images and characters who manage to get under your skin. But overall i was left not connecting with the book. There was something that just did not let me connect fully with the story and i cannot put my finger on it. A well told and imaginative story with a good writing style, first book i have read from this author and i may look into their other books at some point

http://books-and-thebigscreen.co.uk/books/the-monsters-we-…-marcus-sedgwick/

Written in the vein of Mary Shelley’s own Frankenstein, Marcus Sedgwick’s The Monsters We Deserve considers in beautiful, brutal prose the peculiarly intimate relationship between author and creation, reality and fiction, and the strange nature of horror itself.

A writer leaves for the Alpine peaks, determined to finally end their stint in the literary genre that once granted them success and eventually came to define them. But slowly, surely, they find themselves trapped in the house that was to be their respite, cornered by mysterious happenings and held captive by the book they so detest: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In seeking a greater meaning for that gothic masterpiece, our enigmatic narrator soon finds themselves lured into that very same world, replete with monsters who refuse to stay on the page…

From his beguiling descriptions of nature to his skilful characterisation, The Monsters We Deserve keenly demonstrates Sedgwick’s seductive style, his well-honed sense of how words may fall together on the page to be almost poetic in their inclusion. There is a similar attention paid to the details of how the horror of this novella unfolds, as Sedgwick offers us the conventions of the genre whilst also contemplating the greater fears reflected by Shelley in her own tale of monstrosity and cruelty.

But it is in the adroit interplay realised between the characters, narrator and the reader themselves where Sedgwick most shines. The novella as a whole is able to serve as first literary criticism, then standard horror, and finally ends on a philosophical note tinged with the terror of the unknown. Such a fear lurks in the background of the story, occasionally creeping back into view as our anonymous narrator, ever unreliable, is drawn time and again to the book they so despise.

And hatred it undoubtedly is, though perhaps a sentiment poisoned by their own dark secret. Given only the initials MS, and their status as an author, we are led to wonder as to what part of himself Sedgwick has injected into his narrator, as indeed we question the allure of Shelley’s novel to a writer who scorns it so. It would seem an audacious move by Sedgwick to create a narrator so fixed in their enmity, above all in a novella designed to celebrate the bicentenary anniversary of Shelley’s own work, but through questioning the latter’s characters Sedgwick cannot help but invite us to reflect on his own.

At times the description is pretentious, the language becoming distinctly ostentatious; it is perhaps a stylistic choice used to echo the contemptuous tone of our narrator, although at other points this lexical approach serves only to hinder the reader’s enjoyment of Sedgwick’s piece. Periodically employing long lists of nouns, and relying on ellipses to communicate a breakdown in dialogue, is a style that sometimes frustrates in its occasional presence.

However, these flaws can only be minor deterrents: The Monsters We Deserve seldom disappoints when it comes to Sedgwick’s talent for storytelling, the pace building to finally conclude in a dénouement open with doubt. Assigned the role of editor by our narrator, and implicated in the novella’s ominous theme, it would seem the reader themselves becomes distinctly unknowable alongside the story’s enigmatic characters. Thus the question at the heart of the piece lingers in our minds too, forced as we are to consider our own responsibility for the creation of monsters.

In Shelley’s original novel, it is Victor Frankenstein who attempts to remake Adam; but it is perhaps The Monsters We Deserve that asks who the real fallen angel of the story might be.

(Thank you so much to Head of Zeus for offering me the chance to review this book; I received a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review).

Hi everyone and welcome to my first review in a while!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher on Netgalley.
I was really excited to read and review this one as I’ve just read another of Marcus’s short stories called ‘Killing The Dead’.

The Monsters We Deserve is a absolutely stunning book as I now own a hardback edition which is full of beautiful black and white illustrations which help add atmosphere to the novel.
The main protagonist of the novel is Marcus Sedgwick himself as he retreats to a cabin far in the snow covered mountains so he can write is latest novel.

Strange things start happening and Marcus starts to focus on Mary Shelley’s Classic, Frankenstein and what it means and some very deep and interesting questions.

I finished The Monsters We Deserve In only two days which is practically unheard of for me.

I give this book a great four stars because of the interesting questions that arise and the interesting and somewhat crazy (Cabin Fever) main character. I enjoyed the focus not on gore but phycological scares which are contained within.

Thanks for reading!

This short book based around Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is unusual and despite its brevity it wasn't a quick read because of the need to read carefully to fully appreciate the underlying themes - do writers truly create their characters or do they only become real in the minds and imaginations of readers? It was hard to tell at times whether the events in the book are actually happening or if the writer is experiencing gas induced hallucinations, and the use of first person means the book reads as a stream of thought which makes the flow a little disjointed at times. Lots of literary criticism of Frankenstein which was interesting and the suspense builds well throughout the story.

I'm a bit confused because I've mixed feelings and I don't know if I liked it or not.
I was expecting something on the horror side and got a literary short novel.
It's well written, irritanting and fascinating at the same time, it's slow and sometimes boring but you cannot give up.
I recommend it to people who like literary metaworks and are interested in literary criticism.
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this ARC

I received a free ebook version of this one from Netgalley. Thankyou to both Head of Zeus and Netgalley for allowing me to read this! My review is still honest.

I don’t know how to review this. The Monsters We Deserve is alike Sedgwick’s other works in that there is a deep, philosophical, subtle message beneath the beautiful writing-but I’m not sure I fully got it.
The Monsters We Deserve follows an unnamed author who is spending time high in the mountains attempting to write a novel. While there, he ponders the meaning of writing and creation through the medium of discussing the book Frankenstein. It quickly becomes a creepy, mysterious, fantastical little story in which all is never as it seems.
Sedgwick’s style and sense of setting is mesmerising and the story itself was interesting. I enjoyed the aspects of Frankenstein and the individuals who crop up in this. I liked the discussion of the writing process and how authors think of their own works. It is a whimsical, eerie little tale with so many deeper meanings that I’m sure will appeal to a specific type of reader. It was disturbing at times as our singular character seemed to spiral into madness and I was never sure if what he was seeing was a product of his own mind. It was unnerving to know so little about them-no gender, family status, anything about their life outside of the mountain was revealed and it really created a spooky vibe.
I did like the talk of being responsible for your creations, and yet being unable to be. Once your story is out in the world, people make it their own, they change it and adapt it so that it no longer becomes what you desired it to be. And yet, you still have to take ownership of your now warped creation. There really are some beautiful ideas and concepts that make you think.
The thing is, I always enjoy Sedgwick’s books in the way that I enjoy the beauty of them, I appreciate the plot and what he’s achieved, but I never quite find out what the ingredients are. I’m sure this has very intricate symbolism because I recognise the themes-but I just didn’t get what they were meant to symbolise. I spent a lot of this book feeling like I wasn’t in on the conversation. That’s not to say it wasn’t good as I do appreciate a lot about Sedgwick’s writing-but a lot of this one went over my head.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in order to provide an honest review.

This wasn’t what I expected it to be, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Having studied Frankenstein at undergraduate level, and being a fan of Sedgwick’s writing, i was excited to read it. I just didn’t anticipate being a part of the conversation, as it were! The book is written in the first person, with an author addressing the ‘reader’ (in this case, his editor). The protagonist isn’t particularly likeable, but the insights into his mind as he deals with writers block and a borderline obsession with Shelley’s book are fascinating.

Sedgwick uses traits of the nineteenth century gothic novel as he weaves a tale that is simultaneously a ghost story and a metaphor for the protagonist’s spiralling guilt about his own creation. The overarching theme mimics that of Frankenstein: responsibility for one’s creations.

It was at times a little unsettling, as it felt like witnessing a spiral into madness in places, but that only added to the overall enjoyment of the story.

I’d recommend it to people who enjoy reading literature from an academic viewpoint, perhaps not to the more casual reader, as it can feel like literary criticism rather than a novel. Still, I enjoyed it!

Goodreads:

Everyone takes inspiration from somewhere. Tucked away in the forest, surrounded by the white noise of oblivion an author awaits. Creation fills the silence, not as intended. But the monsters we create are the monsters we deserve.

Facebook:

In the beating heart of the forest an author waits for inspiration, something new, fresh. What awaits is something created, something of the past, something they deserve. This book is beautifully written, I almost read straight through but had to look up once in awhile to remind myself I was not in an aspen forest surrounded in silence. Its publication is set for this week, you can even order it through the link below.

This book was not what I expected and that in the best way possible.
The Monsters We Deserve is a very meta story, it deals with the struggles of writing and having your written words out in the world while also telling the story of an author out in the mountains trying to fins inspiration for a new book.

The writing has a very stream of consciousness feel. I could relate to it very well, maybe because I'm a writer myself, but also, because it was just very easy to dive into the story-telling and feel with the protagonist. At times this type of writing got a bit too much or boring and I had to skim-read some passages, but overall I liked it a lot and actually marked many different quotes.

The book has something autobiographical while also feeling very mystical and scary at times. The protagonist hides in an old house, where he studies Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and writes his own work. He then is visited by Mary Shelley's ghost and she asks him for help. This part felt a bit weird to me and I know many people felt that way. Just that Shelley, who is such an important female figure in the writing world would need the help of a man to make her biggest success actually good is a bit wrong in my eyes.

It's also weird how this book at times feels like it's a analytical piece about Frankenstein. It goes through all the supposed short comings of the novel and the protagonist never stops saying how much he hates it and how much it lacks. This a bit unfortunate for a book that seems like it's targeted towards people who actually enjoyed the book and don't need a man to explain what the real meaning of it was.

Overall I read this book in one sitting and really enjoyed the different way it was written and was pulled into the story effortlessly. It was the criticism of Frankenstein and Shelley herself and her supposed lack of ability that didn't sit well with me and stopped me from giving this very special read a full five star rating.

I received an ARC from Head of Zeus/Zephyr via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Head of Zeus is an imprint I have come to associate with innovative projects and this work, combining a subtle horror story with literary criticism, seems a fitting tribute for the bicentennial of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’.

I have read a few of Marcus Sedgwick’s novels and been very impressed by his strong sense of place and ability to capture the essence of the Gothic tradition. I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting when I requested it and at first was quite puzzled by the format and his repeated statements of hatred towards her novel.

Yet it lured me in as Sedgwick established his evocative mountainside setting and his stream of consciousness narration that made me feel as though I was present alongside him in the chalet and witness to his growing confusion and unusual visitations.

The book is infused with a slow, creeping sense of horror; not the kind where terrifying things happen in front of your eyes but that sense of growing unease and dread where you are not quite sure if it is all in your imagination.

Certainly an unusual work that defies classification. I felt that Sedgwick made his points about ‘Frankenstein’ in a creative way that is bound to stimulate discussion. The cover image was stunning combining stag, man and tree.