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being_b's review against another edition
2.0
Summary: An okay book that would have been better with lesbians.
I like a dose of Lovecraftian horror from time to time, but cannot stand Lovecraft's writing style (which many other authors in that sub-genre seem to consider essential). Thus, I was excited to stumble across Monstrocity, nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, billed as combining "elements of science fiction with horror in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft" and written by an author with more of a scifi, noir-ish style.
Unfortunately, what I ended up with was a book that had all the trappings of Lovecraft- the Old Ones, the Elder Gods, creepy things with tentacles, weird rituals, a protagonist who starts seeing patterns in everything that may or may not be there- but lacked the spirit of Lovecraftian horror.
The other negative point is the author's treatment of women. I originally thought our protagonist was a woman, so when we opened with our protag lusting after and then hooking up with a hot, curvy goth chick, I was all in favor. Then I discovered our protag was a dude and we were not going to be having Sapphic gothpunk adventures. Then
Not to mention all the references to rape, Japanese computer games simulating rape, custom computer games where men hunt and kill their exes, etc, that exist as part of the window dressing for the city our protag lives in. These are all described as bad things, but it's not hard to imagine the author's glee- "Oh look at me, I'm so daring, my worldbuilding is so dark." The city itself, called Punktown, is the setting for most of the author's books, and you can tell he's proud of every dark, rainy, filthy, bug-infested, murderous, rapetastic inch of it.
I admit I am willing to give horror a little more leeway on misogyny than most genres, as long as it is, you know, meant to be horrifying. I was actually more bothered by the author's two-dimensional treatment of the hero's two identical girlfriends, either of whom had the potential to be more interesting to read about than he was. That's why I won't be back to read more of J.T.'s work- I can deal with somebody writing Lovecraftian horror in a way I don't care for, and sometimes I want to read over-the-top grimdark nonsense, but treating female characters as interchangeable, fuckable status-pieces is the kind of shit up with which I will not put.
I like a dose of Lovecraftian horror from time to time, but cannot stand Lovecraft's writing style (which many other authors in that sub-genre seem to consider essential). Thus, I was excited to stumble across Monstrocity, nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, billed as combining "elements of science fiction with horror in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft" and written by an author with more of a scifi, noir-ish style.
Unfortunately, what I ended up with was a book that had all the trappings of Lovecraft- the Old Ones, the Elder Gods, creepy things with tentacles, weird rituals, a protagonist who starts seeing patterns in everything that may or may not be there- but lacked the spirit of Lovecraftian horror.
Spoiler
I mean, it had a happy-ish ending! The protagonist turned out to be right AND is still mentally functioning in the end! And worst of all, our protag takes his new understanding of the horrific underpinnings of his universe and systematically and effectively applies that logic to fight the enemy. That isn't how Lovecraftian horror works! Any glimpse of the true unknowable chaos and horror underpinning the universe should cause our protagonist to go utterly nuts, and his every attempt to fight should ultimately bring about the birth of the very abomination he meant to prevent. That's BASIC. My favorite thing about Lovecraftian horror is that the safest-seeming place is where the monster will be hiding. This book was basically the opposite of that- our hero is introduced to a scary and mystical undercurrent in his city, and eventually masters it to the point of being able to successfully fight back. Blah.The other negative point is the author's treatment of women. I originally thought our protagonist was a woman, so when we opened with our protag lusting after and then hooking up with a hot, curvy goth chick, I was all in favor. Then I discovered our protag was a dude and we were not going to be having Sapphic gothpunk adventures. Then
Spoiler
the chick gets possessed and our protag has to fridge her, followed by much angsting about her body, which he had "penetrated in love and in death" (he shot her, I mean, not necrophilia). I really should have just stopped there, because ew. Later on he meets another chick with an identical body type, described in creepy detail, who he introduces to the joys of oral sex because she's all conservative and hasn't "embraced her passion" or some shit. They fall in love (our protag makes sure we know that he wasn't in love with chick #1, that was Just Sex) and end up fighting Lovecraftian horrors together. The book ends with her telling him a story "from her culture" about a hero who vanquishes a monster and then everyone loves him. Blarg.Not to mention all the references to rape, Japanese computer games simulating rape, custom computer games where men hunt and kill their exes, etc, that exist as part of the window dressing for the city our protag lives in. These are all described as bad things, but it's not hard to imagine the author's glee- "Oh look at me, I'm so daring, my worldbuilding is so dark." The city itself, called Punktown, is the setting for most of the author's books, and you can tell he's proud of every dark, rainy, filthy, bug-infested, murderous, rapetastic inch of it.
I admit I am willing to give horror a little more leeway on misogyny than most genres, as long as it is, you know, meant to be horrifying. I was actually more bothered by the author's two-dimensional treatment of the hero's two identical girlfriends, either of whom had the potential to be more interesting to read about than he was. That's why I won't be back to read more of J.T.'s work- I can deal with somebody writing Lovecraftian horror in a way I don't care for, and sometimes I want to read over-the-top grimdark nonsense, but treating female characters as interchangeable, fuckable status-pieces is the kind of shit up with which I will not put.
urbino's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
mpc0812c's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
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