Review: Just Beyond: Monstrosity by R.L. Stine

Growing up I loved the Goosebumps books. My small town local library had quite a large collection of them and I must have read them all at least twice, some even more than that.

Some books terrified me, Night Of The Living Dummy, and some books I found absolutely bizarre, It Came From Beneath The Sink, but I enjoyed them all. I loved that the main characters were like me. Most were smart teenagers who were a little nerdy or sarcastic coming up against these weird and scary things and making the correct choices. They were great and I devoured them all.

When I saw Netgallery had a new RL Stine book up for review, despite it being a couple of decades since I last read one of his books I couldn't resist requesting it, so thank you Netgallery for sending me it and allowing me to review it.

Monstrosity is the latest book in RL Stine's graphic novel series Just Beyond. Each book tells a stand alone story. Monstrosity follows Ezra and Ruthie Dillon who's father and uncle have bought an old Horror Movie Studio and plan on making films using the old horror movie creatures. 

As this is an RL Stine story you can probably guess what happens next.

The good news is that all the classic ingredients of a RL Stine story are there, plucky teenagers, one of whom is obsessed with the old horror movies, a nice group of old school horror movies and some good action/horror sequences. I read this book in one sitting and did enjoy it. I found the majority of the characters to be good, making believable actions and I cared about what happened to the main two characters in particular. The monsters were variations on real life old school horror movie monsters so there was that nice nostalgia feeling when they popped up.

There were a few negatives though and I am not sure whether this is because if the format, the graphic novel format meant there was very little backstory, or because I am a *cough cough* thirty-something year old man reading a book aimed at early teens, but I felt the story wasn't very padded out and just jumped from one sequence to the next with no reason as to why or consequence from the earlier horror/action sequence. Also one of the adults who was making correct choices when "accidents" happened on set was painted as the bad guy for making those and that bothered me a little bit. 

All in all though this a very good graphic novel and if I had read it as 12/13 year old I would have loved it. If you are a teenager thinking of picking this up or thinking of buying it for a teenager I would definitely recommend it. It's a good action packed read which will keep you hooked. Also if you loved Goosebumps when you were younger and you are thinking about picking this up for nostalgia I don't think you will be disappointed. 

Opinion: Why you shouldn't finish reading your TBR list

Let me take you back in time for a moment. It’s the year 2000, a cold wet afternoon, your plucky narrator is a 14-year-old walking home from school. On his Walkman a cd is playing, the debut album of a little-known band called Coldplay. He is wet, tired and all he wants to do is get home, not so that he can play snake on his Nokia or Sims on his big brothers PlayStation 2, but so he can read in the warmth and quiet of his room. But, oh dear reader, there is a problem. He has finished his books. To the library he must go, where he will spend almost an hour in cold wet clothes walking up and down the aisles pulling out books at random and judging them by their covers and the blurbs on the back. Then with three or four books in his bag he will set off home into the wet again.

Luckily in the last two decades we have come along way in how we find books we want to read. Book blogs, chat rooms, social media have all made it easier to recommend the books we love and find new books to love. With so many outlets to discuss the stories we love is it any wonder TBR lists have grown so big we need to invent apps to manage them?

So, after that little walk down memory lane, should we really be trying to “complete” our TBR list? I suppose it depends on what your TBR list means to you. Is it a challenge, something for you to focus on and get through, or is it just an ongoing list of books you really want to read?

For me, my TBR is just a way for me to remember the books that have been recommended to me, books that have caught my eye and books that seem like a great read. I have no dreams about “completing” it, it’s not a challenge, it’s a tool for me to find my next great read.

Once I have finished reading a book and looking to start my next read, I can open up my TBR list, scroll through the books I have on there, look at a few reviews read plot summaries and choose my next read. Yes, this means that there are books on there that have been their years, and I am sure that there are books on their that I will never read but I don’t see this as an issue. Surely too many great books I want to read is better than too few?

I also find it nice that my TBR list isn’t a challenger. In life, even in the online book world, there is a lot of competition and stress, I have read this many books this year, or here is a list of books you MUST read before you die, that to just have a list of great books I can choose from whenever I want with no expectations is a nice thing which we could all do with every now and then.

So no, I don’t think you should ever “finish” your TBR list if you do that means you are not adding to it and potentially missing out on some great books. So, keep adding those recommendations, enjoy the books on there at your own pace and realise that a huge TBR list is good, it just means there are loads of great books out there and there is nothing wrong with that.

Book Review: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris is the first Sanderson book I picked up and when I told anyone this was my first Sanderson the novel everyone said the same thing, this is not his best novel and they get much better.

Well if this is the weakest novel that Brandon Sanderson has written then I am in for a hell of a ride and he fully deserves his standing as the number fantasy author around today. Elantris is fantastic.

I read Elantris in the middle of a grimdark binge that include a lot of dark, action driven books and Elantris was a nice cleanser. It is more of a political story focusing on government, leadership and religion. 

It follows three characters, Prince Raoden, Sarene and Hrathen. Each character is a joy to read and as the story progresses they each grow and develop. I found Raoden in particular to be a great character and am disappointed that this is a stand alone story and I won't be able to continue his story.

The fourth character is the city of Elantris, once a city of god like people, now a ruin, a curse, full of half human half zombie people. Beneath the grime and decay that covers the city secrets and wonders are hidden and I had great joy in discovering those secrets along with the characters. 

In summary this is a fantastic story that had me hooked from the beginning to the end.

Book review: The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

I have heard so many good things about John Gwynne that it’s a wonder that Shadow of the Gods is the first book of his that I have read. Before even picking up this book I felt like John Gwynne was one of my new favourite authors and this can come with its own pressure, sometimes you can build something up so much that nothing can ever live up to those expectations.

I am happy to say that Shadow of the Gods exceeded all my expectations. I loved it.

Shadow of the Gods is a Norse inspired epic fantasy focusing on three main characters, Varg, Orka and Elvar. The story jumps between those characters view point and as the story progresses to the amazing cliffhanger ending you can help but fall in love with each character and the supporting cast around them.

Varg is a former slave who wins his way into joining a mercenary company in the hopes that it can help him achieve his own personal quest.

Elvar is also a member of a mercenary company, not the same one as Varg, and we follow her story as she struggles to establish her own history and story away from the influence of her parents.

Finally we have Orka, a mother and ferocious warrior who is on her own personal mission to get revenge against her enemies.

All three characters are amazing complex and the interactions with the characters around them are amazingly done. As the characters trouble along their own separate stories we learn the history and about the amazing world that John Gwynne has created. The world is fabulously fleshed out and I can’t wait to see it expanded in future books.

My only slight criticism would be that the jumping from POV to POV occasionally left me frustrated that I couldn’t continue with one characters story, but this is not a critique of John Gwynne’s writing but the exact opposite. Each character and their story was so great that I didn’t want to stop reading it.

I’m summary, this is a fantastic start to a series I have no doubt will go on to be a classic of the fantasy genre and the characters introduced in this book will be on future best characters in fantasy list. If you like action, well drawn out characters and excellent fantasy then this book is for you.

Book Review: Monster: Volume One by Duncan Swan

Monstre: Volume One by Duncan Swan is a big book. Big in length and big in idea. Big in plot, big in characters and big in scope. I think you get the idea, this book is a monster, pun intended.

The book begins with an explosion at a nuclear research facility in Europe. We follow a group of scientists trying to explore the fallout from the explosion and running from the cloud of ash that follows and the things the cloud begins. 

We then jump between Europe and America going from day 0 and Europe dealing with the cloud and to around three months in as the cloud spreads towards America and from their the book splits into essentially two stories, a military action packed epic as they investigate the cloud and what lurks beneath it, and a survival story as a small group of people in America try to flee the oncoming cloud and find somewhere safe. 

Both stories are amazingly well done, full of great characters and scenarios that will leave you gripped and reading well into the night.

I was surprised to read that this is Duncan Swan’s debut work. The story is amazingly well written and ambitious and feels like the work of an established author. 

My one issue is that initially the time jump confused me and jolted me out of the story and it took a little while to get used to the back and forth, however once I did I found it an amazing technique that is well used.

I will warn everyone that the story ends both timelines on major cliffhanger's and with the next book out at the end of 2021 that can be frustrating. I for one can’t wait to see the story continue.