The Final Descent by Rick Yancey

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Title: The Final Descent

Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Monstrumologist (Book #4)

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 310 pages

Published: 2013 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop have encountered many horrors together—but can Will endure a monstrumological terror without his mentor?

Will Henry has been through more that seems possible for a boy of fourteen. He’s been on the brink of death on more than one occasion, he has gazed into hell—and hell has stared back at him, and known his face. But through it all, Dr. Warthrop has been at his side.

When Dr. Warthrop fears that Will’s loyalties may be shifting, he turns on Will with a fury, determined to reclaim his young apprentice’s devotion. And so Will must face one of the most horrific creatures of his monstrumology career—and he must face it alone.

Over the course of one day, Will’s life—and Pellinor Warthrop’s destiny—will lie in balance. In the terrifying depths of the Monstrumarium, they will face a monster more terrible than any they could have imagined—and their fates will be decided.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Intense. This was perhaps the most intense of all four books in this series. Throughout the series, we have witnessed Will Henry's change from the boy who used to get sick during dissections to the haunted young man who barely blinks an eye at killing someone. 

The narrative jumps back and forth between New York City and forty years after that at Warthrop's home. Bit by bit the story is told, layering out the details in a way that one does not even begin to suspect the ending. This was probably the best of all four of the Monstrumologist books. 

You can purchase The Final Descent through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Final Descent? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

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Title: The Isle of Blood

Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Monstrumologist (Book #3)

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 538 pages

Published: 2011 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) When Dr. Warthrop goes hunting the "Holy Grail of Monstrumology" with his eager new assistant, Arkwright, he leaves Will Henry in New York. Finally, Will can enjoy something that always seemed out of reach: a normal life with a real family. But part of Will can't let go of Dr. Warthrop, and when Arkwright returns claiming that the doctor is dead, Will is devastated--and not convinced.

Determined to discover the truth, Will travels to London, knowing that if he succeeds, he will be plunging into depths of horror worse than anything he has experienced so far. His journey will take him to Socotra, the Isle of Blood, where human beings are used to make nests and blood rains from the sky--and will put Will Henry's loyalty to the ultimate test.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

This was the longest book in the series. There is, naturally, a lot of danger. We see many characters from the first two books in here as well: John Kearns, Abraham Von Helrung, and Lilly Bates, just to name a few. It all starts with a mysterious Englishman showing up on Dr. Warthrop's doorstep with a package from John Kearns for him. That package causes Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop to end up traversing the world in search of the Holy Grail of monstrumology: the magnificum. 

Once again, the reader is taken on a journey which poses some pretty deep questions of morality and ethics. Who would you choose: the lady or the tiger? That is the decision Will Henry must make many times throughout the story. Definitely worth the read. I'm excited to read the final volume in this series!

You can purchase The Isle of Blood through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Isle of Blood? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

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Title: The Curse of the Wendigo

Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Monstrumologist (Book #2)

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 424 pages

Published: 2011 (originally published in 2010)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) While Dr. Warthrop is attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, his former fiancée asks him to rescue her husband, who has been captured by a Wendigo—a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh. Although Dr. Warthrop considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and performs the rescue—and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo. Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, and whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied? This second book in The Monstrumologist series explores the line between myth and reality, love and hate, genius and madness.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

I loved this sequel. The first book in this series was excellent, but this one might actually have been better. Dr. Warthrop is convinced that his best friend is not a monster but is delusional. Others, including his former mentor, are convinced that he is becoming a Wendigo. The book takes us to the wilds of Canada and then to the slums of New York City. Will Henry learns a lot about his master and even about himself. 

The author has done a fabulous job with this series, and I'm anxious to read book three: The Isle of Blood.

You can purchase The Curse of the Wendigo through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Curse of the Wendigo? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

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Title: The Monstrumologist

Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Monstrumologist (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 434 pages

Published: 2010 (originally published in 2009)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me. 

So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthorpe, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.

A gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does man become the very thing he hunts?

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

For a book that I found randomly at the library while picking up a different book, this was incredible! From the moment I read the blurb on the book jacket, I was excited, intrigued, and fascinated. I'm excited to continue on with the series (there are four books in total), because it was that fascinating. 

Will Henry is an orphan - his parents died in a horrible fire. His father's employer takes him in and he begins his training as a monstrumologist. He's seen some terrifying things. But nothing more terrifying than the Anthropophagi. How did the Anthropophagi come to America? Who brought them there? Why? This is the quest for those answers, as well as the quest to bring down the pod that exist in their quiet town of New Jerusalem. A must read for any fantasy lover, especially those that don't mind the simplicity of a Young Adult novel. I'm anxiously waiting to read the next book in the series!

You can purchase The Monstrumologist through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Monstrumologist? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.