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The Monkey Toy
During the Korean War, a Navy pilot collides with an unknown aircraft. A deadly component from the crash lands on a remote island beach, and remains there until it is discovered decades later. The story rapidly progresses to present day, when U.S. sailor Randy Farren finds the round, rose-colored object on an uninhabited Korean island, and begins experiencing headaches, hallucinations, and nightmares. This story follows the journey of the mysterious object, and explores the effects it has on everyone who tries to possess it. Insanity, murder, government conspiracies, and hints of humor and romance are included in the race against time, as the fate of civilization hangs in the balance.
- GenresScience Fiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2011
2 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Robert M. Roberts
3 books791 followersRobert is the author of two novels and several short stories. He only writes as a hobby when he is bored. His favorite genres are thriller, mystery, horror, crime, science fiction with an emphasis on aliens. Lover of cats, beer and tacos! I moderate the groups Senior Readers and Writers.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 30, 2011
I was given a copy of this book by the author, Robert M. Roberts, in exchange for a review. I must say I’m glad he chose to let me read his book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I started reading this book about mid morning one day, and that day quickly turned into a ‘lazy day’ because I wanted to finish the book, I didn’t want to put it down until I was done. The story starts out in the Korean War with a pilot seemingly lost in the fog above the ocean. He decides to continue on his current course and finally finds his ship but just as he’s about to make an approach to land, Poof! he’s gone.
The story quickly advances to modern times aboard another navy vessel in the same ocean, where they are doing testing on a remote island. A team is sent to the island and, as they are boarding their boat to head back to the ship, one of the sailors finds a strange object in the sand . This strange object, and how it affects everyone that comes in contact with it, is the subject of this story .
The author takes you on an exciting journey from Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 through to current times. Using commonly known facts he weaves a story of intrigue and mystery involving UFOs, Area 51, and strange deaths caused by the unknown. The characters in the novel are well thought out, believable, and colourful. Roberts has taken a well known subject and given it a new and refreshing twist, while throwing in some unexpected developments. It’s hard to believe this is Robert Roberts début novel, I would recommend it to anyone with a love of intrigue and adventure.
I started reading this book about mid morning one day, and that day quickly turned into a ‘lazy day’ because I wanted to finish the book, I didn’t want to put it down until I was done. The story starts out in the Korean War with a pilot seemingly lost in the fog above the ocean. He decides to continue on his current course and finally finds his ship but just as he’s about to make an approach to land, Poof! he’s gone.
The story quickly advances to modern times aboard another navy vessel in the same ocean, where they are doing testing on a remote island. A team is sent to the island and, as they are boarding their boat to head back to the ship, one of the sailors finds a strange object in the sand . This strange object, and how it affects everyone that comes in contact with it, is the subject of this story .
The author takes you on an exciting journey from Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 through to current times. Using commonly known facts he weaves a story of intrigue and mystery involving UFOs, Area 51, and strange deaths caused by the unknown. The characters in the novel are well thought out, believable, and colourful. Roberts has taken a well known subject and given it a new and refreshing twist, while throwing in some unexpected developments. It’s hard to believe this is Robert Roberts début novel, I would recommend it to anyone with a love of intrigue and adventure.
March 14, 2021
The Monkey Toy is an extremely dark, apocalyptic thriller with gruesome murders, conspiracy and government coverup. Not recommended for squeamish readers, or those who fear mankind's ultimate fate.
April 24, 2022
GIVE IT BACK!
An enjoyable little story about chaos intruding on a peaceful scene...And then another one...And another one. I like the way not only were all worst fears realized in this story, but the archetypal bad guys turned out to be right all along. This book needed a final copy edit but is a cut above many self-published books you find these days.
An enjoyable little story about chaos intruding on a peaceful scene...And then another one...And another one. I like the way not only were all worst fears realized in this story, but the archetypal bad guys turned out to be right all along. This book needed a final copy edit but is a cut above many self-published books you find these days.
August 19, 2013
2.5 stars
I read this novel with my Shelfari horror group. I don't think anyone enjoyed it very much.
The story itself had promise. An artifact is discovered on a beach and quietly tucked away for further inspection. Of course, the artifact is dangerous and seems to bring bad luck to anyone that has possession of it. Sounds good, but a little familiar, right?
The telling of the story is where this book failed in my opinion. That's exactly it-the author tells, he doesn't show. And he tells us a lot. Over and over again. At one point in the story the author relates to us AGAIN, that a certain character is totally unaware of the experiences of another character. Enough already! Trust your reader to have some brains and to have realized that fact the first or second time you mentioned it.
It almost felt like someone was sitting there narrating the whole story. No feelings for the characters came across and no urgency regarding the plot was felt. Then the end came along, WHABAM out of nowhere. It felt rushed and to me, it also felt like I was being preached to, which I did not enjoy. (It wasn't in a religious way, but it did feel a bit like a sermon.)
I stuck with this until the end because I had hoped that somehow the story would redeem itself, but I'm sad to say that it never did. Even though I liked the idea of the story, the author didn't deliver it in such a way as to make me care for the characters, or what happened to them. I'm sorry that I can't recommend this novel.
I read this novel with my Shelfari horror group. I don't think anyone enjoyed it very much.
The story itself had promise. An artifact is discovered on a beach and quietly tucked away for further inspection. Of course, the artifact is dangerous and seems to bring bad luck to anyone that has possession of it. Sounds good, but a little familiar, right?
The telling of the story is where this book failed in my opinion. That's exactly it-the author tells, he doesn't show. And he tells us a lot. Over and over again. At one point in the story the author relates to us AGAIN, that a certain character is totally unaware of the experiences of another character. Enough already! Trust your reader to have some brains and to have realized that fact the first or second time you mentioned it.
It almost felt like someone was sitting there narrating the whole story. No feelings for the characters came across and no urgency regarding the plot was felt. Then the end came along, WHABAM out of nowhere. It felt rushed and to me, it also felt like I was being preached to, which I did not enjoy. (It wasn't in a religious way, but it did feel a bit like a sermon.)
I stuck with this until the end because I had hoped that somehow the story would redeem itself, but I'm sad to say that it never did. Even though I liked the idea of the story, the author didn't deliver it in such a way as to make me care for the characters, or what happened to them. I'm sorry that I can't recommend this novel.
August 15, 2013
Started out interesting, but about halfway started getting too "scattered". Read more like it was simply narrated towards the end, without any real character involvement.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
August 20, 2013
I received a friend request for the author of this book. Did some investigating and decided to read the novel to see what I thought. I recommended it to our horror group over on another site. We read it last week.
I was hoping this book would be fresh and original. Some of the ideas were original and some were not so fresh. Rosewell and area 51 are just not something I personally wanted to read about...of course the whole book isn't about that, exactly.
The idea for the story was good, I thought. An item found that meant no more to the finder than "The Monkey's Toy", yet was the most powerful weapon the earth had ever seen. That's a good/original idea! However, there was something about the writing style I couldn't seem to enjoy. It seemed like it was written for YA or maybe younger. Many times, I would read aloud, because it was written like books I use to read for my children. I think, perhaps, it is the author's first novel and I'm sure it is difficult to actually say what one wants to say with a first novel. So I am willing to read another of his novels before I tag his writing as something I do not want to read.
I do have a couple other issues, but I think I'll stop here and close with my final paragraph.
Isn't it wonderful these days that so many writers are able to get their, "Babies" published! I know how difficult and time consuming writing a whole novel is. I was pleased to see that several ppl enjoyed "The Monkey Toy" and even gave it 5 stars! Just goes to show everyone has different ideas and enjoy different styles of writing.
I was hoping this book would be fresh and original. Some of the ideas were original and some were not so fresh. Rosewell and area 51 are just not something I personally wanted to read about...of course the whole book isn't about that, exactly.
The idea for the story was good, I thought. An item found that meant no more to the finder than "The Monkey's Toy", yet was the most powerful weapon the earth had ever seen. That's a good/original idea! However, there was something about the writing style I couldn't seem to enjoy. It seemed like it was written for YA or maybe younger. Many times, I would read aloud, because it was written like books I use to read for my children. I think, perhaps, it is the author's first novel and I'm sure it is difficult to actually say what one wants to say with a first novel. So I am willing to read another of his novels before I tag his writing as something I do not want to read.
I do have a couple other issues, but I think I'll stop here and close with my final paragraph.
Isn't it wonderful these days that so many writers are able to get their, "Babies" published! I know how difficult and time consuming writing a whole novel is. I was pleased to see that several ppl enjoyed "The Monkey Toy" and even gave it 5 stars! Just goes to show everyone has different ideas and enjoy different styles of writing.
August 12, 2015
This book starts out as a Twilight Zone type thriller and ends as a true to life horror. Coincidentally it parallels today's global environment and our own disfunctional government. It is not a political book. As you read this book so much of the fiction appears to be nonfiction. . The background of the story may or may not be based on reality. The events that follow and the outcome very much could be our reality. A horrifying reality! It's a quick and easy read.
January 29, 2013
1st from roberts for me. kindle version.
finished, 30 jan 13, wednesday evening, 6:25 p.m. e.s.t.
60 chapters long w/an "about the author" page at the end...from 2011
a dedication: this book is dedicated to my wife, susan--my lover, my best friend, and my inspiration.
a quote that starts things out: "we are each our own devil,
and we make this world our hell."
--oscar wilde
followed by some acknowledgments thanking family, friends
story begins:
korea, 1952
"delta zebra, this is fox-trot, do you read me? come in!" james had never felt so alone in his life. the constant crackling of static through his headset, and the muffled roar of the jet engine seemed to be his only companions.
that is chapter one and it reads like a prologue, fox-trot, lieutenant junior grade james p callahan's call-sign of his blue sabrejet, crashes w/an unknown aircraft, presumably a u.f.o. chapter two begins present day, sasebo, japan and one of several sailors stationed there finds some debris on an island, buried in the sand of the beach, debris from the crash of chapter one. a small round object recovered by one sailor is the story's driving force, a kind of mystery that revolves around that object--called the monkey toy--since at one point the object, a kind of ball, winds up in the hands of a monkey that one of the sailors raised as a pet/friend.
initially...since i usually build a kind of index of what i read...a list of characters, places, etc...to compare to other stories...to see how they are built...initially, i thought there weren't as many characters in this story as others.
i've thought that about another story, recently...which one, i forget...though by the end of that story, that list was quite long. but in this case, i think the presumed brevity of characters is due to location--a ship--not like a city block, you have sailors of various ranks ratings etc.
and...i don't know if i generate that same list here as i had been doing in reviews...so...
anyway, the suspense and mystery builds in this plainly told tale, builds to a climax that is...ummm, honestly, i think king's 11/22/63 has some of the same kind of elements to its conclusion that are found here...and readers don't want spoilers, anyway.
some minor complaints...like some places early on where the sailors gather for a drink...i don't recall that the places had a specific name. (compiling the index, i think i meant the east side tavern, mentioned in conversation about lindsay, but only cited as "the tavern" when randy visits.) we're talking japan here, too though...so the 2x3 old style sign lit-up w/florescent and the owner's name is perhaps understandable. later on, as various place settings like restaurants/bars/hotels are introduced, they had names...so maybe it was just the japan setting.
i dunno...skimming over my "notes" on the kindle here now...i think it would have worked better if there was more of a sense of others...other than the 3-4 main group of sailors. early on. later in the story, the cast of others is greater...maybe it's just me...but i seem to find a greater sense of "story" when the stage is populated to the point where it is not a stage w/just hamlet and his pal up there being melancholic...
there's scenes later where that happens...the ticket agent...the driver...the desk clerk...but even these, i'd think they would have come more alive if they'd had some sort of hyphenated adjective...the stern-faced man...the pock-marked desk clerk...i've seen this so often from so many...this "said the portly, middle-aged woman at the register"...or "a rather plump woman with a double chin"...was so much more visual than "the marine at the gate"...or some of the other instances...the various waiters, bartenders, etc.
seems like wherever we go there are characters, there's some trait or characteristic that sets someone apart, someone we "see" for the first time...billy joe, the boy with the red hair! heh! something my brother said, yay ago.
the story travels around the globe...quickly...and believably. japan...pakistan...nevada...washington...iran...many places, the suspense building as i said...new characters stepping onto the stage throughout...
all save toward the beginning...as i keep harping on. (compiling the index of places/characters, the list seems as long as anything else i've read...so, i don't understand my earlier thoughts that it would not be...but that was my thinking as i read along...so? perhaps the "minor" setting characters...clerks...a marine...etc...perhaps the story could have been "better" had there been something to make each one significant? a one two-word adjective to set them off?...dunno how else to understand my belief that the stage was bare, at times, save for the main cast. or say, like at the funeral, if one was named, a co-worker, if one said something to provide a bit of character both for that character and for randy? things like that. so much of what i read, there's all these "setting" characters, but in some stories, even those characters are provided w/a voice that adds a dimension to story...the "theme"...or what you will...say like in the instance w/the boy & randy on the plane, a memorable event...but many of the other instances are not memorable because they lack something that would have made it more real.)
anyway...good read.
time place scene settings
*korea, 1952
*the valley forge, carrier, call sign delta zebra
*a blue sabrejet
*the fong-quo bridge
*sasebo, japan, present day
*destroyer misikota
*near the island of tsushima
*u.s.s. royal, ship of main cast of characters
*august moon bar
*apache junction, arizona, home of randy
*toshami hotel...captain throws a party for ship's crew
*macy funeral home, apache junction, arizona
*san francisco, california, the royal returns here, homeport
*san francisco naval shipyard (i wonder if that means hunter's point? was stationed there, verily, yay ago, place closed in '74, civilian contractor had it at my time...dirty harry was filmed just outside the gate)
*randy's father's camero
*u.s.s. bromfield, guided missile destroyer, bremerton, washington, randy's new duty station after the royal
*seatac correctional facility in washington/joe
*an american inn
*bremerton naval station brig/joe
*the naval justice building, bremerton, room 311, lt. mossberg
*an enlisted men's club
*white sands, new mexico
*hwy 380 to roswell
*denny's restaurant, roswell
*a super 8 motel...mexican restaurant next door
*a park
*a seedy watering hole
*panama
*gaddani, pakistan
*300 miles southwest of the madeira islands
*rota, spain
*washington, d.c.
*iran
characters
*lieutenant junior grade james p callahan, from kansas, call sign fox-trot
*his mother, martha
*lieutenant moore, briefs pilots on mission
*livingston, on the mission
*lieutenant mccurry, flight leader
*mcminn & george, two others on mission
*randy farren, has been in navy ten years, served on four different ships, the fifth the bromfield. he is a machinist mate (we called them snipes, though the word is not used in the story)...works/underway down in the
*his younger brother, died from an accident
*max perry, a weird character from arkansas
*joe belk
*barmaid at the august moon bar
*mako, owner of august moon, older woman
*kong, joe's pet monkey
*ernesto, best cook 7th fleet
*captain evans...of the royal
*chief boatswain's mate/royal
*john reese, petty officer, reporter from stars & stripes
*a corpsman
*lieutenant huddleston, head medical officer aboard royal
*shelly duvall and danny torrance...
*irish sailors at the bar from a merchant marine ship
*seaman meyers...tells reese of orders to white sands, new mexico
*an old man who sat inside the door
*chief saunders...tells randy he needs to see the captain/father
*randy's father...who passes away
*three of his shipmates/ joe
*a bouncer, about the size of a summa wrestler
*third class petty officer j.l. bates
*naval crimininal investigative service
*japanese emt's
*sasebo police
*executive officer/royal
*the cab driver
*a few sailors staggered down the street
*richard macy, an ordained minister
*his wife, pat
*the people were his dad's co-workers
*and a few of his buddies from the local american legion
*sharon
*lindsay, former girlfriend of randy's, working at the east side tavern
*jack sanders, lindsay's husband at one time, now divorced
*they have several children
*old man hershel...east side tavern
*customers sat in booths and at tables
*second class cook, ernesto cruz
*his wife and kids in long beach, hometown
*a ticket agent
*a child on the airplane
*captain, pilot of the plane,a little boy
*flight attendant
*an overweight businessman stood in the aisle
*lots of military personal and civilians
*the clerk (car rental)
*the desk clerk, american inn, april
*a mexican whore/past...tijuana
*a marine/guard shack
*another marine armed w/an m-16
*a marine corporal
*lieutenant mossberg, joe's attorney
*the clerk on duty
*a petite, yeoman third class petty officer, mossberg's ass't, gloria, has been in the navy for three years, from las vegas, new mexico
*sailors from the base
*a bartender/enlisted men's club
*waves in the bar...the women, at an adjacent table
*the clerk at the brig
*a guard
*the cashier/denny's/ a portly, middle-aged woman
*a large group of seniors
*air force captain jesse perdue/roswell...or perdeux (two spellings)
*amanda pardeux, daughter of above
*a young hispanic hostess
*amanda's mother
*the soldiers who were sent to gather up the debris
*the local coroner
*hundreds of unsuspecting soldiers
*the desk attendant
*two guys came in...looked like businessmen
*hotel guests hovered around the counter
*two screaming children
*a woman w/two small children
*characters involved w/the roswell incident...sec defense james forrestal...truman...scientists, military leaders, gov't officials
*the maid had cleaned the room
*a man in a gray uniform
*customers in the next booth talking
*waitress who delivered his breakfast
*log truck driver
*two men sat motionless in the car
*an old man at the other end
*a female bartender w/a hardened face
*the men in the barracks
*a cabby...another bartender
*the officer on deck/bromfield
*captain warren/bromfield
*chief potts
*the postal clerk, a rotund shipmate
*third class jose morales
*one of the regulars who worked in communications
*juan perez/san francisco shipyard worker
*his wife maria, 7-yr-old daughter, anita
*a filipino crew (to bring the royal to pakistan), 13 sailors
*the panama police
*two panamanian seaman
*johnson, sailor on the bromfield
*two shore patrolmen
*a deck hand/bromfield
*darrel m patterson, ex cia
*captain stevens
*admiral eagleton
*chief of naval operations...sec air force...sec defense
*a platoon of military police
*a seal team
*an old retired general
*prim, a shipyard worker, gaddani, pakistan
*mahari...owns a shop, pakistan
*a woodcarver, pakistan
*madam sakineh ali hastrudi, iran
*her husband, major general mohammad ali hastrudi, commander of revolutionary guard
*pakistani intelligence
*german researcher, jules bonhoffer
*the president...sec defense
finished, 30 jan 13, wednesday evening, 6:25 p.m. e.s.t.
60 chapters long w/an "about the author" page at the end...from 2011
a dedication: this book is dedicated to my wife, susan--my lover, my best friend, and my inspiration.
a quote that starts things out: "we are each our own devil,
and we make this world our hell."
--oscar wilde
followed by some acknowledgments thanking family, friends
story begins:
korea, 1952
"delta zebra, this is fox-trot, do you read me? come in!" james had never felt so alone in his life. the constant crackling of static through his headset, and the muffled roar of the jet engine seemed to be his only companions.
that is chapter one and it reads like a prologue, fox-trot, lieutenant junior grade james p callahan's call-sign of his blue sabrejet, crashes w/an unknown aircraft, presumably a u.f.o. chapter two begins present day, sasebo, japan and one of several sailors stationed there finds some debris on an island, buried in the sand of the beach, debris from the crash of chapter one. a small round object recovered by one sailor is the story's driving force, a kind of mystery that revolves around that object--called the monkey toy--since at one point the object, a kind of ball, winds up in the hands of a monkey that one of the sailors raised as a pet/friend.
initially...since i usually build a kind of index of what i read...a list of characters, places, etc...to compare to other stories...to see how they are built...initially, i thought there weren't as many characters in this story as others.
i've thought that about another story, recently...which one, i forget...though by the end of that story, that list was quite long. but in this case, i think the presumed brevity of characters is due to location--a ship--not like a city block, you have sailors of various ranks ratings etc.
and...i don't know if i generate that same list here as i had been doing in reviews...so...
anyway, the suspense and mystery builds in this plainly told tale, builds to a climax that is...ummm, honestly, i think king's 11/22/63 has some of the same kind of elements to its conclusion that are found here...and readers don't want spoilers, anyway.
some minor complaints...like some places early on where the sailors gather for a drink...i don't recall that the places had a specific name. (compiling the index, i think i meant the east side tavern, mentioned in conversation about lindsay, but only cited as "the tavern" when randy visits.) we're talking japan here, too though...so the 2x3 old style sign lit-up w/florescent and the owner's name is perhaps understandable. later on, as various place settings like restaurants/bars/hotels are introduced, they had names...so maybe it was just the japan setting.
i dunno...skimming over my "notes" on the kindle here now...i think it would have worked better if there was more of a sense of others...other than the 3-4 main group of sailors. early on. later in the story, the cast of others is greater...maybe it's just me...but i seem to find a greater sense of "story" when the stage is populated to the point where it is not a stage w/just hamlet and his pal up there being melancholic...
there's scenes later where that happens...the ticket agent...the driver...the desk clerk...but even these, i'd think they would have come more alive if they'd had some sort of hyphenated adjective...the stern-faced man...the pock-marked desk clerk...i've seen this so often from so many...this "said the portly, middle-aged woman at the register"...or "a rather plump woman with a double chin"...was so much more visual than "the marine at the gate"...or some of the other instances...the various waiters, bartenders, etc.
seems like wherever we go there are characters, there's some trait or characteristic that sets someone apart, someone we "see" for the first time...billy joe, the boy with the red hair! heh! something my brother said, yay ago.
the story travels around the globe...quickly...and believably. japan...pakistan...nevada...washington...iran...many places, the suspense building as i said...new characters stepping onto the stage throughout...
all save toward the beginning...as i keep harping on. (compiling the index of places/characters, the list seems as long as anything else i've read...so, i don't understand my earlier thoughts that it would not be...but that was my thinking as i read along...so? perhaps the "minor" setting characters...clerks...a marine...etc...perhaps the story could have been "better" had there been something to make each one significant? a one two-word adjective to set them off?...dunno how else to understand my belief that the stage was bare, at times, save for the main cast. or say, like at the funeral, if one was named, a co-worker, if one said something to provide a bit of character both for that character and for randy? things like that. so much of what i read, there's all these "setting" characters, but in some stories, even those characters are provided w/a voice that adds a dimension to story...the "theme"...or what you will...say like in the instance w/the boy & randy on the plane, a memorable event...but many of the other instances are not memorable because they lack something that would have made it more real.)
anyway...good read.
time place scene settings
*korea, 1952
*the valley forge, carrier, call sign delta zebra
*a blue sabrejet
*the fong-quo bridge
*sasebo, japan, present day
*destroyer misikota
*near the island of tsushima
*u.s.s. royal, ship of main cast of characters
*august moon bar
*apache junction, arizona, home of randy
*toshami hotel...captain throws a party for ship's crew
*macy funeral home, apache junction, arizona
*san francisco, california, the royal returns here, homeport
*san francisco naval shipyard (i wonder if that means hunter's point? was stationed there, verily, yay ago, place closed in '74, civilian contractor had it at my time...dirty harry was filmed just outside the gate)
*randy's father's camero
*u.s.s. bromfield, guided missile destroyer, bremerton, washington, randy's new duty station after the royal
*seatac correctional facility in washington/joe
*an american inn
*bremerton naval station brig/joe
*the naval justice building, bremerton, room 311, lt. mossberg
*an enlisted men's club
*white sands, new mexico
*hwy 380 to roswell
*denny's restaurant, roswell
*a super 8 motel...mexican restaurant next door
*a park
*a seedy watering hole
*panama
*gaddani, pakistan
*300 miles southwest of the madeira islands
*rota, spain
*washington, d.c.
*iran
characters
*lieutenant junior grade james p callahan, from kansas, call sign fox-trot
*his mother, martha
*lieutenant moore, briefs pilots on mission
*livingston, on the mission
*lieutenant mccurry, flight leader
*mcminn & george, two others on mission
*randy farren, has been in navy ten years, served on four different ships, the fifth the bromfield. he is a machinist mate (we called them snipes, though the word is not used in the story)...works/underway down in the
*his younger brother, died from an accident
*max perry, a weird character from arkansas
*joe belk
*barmaid at the august moon bar
*mako, owner of august moon, older woman
*kong, joe's pet monkey
*ernesto, best cook 7th fleet
*captain evans...of the royal
*chief boatswain's mate/royal
*john reese, petty officer, reporter from stars & stripes
*a corpsman
*lieutenant huddleston, head medical officer aboard royal
*shelly duvall and danny torrance...
*irish sailors at the bar from a merchant marine ship
*seaman meyers...tells reese of orders to white sands, new mexico
*an old man who sat inside the door
*chief saunders...tells randy he needs to see the captain/father
*randy's father...who passes away
*three of his shipmates/ joe
*a bouncer, about the size of a summa wrestler
*third class petty officer j.l. bates
*naval crimininal investigative service
*japanese emt's
*sasebo police
*executive officer/royal
*the cab driver
*a few sailors staggered down the street
*richard macy, an ordained minister
*his wife, pat
*the people were his dad's co-workers
*and a few of his buddies from the local american legion
*sharon
*lindsay, former girlfriend of randy's, working at the east side tavern
*jack sanders, lindsay's husband at one time, now divorced
*they have several children
*old man hershel...east side tavern
*customers sat in booths and at tables
*second class cook, ernesto cruz
*his wife and kids in long beach, hometown
*a ticket agent
*a child on the airplane
*captain, pilot of the plane,a little boy
*flight attendant
*an overweight businessman stood in the aisle
*lots of military personal and civilians
*the clerk (car rental)
*the desk clerk, american inn, april
*a mexican whore/past...tijuana
*a marine/guard shack
*another marine armed w/an m-16
*a marine corporal
*lieutenant mossberg, joe's attorney
*the clerk on duty
*a petite, yeoman third class petty officer, mossberg's ass't, gloria, has been in the navy for three years, from las vegas, new mexico
*sailors from the base
*a bartender/enlisted men's club
*waves in the bar...the women, at an adjacent table
*the clerk at the brig
*a guard
*the cashier/denny's/ a portly, middle-aged woman
*a large group of seniors
*air force captain jesse perdue/roswell...or perdeux (two spellings)
*amanda pardeux, daughter of above
*a young hispanic hostess
*amanda's mother
*the soldiers who were sent to gather up the debris
*the local coroner
*hundreds of unsuspecting soldiers
*the desk attendant
*two guys came in...looked like businessmen
*hotel guests hovered around the counter
*two screaming children
*a woman w/two small children
*characters involved w/the roswell incident...sec defense james forrestal...truman...scientists, military leaders, gov't officials
*the maid had cleaned the room
*a man in a gray uniform
*customers in the next booth talking
*waitress who delivered his breakfast
*log truck driver
*two men sat motionless in the car
*an old man at the other end
*a female bartender w/a hardened face
*the men in the barracks
*a cabby...another bartender
*the officer on deck/bromfield
*captain warren/bromfield
*chief potts
*the postal clerk, a rotund shipmate
*third class jose morales
*one of the regulars who worked in communications
*juan perez/san francisco shipyard worker
*his wife maria, 7-yr-old daughter, anita
*a filipino crew (to bring the royal to pakistan), 13 sailors
*the panama police
*two panamanian seaman
*johnson, sailor on the bromfield
*two shore patrolmen
*a deck hand/bromfield
*darrel m patterson, ex cia
*captain stevens
*admiral eagleton
*chief of naval operations...sec air force...sec defense
*a platoon of military police
*a seal team
*an old retired general
*prim, a shipyard worker, gaddani, pakistan
*mahari...owns a shop, pakistan
*a woodcarver, pakistan
*madam sakineh ali hastrudi, iran
*her husband, major general mohammad ali hastrudi, commander of revolutionary guard
*pakistani intelligence
*german researcher, jules bonhoffer
*the president...sec defense
March 23, 2013
Wow, wow, and wow!! This book started off good and continued to get better right up to the very last page. It was a real barn burner. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I'm going to read his other book "Souls of the Desert" in the next week, and if it's even half as good as "The Monkey Toy"then, Mr. Robert M. Roberts will have a very dedicated fan in me.
August 14, 2023
Robert has a way of putting you there , where the unimaginable happens. Happens to his characters, who you almost always feel for. The experience is the end of the world and exactly how it happens --with the dynamics between all the different countries ...
and how the end comes around the world. His storytelling kept me engaged and wanting to read more anyway.
and how the end comes around the world. His storytelling kept me engaged and wanting to read more anyway.
June 16, 2014
I think more like 2.5 stars. Overall, the book wasn't bad. There was a lot of narrative and it skips from one person to the next a lot. The things I loved about the book:
- the plot/story - a mystery object is found that causes weird hallucinations but no one that has it realizes what is happening. I'm not one that is normally into alien stories, but this is more of an aside to an alien story. We don't meet any actual aliens.
- the characters - this is a love/hate thing. In a few of the characters, we get a glimpse into who they are...and I liked them. I liked Rick and even Joe. And wanted to punch Max in his stupid face. I will cover the "hate" part later.
- the suspense - I am not normally a "horror/suspense" fan...and didn't really think of this book in that way, but it really keeps you on the edge of your seat - at least for me. I loved that we had just enough mystery to keep us going, but enough information to stay interested.
The things I disliked are:
- the characters - what little insight we get into them, i liked. But there wasn't enough character development. Probably because the author killed everyone off. Seriously, I think I counted 3 people that we meet that he doesn't almost immediately kill, within a couple of chapters. This is fine for side characters...but someone needs to live, in my opinion.
- the storytelling - way too often, the author jumps around from paragraph to paragraph on who is telling the story. One minute, it's Rick, then it's Gloria, then it is some random assassin. It just seems like we don't need that much insight into EVERYONE. Especially random characters.
- finally - the ending. And this might be a personal preference thing. I just don't like a "scorched earth" book. I need some happy at the end of the day.
Overall, I would recommend anyone try this book. Some people love it and some hate it. I don't think the things I disliked would necessarily be disliked by someone else.
- the plot/story - a mystery object is found that causes weird hallucinations but no one that has it realizes what is happening. I'm not one that is normally into alien stories, but this is more of an aside to an alien story. We don't meet any actual aliens.
- the characters - this is a love/hate thing. In a few of the characters, we get a glimpse into who they are...and I liked them. I liked Rick and even Joe. And wanted to punch Max in his stupid face. I will cover the "hate" part later.
- the suspense - I am not normally a "horror/suspense" fan...and didn't really think of this book in that way, but it really keeps you on the edge of your seat - at least for me. I loved that we had just enough mystery to keep us going, but enough information to stay interested.
The things I disliked are:
- the characters - what little insight we get into them, i liked. But there wasn't enough character development. Probably because the author killed everyone off. Seriously, I think I counted 3 people that we meet that he doesn't almost immediately kill, within a couple of chapters. This is fine for side characters...but someone needs to live, in my opinion.
- the storytelling - way too often, the author jumps around from paragraph to paragraph on who is telling the story. One minute, it's Rick, then it's Gloria, then it is some random assassin. It just seems like we don't need that much insight into EVERYONE. Especially random characters.
- finally - the ending. And this might be a personal preference thing. I just don't like a "scorched earth" book. I need some happy at the end of the day.
Overall, I would recommend anyone try this book. Some people love it and some hate it. I don't think the things I disliked would necessarily be disliked by someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2022
The Monkey Toy – An Apocalyptic Vision
The tale begins during the Korean War with the downing of a US naval fighter plane and shifts to present-day Japan, following the exploits and drinking habits of a group of American sailors. On one of their missions, one of them finds a mysterious object on the island where the US fighter plane went down. He finds the object beautiful and brings it back to the ship.
Strange things ensue, including torturous headaches followed by hallucinations and nightmares filled with visions of ultra-violent murders. Can the strange object really be the cause of these afflictions? The sailor gives the object to the ship’s pet monkey. The monkey begins to behave very strangely.
The Monkey Toy is a science fiction-horror story with a paranoid conspiracy at its core that leads us to Roswell, New Mexico, where a mysterious alien spacecraft was alleged to have crashed. Even Area 51 figures in the story. Mysterious agents lurk in the shadows with the threat of possible assassination and by the time we learn the object’s provenance, it’s too late for the rest of us.
Roberts has woven an engaging tale with characters to care about with cruel twists of fate ensuring that things will spiral desperately out of control.
The tale begins during the Korean War with the downing of a US naval fighter plane and shifts to present-day Japan, following the exploits and drinking habits of a group of American sailors. On one of their missions, one of them finds a mysterious object on the island where the US fighter plane went down. He finds the object beautiful and brings it back to the ship.
Strange things ensue, including torturous headaches followed by hallucinations and nightmares filled with visions of ultra-violent murders. Can the strange object really be the cause of these afflictions? The sailor gives the object to the ship’s pet monkey. The monkey begins to behave very strangely.
The Monkey Toy is a science fiction-horror story with a paranoid conspiracy at its core that leads us to Roswell, New Mexico, where a mysterious alien spacecraft was alleged to have crashed. Even Area 51 figures in the story. Mysterious agents lurk in the shadows with the threat of possible assassination and by the time we learn the object’s provenance, it’s too late for the rest of us.
Roberts has woven an engaging tale with characters to care about with cruel twists of fate ensuring that things will spiral desperately out of control.
December 12, 2014
Chilling scenarios...
This book has a great plot. The detailing of each character is very good. It keeps you guessing and wondering what will happen next. I won't go into detail but, the end is surprisingly chilling.
This book made me think and engendered emotions of fear as most of the story seems to be or could be plausible. Who really knows what our....oh. you'll just have to read the book to find out who does what.
I read other reviews and there is a lot of detail that can get a little tedious but, the different pieces had to be explained enough to put everything together. While some of the story bogged down for the most part, I found the story interesting.
I would happily recommend this book to adults as it could be a little harsh for kids.
KUDOS to you Mr. Roberts on a story well told
This book has a great plot. The detailing of each character is very good. It keeps you guessing and wondering what will happen next. I won't go into detail but, the end is surprisingly chilling.
This book made me think and engendered emotions of fear as most of the story seems to be or could be plausible. Who really knows what our....oh. you'll just have to read the book to find out who does what.
I read other reviews and there is a lot of detail that can get a little tedious but, the different pieces had to be explained enough to put everything together. While some of the story bogged down for the most part, I found the story interesting.
I would happily recommend this book to adults as it could be a little harsh for kids.
KUDOS to you Mr. Roberts on a story well told
November 29, 2013
This is the 2nd novel by Robert Roberts that I've read. There were many interesting characters in this novel but, unfortunately for me, each character becomes the victim of an evil presence and the plot then leads me on to the next victim. This aside, it was a quick and thrilling novel with good dialogue. If you like sci-fi with a touch of horror then I think this book has what you are looking for. I finished this book on Nov 23rd.
December 15, 2015
You just never know when that one story is going to grab you and not let go until it's finished with you. Take vacation time and grab a cozy seat for this one, you're going to need it!
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