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Monsters
Monsters is a dystopian novel set against the backdrop of the collapse of civilization.
The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.
Bruce Dobson is a reader. With the fall of civilization, reading has become outlawed. Superstitions prevail, and readers are persecuted like the witches and wizards of old. Bruce and his son James seek to overturn the prejudices of their day and restore the scientific knowledge central to their survival, but monsters lurk in the dark.
The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.
Bruce Dobson is a reader. With the fall of civilization, reading has become outlawed. Superstitions prevail, and readers are persecuted like the witches and wizards of old. Bruce and his son James seek to overturn the prejudices of their day and restore the scientific knowledge central to their survival, but monsters lurk in the dark.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2012
193 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
March 22, 2013
This excellent book is going to stay in my head for a long time. For a SF story, it's entirely too realistic for comfort. We all take our civilization far too much for granted, until something comes along to point out for us how fragile it can be.
The first part of the book details with rather chilling logic the slow fall of the world's current civilization. A comet that comes nowhere near our planet leaves debris that encroaches on the atmosphere, with devastating results. A biological agent within the debris slowly alters the course of evolution, until humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. From man's point of view, animals become monsters.
Scientists are blamed for the death and destruction, knowledge is perceived as dangerous, and reading is banned. Reading is a quick way to a death sentence. It's not the first time in human history that reading has been forbidden - for us, the ability to read is unremarkable, making it easy to forget this was not always so. In this story, when man falls from the height of our technological society, he falls a very long way. Day to day living includes fighting a purely defensive battle against monsters.
The story follows a few characters through this world, and chronicles the defiant learning of those who read. There's a great deal of description, which does slow the story's pace in some spots. I found the images created with the descriptive passages to be very vivid - too much so, sometimes. I'm going to hope I never see a cockroach as large as my foot, or a wasp that has to be killed with a bow and arrow. Note that those are the ones that started out small, then give some thought to a bear. Contained in the story is the point that without knowledge, the humans will always remain the prey, and will always be at the mercy of their environment.
The book's ending is a bit abrupt, but not a cliffhanger. There is obviously room for a sequel, which I hope will be the case. The world built in this book has room for a lot of stories. I'd be very happy to read more of them. After this book, I sincerely appreciate that I can read.
The first part of the book details with rather chilling logic the slow fall of the world's current civilization. A comet that comes nowhere near our planet leaves debris that encroaches on the atmosphere, with devastating results. A biological agent within the debris slowly alters the course of evolution, until humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. From man's point of view, animals become monsters.
Scientists are blamed for the death and destruction, knowledge is perceived as dangerous, and reading is banned. Reading is a quick way to a death sentence. It's not the first time in human history that reading has been forbidden - for us, the ability to read is unremarkable, making it easy to forget this was not always so. In this story, when man falls from the height of our technological society, he falls a very long way. Day to day living includes fighting a purely defensive battle against monsters.
The story follows a few characters through this world, and chronicles the defiant learning of those who read. There's a great deal of description, which does slow the story's pace in some spots. I found the images created with the descriptive passages to be very vivid - too much so, sometimes. I'm going to hope I never see a cockroach as large as my foot, or a wasp that has to be killed with a bow and arrow. Note that those are the ones that started out small, then give some thought to a bear. Contained in the story is the point that without knowledge, the humans will always remain the prey, and will always be at the mercy of their environment.
The book's ending is a bit abrupt, but not a cliffhanger. There is obviously room for a sequel, which I hope will be the case. The world built in this book has room for a lot of stories. I'd be very happy to read more of them. After this book, I sincerely appreciate that I can read.
Read
July 31, 2025rating: minus 2 on a scale of minus 5 to plus 5.
Another revision of a review begins. As usual, I doubt that anyone will read this.
Before I continue, I will spend some time on the YouTube. This next was made possible by the channels Doctor Who/They Break My Heart -'RecklessGirl100, NCMI, Ana Fern, Jill Dalton nyc, Heather Cox Richardson, AllShorts, Welcome to Ukraine, Mia Mulder, Sarah Z, Eleanor Morton, Squire, Kyiv Independent, Strange Aeons, Fiona Hill, Anne Applebaum, LuckyBlackCat, Anark, Mia Mulder, Red Glasgow, Maggie Mae Fish, Savannah Brown, ScaredKetchup, New Enlightenment with Ashley, Not Even Emily, Yoyomi, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Media is Fay, Belinda Strnad, Dr Brian Keating, Vlad Vexler, FAFO, Terrible Writing Advice, Just in Time Worldbuilding, It ain't half hot mum, A Cosy Creative, Kiko1006, Ship Happens, Sailing Melody, Lynn Saga, Knowing Better, KernowDamo, Bobbing Along, Anka Daily News, Owen Jones, Amie's Literary Empire, Delamer, JohnTheDuncan, Oliver Lugg, Reese Waters, Matriarchetype, Keffals, Horses, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, Wayward Winchester, May, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, May, Ragnarok, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Democratic Penguins Republic, FAFO, ThePrimeChronus, iSarah Dawn Moore, Springtime for Elon, The Shades of Orange, TizzyEnt, British Museum, Dark Docs, Dark Seas, Adastra, Kyiv Post, Dr Fatima, Joe Scott, Stanzi, The Confused Adipose, Dark Brandon, Books and Things, Climate Town, Viva La Dirt League, Eugenia from Ukraine, Dungeons and Discourse, Players Aid, Ministry of Miniatures, Jake Broe, Skip Intro, Tibees, Truth to Power, Tom Nicholas, History with Kayleigh, Lucy Darling, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, Geo Girl, Octupus Lady, Chem Thug, TierZoo, It's Black Friday, Ben G Thomas, Gresham College, Smack the Pony, Red Viburnam Song, Lily Simpson, Planet D, Subanima, Brief Brain Snacks,Belle of the Ranch, Sailing Melody, Winging it on a Budget, The Great War, Double Down News, Anna from Ukraine, Narrowboat Pirate, A Lil Bit Mads, Fit 2B Read, Reads with Rachel, With Cindy, Steve Shives, Letterkenny, Kyiv Post, Operator Starsky, Hej Sokoly, Cecilia Blomdahl, Jessie Gender, Verilybitchie, Gingers are Black, Dinodust, RFU News, Guard the Leaf, Reese Waters, Tale Foundry, The Kavernacle, Russian Media Monitor, Sarah Millican.
I saw recently that an idiot who whilst insulting a trans essayist whom I mentioned, complained to her that I list trans creators. Sadly there seems no cure have yet been discovered for the disease that creates stupidly arrogant US males. A trigger warning then. The channels which I list include military historian, tall, sewist, bi, archaeologist, Irish, cis, primatologist, physicist, married, miniatures gamer, lesbian, socialist, artist, Canadian, intersex, biologist, redhaired, trans, model, autist, German, communist, WOC, asexual, older, linguist and other creators referred to as Women by the less mentally challenged. Almost as threatening to the poorly socialised are the anarchist, other LGBTQI+, anthropologist, philosopher, miniatures painter, Scottish, military board gamer, hobbyist, fashion historian, other BIPOC, economist, Ukrainian, musician, political theorist, other neurodivergent, short, military board gamer, planetologist, Australian and other creators referred to by the sane as Human Beings. If the voices are not stilled, seek emergency therapy, immediate pastoral counselling or our Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these clods are similar to that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island, when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their response was 'Russian warship, Go f@ck yourself ". Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
The worldbuilding promises but with questions. This is well detailed and delivered. The key event that created this post apocalyptic world and the following history is given in a well written introduction and the background felt plausible. I appreciate writers with good descriptive skills.
The non-primate gigantism was a new concept to me and just visualising the scenes again brought a smile. The story examines the changed relationship between man and other animals.
This was why I read science fiction. Science fiction is meant to bring the new idea, the old idea examined from a different direction and how that affects humanity or how we view each other.
There is a loss of technology and no recovery because of the effort required to maintain an agrarian economy. The dialogue works to move the story along as it should.
I need another trip to YouTube land and TV before I continue. This next was brought to you by Curious XP, Bobbing Along, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Times Radio, Princess Weekes, Naughty Nana DUZ, JimmyTheGiant, Yoyomi, OrangeRiver, Ukraine the Latest, Dr Elliot, Dominic Noble, Verilybitchie, Bernadette Banner, Brittany Page, Amie's Literary Empire, Kate Robson, Gemma Dyer, SK Media, Nini Music, Horses, Andrewism, Double Down News, Lisa Walton, Daisy Viktoria, Julie Nolke, Cunk, Daniel Rubin, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Kazachka, The London History Show, The Closet Historian, The Caspian Report, Cruising Alba, Travelling K, Camper Vibe, Wayward Winchester, The Confused Adipose, Our Changing Climate, Shannon Makes, Pinsent Tailoring, Katy Montgomerie, Kiko1006 - Empire of Angels, Amanda Rae, The Chloe Connection, Kyiv Post, World of Antiquity, DUST, Joe Scott, Omeleto, Queen Penguin, Ellie Dashwood, Joe Blogs, Patrick(H)Willem, Science Insanity, Dr Ben Miles, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, Geo Girl, ATP Geopolitics, Ukraine Calling, Ukraine Matters, Nikki Howard, Unleashed - Hardigan, Stanzi, Offizier Amira, Northern Narrowboaters, Tabithaspeakspolitics, The Gaze, Guard the Leaf, Omeleto, Depressed Russian, NFKRZ, Main Street Reports, ATP Geopolitics, Cruising Crafts, Sort of Interesting, EarleWrites, Nini Music, Amadeus Quartet, Half as Interesting, Think that Through.
I also watched Glitch (Australian), Workin' Moms (Canadian), Kim's Convenience, Da Kath and Kim Code and Landscape with Invisible Hand.
This book was an interesting after-the-fall story with a brand new to me, premise. He had in the past consistently picked great starting points for his books. His writing is now tailored to a certain US male readership and I no longer look at his books. I have a preference for logic, plausible background, no obvious political pandering, etc.
Much of Kindle Unlimited selection was low end US science fiction of the No Effort, Insulting and Abhorrent varieties and it cost me most of my love for the genre. Those three categories are a new standard for mass produced fluff. I had a member not understand what I meant by low end fiction in my reviews. English was not my first or second language and I wondered at my fluency. I realised how thick the reader was after reading her review. Common on the site but sad.
I began searching YouTube more than four years ago in search of good science fiction commentary. After I discovered a wealth of special interest channels. I stumbled upon the book channels last. 😍 They are host to communities of thoughtful, courteous, curious readers enamoured of all things bookish. It is the exact opposite experience to that of Goodreads. Nebula are a very good site for book reviewers, essayists and others.
Consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. As example, I wrote a short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a pathetic, juvenile salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran. He self-described as US veteran, libertarian and vocal advocate for the return of chattel slavery (the new popular opinion), employee of an unnamed US agency and supporter of Putin. Almost a MAGA template. Travis and six other patriots wrote unhinged comments over a year demanding my response. None of them excepting the writer had the book on their shelves.
They were upset by the opinion of a communist that glorifying the overthrow of the US government with the aid of the military in order that a wealthy twit not pay inheritance taxes, was dangerously unhealthy. I hate irony.
Finally Claes Rees Jr aka cgr710 now ka Clayton R Jesse Jr (formerly self-described Nazi) declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that They had launched a deluge of vile sexual and racist comments against channels which I mention. They failed to impress the midteen boater and her mother, the astrophysicist, the primatologist, the historical essayist and the many other female creators. They did however deliver an eerily accurate self-portrait of the snowflake (diseased, patriotic US man-child) to a broad multinational audience and needlessly increased the world's overabundance of unpleasantness. This was a Victory. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
Censorship is compassion, repression is reform. "Russian Dude" was reporting on the new logic spouted recently by Russian government officials. For a moment I thought he was referring to the British state.
I have earned another step away. This section is made possible by YouTube - NCMI, Silicon Curtain, kgb detected, Amie's Literary Empire, UATV English, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Hej Sokoly, Tom Nicholas, Weir on the Move, Mia Mulder, Mandy, Book Furnace, 2 Cellos, Owen Jones, Jessie Gender, Red Viburnam Song, Boat Time, Fun Size Reader, Weirdo Book Club, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Anka Daily News, Politics Joe, Ukraine Calling, Red Trans, Dan Davis History, Lily Alexandre, Kat Blacque, Munecat, No Justice MTG, Ukraine News , Aid Thompsin, Keffals, ALLShorts, BobbyBroccoli, Raw News and Politics, Narrowboat Pirate, Perun, Combat Veteran Reacts, Mercado Media, Political CUSTARD, 3rd regiment SOF, Double Down News, Mrs Betty Bowers, Bitchuation Room, Randy Rainbow, The Brothers Gwynne, Bobbing Along, Ben and Emily, Sailing Melody, Poland Daily, The Narrowboat that James Built, Jake Broe, NerdForge, Nini Music, Contrapoints, A Day of Small Things, NFKRZ, Covert Cabal, Elina Charatsidou, Professor Tim Wilson, Aid Thompsin, Philosophy Tube, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Think Ukraine, Professor Gerdes Explains, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Miranda Mills, Ellie Dashwood, Queen Penguin, Novara Media, Vlad Vexler, The Shitty Book Club, YarnHub, Secret Sauce of Storytelling, Captured in Words, Isaac Arthur, John Michael Godier, Ponderful, DW News, Sanctioned Ivan, Yanis Varoufakis, Dr Ben Miles, Marsh Family, Friendly Space Ninja, Venom Geek Media, Chem Thug, Octopus Lady, Extinct Zoo, Leeja Miller, The Players Aid, Skip Intro, Legendary Tactics, Swell Entertainment, NYTN, Brandon Fisichella, Atun Shei Films, Cold Fusion, Dark Brandon, Tale Foundry, Great Books Prof, Chris Norlund, Council of Geeks, Quinn's Ideas, Belle of the Ranch, Spacedock, Claus Kellerman POV, Jay Reed, Living Anachronism, Kat Abughazaleh, Times Radio, Roisin's Reading, Red Glasgow, Novara Media, Brenna Perez, Some More News, Sons of Liberty, Liz Webster, Sky News Australia, Deerstalker Pictures.
Ominous music plays. 😊 Comment gangs roam the servers of Goodreads. They are concerned readers who are self-appointed defenders of tired, poorly written books but which above all flaunt racist, sexist, ableist and other anti-human elements. I experienced a large number of these attack clods at work and noticed other victims in the science fiction space. I discovered from BookTube that They also operate freely in romance and romantasy also. Their defence may include doxxing, stalking and threats against readers with wrong thoughts, their friends and families. I myself was subjected to a hacking attempt, which may have originated with Kindle.
You may find that behaviour bizarre but Amazon do not and have never disciplined members, punished writers who organised Them or dismissed employees who enable Them. Amazon have not to my knowledge ever acknowledged any incident.
In my case, after my original Powers review Amazon/Goodreads shared my very limited profile and massaging history with these mental members. From the extent to which other readers have been harassed, I obviously am not alone in this. I hopefully am the only customer to have a government not my own, involved in seeking my personal history. These madlads were able to push through Pine Gap Centre a request that Australian intelligence interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. The attempt at my personal history failed, though two outraged customers were created.
After we shared our experience, Amazon showed concern. There was no apology or acknowledgment of laws broken across continents. Instead all visible Alteration to my pages were removed, all Lurkers whom I had not been Allowed to remove were disappeared, all comments masked, etc.
Goodreads had blocked my seeing other reviews of books I read (no loss there), blocked the end-of-book transition to the Ratings and Review page, repeatedly reset my Kindle keyboard and other pettiness. After more than 2 years, I recently accepted a friend request from Joseph in Latvia and now seem unable to remove him. I sense another Amazon or possibly governmental lurker may have been planted. We shall see.
All reader reviews are tedious, time consuming and a gift to the site. They should not also be life threatening. Perhaps Amazon might look into improving customer service protocols. 😊
Recently a seventh EBay ex-employee was sentenced for the harassment of a couple whose small e-commerce channel which was deemed unkind to EBay. They were awarded millions finally and that ex-employee had been the EBAy Global Chief of Global Security or something like. These data corporations have developed twisted cultures.
To be safer on Goodreads, I suggest moving to another reader forum such as Storygraph or Fable. BookTubers will and do discuss them.
Until then, remove all personal information from Goodreads profile and avoid the message app. Remove lurkers, if Allowed. They are monitors not admirers. Given the Goodreads penchant for customer page Alterations, the screenshot of the odd, ugly or threatening is invaluable.
Kindle are more dangerous because of access to more personal data. Do Not use Files, Calendar, E-mail or Contacts, unless of course you trust these strangers with your personal information. Amazon Sign Into email without notice or permission. The implications are obvious. All internet searches should be innocuous and non-critical.
The suggestions will improve your safety until you extricate yourself from the Amazon web. It is probably prudent to bear mind that regardless of your current status, it rests on the whims of thugs. These damaged individuals, both members and employees know no non-Randian morality nor decency (think MAGA) but They are US with all that implies. Ominous music ends. 😊
Be safe and may we all find Good Reading! 🤗
Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
NCMI, Anne Applebaum, Fiona Hill, TVP World, Fall of Civilisations, Jack Edwards, The Ressurectionists., Acollierastro, JohnTheDuncan, UATV English, Vidya Mitra, Northern Narrowboaters, Munecat, Tom Nicholas, Dark Side of Russia, Paul Warburg, Ben and Emily, Bobbing Along, Mary Trump Media, Honest Government Ads, 2 Cellos, The Shades of Orange, Call of History, RevolutionarythOt, LuckyBlackCat, Andrewism, Jean's Thoughts, Cruising Crafts, Tara Mooknee, Renegade Cut, Kathy's Flog in France, Tulia, Some More News, Eileen, Dr Becky, Kiko1006, The Juice Media, Philosophy Tube, Oh Joe, Bernadette Banner, Shannon Makes, Karolina Zebrowska, Swell Entertainment, DW News, Tibees, Dungeons and Discourse, Lady Knight The Brave, The Grungeon Master, Discourse Minis, AllShorts, TimeGhost History, The Great War, Break N Remake, Daisy Viktoria, CreatedIAm, Lisa Walton, Anton Petrov, Camper Vibe, Prime of Midlife, Bobbing Along, Maiorianus, Invicta, Lee Francis, Holly The Cafe Boat, What Vivi did next, Kelly loves Physics and History, The Historian's Craft, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Cambrian Chronicles, A Life of Lit, Emma Thorne, JohnTheDuncan, Jacobin Show, Karolina Zebrowska, France 24, Alizee, Crow Caller, Alice Cappelle, Jessica Gagnon, Double Down News, Wayward Winchester, Science Asylum, Quinn's Ideas, Jessica Kellgren Fozard, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Harbo Wholmes, Lily Alexandre, Living Anachronism, JuLingo, Lindsey Stirling, Abbie Emmons, Terrible Writing Advice, Miniminuteman, Megalithhunter, History with Kayleigh, The Kavernacle, Anark, Abby Cox, ConeofArc, Cover in French, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, Veritas et Caritas, HBomberGuy, Alt Shift X, Geo Girl, Ben G Thomas, Tom Nicolas, Owen Jones, Spacedock, Hailey in Bookland, Lilly's Life, History with Kayleigh, History with Hilbert, Deerstalker Pictures, Jessie Gender, Art Deco, DamiLee, Steve Shives, Roomies Digest, Smack The Pony, Cold Fusion, Lily Simpson, Casual Navigation, With Olivia, Natasha's Adventures, Lindsay Stirling, Twinshangout, Arvin Ash, Truth to Power, Malinda, The Cold War, Central Crossing, The History of the Earth, A Cup of Nicole, MWG Studios, Books with Emily Fox, Cecilia Blomdahl, Well Deck Diaries, Lindsay Nikole, Raptor Chatter, Lady of the Library, CoachD, Austin McConnell, Epimetheus, Nikki Howard, Savy Writes Books, Shaun, Ana Psychology, David John Wellman, The Welsh Viking, Anthropology Club, Ask a Mortician, SciFi Odyssey, We're in Hell, Ukraine: the Latest, Interior Design Hub, Fundie Fridays, A Day of Small Things, Battle Order, Nerdy Kathi, IAI, Perimeter Institute, KernowDamo, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, Told in Stone, Lilly's life, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Dead Domain, Big Train, Patrick is a Navajo, Renegade Cut, Skip Intro, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Perun, Books and Lala, Scallydandling About the Books, Sunny Book Nook, A Clockwork Reader, Verilybitchie, Brittany Page, IzzzYzzz, Reads with Rachel, Combat Veteran Reacts, Hailey in Bookland, A Life of Lit, Katie Colson, Eleanor Morton, Sailing Melody, Brittany the Bibliophile, Times Radio, The Who Addicts, History of Everything, The Military Show, Fall of Nations, Guard the Leaf, AllShorts, Heather Cox Richardson, I've Had It, Raw News and Politics, Supertanskiii, FirstPost, Truth to Power, Silicon Curtain, Zoe Bee, Katie Halper, Three Arrows, Nicole Chilaka-Ukpo, Brigitte Empire, Oceanliner Designs, Leanne Morgan, Linguoer Mechanic.
I wish you a glorious morning, a splendid afternoon, a pleasant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Kindness is Empathy made manifest.
Lore of the Dark Sisters
Another revision of a review begins. As usual, I doubt that anyone will read this.
Before I continue, I will spend some time on the YouTube. This next was made possible by the channels Doctor Who/They Break My Heart -'RecklessGirl100, NCMI, Ana Fern, Jill Dalton nyc, Heather Cox Richardson, AllShorts, Welcome to Ukraine, Mia Mulder, Sarah Z, Eleanor Morton, Squire, Kyiv Independent, Strange Aeons, Fiona Hill, Anne Applebaum, LuckyBlackCat, Anark, Mia Mulder, Red Glasgow, Maggie Mae Fish, Savannah Brown, ScaredKetchup, New Enlightenment with Ashley, Not Even Emily, Yoyomi, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Media is Fay, Belinda Strnad, Dr Brian Keating, Vlad Vexler, FAFO, Terrible Writing Advice, Just in Time Worldbuilding, It ain't half hot mum, A Cosy Creative, Kiko1006, Ship Happens, Sailing Melody, Lynn Saga, Knowing Better, KernowDamo, Bobbing Along, Anka Daily News, Owen Jones, Amie's Literary Empire, Delamer, JohnTheDuncan, Oliver Lugg, Reese Waters, Matriarchetype, Keffals, Horses, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, Wayward Winchester, May, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, May, Ragnarok, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Democratic Penguins Republic, FAFO, ThePrimeChronus, iSarah Dawn Moore, Springtime for Elon, The Shades of Orange, TizzyEnt, British Museum, Dark Docs, Dark Seas, Adastra, Kyiv Post, Dr Fatima, Joe Scott, Stanzi, The Confused Adipose, Dark Brandon, Books and Things, Climate Town, Viva La Dirt League, Eugenia from Ukraine, Dungeons and Discourse, Players Aid, Ministry of Miniatures, Jake Broe, Skip Intro, Tibees, Truth to Power, Tom Nicholas, History with Kayleigh, Lucy Darling, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, Geo Girl, Octupus Lady, Chem Thug, TierZoo, It's Black Friday, Ben G Thomas, Gresham College, Smack the Pony, Red Viburnam Song, Lily Simpson, Planet D, Subanima, Brief Brain Snacks,Belle of the Ranch, Sailing Melody, Winging it on a Budget, The Great War, Double Down News, Anna from Ukraine, Narrowboat Pirate, A Lil Bit Mads, Fit 2B Read, Reads with Rachel, With Cindy, Steve Shives, Letterkenny, Kyiv Post, Operator Starsky, Hej Sokoly, Cecilia Blomdahl, Jessie Gender, Verilybitchie, Gingers are Black, Dinodust, RFU News, Guard the Leaf, Reese Waters, Tale Foundry, The Kavernacle, Russian Media Monitor, Sarah Millican.
I saw recently that an idiot who whilst insulting a trans essayist whom I mentioned, complained to her that I list trans creators. Sadly there seems no cure have yet been discovered for the disease that creates stupidly arrogant US males. A trigger warning then. The channels which I list include military historian, tall, sewist, bi, archaeologist, Irish, cis, primatologist, physicist, married, miniatures gamer, lesbian, socialist, artist, Canadian, intersex, biologist, redhaired, trans, model, autist, German, communist, WOC, asexual, older, linguist and other creators referred to as Women by the less mentally challenged. Almost as threatening to the poorly socialised are the anarchist, other LGBTQI+, anthropologist, philosopher, miniatures painter, Scottish, military board gamer, hobbyist, fashion historian, other BIPOC, economist, Ukrainian, musician, political theorist, other neurodivergent, short, military board gamer, planetologist, Australian and other creators referred to by the sane as Human Beings. If the voices are not stilled, seek emergency therapy, immediate pastoral counselling or our Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these clods are similar to that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island, when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their response was 'Russian warship, Go f@ck yourself ". Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
The worldbuilding promises but with questions. This is well detailed and delivered. The key event that created this post apocalyptic world and the following history is given in a well written introduction and the background felt plausible. I appreciate writers with good descriptive skills.
The non-primate gigantism was a new concept to me and just visualising the scenes again brought a smile. The story examines the changed relationship between man and other animals.
This was why I read science fiction. Science fiction is meant to bring the new idea, the old idea examined from a different direction and how that affects humanity or how we view each other.
There is a loss of technology and no recovery because of the effort required to maintain an agrarian economy. The dialogue works to move the story along as it should.
I need another trip to YouTube land and TV before I continue. This next was brought to you by Curious XP, Bobbing Along, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Sci-Fi Odyssey, Times Radio, Princess Weekes, Naughty Nana DUZ, JimmyTheGiant, Yoyomi, OrangeRiver, Ukraine the Latest, Dr Elliot, Dominic Noble, Verilybitchie, Bernadette Banner, Brittany Page, Amie's Literary Empire, Kate Robson, Gemma Dyer, SK Media, Nini Music, Horses, Andrewism, Double Down News, Lisa Walton, Daisy Viktoria, Julie Nolke, Cunk, Daniel Rubin, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Kazachka, The London History Show, The Closet Historian, The Caspian Report, Cruising Alba, Travelling K, Camper Vibe, Wayward Winchester, The Confused Adipose, Our Changing Climate, Shannon Makes, Pinsent Tailoring, Katy Montgomerie, Kiko1006 - Empire of Angels, Amanda Rae, The Chloe Connection, Kyiv Post, World of Antiquity, DUST, Joe Scott, Omeleto, Queen Penguin, Ellie Dashwood, Joe Blogs, Patrick(H)Willem, Science Insanity, Dr Ben Miles, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, Geo Girl, ATP Geopolitics, Ukraine Calling, Ukraine Matters, Nikki Howard, Unleashed - Hardigan, Stanzi, Offizier Amira, Northern Narrowboaters, Tabithaspeakspolitics, The Gaze, Guard the Leaf, Omeleto, Depressed Russian, NFKRZ, Main Street Reports, ATP Geopolitics, Cruising Crafts, Sort of Interesting, EarleWrites, Nini Music, Amadeus Quartet, Half as Interesting, Think that Through.
I also watched Glitch (Australian), Workin' Moms (Canadian), Kim's Convenience, Da Kath and Kim Code and Landscape with Invisible Hand.
This book was an interesting after-the-fall story with a brand new to me, premise. He had in the past consistently picked great starting points for his books. His writing is now tailored to a certain US male readership and I no longer look at his books. I have a preference for logic, plausible background, no obvious political pandering, etc.
Much of Kindle Unlimited selection was low end US science fiction of the No Effort, Insulting and Abhorrent varieties and it cost me most of my love for the genre. Those three categories are a new standard for mass produced fluff. I had a member not understand what I meant by low end fiction in my reviews. English was not my first or second language and I wondered at my fluency. I realised how thick the reader was after reading her review. Common on the site but sad.
I began searching YouTube more than four years ago in search of good science fiction commentary. After I discovered a wealth of special interest channels. I stumbled upon the book channels last. 😍 They are host to communities of thoughtful, courteous, curious readers enamoured of all things bookish. It is the exact opposite experience to that of Goodreads. Nebula are a very good site for book reviewers, essayists and others.
Consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. As example, I wrote a short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a pathetic, juvenile salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran. He self-described as US veteran, libertarian and vocal advocate for the return of chattel slavery (the new popular opinion), employee of an unnamed US agency and supporter of Putin. Almost a MAGA template. Travis and six other patriots wrote unhinged comments over a year demanding my response. None of them excepting the writer had the book on their shelves.
They were upset by the opinion of a communist that glorifying the overthrow of the US government with the aid of the military in order that a wealthy twit not pay inheritance taxes, was dangerously unhealthy. I hate irony.
Finally Claes Rees Jr aka cgr710 now ka Clayton R Jesse Jr (formerly self-described Nazi) declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that They had launched a deluge of vile sexual and racist comments against channels which I mention. They failed to impress the midteen boater and her mother, the astrophysicist, the primatologist, the historical essayist and the many other female creators. They did however deliver an eerily accurate self-portrait of the snowflake (diseased, patriotic US man-child) to a broad multinational audience and needlessly increased the world's overabundance of unpleasantness. This was a Victory. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
Censorship is compassion, repression is reform. "Russian Dude" was reporting on the new logic spouted recently by Russian government officials. For a moment I thought he was referring to the British state.
I have earned another step away. This section is made possible by YouTube - NCMI, Silicon Curtain, kgb detected, Amie's Literary Empire, UATV English, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Hej Sokoly, Tom Nicholas, Weir on the Move, Mia Mulder, Mandy, Book Furnace, 2 Cellos, Owen Jones, Jessie Gender, Red Viburnam Song, Boat Time, Fun Size Reader, Weirdo Book Club, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Anka Daily News, Politics Joe, Ukraine Calling, Red Trans, Dan Davis History, Lily Alexandre, Kat Blacque, Munecat, No Justice MTG, Ukraine News , Aid Thompsin, Keffals, ALLShorts, BobbyBroccoli, Raw News and Politics, Narrowboat Pirate, Perun, Combat Veteran Reacts, Mercado Media, Political CUSTARD, 3rd regiment SOF, Double Down News, Mrs Betty Bowers, Bitchuation Room, Randy Rainbow, The Brothers Gwynne, Bobbing Along, Ben and Emily, Sailing Melody, Poland Daily, The Narrowboat that James Built, Jake Broe, NerdForge, Nini Music, Contrapoints, A Day of Small Things, NFKRZ, Covert Cabal, Elina Charatsidou, Professor Tim Wilson, Aid Thompsin, Philosophy Tube, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Think Ukraine, Professor Gerdes Explains, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Miranda Mills, Ellie Dashwood, Queen Penguin, Novara Media, Vlad Vexler, The Shitty Book Club, YarnHub, Secret Sauce of Storytelling, Captured in Words, Isaac Arthur, John Michael Godier, Ponderful, DW News, Sanctioned Ivan, Yanis Varoufakis, Dr Ben Miles, Marsh Family, Friendly Space Ninja, Venom Geek Media, Chem Thug, Octopus Lady, Extinct Zoo, Leeja Miller, The Players Aid, Skip Intro, Legendary Tactics, Swell Entertainment, NYTN, Brandon Fisichella, Atun Shei Films, Cold Fusion, Dark Brandon, Tale Foundry, Great Books Prof, Chris Norlund, Council of Geeks, Quinn's Ideas, Belle of the Ranch, Spacedock, Claus Kellerman POV, Jay Reed, Living Anachronism, Kat Abughazaleh, Times Radio, Roisin's Reading, Red Glasgow, Novara Media, Brenna Perez, Some More News, Sons of Liberty, Liz Webster, Sky News Australia, Deerstalker Pictures.
Ominous music plays. 😊 Comment gangs roam the servers of Goodreads. They are concerned readers who are self-appointed defenders of tired, poorly written books but which above all flaunt racist, sexist, ableist and other anti-human elements. I experienced a large number of these attack clods at work and noticed other victims in the science fiction space. I discovered from BookTube that They also operate freely in romance and romantasy also. Their defence may include doxxing, stalking and threats against readers with wrong thoughts, their friends and families. I myself was subjected to a hacking attempt, which may have originated with Kindle.
You may find that behaviour bizarre but Amazon do not and have never disciplined members, punished writers who organised Them or dismissed employees who enable Them. Amazon have not to my knowledge ever acknowledged any incident.
In my case, after my original Powers review Amazon/Goodreads shared my very limited profile and massaging history with these mental members. From the extent to which other readers have been harassed, I obviously am not alone in this. I hopefully am the only customer to have a government not my own, involved in seeking my personal history. These madlads were able to push through Pine Gap Centre a request that Australian intelligence interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. The attempt at my personal history failed, though two outraged customers were created.
After we shared our experience, Amazon showed concern. There was no apology or acknowledgment of laws broken across continents. Instead all visible Alteration to my pages were removed, all Lurkers whom I had not been Allowed to remove were disappeared, all comments masked, etc.
Goodreads had blocked my seeing other reviews of books I read (no loss there), blocked the end-of-book transition to the Ratings and Review page, repeatedly reset my Kindle keyboard and other pettiness. After more than 2 years, I recently accepted a friend request from Joseph in Latvia and now seem unable to remove him. I sense another Amazon or possibly governmental lurker may have been planted. We shall see.
All reader reviews are tedious, time consuming and a gift to the site. They should not also be life threatening. Perhaps Amazon might look into improving customer service protocols. 😊
Recently a seventh EBay ex-employee was sentenced for the harassment of a couple whose small e-commerce channel which was deemed unkind to EBay. They were awarded millions finally and that ex-employee had been the EBAy Global Chief of Global Security or something like. These data corporations have developed twisted cultures.
To be safer on Goodreads, I suggest moving to another reader forum such as Storygraph or Fable. BookTubers will and do discuss them.
Until then, remove all personal information from Goodreads profile and avoid the message app. Remove lurkers, if Allowed. They are monitors not admirers. Given the Goodreads penchant for customer page Alterations, the screenshot of the odd, ugly or threatening is invaluable.
Kindle are more dangerous because of access to more personal data. Do Not use Files, Calendar, E-mail or Contacts, unless of course you trust these strangers with your personal information. Amazon Sign Into email without notice or permission. The implications are obvious. All internet searches should be innocuous and non-critical.
The suggestions will improve your safety until you extricate yourself from the Amazon web. It is probably prudent to bear mind that regardless of your current status, it rests on the whims of thugs. These damaged individuals, both members and employees know no non-Randian morality nor decency (think MAGA) but They are US with all that implies. Ominous music ends. 😊
Be safe and may we all find Good Reading! 🤗
Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
NCMI, Anne Applebaum, Fiona Hill, TVP World, Fall of Civilisations, Jack Edwards, The Ressurectionists., Acollierastro, JohnTheDuncan, UATV English, Vidya Mitra, Northern Narrowboaters, Munecat, Tom Nicholas, Dark Side of Russia, Paul Warburg, Ben and Emily, Bobbing Along, Mary Trump Media, Honest Government Ads, 2 Cellos, The Shades of Orange, Call of History, RevolutionarythOt, LuckyBlackCat, Andrewism, Jean's Thoughts, Cruising Crafts, Tara Mooknee, Renegade Cut, Kathy's Flog in France, Tulia, Some More News, Eileen, Dr Becky, Kiko1006, The Juice Media, Philosophy Tube, Oh Joe, Bernadette Banner, Shannon Makes, Karolina Zebrowska, Swell Entertainment, DW News, Tibees, Dungeons and Discourse, Lady Knight The Brave, The Grungeon Master, Discourse Minis, AllShorts, TimeGhost History, The Great War, Break N Remake, Daisy Viktoria, CreatedIAm, Lisa Walton, Anton Petrov, Camper Vibe, Prime of Midlife, Bobbing Along, Maiorianus, Invicta, Lee Francis, Holly The Cafe Boat, What Vivi did next, Kelly loves Physics and History, The Historian's Craft, Writing with Jenna Moreci, Cambrian Chronicles, A Life of Lit, Emma Thorne, JohnTheDuncan, Jacobin Show, Karolina Zebrowska, France 24, Alizee, Crow Caller, Alice Cappelle, Jessica Gagnon, Double Down News, Wayward Winchester, Science Asylum, Quinn's Ideas, Jessica Kellgren Fozard, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Harbo Wholmes, Lily Alexandre, Living Anachronism, JuLingo, Lindsey Stirling, Abbie Emmons, Terrible Writing Advice, Miniminuteman, Megalithhunter, History with Kayleigh, The Kavernacle, Anark, Abby Cox, ConeofArc, Cover in French, The Bands of HM Royal Marines, Veritas et Caritas, HBomberGuy, Alt Shift X, Geo Girl, Ben G Thomas, Tom Nicolas, Owen Jones, Spacedock, Hailey in Bookland, Lilly's Life, History with Kayleigh, History with Hilbert, Deerstalker Pictures, Jessie Gender, Art Deco, DamiLee, Steve Shives, Roomies Digest, Smack The Pony, Cold Fusion, Lily Simpson, Casual Navigation, With Olivia, Natasha's Adventures, Lindsay Stirling, Twinshangout, Arvin Ash, Truth to Power, Malinda, The Cold War, Central Crossing, The History of the Earth, A Cup of Nicole, MWG Studios, Books with Emily Fox, Cecilia Blomdahl, Well Deck Diaries, Lindsay Nikole, Raptor Chatter, Lady of the Library, CoachD, Austin McConnell, Epimetheus, Nikki Howard, Savy Writes Books, Shaun, Ana Psychology, David John Wellman, The Welsh Viking, Anthropology Club, Ask a Mortician, SciFi Odyssey, We're in Hell, Ukraine: the Latest, Interior Design Hub, Fundie Fridays, A Day of Small Things, Battle Order, Nerdy Kathi, IAI, Perimeter Institute, KernowDamo, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, Told in Stone, Lilly's life, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Dead Domain, Big Train, Patrick is a Navajo, Renegade Cut, Skip Intro, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, Perun, Books and Lala, Scallydandling About the Books, Sunny Book Nook, A Clockwork Reader, Verilybitchie, Brittany Page, IzzzYzzz, Reads with Rachel, Combat Veteran Reacts, Hailey in Bookland, A Life of Lit, Katie Colson, Eleanor Morton, Sailing Melody, Brittany the Bibliophile, Times Radio, The Who Addicts, History of Everything, The Military Show, Fall of Nations, Guard the Leaf, AllShorts, Heather Cox Richardson, I've Had It, Raw News and Politics, Supertanskiii, FirstPost, Truth to Power, Silicon Curtain, Zoe Bee, Katie Halper, Three Arrows, Nicole Chilaka-Ukpo, Brigitte Empire, Oceanliner Designs, Leanne Morgan, Linguoer Mechanic.
I wish you a glorious morning, a splendid afternoon, a pleasant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Kindness is Empathy made manifest.
Lore of the Dark Sisters
July 4, 2013
Edit:
After speaking with Peter, I do feel that my take on the second half of the book may have been too harsh. He does make a good point that it was important to learn about how humanity begins to change, how they begin to find their way. I did some rereading and decided that I have a better grasp of where he is going and what he was doing with his characterizations. I am leaving my previous review in place - others may find that the information is useful, but I do want to note that I have raised the book's review status by a point based on our discussion and a rereading of the second half of the book. Either way, I don't regret reading the book, and his world development was spectacular, something that is always important to me. Read it. You will draw your own conclusions.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.” Part of the blurb from Monsters by Peter Cawdron
“And so, when the fall of man came, the Luddites rejoiced. For them, man’s demise was a vindication of their ideals, a moment full of spite and bitter rejoicing.” Peter Cawdron-Monsters
“Reading is far more than picking words off a page. It is to breathe in another soul, to walk in their shoes. When you read, you lose yourself and inhabit another’s life, the life of one that went before you on this Earth” Peter Cawdron-Monsters
I was originally drawn to the book by its cover. A simple pen-and-ink sketch of the skull of a Smilodon, a Pleistocene epoch saber-tooth cat, it caught my attention as the description of the book drew me in. For the first third of the book, I was not disappointed.
In many ways, Monsters starts off in an unusual but very interesting manner, as apparently ancient newsprint becomes the introductory vehicle for the history of the collapse of man. This is not your typical dystopian novel, where zombies rule the earth. Instead, the story starts out innocuously, as a passing comet, Comet Holt, appears in the night sky. Fragile bits of newsprint recount how Holt grows in the sky, and lit up the sky, its twin tails “breathtaking to behold”. The subsequent breakup and dispersal of over half of the comet into the Sun came with volatile disintegration across space, and the subsequent showering of the Earth with tiny, breathtakingly beautiful showers of dust lighting up the stratosphere.
Cawdron’s description of these events is beautifully done, and pulled me deeper and deeper into the tale, as the biological pathogens in the cometary dust, “The Sparkles,” for all their breathtaking beauty, begin an insidious correction to life on Earth. The subsequent changes to the world economy are only the beginning, as dust in the upper atmosphere wreaks havoc with the weather, bringing on a new ‘mini ice age’, dropping humanity further and further back into a new stone age. The outcome of this is as could be expected, as man desperately scrambles to survive, falling back into a medieval superstitions and religious zealotry. Books and science are outlawed, and environmental changes run rampant.
Excellent. The story arc for this part of the book was exceptional, and kept me totally engrossed. There were, of course, problems with the timeline of the fall of civilization and the rapid evolutionary changes, but this is fiction, and these sorts of things are to be expected though not embraced. The rapid disintegration of humans, from sophisticated, thinking beings to savages was much more believable in its rapidity given the very nature of the human animal and it’s natural savagery. As Nazi Germany, the Catholic Inquisition and the reign of Pol Pot attest, man is easily lead and easily drawn into barbaric mob mentality, lacking anything approaching “humanity”. My real problem is that, once the set-up has been done, and we realize what is going on, the book basically takes a 90-degree turn into inanity. While the story of ‘Readers’ draws correlations to the hiding of German Jews and the American Underground Railroad, the story itself degenerates into a rather poorly drawn love story and falls away from there.
In the end, it feels as if Cawdron had a wonderful idea, then a third of the way through the book simply didn’t know what to do with it. In my opinion there is a problem of the authors audience as well. I happen to love action adventure in the vein of James Rollins and his ilk, as well as dystopian and creative science-based novels. This book started out in that category and would have been well served to remain so. There is an audience for that part of the book. The audience for the rest of the book was entirely different, turning into nothing more than a psudo-historical romance with a lot of really big animals running around.
Overall, I was very disappointed to have such high hopes; only to be ultimately disappointed.
After speaking with Peter, I do feel that my take on the second half of the book may have been too harsh. He does make a good point that it was important to learn about how humanity begins to change, how they begin to find their way. I did some rereading and decided that I have a better grasp of where he is going and what he was doing with his characterizations. I am leaving my previous review in place - others may find that the information is useful, but I do want to note that I have raised the book's review status by a point based on our discussion and a rereading of the second half of the book. Either way, I don't regret reading the book, and his world development was spectacular, something that is always important to me. Read it. You will draw your own conclusions.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.” Part of the blurb from Monsters by Peter Cawdron
“And so, when the fall of man came, the Luddites rejoiced. For them, man’s demise was a vindication of their ideals, a moment full of spite and bitter rejoicing.” Peter Cawdron-Monsters
“Reading is far more than picking words off a page. It is to breathe in another soul, to walk in their shoes. When you read, you lose yourself and inhabit another’s life, the life of one that went before you on this Earth” Peter Cawdron-Monsters
I was originally drawn to the book by its cover. A simple pen-and-ink sketch of the skull of a Smilodon, a Pleistocene epoch saber-tooth cat, it caught my attention as the description of the book drew me in. For the first third of the book, I was not disappointed.
In many ways, Monsters starts off in an unusual but very interesting manner, as apparently ancient newsprint becomes the introductory vehicle for the history of the collapse of man. This is not your typical dystopian novel, where zombies rule the earth. Instead, the story starts out innocuously, as a passing comet, Comet Holt, appears in the night sky. Fragile bits of newsprint recount how Holt grows in the sky, and lit up the sky, its twin tails “breathtaking to behold”. The subsequent breakup and dispersal of over half of the comet into the Sun came with volatile disintegration across space, and the subsequent showering of the Earth with tiny, breathtakingly beautiful showers of dust lighting up the stratosphere.
Cawdron’s description of these events is beautifully done, and pulled me deeper and deeper into the tale, as the biological pathogens in the cometary dust, “The Sparkles,” for all their breathtaking beauty, begin an insidious correction to life on Earth. The subsequent changes to the world economy are only the beginning, as dust in the upper atmosphere wreaks havoc with the weather, bringing on a new ‘mini ice age’, dropping humanity further and further back into a new stone age. The outcome of this is as could be expected, as man desperately scrambles to survive, falling back into a medieval superstitions and religious zealotry. Books and science are outlawed, and environmental changes run rampant.
Excellent. The story arc for this part of the book was exceptional, and kept me totally engrossed. There were, of course, problems with the timeline of the fall of civilization and the rapid evolutionary changes, but this is fiction, and these sorts of things are to be expected though not embraced. The rapid disintegration of humans, from sophisticated, thinking beings to savages was much more believable in its rapidity given the very nature of the human animal and it’s natural savagery. As Nazi Germany, the Catholic Inquisition and the reign of Pol Pot attest, man is easily lead and easily drawn into barbaric mob mentality, lacking anything approaching “humanity”. My real problem is that, once the set-up has been done, and we realize what is going on, the book basically takes a 90-degree turn into inanity. While the story of ‘Readers’ draws correlations to the hiding of German Jews and the American Underground Railroad, the story itself degenerates into a rather poorly drawn love story and falls away from there.
In the end, it feels as if Cawdron had a wonderful idea, then a third of the way through the book simply didn’t know what to do with it. In my opinion there is a problem of the authors audience as well. I happen to love action adventure in the vein of James Rollins and his ilk, as well as dystopian and creative science-based novels. This book started out in that category and would have been well served to remain so. There is an audience for that part of the book. The audience for the rest of the book was entirely different, turning into nothing more than a psudo-historical romance with a lot of really big animals running around.
Overall, I was very disappointed to have such high hopes; only to be ultimately disappointed.
August 31, 2017
This is the only book by Peter Cawdron that I didn't enjoy; it started interesting but quickly went downhill. I look forward to reading more of his books.
April 13, 2015
ABR's original Monsters audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
A large comet passes close to earth and deposits an unknown pathogen into the atmosphere. Most animals mutate into larger versions of themselves, bears, insects, bats, dogs, cats, rats, everything except humans. Civilization shrinks and reverts back to feudal/medieval times. Technology and learning become the enemy. Eventually, ignorance is embraced as people who are able to read are burned as witches. The two main characters are a father, and later, his son, who both fall in love with injured women whom they rescue.
Unfortunately, Cawdron’s preaching and pedagogy get in the way of what might be a good story. The listener is bashed over the head about how important books and newspapers are. Hello, we’re reading here. It’s difficult to get into the story as Cawdron holds our hands through every phrase, repeating and rephrasing every thought, just in case we didn’t understand something. It’s like being taught physics by a kindergarten teacher. You’ll soon find yourself rooting for the giant animals to quickly eat the annoying humans.
The narration is by Josh Carpenter and Michele Carpenter. They might be married, brother and sister, or coincidentally have the same last names, we’re not told. There is quite a bit of acting, particularly on the part of Michele Carpenter. If you want a transparent listening experience, you won’t like this. There are some long pauses between commas, which can be quite annoying. If you are listening with good headphones, you’ll hear the occasional page turn and mouth noises too.
The audience for this book seems to be those who like the idea of fantasy and science fiction, but don’t want to read about hard science. The monsters (the large and dangerous predatory animals for whom the book is named) play a very small part in the story, staying more as a backdrop to what is ultimately a romance novel with just a hint of science fiction.
Audiobook provided for review by the author.
A large comet passes close to earth and deposits an unknown pathogen into the atmosphere. Most animals mutate into larger versions of themselves, bears, insects, bats, dogs, cats, rats, everything except humans. Civilization shrinks and reverts back to feudal/medieval times. Technology and learning become the enemy. Eventually, ignorance is embraced as people who are able to read are burned as witches. The two main characters are a father, and later, his son, who both fall in love with injured women whom they rescue.
Unfortunately, Cawdron’s preaching and pedagogy get in the way of what might be a good story. The listener is bashed over the head about how important books and newspapers are. Hello, we’re reading here. It’s difficult to get into the story as Cawdron holds our hands through every phrase, repeating and rephrasing every thought, just in case we didn’t understand something. It’s like being taught physics by a kindergarten teacher. You’ll soon find yourself rooting for the giant animals to quickly eat the annoying humans.
The narration is by Josh Carpenter and Michele Carpenter. They might be married, brother and sister, or coincidentally have the same last names, we’re not told. There is quite a bit of acting, particularly on the part of Michele Carpenter. If you want a transparent listening experience, you won’t like this. There are some long pauses between commas, which can be quite annoying. If you are listening with good headphones, you’ll hear the occasional page turn and mouth noises too.
The audience for this book seems to be those who like the idea of fantasy and science fiction, but don’t want to read about hard science. The monsters (the large and dangerous predatory animals for whom the book is named) play a very small part in the story, staying more as a backdrop to what is ultimately a romance novel with just a hint of science fiction.
Audiobook provided for review by the author.
April 21, 2013
This is another in a string of incredible stories I've come across through Hugh Howie's recommendations. I really am having a hard time describing how much I enjoyed this book. Cawdron has become one of my new favorite authors with this amazing ode to literacy. In Monsters, Cawdron spins a heartwarming story of a dystopian future where literacy is forbidden. Much like the dark ages, people with the ability to read are viewed as magic wielding threats to the survival of the rest of civilization. Their ideas could cause ruin, so they are destroyed if they are discovered. I don't want to give any spoilers, but trust me when I say this great story will make you proud to be a reader, and even more proud if you have any aspirations of writing yourself. Thanks Peter Cawdron for a truly epic tale that I will read over and over in the years to come.
December 20, 2018
Good book on post-apocalyptic world where animals revert to ancient mega-fauna forms.
October 24, 2022
Not my favorite Cawdron. He often didn't seem to know where the story was going. And I didn't love the ending, sometimes violence is the answer.
A gripe with the premise of the book: Giant animals would require giant (or plentiful) prey. Things described in the book wouldn't work in a frozen world, for the same reason a megalodon couldn't exist today 👀, insufficient food. But also, why didn't the humans increase in size?
The author was very overly optimistic about how long man-made items would survive.
Intrigued by author's mention of Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Great narration.
A gripe with the premise of the book: Giant animals would require giant (or plentiful) prey. Things described in the book wouldn't work in a frozen world, for the same reason a megalodon couldn't exist today 👀, insufficient food. But also, why didn't the humans increase in size?
The author was very overly optimistic about how long man-made items would survive.
Intrigued by author's mention of Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Great narration.
April 6, 2020
The more I read Peter Cawdron, the more I realise how much I love his work. This was no exception and a fine tale where animals have grown in size immensely, including insects, big scary insects, only primates and humans haven't increased in height and girth. All about monsters but who are the monsters? Great sci-fi.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
May 26, 2024
Having read all seventeen of Peter Cawdron’s First Contact books plus several other books he has written, I was surprised to discover, via his recent blog post, that I had missed Monsters, which he wrote way back in 2012. Of course, I immediately purchased a copy.
What makes Cawdron one of my favorite authors is that he puts science front and center in his science fiction. In fact, one of my favorite parts of his books is the Epilogue, where he explains the science featured in the book. Monsters is a bit of an outlier as he presents this information via an interview format. A quick aside, in the interview he is asked if he watches much television. He answers that “Reality TV was the best thing that ever happened to my writing. It got me off the couch and in front of a keyboard.”
Monsters is a dystopian science fiction tale. My first take, on the opening chapters, was that it was going to be more of an adventure story and romance that something I would consider weightier. Turns out I was wrong. While there is a lot of adventure and suspense and some romance, this book explores how quickly humans can go, literally, from being at the top of the food chain to near the bottom.
The backdrop of Monsters is that people stop believing in science and books and, instead, revert to emotional superstitions. While written over a decade ago, this storyline could have been lifted from today’s headlines about conspiracy theories surrounding the Covid virus and the 2020 election where facts are distorted, science and education are demonized, and books are burned and/or banned. In Monsters Cawdron goes a step further and readers are burned at the stake.
Monsters is about; climate change, evolution, politics, human nature, science, superstition, misogamy, love, learning, and books. My biggest objection this this book was that I felt that Cawdron’s rapid evolution of animals was a bit of a stretch of science, although, in the epilogue he does show that it is not without some archeological and genetic foundation. That said, Cawdron’s examination of human’s under duress, whether from first contact to giant animals, is always worth reading. His insights into human nature are profound, sometimes unsettling but often leaving the reader with some hope that we do have redeeming features.
What makes Cawdron one of my favorite authors is that he puts science front and center in his science fiction. In fact, one of my favorite parts of his books is the Epilogue, where he explains the science featured in the book. Monsters is a bit of an outlier as he presents this information via an interview format. A quick aside, in the interview he is asked if he watches much television. He answers that “Reality TV was the best thing that ever happened to my writing. It got me off the couch and in front of a keyboard.”
Monsters is a dystopian science fiction tale. My first take, on the opening chapters, was that it was going to be more of an adventure story and romance that something I would consider weightier. Turns out I was wrong. While there is a lot of adventure and suspense and some romance, this book explores how quickly humans can go, literally, from being at the top of the food chain to near the bottom.
The backdrop of Monsters is that people stop believing in science and books and, instead, revert to emotional superstitions. While written over a decade ago, this storyline could have been lifted from today’s headlines about conspiracy theories surrounding the Covid virus and the 2020 election where facts are distorted, science and education are demonized, and books are burned and/or banned. In Monsters Cawdron goes a step further and readers are burned at the stake.
Monsters is about; climate change, evolution, politics, human nature, science, superstition, misogamy, love, learning, and books. My biggest objection this this book was that I felt that Cawdron’s rapid evolution of animals was a bit of a stretch of science, although, in the epilogue he does show that it is not without some archeological and genetic foundation. That said, Cawdron’s examination of human’s under duress, whether from first contact to giant animals, is always worth reading. His insights into human nature are profound, sometimes unsettling but often leaving the reader with some hope that we do have redeeming features.
June 28, 2013
Think I've found a new favourite writer. This book was fantastic. It really showed how much Cawdron loves books, and as a reader/writer it made me love the craft even more. The intelligence in the writing and the thought that went into the back story was amazing, and really helped to suck me in. The story was a little jump. I found it went from climax to climax to quickly, as though he was trying to fit in as many as possible in such a short book. At the end of the first half I was disappointed at the main character Bruce being put to the side, after all the build up of character, but I find that with a lot of books these days. The second half was not a disappointment though. Cawdron has a knowledge of hunting and Warcraft to (almost, but not quite) challenge Raymond Feist. Two of my favourite things bundled into such a passionate, believable, dystopian sci-fi. Highly recommended.
November 19, 2012
I've become quite a fan of Peter Cawdron over the past year. Typically, he has written rather plausible Space Opera. This time, with Monsters, he takes a bit of departure into a devolved dystopian novel that doubles up as a love letter to literacy and knowledge. After a near miss with a comet has some catastrophic events, including a drastic increase in size of many of the planet's fauna, Earth is plunged back into the dark ages. Books, science and knowledge are shunned, and literate people are tortured and killed as examples to others. Yet some struggle to learn. A very entertaining read, with lots of action, interesting characters and just a fun story to read.
July 18, 2023
I have to admit to being very pleasantly surprised by this. I wasn't expecting much, but as it ticked two of my boxes - post-apocalypse and creature feature - I had to read it. The level of story-telling and character development was far beyond what I'd hoped for, and I ended up finishing the book in two sittings. The only part I disliked was the prologue, which seemed very clunky, and may have been better served by being dealt out piecemeal as flashbacks at the start of each chapter.
January 11, 2016
This was very interesting. While I tend to enjoy novels that discuss novels, this particular example that the aforementioned phenomenon does it with style -- with monsters. By using monsters and GREAT PERIL as a backdrop for a discussion of the importance of the act of reading, Cawdron ensures that the message strikes true. Read it!
May 11, 2017
Monsters is a fascinating story about a dystopian future in which the very thing that we are reading is not allowed, and the very act of reading is a crime. Can you imagine a society where there are no books and reading is an offence punishable by death?
But that is only one aspect of Monsters, the other aspect of this thrilling tale is that there are actually Monsters.
A comet has caused significant changes to the Earth, not only atmospheric changes, that change the weather conditions, meaning that Humanity destroys most of the books in an attempt to stay warm, but it also causes Gigantism in most of the animal species, resulting in most of the animals to grow to huge sizes, and all of a sudden, Humanity is no longer the dominant species on Earth.
So with the changes to the weather, and the subsequent effects to the Earth’s climate, humanity suffers. Humans turn on Science and Technology as they believe it couldn’t save them. And in the meantime, the Monsters rise and start to prey on Humans.
Cawdron has created an utterly extraordinary dystopian world for this book, and then filled it with some exceptional characters. The story follows Bruce Dobson, who, in his travels, meets a woman, Jane, and discovers that she is a reader. Bruce is somewhat different to the rest of the population, and wants to be a reader himself, and thus begins his exploration of a wider world, and the start of an incredible story.
In the middle of this, there is the story of the actual world around them, the struggles of a world without all the modern technologies at war with Monsters – animals like Wild Dogs, Wolves, Bears, even the big Cats that have all grown to huge sizes and hunt Humans.
As with all of Cawdron’s tales, there is a real depth to this story though. The title does not just elude to the creatures that stalk you through the woods. The title refers more to those that walk with you. For as Humanity devolves due to the loss of its technology, so too does the moral compass that guides Humanity, and it is quick to see that it is not just the creatures that are the Monsters.
Cawdron is such a powerful writer, the story he conveys with ‘Monsters’ is one that we miss on a daily basis, that it is so easy to get lost in various causes, or beliefs that we can get swept up in things, and soon become far worse than what we were once fighting against.
As with all his stories, the characters in this tale are wonderful, beautifully created, from the quite, but worldly Bruce, who has seen too much of some things, but not enough of others, to Jane, who is the true embodiment of don’t judge a book by its cover, through to James and Lisa, both young at heart and full of adventure, wanting to change the world for all the right reasons. There are many other characters that I don’t want to give away, but they are all equally brilliant.
This is a truly exceptional book, one that you will not be able to put down, compelling and creative in its story telling, and totally riveting. An absolute must for any Cawdron Fan, fans of dystopian or Sci-Fi, or anyone who just loves a good story.
But that is only one aspect of Monsters, the other aspect of this thrilling tale is that there are actually Monsters.
A comet has caused significant changes to the Earth, not only atmospheric changes, that change the weather conditions, meaning that Humanity destroys most of the books in an attempt to stay warm, but it also causes Gigantism in most of the animal species, resulting in most of the animals to grow to huge sizes, and all of a sudden, Humanity is no longer the dominant species on Earth.
So with the changes to the weather, and the subsequent effects to the Earth’s climate, humanity suffers. Humans turn on Science and Technology as they believe it couldn’t save them. And in the meantime, the Monsters rise and start to prey on Humans.
Cawdron has created an utterly extraordinary dystopian world for this book, and then filled it with some exceptional characters. The story follows Bruce Dobson, who, in his travels, meets a woman, Jane, and discovers that she is a reader. Bruce is somewhat different to the rest of the population, and wants to be a reader himself, and thus begins his exploration of a wider world, and the start of an incredible story.
In the middle of this, there is the story of the actual world around them, the struggles of a world without all the modern technologies at war with Monsters – animals like Wild Dogs, Wolves, Bears, even the big Cats that have all grown to huge sizes and hunt Humans.
As with all of Cawdron’s tales, there is a real depth to this story though. The title does not just elude to the creatures that stalk you through the woods. The title refers more to those that walk with you. For as Humanity devolves due to the loss of its technology, so too does the moral compass that guides Humanity, and it is quick to see that it is not just the creatures that are the Monsters.
Cawdron is such a powerful writer, the story he conveys with ‘Monsters’ is one that we miss on a daily basis, that it is so easy to get lost in various causes, or beliefs that we can get swept up in things, and soon become far worse than what we were once fighting against.
As with all his stories, the characters in this tale are wonderful, beautifully created, from the quite, but worldly Bruce, who has seen too much of some things, but not enough of others, to Jane, who is the true embodiment of don’t judge a book by its cover, through to James and Lisa, both young at heart and full of adventure, wanting to change the world for all the right reasons. There are many other characters that I don’t want to give away, but they are all equally brilliant.
This is a truly exceptional book, one that you will not be able to put down, compelling and creative in its story telling, and totally riveting. An absolute must for any Cawdron Fan, fans of dystopian or Sci-Fi, or anyone who just loves a good story.
April 16, 2018
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. It is a story about power struggles and human nature. I didn't glean a lot of depth in the characters, but that wasn't necessary to move the story forward.
The first quarter of the book was the most poignant. How fast civilization can devolve after a natural disaster and how our nature will quickly ruin us all. When science fails to save us, people quickly turn on it and knowledge in general. With the decline of science comes the rise of superstition. This was a good moment for introspection. I don't know the science behind how my favorite devices work and with the demonizing of scientists, those devices are lost to the ages.
If you want to demonize the science behind vaccines, space travel and other discoveries, don't sit there with your smart phone and internet having no idea how either of those work.
Now that our technology is back to the stone age and reading equals witchcraft, we meet our main characters. They are readers and they eloquently expressed why reading captivates me the way it does. Everyone will learn something different from reading the same thing. It promotes strategic thinking and understanding. It also keeps history alive by giving you a glimpse into the author's soul.
The readers use books to further their knowledge and improve lives. Their adventures in their world take up most of the book, but it didn't engage me. Finding a man who wants to write a future instead of the just reading the past intrigued me. The mind of a dictator was shown on a superficial level, but it was still interesting.
There will be large animals in this book called Monsters. There will be men who use ignorance to keep people down and seize power. There will be a cheesy line about that man being the real monster, but who cares.
You currently have the ability to learn about any subject you want. Use your time wisely in this life so that people crueler than you can't use your ignorance to keep you down.
The first quarter of the book was the most poignant. How fast civilization can devolve after a natural disaster and how our nature will quickly ruin us all. When science fails to save us, people quickly turn on it and knowledge in general. With the decline of science comes the rise of superstition. This was a good moment for introspection. I don't know the science behind how my favorite devices work and with the demonizing of scientists, those devices are lost to the ages.
If you want to demonize the science behind vaccines, space travel and other discoveries, don't sit there with your smart phone and internet having no idea how either of those work.
Now that our technology is back to the stone age and reading equals witchcraft, we meet our main characters. They are readers and they eloquently expressed why reading captivates me the way it does. Everyone will learn something different from reading the same thing. It promotes strategic thinking and understanding. It also keeps history alive by giving you a glimpse into the author's soul.
The readers use books to further their knowledge and improve lives. Their adventures in their world take up most of the book, but it didn't engage me. Finding a man who wants to write a future instead of the just reading the past intrigued me. The mind of a dictator was shown on a superficial level, but it was still interesting.
There will be large animals in this book called Monsters. There will be men who use ignorance to keep people down and seize power. There will be a cheesy line about that man being the real monster, but who cares.
You currently have the ability to learn about any subject you want. Use your time wisely in this life so that people crueler than you can't use your ignorance to keep you down.
February 14, 2025
a different kind of story
I enjoyed this book.
The characters are of a similar vein to Peter’s other books - no superheroes here, but thoughtful people that you can relate to and you may have met or known people like them. That makes you care for them, even the not-so-nice ones. The plot moves along through a couple of generations. When someone dies, you feel sad for their significant others, but their influence carries on into the next generation. They are not forgotten. The monsters are believable, as are the adjustments that humanity makes to living with them.
Another well thought-out book from a very dependable author, and a good read. A fascinating premise, with society at large having lost the ability to read.
I enjoyed this book.
The characters are of a similar vein to Peter’s other books - no superheroes here, but thoughtful people that you can relate to and you may have met or known people like them. That makes you care for them, even the not-so-nice ones. The plot moves along through a couple of generations. When someone dies, you feel sad for their significant others, but their influence carries on into the next generation. They are not forgotten. The monsters are believable, as are the adjustments that humanity makes to living with them.
Another well thought-out book from a very dependable author, and a good read. A fascinating premise, with society at large having lost the ability to read.
June 11, 2021
I would give this 4.5 stars if it was an option. While it's hard to justify giving five stars to anything short of Dostoevsky, I'll set it there to counter some of the extreme weirdness of those who have rated this under 3 stars.
Monsters is very like the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein, in tone and themes. If you liked those, then I have no doubt you'll love this. It deserves lots of readers and plenty of sequels. It was well enough written to keep me up until 2am last night.
My favourite Peter Cawdron so far...
Monsters is very like the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein, in tone and themes. If you liked those, then I have no doubt you'll love this. It deserves lots of readers and plenty of sequels. It was well enough written to keep me up until 2am last night.
My favourite Peter Cawdron so far...
August 31, 2023
I had a bit of a slow start , though it is a personal preference toward shorter chapters. So I had a little trouble but still can't wait for a part two ! Nudge nudge hint hint ?
.. I have read at least four other Peter Cawdron books (First Contact) and have not been let down by any of them. Not your typical first contact.. Try 3zekiel, or Anomaly.
.. I have read at least four other Peter Cawdron books (First Contact) and have not been let down by any of them. Not your typical first contact.. Try 3zekiel, or Anomaly.
January 3, 2021
Loved loved loved the first part. The second part (story about main characters) was good, but did not feel that the love interest was worthy. She never really redeemed herself to me, so she never seemed worth any effort that James gave to her. It made me question his integrity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2023
DNF at 50%. I absolutely love the First Contact series. This story is not bad per say, but it’s not very well written. I just wanted invested and decided to stop reading halfway through. The author has improved a LOT since 2012 so don’t let this review put you off him.
March 21, 2019
the start was good and promising and i liked the Reader premise and megafauna, and then James' whole section went downhill for me
August 26, 2021
Another story in the teen-dystopia genre, but a very interesting premise.
Never underestimate the power of a reader!
Never underestimate the power of a reader!
February 4, 2024
Not my favorite of the First Contact books. Good story but too preachy. Also, audiobook narrators sound amateurish.
February 12, 2025
Pretty good.
May not be quite up to the standards of most of his work but I thought it was well worth reading.
May not be quite up to the standards of most of his work but I thought it was well worth reading.
September 27, 2024
Another great story
Yet another great yarn from Peter - a prolific author who is always thought provoking. This story is different from most of his offerings - less 'hard' sci-fi and more of a focus on a human story and the vital importance of knowledge acquired through reading. Peter and I have different world views (I'm a Christian and he can be disparaging about religious faith at times - mind you, sometimes for good reason) but we certainly share a view of the importance of knowledge, science, reason, and the need for 'good' people (as opposed to the true monsters portrayed in this book) to stand up and lead.
Yet another great yarn from Peter - a prolific author who is always thought provoking. This story is different from most of his offerings - less 'hard' sci-fi and more of a focus on a human story and the vital importance of knowledge acquired through reading. Peter and I have different world views (I'm a Christian and he can be disparaging about religious faith at times - mind you, sometimes for good reason) but we certainly share a view of the importance of knowledge, science, reason, and the need for 'good' people (as opposed to the true monsters portrayed in this book) to stand up and lead.
August 3, 2015
Despite the fact that this book is called Monsters, the actual monsters are not the focus of the book. They're in the background, occasionally popping in to stir up trouble when the plot is getting slow. I got this book because I wanted to read about prehistoric animals tearing people up. There is a sabretooth skull on the cover, after all. But alas, no prehistoric animals to be found. It's just really big animals, even though they are dramatically called "monsters."
Now I'll admit, I don't hold to evolution and so I am a little hazy on the finer details of the theory. But I'm pretty sure that evolutionists don't think horses used to be the size of elephants. Or that bats had a 10 ft wingspan. When a huge hunk of rock strikes earth, rather than bring prehistoric animals to life, it causes really severe weather and makes all currently existing animals really really big. Hm. We have bats grabbing men off the ground and jaguars being touted as the most intelligent predators in the world. For a story about changing wildlife, I felt like Cawdron didn't know much about wildlife. If a wolf is now the size of a horse, bullets and arrow still work, buddy. People hunt elephants, you know. But then again, the book isn't really about the animals.
The book focuses on Bruce and then his son James, and the majority of the time is spent on drama among the people. It's not very good drama either. I've gotta hoe this soil. My wife can't get pregnant. Oh now she can, yay. Gotta paint his water tower. Idk it was just so boring to me. I thought this was a creature feature.
One of my biggest gripes with this book was how preachy it was. Despite the fact that the premise of the book is inherently illogical, the book beats us over the head with the mantra that knowledge is power and should be admired above all else and if you don't agree with every scientific and academic voice then you are a backwards, despicable human being who is getting in the way of progress. This is a book where bats grow to have a 10 ft wingspan and swoop down and carry people off, and you're lecturing me about knowledge? The preachiness is worse in the beginning, but it never totally goes away. I hate hate it when authors use a book as a soapbox to shove their beliefs down our throats.
As a last complaint, the prose really annoyed me. Things were described in detail several times (how many times do I have to be reminded that a character is blind?), and specific phrases were used to describe things more than once. A lot of the time, I felt like the narration was repeating itself. ex The snarling dog approached them, fur bristling. It raised its hackles as it growled at them. See how both those sentences are really just saying the same thing? There was a lot of unnecessary description, drama, and internal thoughts that should have been edited out. Honestly, the story was way longer than it should have been.
I would have given this 1 star, but it occasionally got interesting for a little bit. My advice is to steer clear. I'm sure there are much better, more plausible sci-fi stories out there.
Now I'll admit, I don't hold to evolution and so I am a little hazy on the finer details of the theory. But I'm pretty sure that evolutionists don't think horses used to be the size of elephants. Or that bats had a 10 ft wingspan. When a huge hunk of rock strikes earth, rather than bring prehistoric animals to life, it causes really severe weather and makes all currently existing animals really really big. Hm. We have bats grabbing men off the ground and jaguars being touted as the most intelligent predators in the world. For a story about changing wildlife, I felt like Cawdron didn't know much about wildlife. If a wolf is now the size of a horse, bullets and arrow still work, buddy. People hunt elephants, you know. But then again, the book isn't really about the animals.
The book focuses on Bruce and then his son James, and the majority of the time is spent on drama among the people. It's not very good drama either. I've gotta hoe this soil. My wife can't get pregnant. Oh now she can, yay. Gotta paint his water tower. Idk it was just so boring to me. I thought this was a creature feature.
One of my biggest gripes with this book was how preachy it was. Despite the fact that the premise of the book is inherently illogical, the book beats us over the head with the mantra that knowledge is power and should be admired above all else and if you don't agree with every scientific and academic voice then you are a backwards, despicable human being who is getting in the way of progress. This is a book where bats grow to have a 10 ft wingspan and swoop down and carry people off, and you're lecturing me about knowledge? The preachiness is worse in the beginning, but it never totally goes away. I hate hate it when authors use a book as a soapbox to shove their beliefs down our throats.
As a last complaint, the prose really annoyed me. Things were described in detail several times (how many times do I have to be reminded that a character is blind?), and specific phrases were used to describe things more than once. A lot of the time, I felt like the narration was repeating itself. ex The snarling dog approached them, fur bristling. It raised its hackles as it growled at them. See how both those sentences are really just saying the same thing? There was a lot of unnecessary description, drama, and internal thoughts that should have been edited out. Honestly, the story was way longer than it should have been.
I would have given this 1 star, but it occasionally got interesting for a little bit. My advice is to steer clear. I'm sure there are much better, more plausible sci-fi stories out there.
July 13, 2013
The book started out great. I loved the description of the fall of society and setting the stage for the rest of the book. However, I struggled staying interested through the first parts of the book. I did not feel like the story was going anywhere. Once the main characters son became the focal point of the story it did pick up and regrabbed my interest. My biggest criticism of the book is the ending. It happened too "fast" and clean. A theme throughout the book was on the horror and pointless nature of war, yet the great military campaign comes to an end relatively cleanly, with all seeming to live happily after ever.
I had some technical issues with the story as well. It is mentioned that the global temperature rises and that much of the ice in the polar regions melts. This would raise sea levels. Much of the second part of the story is set in Richmond, VA, which is where I live. We are not far above sea level here. Being on the fall line we have elevations that range from 0 to maybe 200' (could be some higher points have not studied the full topo of the area). But if sea level goes up much of the area between the fall Len and the Atlantic would no longer exist, it would be ocean. The story mentions Petersburg, Norfolk and the Chesapeake bay. These places would be gone with a minimal rise in sea level, maybe parts of Petersburg would survive depending on how high it rose.
On the plus side I did find myself walking along the expressway with the soldiers as they marched around Richmond to get to the prison. I would be interested to know if the prison is based on a real place as I am not sure of that large to the north of the City.
I had some technical issues with the story as well. It is mentioned that the global temperature rises and that much of the ice in the polar regions melts. This would raise sea levels. Much of the second part of the story is set in Richmond, VA, which is where I live. We are not far above sea level here. Being on the fall line we have elevations that range from 0 to maybe 200' (could be some higher points have not studied the full topo of the area). But if sea level goes up much of the area between the fall Len and the Atlantic would no longer exist, it would be ocean. The story mentions Petersburg, Norfolk and the Chesapeake bay. These places would be gone with a minimal rise in sea level, maybe parts of Petersburg would survive depending on how high it rose.
On the plus side I did find myself walking along the expressway with the soldiers as they marched around Richmond to get to the prison. I would be interested to know if the prison is based on a real place as I am not sure of that large to the north of the City.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2013
Full review here on my blog: http://onenovelconcept.blogspot.com/2...
Synopsis: A meteor passes by earth leaving behind some kind of dust or debris that overtime changes all the animals into giant monsters. Dogs the size of horses, ants the size of a human foot, leaving humans no longer at the top of the food chain. As times goes on the monsters get bigger and there are less and less people. Bruce and his son James must learn to fight off not only the monsters of the animal kingdom but also those monsters trying to take back claim of a world that no longer belongs to them.
My review: I felt like this book was a bit slow going in the beginning but now I realize that a picture needed to be painted before I could appreciate the work as a whole. After about 100 pages I could not put this book down. I became a big fan of James and his view of the way the world should be. There is quite a bit of story line going on throughout this book and I don't want to give away too much in the synopsis so I kept it as brief as possible. One thing I really liked was how Peter, the author was able to describe the monsters, I could truly picture them in my mind. In the end I just enjoyed the uniqueness of this whole story and while this is the first book I have read of Peter's it will definitely not be the last.
My rating: 7
Pages: 342
Author website: http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/
Synopsis: A meteor passes by earth leaving behind some kind of dust or debris that overtime changes all the animals into giant monsters. Dogs the size of horses, ants the size of a human foot, leaving humans no longer at the top of the food chain. As times goes on the monsters get bigger and there are less and less people. Bruce and his son James must learn to fight off not only the monsters of the animal kingdom but also those monsters trying to take back claim of a world that no longer belongs to them.
My review: I felt like this book was a bit slow going in the beginning but now I realize that a picture needed to be painted before I could appreciate the work as a whole. After about 100 pages I could not put this book down. I became a big fan of James and his view of the way the world should be. There is quite a bit of story line going on throughout this book and I don't want to give away too much in the synopsis so I kept it as brief as possible. One thing I really liked was how Peter, the author was able to describe the monsters, I could truly picture them in my mind. In the end I just enjoyed the uniqueness of this whole story and while this is the first book I have read of Peter's it will definitely not be the last.
My rating: 7
Pages: 342
Author website: http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/
October 23, 2017
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
First off, the prologue is a book I would read. The story of how we got to such a dystopian future was fascinating and I hope Cawdron considers a prequel for this book. But on to the main story...
My feelings toward this story were all over the place. I was on such a high from the prologue that the main story seemed to start off a bit slow. The background is set up and we start to meet characters, but then, out of nowhere, comes a beautiful discussion on the value of reading and books. Some of the remarks were so insightful that I was sending them to my English-teaching friends.
And so the story continues and is pretty good as the characters' lives unfold. But then with the jump forward in time, the story becomes very familiar, especially if you've read or watched any dystopian stories before. Granted, if we ever enter a dystopian age, I have no doubt that some power-crazy guy is going to start a community and demand total loyalty. I'm just a bit tired of reading about it.
But then, as with many of Cawdron's books, the ending makes up for any negative feelings I might have had before. I loved how it was set up and executed (no pun intended) - leaving the reader with closure but also an avenue for a possible sequel (although a prequel would be much better!).
Read it!
First off, the prologue is a book I would read. The story of how we got to such a dystopian future was fascinating and I hope Cawdron considers a prequel for this book. But on to the main story...
My feelings toward this story were all over the place. I was on such a high from the prologue that the main story seemed to start off a bit slow. The background is set up and we start to meet characters, but then, out of nowhere, comes a beautiful discussion on the value of reading and books. Some of the remarks were so insightful that I was sending them to my English-teaching friends.
And so the story continues and is pretty good as the characters' lives unfold. But then with the jump forward in time, the story becomes very familiar, especially if you've read or watched any dystopian stories before. Granted, if we ever enter a dystopian age, I have no doubt that some power-crazy guy is going to start a community and demand total loyalty. I'm just a bit tired of reading about it.
But then, as with many of Cawdron's books, the ending makes up for any negative feelings I might have had before. I loved how it was set up and executed (no pun intended) - leaving the reader with closure but also an avenue for a possible sequel (although a prequel would be much better!).
Read it!
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