THERE BE MONSTERS

Nighmares, Monsters & Horrors Triptych #2

by Julya Oui

There can only be monsters when:

- In his coffin, Uncle Zim doesn’t seem to be as dead as he should be.

- You finally find out Helen's little secret about her solitude.

- Leonard’s wife takes her jealousy of his pet dog a bit too far.

- Dan would do anything to find a cure for his constipation.

- The last battle we fight is the one we do to save humanity.

We already know that there be monsters among us — but sooner or later them horrors will be everywhere.

Genres: Fiction

275 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2015

Reviews

[Regina Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her second book with Fixi Novo. Collection of 13 stories which is not normal, horror with a mixture of human behavior, hearts rumbling and regrets of the past. I am sure you read the past review given to her books. Julya has a technique of a great storytelling. Combination of human studies and science clearly prevailed around these collections to be shared with her readers. Each character were defined clearly.

My 2 favorite selection in this book.

1. A frustrated wife when abandoned by her husband just because of a black dog. Julya spoke beautifully about seduction, small incomplete town and resentful of being neglected. As usual there is a twist out of it.

2. Constipation. Yes, being constipated. About a man who is unable to have a normal bowel movement. He was worried. Here Julya laid out her expertise of character conversing in ghetto dialect, mantra in latin and played along with human emotion on believe. Do you believe? What is your ego? Do you trust God? She expertly touched on organic and natural remedies. I found it very smart and amusing,

Similar to the other 2 books, Julya is very tactful writer. I can sense that she wanted her readers to find are we the actual monster and Satan? Are we actually providing shell for the monster taking shelter?

4 huge stars for There Be Monster.

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since we live for a very long time, we didn't feel the need to reproduce unless it was necessary. But by then, humans started procreating and multiplying faster than all the creatures on earth. Everywhere your species went, there was only destruction. We couldn't prevent your wars, murders, or killings, it was not in our nature to be violent. We tried to help whenever we could, but it was always rejected. What we wanted to do was to help your species be empathetic to the world so that you can have a better life. But the human mind is set to plunder for things he wants, regardless of the repercussions. Your species eventually killed Earth. The alien closed its eyes and said, “This is who you are."
- Battle Damage (There be monsters by Julya Oui
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These are the stories that blew me away. It dealt with Hallucination, The Doppleganger concept, How your mental strength influenced your physical health, franken-like Experiment went wrong with the good old revenge plot and Alien is the reason that we are civilized plus we are not ALONE in this universe. My rating for these would be 4/5.
- Out of a Canine's Manger
- 7 Versions of Bad
- Constipation
- Fatalism
- Battle Damage
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These are the stories that could have been great but something is missing. I was not happy with the ending of the night it rained murder, I felt the strange solitude of Hungry Helen is a tad too long. The lonely bastard could have had more depth to it. I will rate these stories 3/5 at best.
- In the Wake of Uncle Zim
- The Night it Rained Murder
- The Strange Solitude of Hungry Helen
- That Lonely Bastard
- What the Boys are
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These are the one that i dont get at all. I read twice and i just went ‘Huh?’. I was completely confused once i am done with it. 2/5 for these stories as i couldnt connect to plot at all.
- Into the Wild Unknown
- Mimieux
- Flutter the Dovecot
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Overall, some stories are indeed interesting. I would say that this is more a mixed bag anthology - perhaps it may resonates more to the readers that love horror genre that has a little bit of both thriller and action to it. If you have been a fan of Julya Oui, you will feel that this is not her best work. Still, i have fun reading this.

[Ruby Jusoh · Rating 3 out of 5]

There Be Monsters by Julya Oui. A compilation of 13 gory short stories. A light read. I was expecting to be mindblown. I was not. The stories were.... okay.
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My favourite ones are The Night It Rained Murder and Out of A Canine's Manger - two tales of unhappy wives. One was abused and ended up killing the husband. One was so possessive, she went insane. Not the kind of relationships I want to get into. The topics covered are of a variety - violence, love, betrayal and the supernatural.
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I enjoyed reading it. The stories are interesting. Hmm... Yea... That's all. I think I just need to get used to reading horror stories.

[lucie parenkyuma · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's unbelievable that I actually took few months to finish off with the reading! In my humble opinion, nothing extraordinary emerged from book, it was actually filled with ordinary stories about ghosts and horrors. None of the stories made a long-lasting impression on me, thus confirming the book's status as 'meh, it was ok'.

Kudos to the writer for trying, though.

[Iryani · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fun read. Not supernatural, ghostly-seram stories you see. More like the weird and the bizarre. Kinda disturbing too.

I love The Strange Solitude of Hungry Helen (it's kinda not medically possible, but yep, it was a delicious nightmare fodder).

I enjoy 7 Versions of Bad too. If it was developed into a full length novel, I would totally read it!

5 stars from me.

[Kathy Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like pretty much every stories in this book. Mostly the storyline is unpredictable. I like the most is 7 versions of bad. Didnt like much of Mimieux as i find it hard to understand.

Its a good reading experience. Looking forward to reading more stories from this author.

[Zulzafry Zulkifly · Rating 4 out of 5]

here be nightmare is better

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the last few months I've been trying to get into the local writing scene. I bought a few Fixi Novo books and have been reading them ever since. However, none of them managed to leave a lasting impression on me. It's not that the writing is bad. Often times I find them to be too short.

This one did though. I love the amount of twisted horror in it. For me it felt like a mixture of American Horror Story, Wayward Pines and Cabin in the Woods. So if you're into that sort of thing and want to invest in Malaysian writing, this might just be it for you.

[Nuyuryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a compilation of 12 shorts story.. Drpd 12 short story tu ada cerita yang best dan ada yang kurang..

Banyak isu kritikal yg disentuh seperti penderaan dan buli..