هیولک‌ها

by William Sleator, مهرداد تویسرکانی (Translator)

The master of suspense delivers a hard-core horror story to thrill and chill. Fans will get more than goose bumps from this terrifying tour de force by William Sleator. The nightmare begins when Doug's family moves to the desolate northern woods; soon he and his little sister, Colette, become caught up in a war between the area's loggers and a dying race of woodland creatures who depend on human body parts for their survival. Tunnels, tunnels, leading everywhere...even right into Doug and Colette's basement. But who built them? Could the rumors about the mysterious, bloodthirsty kidnappers called the Beasties possibly be true? Skeptical Doug doesn't buy it at first, even if an unusual number of the local inhabitants seem to be missing important pieces of their anatomies. But once he and his sister stumble into a cavernous opening and meet the Beastie scout named Fingers, Doug is forced to become a believer. Colette soon is indoctrinated into the society of the Family, an underground civilization of slimy, pale beings with crudely stitched-together body parts. Doug desperately hopes to remain an outsider, but it seems he has no choice. In fact, the Family needs him to make the biggest sacrifice of all. If he tries to escape, he faces an awful truth (one that readers, too, will learn): Once you have met the Beasties, you will never be safe again. Hailed by R. L. Stine as "one of my favorite young-adult writers,"

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

William Warner Sleator III was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland on February 13, 1945, and moved to St. Louis, MO when he was three. He graduated from University City High School in 1963, from Harvard in 1967 with BAs in music and English.

For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.

William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.

Reviews

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

This was one of my favorite books IN LIFE as a young teen, and I must have checked it out from the library and read it a dozen times over the years. I won't give it a star rating because I haven't read it in years now, but it came to mind just now and I totally want to reread it and see if it held up! I remember thinking it was so gruesome and creepy as a kid, and the twist was totally haunting and sad. Maybe I'll do a reread review soon!

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colette had already stepped off the wooden platform and was shining the flashlight down the slightly curving dirt tunnel. Roots crawled and twisted over the walls and floor. The tunnel was very narrow and had a low ceiling. Colette had to crouch, and I had to bend almost double when I followed her off the platform into the tunnel, trying not to trip over the roots. A full-grown adult would have had to crawl. This place was not built of people.
-The Beasties

Rating: 2.75/5

Doug and his family are about to be uprooted from their city life to go and live in the middle of nowhere, smack dab in the center of severe country life where neighbors are few and far between. Doug's father is a botanist who wants to study a special type of fungus that can only be found in a this particular area, and with the woods being cut down by loggers at an alarming pace, he only has a short window of time to accomplish this. On the other hand, his mother wants to get into painting new things (in this case that's nature). However, the children are not too hyped up about this new development, especially after what crazy Al told Doug and his little sister, Colette. Al said that it was of utmost importance that the family refrains from living in an old home and to steer clear of the woods located behind old homes. That's where the supposed Beasties live...

Doug doesn't take Al too seriously, but once he nears his new home, he notices strange things. People are moving about in the area, but they have missing limbs. A person in Al's family also has a missing arm and leg, just like everyone else there. What's this mean? Then, as soon as they arrive at their new house, Doug finds out that it is not only old, but it is also placed by the woods. Soon enough, Colette and her brother find a baseball bat and a book randomly sitting out in the middle of the yard, just waiting for the siblings to pick them up. Doug's actually a huge baseball player and Colette is an avid reader who believes that she can learn more from books than she can from real live people. However, these gifts do not bode well with Doug. Who could have known about their favorite pastimes? The bat's brand new. Why were they left there? Something's not right here.

Then Doug discovers that the woman who helps to take care of the house and makes meals for them wears a mask. She says that she hurt her nose in an accident. Why does everyone have missing body parts? To make matters worse, Colette wants to go into the woods behind the house against Doug's protests. Not wanting his sister to go alone, he follows her into the darkened forest where they find a mysterious trapdoor that leads down into the ground. Who would have placed that there?

Going down into it, the siblings discover a deep and dark secret. They just found the home of the dreaded and rumored Beasties...

WARNING: SPOILERS ARE REVEALED WHILE I DISCUSS MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK!

I'll be honest, I have very mixed feelings about The Beasties as you can probably guess by my rating. For me it wasn't quite a three star novel, but at the same time, I felt like it deserved a little more than a two star rating. So, here we have a 2.75 rating rounded to a 3! Yep. I'm indecisive.

I really enjoyed the story and the themes within it. The reader gets to see how it is extremely important to take care of the environment. I totally agree with this, but I think that the book had a strange way of trying to justify fighting back for nature. For one, the Beasties are harmed when the surrounding forest, their home, is being destroyed and cut down piece by piece. These creatures then contract a disease that messes with their body, making some creatures born without an arm, leg, or anything else that you can think of. The Beasties' queen is also dying. She is the only one who can have children, and all of her litters are dying. This obviously presents a problem for their race.

To compensate for the current deforestation and their lost limbs, Beasties raid logging sites and take humans, cutting off various appendages and attaching them to themselves. Weird, I know. It's equally creepy and mortifying. However, this is really what this story is all about: horror. Colette immediately goes along with the Beasties and fights for them amongst their ranks, but Doug is torn between turning away from their gruesome ways and supporting them. Which way will he choose? Well, (HUGE SPOILER HERE) he chooses to go along with the Beasties in the end. In his mind he sees things as if, while they do take body parts from humans, they only take one or two. This leaves their victims still able to live and function, unlike the Beasties who have to contend with a dying forest and race. Okay, so what is with that logic? I don't understand how he could possibly be okay with the Beasties and defend them! Aren't the lumber jack guys and the Beasties both in the wrong??!!! I just...I don't...understanding is not going on here. My brain does not think like that.

Then we have Colette and her admirable love for reading. She has a deep passion for literature. However, her father kept talking about how he couldn't fathom how his own daughter could just sit around with her nose stuck in a book. He kept telling her to close the book and go out into the woods. Do something, anything but read. Hmm...discouraging a child from reading?! Oh, that was the true horror here. I wanted to rip this man from the pages so I could give him a lecture on how it's okay to let your child read. Let them be adamant about it and support them! Oh, my heart just broke.

The Beasties also didn't sit well with me for one more reason. In the beginning, I was definitely scared and horrified. That's why I picked up this book from the YA section at the library after all. However, after they found the trapdoor leading down to the Beasties' home and explored it, I felt like it lost its fear factor super fast. One minute there's YA horror going down and then a little more of a Middle Grade feeling set in for the rest of the novel. Maybe this was just me. I lost a tad bit of interest in it. So, I would recommend this to higher Middle Grade or lower YA readers because there is some violence, but there is also a MG vibe to it.

Overall, it was a nice, quick, and easy read, but I think that the length was what created the problem for me. I was not convinced at all in Doug's choice or that the Beasties were less in the wrong. There were some great themes in here, though. It gives the book a tone of what it means to take a step back and realize what you are doing to the earth. We have to think of the bigger picture. So, there was a great message, a nice splash of horror, but problems that kept me from totally enjoying The Beasties.

You can see reviews like this one and more at http://knightingalereviews.blogspot.com/.
(http://knightingalereviews.blogspot.c...)

[Eileen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up at a library book sale, thinking I would be in for an old-school horror treat, especially after seeing the endorsement by R.L. Stine on the back cover; I was sadly mistaken. The book starts out okay but quickly develops into a strange mix of gory horror with an environmental agenda. I guess kudos to the author for trying something different and attempting to use this medium to convey a serious message about environmental issues and its impacts to his young audience, but in my opinion, it didn't work at all. I didn't particularly care for the characters either, so in the end, nothing much about the book really appealed to me, which is a true shame as I had been rather looking forward to this one. Oh well... moving on!

[Mob · Rating 4 out of 5]

وقتی نوجوان محسوب می‌شدم خوندمش و اون موقع دوستش داشتم. علمی تخیلی فانتزی خوبی بود و کشته مرده این‌چیزا بودم.
داستان خواهر و برادریه که می‌خوان تو جنگلی که واسه استراحت با خانواده اومدن جا بیفتن. پسره به شدت ناراضیه از نقل مکان و دختره عاشق جنگله. وقتی تو جنگل دارن گشت می‌زنن متوجه می‌شن هر آسیبی که به جنگل و درختاش وارد می‌شه به همین راحتیا بخشیده نمی‌شه
کم کم داره یادم می‌آد و کتاب خوبیه واسه نوجوان و کودک. دلم تنگ شد واسه‌ی کتابخونه‌ی بزرگ کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و نوجوانان(اسمش کامل یادم نبود و کیبورد پیشنهاد داد😂)
البته ناگفته نماند که واقعا کتابای کمی داشت کتابخونه سمت ما اما با این‌حال دو سال زندگی منو پر کتاب کرد.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up about a year ago at a church sale. I forgot about it until recently.

While looking up the book I realized it was a 6th grade book for kids. I was already hooked by the title and decided to read the first page...

I was immediately interested and read the entire book in one sitting. It is written quite well and not oversimplified for younger kids. It felt more like a short story than a book.

The book is about two siblings moving to the country. Prior to leaving a neighbor kid warns them about the Beasties. Creatures that steal body parts from people. The sister is enthralled, but brother Doug is hesitant. Doug and his sister find out they are real.

If you an adult and like Algernon Blackwood, then this short story is for you! I loved it and will looking into more from William Sleator!

[KosarMoradi]

حدودا ۱۲ سال پیش خوندمش! اگه کتاب‌های داستان‌ دوره‌ی دبستان رو فاکتور بگیریم، این اولین رمان بلند‌ و نخستین داستانی بود که باعث شد به کتاب خوندن علاقمند شم.

[Shira and Ari Evergreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom found this book and thought I would like it. She was right! It's creepy but fun, an unlikely combination of sustainability, mythology, and horror. It's meant for young adults but I'm 28 and was turning pages with excitement, wondering what would come next. I won't say anything about the plot because the less you know, the more enjoyable the book will be. I didn't have a dust jacket on my used copy, and the plain black cover with its enigmatic title was even more successful than the spooky eye graphic shown here. Probably best for older kids, it's got some very grim imagery and some violence in it.

[مسیح بی شفا · Rating 2 out of 5]

این رو اول راهنمایی بودم که خوندم.
شخصیت پردازی‌هایی اعصاب خرد کن، روایت سرسری و روند نامعقول، از دلایلی به شمار می‌رن که زیاد میلی به این کتاب ندارم.
هرچند نباید از حق بگذریم، اعتراض خوبی نسبت به مسائل محیط زیست بود.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me faint in school when I was in the 6th grade. Other than that, I don't remember much about the book.

[Maryam · Rating 2 out of 5]

کتاب خوبی بود، اگه اینقدر ترسناک و چندش آور و ناراحت کننده نبود!
آخه آدم انتظار نداره وقتی کتابی میخونه که روش نوشته رمان نوجوانان، نگران باشه که امشب کابوس می بینه :D

[Margrethe Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book. I read it for the first time in fifth grade and then again because I was feeling nostalgic. It’s a little creepy and gory with a hint of an environmentalist agenda. Very quick read. Definitely meant for middle schoolers but I enjoyed it

[Sharlene GIbson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was slightly shorter than usually by a small margin in comparison to the other YA's I've experienced recently clocking in at 198 pages. The storyline was filled with events and it only fills the span of a few weeks. This book defied my expectations when I was thinking of the horror genre by flipping the script about who were the antagonists. In addition, I guess I was expecting more gruesome details and more character death. In general, I don't think this book is terrifying in that sense and more in the concepts it covers. Even then, it's comments on the topics of environmentalism and trust totally threw me off. Though I will admit that this novel is well outside my usual reading. One thing this book does well is it's use of foreshadowing at the beginning. Which is accomplished by creating dialogue right from the beginning creates expectations and visual hints that confirm these ideas.
Therefore, when characters are later introduced readers have base information to work with. In addition, when major plot points are shown readers already had a chance to guess at or theorize about the information. On the flip side, the novel is willing to subvert these assumptions and does to many of them during the climax. I would recommend this novel to anyone who still wants horror elements but also wants something new and unique. It's a pretty strange read for sure but the author does seem to know what he was doing.


Summary: (attempted to be spoiler free, but its a summary so some details will naturally be included)
Doug and his sister (Charlotte) are moving to a remote Cabin in the woods. Though unwilling his parents are moving there temporarily in order for their respective work. Their father is trying to find a specific species of Fungus and his mother want a change of scenery for her art. However right before their trip the two siblings receive a grave warning form Doug's slightly odd friend Al. While initially unconcerned about the premonition, his sister is rather worried. Despite this the two have a normal first day in the cabin but find their surroundings dull. The only notable occurrence is when the two find strange gifts seemly tailored to their personalities waiting for them at the edge of the house.
The two decide to keep the objects but Doug begins to become suspicious in place of his sister. However, before leaving the spot, Charlotte ties a ribbon to the spot in order to return to the place the next day. When returning the two accidently find a trap door which opens to a gigantic tunnel system. While Doug feels cautious, his sister immediately works to explore the place. Because of the slant of the entrance, his sister's decision leaves her trapped inside, thus forcing Doug to go in after her. While exploring, the two find rooms that denote civilization and intelligent life including proof that the creators have harnessed electricity. However, before locating an exit, the two run into a largely unheard-of species only known as Beasties. Including the second in command, who Doug notes has lost her eyes. It is then that he notices that all these creatures have damages that have been repaired by amputating and sewing a arm, leg, ect from a human host. The creatures consider not allowing the two to leave as they have apparently heard and seen too much. However, due to Charlotte's explanations and by luck the two are shown the exit on a promise. The two-fold deal is that no information about what they witnessed can be leaked to anyone, and that they must return the next night.
Doug feeling mortified, decides on his way out that he will not return and truly considers alerting the police. However, his sister knowing his intents warns him against this, while seeing the experience as an adventure.
Therefore at midnight when the creatures are expecting her, Doug attempts to stop her but finds she has already left the house. Horrified but realizing the consequences of getting anyone else involved he decides to stay put. His own safety is a primary concern and thus falls asleep waiting for her return.
In the morning, he finds that she has underwent change in her personality. She seems unconcerned about the danger of these creatures and is now worried about the health of the forest. In addition, she acts as if he has missed an important event. Frustrated by this Doug tries to worm information out of her but she still acts aloof and distant. In addition, it seems like Charlotte is even more committed to visiting these creatures as she plans to return to them! Doug decides to go with her this time out of curiosity and learns more about the hierarchy of these creatures society. Such as the fact that they are ruled by a Queen. The two are the set on a risky mission and Doug agrees for fear of losing is life.
Along the way the two learn about the war raging between these creatures and the humans. Many of these "beasties" are sick due to diminishing resources such as wild mushrooms, trees ect. In the end the two are able to spy on the nearby working camp and bring vital information back to the tunnels. However, along the way the protagonist leaves the map he created, thus giving a lead. So when the camp is destroyed the next night the boss of the loggers blames Doug and threatens to sue for damages. In addition, he mentions that one of his employees has lost an arm to mysterious circumstances.
Tentions build between the two factions until the loggers attempt to destroy a nearby tunnel, thus causing the mole like creatures to suffer even further. In fact, the damage is so severe that the queen is close to death. Doug knows from tradition that the colony will pick a strong individual who is able to plan and see. A trait that the second in command does not possess after losing her eyes to a bird attack, still Doug wants to help and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice.

[Albertz]

this book is sad, its about doug who doesnot belive about the beasties,
but his younger sis collete is SOOOOOOOO curious that she found out by getting in a trap-hole. collete joins the beasties in the middle of this book. The beasties were innocents but the humans are killing them, they cut the trees down which is their shelter & the humans removed the fungus which is food for them, they are giant ants & their queen died. it kinda relates to my life because I thought my mom would turn to a alien &
Animal extinction. id rate this a 4..

[Rachel Choquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutley LOVED this book! You can't put it down. HIGHLY recommended

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully creepy book for kids (with a bit of message).

Doug, fifteen, and his ten-year-old sister, Collette, are going with their parents to live in the forest for the next three months, up in a place where there's no school. Al, who lives next door, thinks this is a terrible idea - his uncle lost and arm and a leg up in those woods and while everyone thinks it was due to a logging accident, Al thinks it's more likely the Beasties - some sort of weird creature who lives in the woods.

When the family arrives, the first thing Mom and Dad tell them to do is to send the kids out for a walk. Doug thinks this is another terrible idea but Collette leads him into the woods where she spies something unusual - a book and a ball and baseball bat, left like gifts. Collette leaves a stick standing to mark the place and when they come back the next day, Collette finds a trapdoor beneath the stick.

And then it gets weird...there's a dangerous spiked pit under the trapdoor and there are even people, of a sort, living in tunnels beneath the earth. But the fact the kids found their way there is not a welcome thing - they are told they must return that night at midnight for a conference. Doug refuses to go but the next morning, he notices Collette seems really different.

Doug wants his annoying little sister back - and he's willing to track her through those tunnels to get her. But that could lead to a whole other problem, because the Beasties want both kids to do some spying for them...spying that could lead to an incredible amount of trouble.

[Casey Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Beasties is a chiller, action and adventure themed novel. This novel expresses curiosity as well as mystery.

(Spoiler Alert)
This story is about a family of four who temporarily move to a old house in the middle of what seems to be a forest, near logging sites. Because of the young girl's curiosity, her and her brother discover a species known as the beasties. After the brother did not follow their instructions, they are out to get him and he will never be safe again, no matter where he is.
However. He ends up basically saving this species from being discovered by the loggers. I should also mention that he sacrificed a lot for these creatures.
This novel has many unexpected twists.

I can only relate to this novel to a certain extent, after all, it is totally make belief. The only thing I can relate to is the little girl, her love for reading and her curiosity.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has a taste of chiller as well as adventure. For me this book was an easy read, I would say that it is more or less for teenagers and/or young adults.

[Jacob Cushman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review on The Beasties

Choice book number #3 Quarter #1 The Beasties by William Sleator a Mystery and horror book and the setting of this book is Dug and his family at their house in the Northern Woods. In this book the main characters are Doug and his little sister Colette and his mom and dad. But other wise Doug and Colette are the main people who are dealing with all this weird stuff happening. So Doug hears from a lot of people talking about the Blood thirsty monsters that live in the Northern woods. And in Doug's basement that they think were the monsters come from. So now they think the rumors might be true because of the missing people in the woods too. Once Colette sees the beast it leaves every one in shock, and now Doug and his family have to escape other wise they will go missing too. I liked this book because it was a kinda horror story and I like horror because it really is exciting to me when ever I read books like these.

[Omar Bonales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally enjoy this book because of the horror and the story. The story had a simple plot of a family moving to the woods where weird creatures called the Beasties where, but it was filled with action and horror. The story does a good job at world-building and it makes it seem like I'm in the book with all the details of the setting. The character development with the characters are good and most of the book is relevant to the plot and doesn't go off topic. I liked it truly because if the horror and character development, and because of that fact it always had me on my seat wanting to read more. When I finished the book I was very satisfied and wanted a part 2 of this book.

[Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super exciting to read. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The way Doug and Collette pieced everything together. The beginning starts with them moving to this eerie town where everybody is missing a lim. The land lord to their house was missing her nose and always wore a Halloween mask to cover it up.
Doug seemed to be more ski dish than Collette because he was a little overprotective. Collette stay composed when they saw the rag-doll looking beastie in the forest after they fell in the square pit. These beasties steal lims from kids and sew them on to themselves. If you want to know anything else about this book you will have to read it yourself to find out. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and a little bit of horror.

[Haroon Pasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion I think the book was okay. I enjoyed the first part of the book because it made me excited about who the"Beasties" were. But, after that I started to lose interest of the book. The first part made me wanting to keep reading, until page 70 or so I started to lose interest since I felt like all the good parts were in the beginning.

[Bryan Jenks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally getting around to some of the books I wanted to catch up on and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this one as a kid. There's definitely some scary moments in the story but over all this story will make you think a little and really look at some of the actions taken and think "WOW.... and this is in a kids book?" Always enjoy Sleator's writing.

[Evan Scarborough]

You ever forget the name of a book you read in middle school that shocked and horrified you but remember details such as “creepy eye on cover,” and “boy gives eye to monsters who live underground in his back yard” and then find a post of someone trying to locate the exact same book and then find the title? Yeah, me too

[Akurei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Typical "please children do the << right >> thing" book. Read this first in English class in school, was really spooked back then. I then tried to read it again 10 years later and it did not improve.

Very dissappointing.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as intense as the blurb makes it seem. And the ending rather open-ended, not fully satisfying. But still another great speculative fiction story for the young and young at heart by Sleator, with excitement, insight, and a dash of humor.

[Mariyah]

This book is a really good read. It reminds me when I was little and a kid afraid that there was these monsters that were going to come and get me. Now reading this book I realized that all little kids are like that but these monsters come alive and it’s super strange to me.

[Bianca _Your_Sad_Anime_Boyfriend · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a children's story about the impact humans have on nature and the other creatures inhabiting our planet than the gruesome horror story I was expecting. Not a bad read for your kids to be sure.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in my school's library and the title already interested me. I started reading it immediately and I loved everything about it, I couldn't let go of it. I read the whole book in 3 days. I recommend!!

[Kami Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a good book. It kept me on my toes a lot due to certain scenes. I was mostly curious to because I kept myself on a lot of cliffhangers and just curious in general from the book. I was worried sometimes.

[Samere · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beasties is a chiller, action and adventure themed novel. This novel expresses curiosity as well as mystery.

[AlaZai Paraíso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly fell in love with the characters was drawn in by chapter one damn this book was a roller coaster it was hella intense had some very beautiful descriptive writing