Monsters

by Derrick Jensen

Monsters is an illustrated collection of wild, weird, and whimsical tales with a twist. These stories are not about mythical creatures; here, the creatures speak for themselves. There’s an orc who hates Tolkien, a young demon awash in teenage angst, an angel abandoned by Jesus who finds the Fates. Jensen creates a world both delicately dreamlike and all too real, where the villain is sometimes the victim and evil is not always what we thought. If stories teach us how to be human, then the stories in Monsters are the ones we need now. These are fractured fairy tales for grown-ups, where the roots of sadism are laid bare and the horrors of human supremacism are firmly faced. But as in all of Jensen’s work, love is both always possible and also a call to action. By turns macabre, melancholy, and magical, these stories and their accompanying images will leave you wondering who the real monsters are and how they can be defeated.

Genres: Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2017

About the author

Derrick Jensen is an American author and environmental activist living in Crescent City, California. He has published several books questioning and critiquing contemporary society and its values, including A Language Older Than Words, The Culture of Make Believe, and Endgame. He holds a B.S. in Mineral Engineering Physics from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University. He has also taught creative writing at Pelican Bay State Prison and Eastern Washington University.

Reviews

[Sam Desir-Spinelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too preachy, and it took a lot of will to actually finish this book.

Granted, on all counts I agree with the authors sentiments and ethics- and I usually like a story with a moral- but holy damn it's just too much. Constant and annoying.... also simultaneously whiny and condescending.

That said, I thought the premise was cool and some of the art was good. The stories were very creative, as they broke a lot of the tropes.

I would have enjoyed the book, the writing, and the stories, if the author could have gone more than a page or two without trying to help everybody get woke...

* As stand alone shorts, the one about demon and the one about the vampire were good, I enjoyed those and would have given them 4 stars on their own, but the book as a whole became kind of tedious for me.

[Chris Rihanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsters is a gripping and intense read that blends thought-provoking themes with powerful storytelling. Derrick Jensen doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable, inviting readers to confront the deeper forces, both internal and external that shape our world. The narrative is bold and unapologetic, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling while offering rich insights that linger long after the last page.

[Yael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The monsters are never whom you believe they are. Sometimes they face you in the mirror.

The illustrations in this marvelous book are worth the cover price alone; the text will grab you where it hurts.

[River Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting monster stories, a few plot twists, a few heartbreaking tales, excellent and varied illustrations.