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There Be Monsters
2021 BIBA® Action/Adventure Winner!
The year is 1520. Jonah Munday and his crew of adventurers set sail for the New World on a quest to find a mysterious island and a lost city of gold. Unbeknownst to them, government scientists in the year 1985 are about to conduct an outlandish experiment which will tear the fabric of space-time and unleash unspeakable terrors upon Jonah and his crew.
In the ensuing fallout, survivors, both past and future, must face the monsters of their own making in a battle to undo the damage of the experiment and set right what once went wrong.
The year is 1520. Jonah Munday and his crew of adventurers set sail for the New World on a quest to find a mysterious island and a lost city of gold. Unbeknownst to them, government scientists in the year 1985 are about to conduct an outlandish experiment which will tear the fabric of space-time and unleash unspeakable terrors upon Jonah and his crew.
In the ensuing fallout, survivors, both past and future, must face the monsters of their own making in a battle to undo the damage of the experiment and set right what once went wrong.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 24, 2021
About the author
Dylan James Quarles
12 books81 followersBorn in Portland OR, Dylan moved to Washington state as a young boy. Growing up in a small town on the Olympic Peninsula, he spent most of his youth involved in various creative projects.
With a passion for films, music and writing, Dylan even had the honor of being featured in the Port Townsend Film Festival for his short film "La Niut Des Vampires".
After high school, he attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia where he directed two more films, "Resurrected", and "House On The Borderland".
Graduating a year early with a BA in film, he moved to South Korea and taught English in an after school academy. Deeply impacted by the experience, he returned to the States a much different person than when he left.
Shortly there after, work began on The Ruins Of Mars Trilogy and the next chapter of Dylan's life opened wide.
With a passion for films, music and writing, Dylan even had the honor of being featured in the Port Townsend Film Festival for his short film "La Niut Des Vampires".
After high school, he attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia where he directed two more films, "Resurrected", and "House On The Borderland".
Graduating a year early with a BA in film, he moved to South Korea and taught English in an after school academy. Deeply impacted by the experience, he returned to the States a much different person than when he left.
Shortly there after, work began on The Ruins Of Mars Trilogy and the next chapter of Dylan's life opened wide.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 14, 2021
I wrote it. AMA
December 30, 2021
Something for everyone
Ancient Aliens , medieval sailors and a modern r and d team with possible morality issues. There be monsters has something for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Ancient Aliens , medieval sailors and a modern r and d team with possible morality issues. There be monsters has something for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
October 22, 2022
There Be Monsters starts out strong with some high-seas adventure and betrayal mixed with a bit of time travel, but gradually devolves into kitchen-sink mashup of unexplained artifacts, video game monsters, an evil scientist, and maybe Atlantis. A fun read that's a bit all over the place.
July 3, 2021
A batshit crazy yarn of a novel, I’m kinda in awe. There’s only so much you can cram into 400 pages yet Dylan James Quarles manages to do it and make it look effortless. Pieces of a time puzzle fit together in such a way I kept going “Damn!” This book is a swirling mass of 80’s adventure homage, period piece, and cosmic body horror—and it’s all so freakin’ fun. This was an absolute gem and I feel really lucky to have found it in that little bookshop in Port Townsend.
December 27, 2021
This book was recommended to me by my grandmother, it was a good read that made me keep loving the characters before they died. Loved the ending and feels like the surviving characters are going on to another adventure. I hope that the epilogue will one day be expanded.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2022
2021 Best Indie Book Award Winner!
August 10, 2021
I was sucked into this intriguing novel within the first few pages, and the entertainment just kept coming! The author manages to take you back to the 16th century and get you settled in for an epic saga of adventure, betrayal, and solid old-fashioned heroism, but then he suckerpunches you with some 21st century mad-scientist, black-site military intrigue, and then manages to somehow splice the seemingly disparate threads together into a brilliant cohesive story that demands a sequel, then another, and another! I was left satisfied but with an appetite for more- I can only hope the author is working on the next book in the Jonah Munday saga.
July 30, 2021
If you like Stephen King you'll love this
June 23, 2024
I was browsing the sci-fi section of my local bookstore and mainly bought this because the compact size made it easy to carry to breweries etc, and it sounded potentially interesting. It's a ye olde sailing adventure circa 1520 meets The Philadelphia Experiment plus time travel crossed with nazis, conquistadors, Demi-gods, sibling drama, spatial rifts, and tentacled monsters from another dimension. Lot going on. It was strangely compelling yet repeatedly eye-rolly. The sea shanty montage chapter was ridiculously bad yet bizarrely effective. The copy-editing was a little painful - soooooo many commas, and some extra words and such, and it got worse toward the end like the person who proofed it just got real tired. I don't not recommend it.
May 7, 2022
An exciting adventure!
This story brings together two ships and their surviving crew members on a remote island in search of a lost city of gold. However the modern American naval research crew member just happens to find herself in 1520 when she meets Jonah and the crew fighting a mysterious creature. The mysteries surrounding the island, the monsters there, how a naval ship from 1985 traveled to 1520, and the many secrets of different crew members made for a fascinating story. The narrator does an amazing job keeping the listener captivated by the tale. He has a wonderful voice and really enjoyed his accents
This story brings together two ships and their surviving crew members on a remote island in search of a lost city of gold. However the modern American naval research crew member just happens to find herself in 1520 when she meets Jonah and the crew fighting a mysterious creature. The mysteries surrounding the island, the monsters there, how a naval ship from 1985 traveled to 1520, and the many secrets of different crew members made for a fascinating story. The narrator does an amazing job keeping the listener captivated by the tale. He has a wonderful voice and really enjoyed his accents
May 13, 2022
History in my pocket
“There Be Monsters” is not a fiction but a reader overloaded with details and history, more specifically the history of South America. This book presents a possible story of what could have happened during the year 1520.
Writer Dylan James Quarles presents an interesting and highly elaborated version of what might have possibly happened in the past, a past that affects us all.
Though I find the book quite long, I was embraced by the reading because I was entertained and I empathised with the main characters.
I liked the way the author presents his point of view and writes a story of the past, and for this reason, I give it four stars.
“There Be Monsters” is not a fiction but a reader overloaded with details and history, more specifically the history of South America. This book presents a possible story of what could have happened during the year 1520.
Writer Dylan James Quarles presents an interesting and highly elaborated version of what might have possibly happened in the past, a past that affects us all.
Though I find the book quite long, I was embraced by the reading because I was entertained and I empathised with the main characters.
I liked the way the author presents his point of view and writes a story of the past, and for this reason, I give it four stars.
May 13, 2022
What can I say about this book? It’s got a lot of potential which I could feel since the first page. It’s awesome the way in which the author combines so many different topics within the story and still makes sense. I mean, time travelers, medieval sailors, aliens and mythology seem something far-fetched but instead the result is a sublime and intriguing novel.
The plot is a bit complicated since it contains a lot of elements and absolutely opposed characters, anyway the story moves quickly and flows easily.
I felt as this book was just a small part of a larger universe and I want to know it completely! Without any doubt, I need to read more books by Dylan James Quarles.
The plot is a bit complicated since it contains a lot of elements and absolutely opposed characters, anyway the story moves quickly and flows easily.
I felt as this book was just a small part of a larger universe and I want to know it completely! Without any doubt, I need to read more books by Dylan James Quarles.
May 13, 2022
Time travels
Time travel, adventure and monsters at their finest. The 15th century and the 80's converge when scientific research and experiments break the space time continuum. Travelers and teams are pulled in as well as some otherworldly monsters and beings.
The story is a fine blend of genres, scifi, monster flick, some horror elements and historical fiction. However, it was a tad bit hard to follow at times, the timelines jumped around a lot. While this was expected, it could have been written a little smoother. The story can be enjoyed still, I just wasnt wowed by it.
Time travel, adventure and monsters at their finest. The 15th century and the 80's converge when scientific research and experiments break the space time continuum. Travelers and teams are pulled in as well as some otherworldly monsters and beings.
The story is a fine blend of genres, scifi, monster flick, some horror elements and historical fiction. However, it was a tad bit hard to follow at times, the timelines jumped around a lot. While this was expected, it could have been written a little smoother. The story can be enjoyed still, I just wasnt wowed by it.
February 22, 2023
It took me a little bit to settle into this one but once I did I had a good time. I enjoyed the world it inhabits and the characters, i really enjoyed the story’s mix of science fiction, fantasy horror, and high seas adventure. I found the writing style to be a little weaker in some spots particularly towards the beginning but the story carried it through just fine and it made for an enjoyable experience.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews











