You See the Monster - A Modern Horror Novel

by Luke Smitherd

From the author of Audible #1 bestsellers In The Darkness, That's Where I'll Know You, The Physics of the Dead, and The Stone Man (shortlisted for the Audible Audiobook of the Year award 2015)

"The sound hits Guy in some low, forgotten part of his psyche - a part of him that understands the truth about shadows. The part of him that knows the deep, dark truth behind fairy stories and myths..."

Guy is about to finish writing his breakthrough online article. He overheard the story by chance in a pub and it's guaranteed to go viral - all he needs to do is persuade the World's Unluckiest Man to talk to him. His best friend Larry's quest for killer clickbait material has led him to a recently-appeared shanty town in Glasgow, where he finds some kind of urban voodoo cult. Ex-cop Sam has already come face to face with the terrifying force behind both these phenomena, but he's been trying to put it out of his mind.
When Larry is killed in inexplicably gruesome circumstances, Guy knows he's also a target. The evidence of malevolent power is suddenly proliferating - but why now? Together, Sam and Guy enter a shadow world of ancient monsters and modern curses, in a battle to figure out the rules of the game and bring them to the light before it's far too late.

From the bestselling author of the Stone Man series, You See The Monster is for fans of contemporary horror kindle books at their most darkly inventive: a chilling, high-concept fable for our times.

PRAISE FOR LUKE SMITHERD'S WRITING:
"... a novel that intrigues, enthralls, horrifies, thrills, and hits the reader with an emotional resonance as only the best stories can." - Ain't It Cool News.com
"... strong characterization, moral quandaries, mystery, and a whole lot of tense moments. Reading the final sentence was truly a bittersweet moment." - SFsignal.com, Hugo award-winning website
"I couldn't help myself and read this is one sitting" - simon211175, Amazon Vine Voice

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Supernatural, Paranormal

450 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 14, 2021

About the author

Luke Smitherd is the author of The Stone Man (shortlisted for Audible Book of the Year 2015) and its sequels as well as several other novels. A former singer and guitarist, he now writes full time, hosts the comedy music-discussion show Cracker Juice, and performs around Los Angeles as a stand-up comic. He divides his time between the United States and the United Kingdom.


www.lukesmitherd.com

Reviews

[Simon Haine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regular readers of my reviews will already know that I'm a big fan of Luke's books; The Physics of the Dead is one of the only books I've read multiple times, and I know for a fact that I'll read it again and again. This book has me the same way - it just oozes quality.

We start the story by being introduced to a few characters with brief interactions with the Monsters. I really like this way of starting a story, with short scenes of backstory for the main characters. You don't know where the story will go at this point, or where the story will take you - I thought we'd be taking the route of Melissa and her family issues, but we don't really touch on that until we're in deep.

There are plenty of twists in this book, and there were several moments where I thought I knew where we were heading, only to be spun around and pushed in a completely different direction (where we go with Nancy being a good example).

There aren't many horror stories that give me chills when reading, but this one really did - especially when reading late at night. If you're looking for an excellent blend of brilliant storytelling, and spine-tingling horror; this is the book for you. If you've never read anything by Luke before you need to get his books in your life.

This could be a new favourite for me, and I'm certain I'll be rereading at some point.

[Noll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid three star throughout, with far too much emphasis on foreshadowing and the odd obvious 'revelation'. Extra star in the end for the very human, flawed main characters, and an unexpectedly superb roller-coaster of an ending. I super appreciated the final revelation and the fact that it yielded an ending I absolutely did not anticipate. Like every other book I've read by this author, I teeter for the duration on the fence of whether I'll try another one by him, but in the end he always wins me over.

Minor irks: One or two sentences were missing punctuation and once again there is a chapter long monologue at the end of the book by the author which feels amateurish. Just let people read the book without feeling the need to explicitly thank the people who didn't like it for giving it a go.

[Sara Munson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Luke Smitherd book and I doubt it will be my last. I've read so many books that start slow and take forever to really get into. I was hooked instantly and throughout the whole book I had this sense of heaviness and unsettling (maybe I'm on the inside??). It was an easy read that sucks in the audience right away and if it hadn't been for going to work I would have cruised right through it in a couple days (as it is I read the last 100 pages after work in the last 2ish hours). I look forward to checking out more of his writings!

[Kevin Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another high quality offering from Mr Smitherd!

If anyone is interested in hearing a conversation we had about his new book, writing in general, music and film, then you'll be to click here:

https://www.podcaphilia.com/eftv/ep160

My review of the book is also in this episode.


K:)

[Mike Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This killer novel gave me visions of the movie Night of the Demon (Curse of the Demon in the US) with a technological twist. Also, a very strong message on modern society's addiction to screens and social media. I Loved it!

Five Stars *****

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super monster story! There are some really unsettling and creepy passages throughout the book, and Smitherd’s narration on Audible is just fantastic. Can’t recommend this one enough for a modern take on the monstrous.

[Jenna Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great horror! Really messes with your mind with the realistic qualities throughout while also being both scary and gory in some really intense, nail-biting scenes. I have other books by Smitherd in my Audible library that I am now looking forward to experiencing sooner rather than later.

[Tyler Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really petered out at the end, I was looking forward to it being done with. But the horror in the early stages of this book scared the hell out of me!! I had to set it aside several times just to take a moment 😅

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good! Emotionally and intellectually engaging, I believed in the characters and their modern monster.

[Judy Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I say that the scariest scenes in this book made me laugh out loud, please don't get the wrong idea.

The laughter arose from both shock and sheer delight at Luke Smitherd's masterful handling of moments of horror, and of his superb descriptions of the sights, sounds and even smells associated with his freak-show of ghastly characters.

And what a cast he's conjured up. His monsters are atavistic, familiar to us all, because they lurk in the darkest crevices of our lizard brain, fed by the grimmest fairy stories of our childhoods and nurtured throughout our youth and adulthood by the finest horror writers and filmmakers. Think hunchback goblins, hideous people-eating behemoths, and - best of all - a sinister main villain whose Rumplestiltskin-esque demeanour and unspeakable nostrils (trust me, never was there a nose so horrifying) make the toes curl with terror. However, Luke's supernatural characters (and the ancient rules they live by) are archetypes, not stereotypes, and so his story - as with all his writing - is marvellously original, delivering fresh horrors throughout. His introduction of the unsettling and somehow deeply-offensive home-made trinkets is inspired, tapping in to our age-old belief in, and fear of, the power of the talisman.

Luke lets loose this creep-fest of traditional terrors into the contemporary world of laptops, mobile phones, clickbait and social media, and the nightmarish outcome is far from predictable.

This is much more than a thrilling chiller. The horror is also humane: it's shocking, but it's never gratuitous, and the non-supernatural characters are written from a deep understanding of and compassion for flawed humanity and the unintended tragedies that can arise from our self-interested behaviours.

To that end, I put Luke Smitherd right up there alongside Stephen King and Dean Koontz as one of the best horror writers of our time.

[Ray Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So there is a race of creatures that feed off our attention. Guy becomes a victim of them when his best friend tries to write and publish an article of what he thinks are folks who live in shanty towns. It turns out they are way more sinister! Sam is an ex-police officer who works as a private eye and had a brother who died at the hands of the "others". When Guy figures out that his dead friend was connected to Sam's brother, he reaches out and the two join forces to challenge the supernatural force that had taken loved ones from them. It turns out, they are both targets in their own rights.

Smitherd is a talented voice in modern literature. I really enjoyed his style. I read lots of books and sometimes find it hard to get started with a new author. This was not the case with Smitherd. Luke Smitherd is a terrific storyteller! The plot is complex enough to be intriguing, but not so much so that it lost me. This was an enjoyable book.

When choosing this book, I read several reviews that talked about the ingenious, edgy employment of tech. Well past the halfway mark it occurs to Guy that he might use the Web to go after the monsters by revealing them to the world. He then realizes that the monsters exist because humanity is distracted by technology. These are edgy ideas, but they come late in the book – don’t be disappointed. The book is well written and engaging from the first page with or without the hi-tech tie-in. Well worth a read for fans of sci-fi/fantasy. It is also worth noting that this is not a funny book. The title gave me the impression that it might be like a Larry Correia book, it isn't. Luke Smitherd is clever and creative and this is a great book, but he is not funny.

[Jim Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was debating between a 1 or 2 star rating because there were moments that caught my interest but too few minutes being interested during a 14 hr slog.
This is not my first Smitherd book and I have been entertained by him in past works but this novel was just too much. First off, the premise of invisible monsters is not my thing. I am more of a physical monster kinda guy, but that's not why this book is less than memorable. If you read "Frankenstein" today, I think you will be as engaged as you would be in 190o or 1980. The current references in "You See The Monster" will not be understood 10 years from now and they are tedious. The pacing of the book is tedious, and the concept is a boring rehash of past themes in other, better works. They also killed a beloved character who happens to be a dog. It's petty, I know, but when you have been engaged in a childish meandering non-scary story about invisible monsters, then for Christ sakes, don't kill the dog. The facebook dress colour thing, Youtube, Youtube, Youtube,.....give me a break.
Smitherd, of course, does not give resolution in much of a satisfying way. Dumb thing to want from a novel? You must get a clear cut happy ending? No, not with a good book because the journey is the pleasure. With this marathon of boredom book, I at least want something to feel good about. Yeah I know the good spirits kinda make an appearance in the end (the angel on your shoulder talking into your ear) but who cares at this point.
Smitherd is not a hack by any means but this book is beneath him.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent horror novel. Guy is about to write an online article about the worlds most unlucky man. A story he overheard in a pub about a man who has one disaster after another. All he has to do is nail an interview. Guy's best friend Larry is writing clickbait about a shanty town that popped up in Glasgow. He goes to investigate. Sam a now ex-cop has eye witness experience in supernatural forces. One day, after visiting the shanty town, Larry comes to Guy in a terrible state with a story of a monster living in his house. Something so ridiculous, Guy knows it is a prank. A wind up. But is it?

This book came out of left field. Stupid title. Only $2.99 from Amazon and not in stores so I figured it could not be any good. Was I wrong. At last, a horror story that is truly scary. Something that would rival Uncle Stevie who, as of late, has really been writing the same boring story. You See The Monster starts off with three fragments of stories of the three main characters and then seamlessly gels into a horrifying tale of terror. It had me screaming with the build up of tension. It does not take elements of other horror genre, nor does it explain everything, which I love. Leave some mystery. Leave the reader scared shitless. Highly recommend. Not gory, just scary. Best read of the year.

[James Orlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Audible review: So, this was the second book I chose for my horror-October plan. It started out with a solid "hint at the scary so it stays scary" strategy and was genuinely creepy until that ended. For the most part after that, it became a supernatural thriller.

Smitherd did a solid job narrating his own novel. I tend to expect an author as a narrator to be either excellent, because they're so close to the source material and know the exact emotions they intended for the characters to feel, or awful, because they're nervous or overconfident. Smitherd fell well inside the first category. His accent might be a challenge for some listeners, but, with a little patience, I'd bet anyone would grow accustomed enough to it to get past their initial troubles.

The characters are likable and easy to identify with. None of them are perfect and their flaws are brought to light in the story as it progresses. I do feel like some characters that were introduced in the prologue should have gotten a little more attention later in the story, but they could easily have been saved for an intended sequel.

I intend to give another one of Smitherd's novels a shot eventually.

I'll categorize this one as "A solid horror story that is too long to remain a horror story so it had to evolve into something else that's still enjoyable."

[Kay Covington · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was surprisingly good. The concept of monsters feeding off of people because of their use/misuse of technology is intriguing. Considering our modern day obsession with being “Insta” famous and people trying desperately to be influencers, getting likes and notoriety (sometimes by doing ignorant and dangerous sh!$) makes this all the more thought provoking. The author leaves us with a quote in the afterward. I have copied the quote and it’s meaning from Google for your reading pleasure;

“Comparison is the thief of joy,”

attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt and others, evokes a powerful sentiment that can be life-changing. If we compare ourselves to others, we may be left with feelings of inferiority or superiority—and neither creates an emotionally healthy human being!

This is the bottom line of the story. It was well worth the read and an overlooked gem. I hope it picks up traction and more people run across it and choose to take a chance on reading it!

[Chris Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke Smitherd’s books are always addictive, engrossing and imaginative reads and You See The Monster is no exception. It’s a monster story unlike any I’d read before with a complex twisting story that takes many tense turns. Having read many of the author’s books I knew what he was capable of doing to his characters. Therefore, I truly had no idea how it would end, and I got nowhere near guessing what did actually happen. The story follows Guy who unwittingly becomes embroiled with deal offering monsters. Can he escape their attention and bring them down is the main part of the story. There are supporting characters that are just as interesting with their own stories that add to the overall narrative. It’s another winner for me from an author that keeps reasserting himself as one of my absolute favourites.

[Jameson Skaife · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Luke Smitherd's books and this one shot up to towards the top of the list. This book definitely bolsters my theory that Mr. Smitherd is a master of creating a unique premise and a world that is definitely not the real world we live in (or is it), but feels all too real. It doesn't feel like a fantastical book about monsters; it feels like a story about normal people that go on an extraordinary journey. The characters felt like friends or someone you might run into. The story kept me turning the pages and the twists kept me guessing where we'd end. I don't know how his mind is able to concoct these worlds (maybe there's an obligation), but I'm glad he can and I will read everything he puts out.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time and time again I've watched creepy YouTube series and felt unsatisfied by the overall story arc. This book scratched that itch for internet-related horror that YouTube never could.

I won't go much further into the plot, because doing so would be nearly impossible without some spoilers that could ruin the fun of the rules of the book's universe unfolding before you. However, I will tell you I was absolutely hooked on this. I put all my other in-progress reads on hold to blast through the audiobook in about 3 days.

This is the first time I've read (or listened to, in this case) anything by this author, but I'll definitely be checking out more. The audiobook is also excellent, which is unusual for authors reading their own books.

[Steven Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

You See the Monster is good but also frustrating. I came out of the read questioning whether I would call it "horror"...I've read entries in Dresden Files that felt more like horror than this did but there certainly are horrific/scary scenes. At the end of the book I had that disappointing sense of, "Wait, that's it? Where the ending?" Rubs on me, that WAS he ending!

This is folk horror meets the modern, social media/cell phone generation. If this was a Book 1 of X then I might be more positive in the review but it is what it is. I do like this book and I would recommend it but I would just warn any potential reader that I consider calling this book a horror novel a bit of a stretch. Maybe dark urban fantasy is more appropriate.

[Sarah Goodner · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, there aren't enough good monster stories out there, probably because it's difficult to make them believable. But this one does. This was a really creepy story where, of course, there's a race against time (for very unconventional reasons). The use of the media, social media, support groups, rules, and contracts gave the story timeliness and plausibility. Also, the monsters don't show themselves to just everyone, and they are very well hidden in the shadows. Luke Smitherd did a nice job of keeping the suspense factor high.

What I really loved about this book was the creativity. This was a truly original take on a classic monster motif. Highly recommend!

[Tori B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy is a writing an article online about the world’s most unlucky man. His friend Larry is looking for the next big clickbait story. This leads them both (in completely different ways) to discovering monsters that feed on humans.

Ok, this summary isn’t doing the book justice. I’m not a writer (clearly) but holy heck, Luke Smitherd is. His writing scared me so much I had to stop reading this book at night. I’m also a big scaredy-cat so there’s that.

If you are a fan of horror, please read this book.
It’s so creepy and suspenseful. I highly recommend.

[Thomas Øhrbom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a long time fan of Mr Smitherd, and always eager for new releases. You See the Monster is a typical Smitherd "Modern Horror Novel". Everyday people getting caught up in more or less horrific stuff, through no fault of their own .. or is it? The story is fast paced, keeps you guessing, and certainly keeps you pushing to finish just one more chapter before bed.

Mr Smitherd deserves a much larger audience. This book needs to go viral (a little pun, right there).

[Rebecka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Smitherd. The only thing that kind of bothered me was the drawn out scenes towards the end, when the main characters keeps having an inner monologue when time is really running out and it feels like he is just stalling and sabotaging himself. The timing was off there, and it actually annoyed me. Other than that, innovative and intriguing, as usual!

[Justin Spanbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! If you like horror, you need to check this one out. All of the characters actually act like people would in a supernatural situation and the creativity of what's happening is off the charts. I can't say enough good things about this book and I immediately am checking out Luke Smitherd's other works. Reminds me of Kings "IT" but I found it much more compelling and tight.

[Jevgenij · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a "horror" novel this was as not scary as it is possible. Monsters eating people in 2022? What a modern horror twist! There was just not enough psychological games, tension or novelty for this to be scary.
However, there was not a single point in the book where I wanted to stop listening, so 3- for an average thriller.

[Pauline Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Don't Usually Read Horror Stories

But I really enjoyed The Stone Man series so, while waiting for the 4th Stone Man book to be published, I thought I'd give this one a try. Horror stories have never really frightened or affected me but this one truly gave me the creeps! It's really well written and a darned good story. I was enthralled the whole way through.

[Abigail Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing! I absolutely loved this book and it was one of those rare gems that means you spend the day looking forward to settling down for a good read.
This book ticks all the boxes for me, it kept me up late past a sensible bedtime and made me ever so slightly anxious with its super scary story! An excellent horror read, an easy 5 stars!

[Vito Napoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately I was bored of it when I got halfway through. Reading about scales and more scales and not getting any further into the story, it just felt like the walking dead TV series, it kept going on and on and on and on and on and on, going around in circles, repeating itself!

[Theresa Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to describe this book without ruining any of the twist and turns. But I think the key word is "momentum". While the novel started with a bang, there was a long period of tension building lull for me. Overall, Luke Smitherd does a fine job examining the monster that hide in our daily routines.

[babadyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

ending didn't quite work for me but i really appreciate a social media horror that doesn't just boil down to "kids are always on their phones and the internet is evil 😡".
for most of the book i was annoyed with the narrator because both protags are very stereotypical midlife crisis cishet man archetypes but that turned around in a very self aware way in the end so i rescind my complaint!