The Monstrumologist discussion

I just finished the Monstrumologist and I enjoyed it very much. I recently finished Sandman Slim, that I also enjoyed. However, both novels used the character of Jack the Ripper (expressly in Sandman) and inferred in Monstrumologist. My question is, are the authors using the Jack the Ripper persona as a crutch? I thought in both cases the author could have created an interesting "monster" of a character without having to "cop out" and throw in the Ripper...

I agree that many books, and even movies, rely on the unfortunate true history of the Ripper as a storyline. On the other hand, it is one of the most intriguing criminal cases in history, so I can't necessarily blame them.

I enjoyed The Monstrumologist immensely, and in particular am happy that the author did not develop the Ripper inference into a key story line. In the sequel, the Ripper inference does continue, but in a way that enriches the readers understanding of the setting and era, rather than being a diverted story line. If you have not read the sequel, I highly recommend it.

I think its a just a way for authors to put a little history into the book. Since nothing much is known about jack the ripper its perfect for authors. Though, it depends on how the author portrays jack the ripper.

That was a huge draw for me, the Ripper angle. Not that I want that glamorized in any, but that the writer was creative enough to add the character at a period of time when the man's character(or what he stands for) was actually in question as to what he's really up to. It lead to many earned scares because I felt the character was more real than some poorly fleshed out fictional characters. Loved the historical mash up of characters and real world elements. It gave the feeling the story was breaking out of it's fictional confinement into the real world.