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The Monster of Elendhaven
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Horror (2019)The city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die. His frail master sends him out on errands, twisting him with magic, crafting a plan too cruel to name, while the monster’s heart grows fonder and colder and more cunning.
These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.
These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2019
381 people are currently reading
36969 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,202 reviews
December 26, 2022
It’s a wretched thing, this book. Sharp as shattered glass and filled with teeth. And something else too, something that slides into your neck like a talon, demanding your attention, holding you in place. Something utterly, utterly captivating.
**
This is a story about monsters, and all monsters must have names because “things with names survived.” So in a way, this is also a story about survivors.
Before Johann became a thing with a name, he’d survived. Johann crawled out of Elendhaven’s flowing womb—its harbor—and slipped among the town’s people like a snake, quick and quiet as a shadow after dark. And so he had to have a name. Johann tried on the sleeves and slacks of a few—“Johann the Demon, Devil Johann, Johann in Black, Oil-Dark Johann”—but Monster Johann fit best. “The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss.” No one in Elendhaven knew Johann’s name, and if they knew it, it quickly slipped away like mercury from probing fingers the moment their minds closed around it. This is the price of survival: Johann must stalk the streets of Elendhaven, untouchable and inevitable in his destruction—but also, unknowable.
One day, however, Johann sees a man nursing a drink alone in a cheap bar, clothed in a coat limned with gold and looking “rather as if he wanted to be robbed”. With “glass-pale eyes” and “a blazing beacon of straw-yellow hair”, the man looked like something that sprung from the dreamy-soft imagination of a painter. He looked delicate—not breakable, there’s a difference—like a fine blade. And there was the whiff of the unknowable about him too, something filled with teeth and power. Something beautiful enough to kill. And Johann was like a moth before a candle.
Johann did what any sensible monster would do: he stalked the mysterious man for three weeks, long enough to learn his name was Herr Florian Leickenbloom. Long enough to learn the secrets Florian hoarded like a miser his chains of gold coins. Long enough to know what Johann had suspected all along: that Florian was another thing with a name. Another monster—just like him. And if he were lucky—maybe worse.
I am in love with this book, if such a thing is possible. I’m in love with the way the author tenderly renders her world and characters, a tenderness both touching and terrifying. How the sentences are exquisite, and how the most hideous acts of depravity and violence are sketched with such poetic, visceral power, giving the darkness lying at the heart of the story a wilder texture and an even deeper view. One doesn’t so much read this book as sink into the rain-soaked, shadow-steeped, fog-shrouded atmosphere that saturates the novella. I was entranced, and for the space of just a little more than a hundred pages, my mind was wound so tightly around this story it felt like there wasn’t enough of me to be in the real world.
Ultimately, though, it’s Florian and Johann’s dynamics that made this book such a rewarding, unforgettable experience.
What Florian and Johann are to each other requires a word harder than “love,” a word with claws and fangs. A longing. An obsession. A craving. Don’t get me wrong, they are fucked-up. Like, straight-up fucked-up. But I think the model of these pairings in fiction is so fascinating because—despite how monstrous the characters are, despite how questionable their dynamics can get, and despite the moral unease that will lap at your conscience like dark waves—sometimes they strike the deepest chord within.
I mean… have you never made a broken, unspoken plea in your mind for someone who would look into the crevices of your soul—into your woundedness, your wretchedness—and see something infinitely precious and worthwhile? Did you never wrestle with the dreadful longing to be known, to be seen, and then, to be accepted, and to be loved? Deep down, don't you yearn for someone to see you, really see you, and know that you can cut?
The Monster of Elendhaven is a story about monsters, yes, but it’s also a story about two monsters seeking to know each other, to map the awful ruins of each other's hearts, even if they might bleed from it, even if they might never survive it.
My only real quibble with the book is that it comes to a relatively abrupt end, a missed-stair kind of lurch, and I stepped out of the book itching a little over the sense of unfinished narrative space. Eleanor’s storyline also feels a bit thin—she’s the monster huntress going after Florian, and she was so intriguing to me, but her character gasps for more oxygen on the page, and the novel seems to tie up the strands of her life a little too quickly, a little too late. At the end of the page, however, none of it mattered, because I was already looking forward to sinking into this book's simultaneously spine-chilling and soothing embrace once again.
You can check out my reading progress thread on twitter: here!.
**
This is a story about monsters, and all monsters must have names because “things with names survived.” So in a way, this is also a story about survivors.
Before Johann became a thing with a name, he’d survived. Johann crawled out of Elendhaven’s flowing womb—its harbor—and slipped among the town’s people like a snake, quick and quiet as a shadow after dark. And so he had to have a name. Johann tried on the sleeves and slacks of a few—“Johann the Demon, Devil Johann, Johann in Black, Oil-Dark Johann”—but Monster Johann fit best. “The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss.” No one in Elendhaven knew Johann’s name, and if they knew it, it quickly slipped away like mercury from probing fingers the moment their minds closed around it. This is the price of survival: Johann must stalk the streets of Elendhaven, untouchable and inevitable in his destruction—but also, unknowable.
One day, however, Johann sees a man nursing a drink alone in a cheap bar, clothed in a coat limned with gold and looking “rather as if he wanted to be robbed”. With “glass-pale eyes” and “a blazing beacon of straw-yellow hair”, the man looked like something that sprung from the dreamy-soft imagination of a painter. He looked delicate—not breakable, there’s a difference—like a fine blade. And there was the whiff of the unknowable about him too, something filled with teeth and power. Something beautiful enough to kill. And Johann was like a moth before a candle.
Johann did what any sensible monster would do: he stalked the mysterious man for three weeks, long enough to learn his name was Herr Florian Leickenbloom. Long enough to learn the secrets Florian hoarded like a miser his chains of gold coins. Long enough to know what Johann had suspected all along: that Florian was another thing with a name. Another monster—just like him. And if he were lucky—maybe worse.
“You’re awful,” Florian hissed out between chuckles. “You’re a vile creature.”
“Herr Leickenbloom, please.” Johann smiled easily. “Don’t underestimate me. I’m more than vile; I’m an honest-to-god monster.”
I am in love with this book, if such a thing is possible. I’m in love with the way the author tenderly renders her world and characters, a tenderness both touching and terrifying. How the sentences are exquisite, and how the most hideous acts of depravity and violence are sketched with such poetic, visceral power, giving the darkness lying at the heart of the story a wilder texture and an even deeper view. One doesn’t so much read this book as sink into the rain-soaked, shadow-steeped, fog-shrouded atmosphere that saturates the novella. I was entranced, and for the space of just a little more than a hundred pages, my mind was wound so tightly around this story it felt like there wasn’t enough of me to be in the real world.
Ultimately, though, it’s Florian and Johann’s dynamics that made this book such a rewarding, unforgettable experience.
What Florian and Johann are to each other requires a word harder than “love,” a word with claws and fangs. A longing. An obsession. A craving. Don’t get me wrong, they are fucked-up. Like, straight-up fucked-up. But I think the model of these pairings in fiction is so fascinating because—despite how monstrous the characters are, despite how questionable their dynamics can get, and despite the moral unease that will lap at your conscience like dark waves—sometimes they strike the deepest chord within.
I mean… have you never made a broken, unspoken plea in your mind for someone who would look into the crevices of your soul—into your woundedness, your wretchedness—and see something infinitely precious and worthwhile? Did you never wrestle with the dreadful longing to be known, to be seen, and then, to be accepted, and to be loved? Deep down, don't you yearn for someone to see you, really see you, and know that you can cut?
The Monster of Elendhaven is a story about monsters, yes, but it’s also a story about two monsters seeking to know each other, to map the awful ruins of each other's hearts, even if they might bleed from it, even if they might never survive it.
And when our work is done, I will carry him to the bottom of the sea, where we both belong. Deep beneath the silt our bones will turn to salt.
My only real quibble with the book is that it comes to a relatively abrupt end, a missed-stair kind of lurch, and I stepped out of the book itching a little over the sense of unfinished narrative space. Eleanor’s storyline also feels a bit thin—she’s the monster huntress going after Florian, and she was so intriguing to me, but her character gasps for more oxygen on the page, and the novel seems to tie up the strands of her life a little too quickly, a little too late. At the end of the page, however, none of it mattered, because I was already looking forward to sinking into this book's simultaneously spine-chilling and soothing embrace once again.
You can check out my reading progress thread on twitter: here!.
October 26, 2021
oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST HORROR 2019! what will happen?
this is a vicious little novella that ends each kiss with a bite.
it is a perfect october book, which means i picked it up a few days too early, but YOU should work it into your halloweeny spooktober book stack because it is short and creepy and an excellent pick for the season.
if i try to do a plotty review of this, it will quickly become overcomplicated for you and overwhelming for me, and i’ll end up sounding like a little kid describing a nightmare.
and it IS a pointy little nightmare of a book—dark and violent and vengeful. it’s got a sort of apocalyptic victorian vibe, if that’s even a genre, full of urban decay and impending doom, where some are still clinging to the false hope of progress, so confident in their powers of persuasion that they underestimate—see, and i’m already off into NO ONE CARES, KAREN territory.
in short: it’s about a man who is not a man; a gothic golem shaped by cruelty, curious and homicidal, drawn to power and finding his purpose beside (and also inside, [lewd chuckle]) a man who is more than a man, who needs a morally flexible cohort to help fulfill his monumental revenge fantasy.
and it’s gonna get murdery!
”[T]here’s nothing to fear from the end of the world. Annihilation is a fire that cleanses what it burns. For a corrupted world, apocalypse is the only hope for redemption.”
it is a horrible little book. by which i mean: i enjoyed it very much.
come to my blog!!
this is a vicious little novella that ends each kiss with a bite.
it is a perfect october book, which means i picked it up a few days too early, but YOU should work it into your halloweeny spooktober book stack because it is short and creepy and an excellent pick for the season.
if i try to do a plotty review of this, it will quickly become overcomplicated for you and overwhelming for me, and i’ll end up sounding like a little kid describing a nightmare.
and it IS a pointy little nightmare of a book—dark and violent and vengeful. it’s got a sort of apocalyptic victorian vibe, if that’s even a genre, full of urban decay and impending doom, where some are still clinging to the false hope of progress, so confident in their powers of persuasion that they underestimate—see, and i’m already off into NO ONE CARES, KAREN territory.
in short: it’s about a man who is not a man; a gothic golem shaped by cruelty, curious and homicidal, drawn to power and finding his purpose beside (and also inside, [lewd chuckle]) a man who is more than a man, who needs a morally flexible cohort to help fulfill his monumental revenge fantasy.
and it’s gonna get murdery!
”[T]here’s nothing to fear from the end of the world. Annihilation is a fire that cleanses what it burns. For a corrupted world, apocalypse is the only hope for redemption.”
it is a horrible little book. by which i mean: i enjoyed it very much.
come to my blog!!
October 12, 2022
"Power was sweeter than apples. It was cheaper than water, and sustained the soul twice as well. If Johann was going to be a Thing with a name, then from now on he would be a Thing with power, too."
I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting when I picked up The Monster of Elendhaven, but it wasn't that, and I mean that in the very highest form of compliment. I have a love/hate relationship with novellas, in the sense that I love to hate them, because I always feel like I was cheated out of a full story. This is the first shorter book that I can remember falling head over heels in love with, but I'm a little nervous to admit that, given Joe Hill's blurb states this story is “A black tide of perversity, violence, and lush writing. I loved it.” And I whole-heartedly agree; it was graphic, violent, and disturbing in many ways (content warning for murders that are gory and graphic, rape of a child, etc), but it was done with lyrical writing that set the stage for a gothic, lush fantasy setting. If you are squeamish, this will be a hard pass for you, but if not, carry on.
"Come on, sugarsnap, you want to tell me. You've never told anyone about this, have you."
"I've whispered it to the dark," Florian hissed, "which is the only confessor I need."
"I am the dark, Herr Leickenbloom. You can tell me anything you want."
I'm not quite sure how to express just what this nugget of a novel is, but I'm so glad that I read it. It's a story of suffering, anger, and revenge, but it's also a tender tale surrounding two men who find comfort in each other when they need it most. The relationship between Florian and Johann was crisp and humorous at times, yet also showcased the hurt and longing in each of them that they sought to cleanse by connecting with one another. It's a clever little saga, and my only complaint was that I wanted more! I'm floored that this is a debut, and I'm already clamoring from another book by the author. Highly recommended for those wanting something quick, witty, and a bit weird in a positively unique way.
"A creature newly named is a creature still half-animal, and Johann's self-education made generous space for the use of tools and the vice of violence before he could learn regret."
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting when I picked up The Monster of Elendhaven, but it wasn't that, and I mean that in the very highest form of compliment. I have a love/hate relationship with novellas, in the sense that I love to hate them, because I always feel like I was cheated out of a full story. This is the first shorter book that I can remember falling head over heels in love with, but I'm a little nervous to admit that, given Joe Hill's blurb states this story is “A black tide of perversity, violence, and lush writing. I loved it.” And I whole-heartedly agree; it was graphic, violent, and disturbing in many ways (content warning for murders that are gory and graphic, rape of a child, etc), but it was done with lyrical writing that set the stage for a gothic, lush fantasy setting. If you are squeamish, this will be a hard pass for you, but if not, carry on.
"Come on, sugarsnap, you want to tell me. You've never told anyone about this, have you."
"I've whispered it to the dark," Florian hissed, "which is the only confessor I need."
"I am the dark, Herr Leickenbloom. You can tell me anything you want."
I'm not quite sure how to express just what this nugget of a novel is, but I'm so glad that I read it. It's a story of suffering, anger, and revenge, but it's also a tender tale surrounding two men who find comfort in each other when they need it most. The relationship between Florian and Johann was crisp and humorous at times, yet also showcased the hurt and longing in each of them that they sought to cleanse by connecting with one another. It's a clever little saga, and my only complaint was that I wanted more! I'm floored that this is a debut, and I'm already clamoring from another book by the author. Highly recommended for those wanting something quick, witty, and a bit weird in a positively unique way.
"A creature newly named is a creature still half-animal, and Johann's self-education made generous space for the use of tools and the vice of violence before he could learn regret."
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
July 26, 2019
3.5 stars*
This was dark, thrilling & weird (in the best way). I adored the writing and reading about these complex and interesting characters. This is definitely the perfect quick halloween read!
Thank you Tor for providing me with an ARC!
This was dark, thrilling & weird (in the best way). I adored the writing and reading about these complex and interesting characters. This is definitely the perfect quick halloween read!
Thank you Tor for providing me with an ARC!
October 4, 2019
So confused
Don't give me a reading comprehension quiz on this one because I'm pretty sure I'd fail it! LOL. I read every word, and didn't exactly hate it, but have no idea what happened. I don't know the premise, couldn't tell you anything about the plot. I re-read the description here on Goodreads and nothing rings a bell.
What I can gather is that this appears to be some kind of remix of The Tempest. We have a clear Caliban-esque character (the monster) and a clear Prospero-type sorcerer (Florian). There's inexplicable sexual tension between the two, but nothing seems to come of it other than a few weird descriptions of them touching. They are mad about the economy I think? But why or what they do about it either never gets resolved or I was just too dense to pick up on it.
I couldn't really picture anything, but what I could picture was animated. That was interesting. I've never read a book and specifically imagined it as a cartoon. Some of the dialogue was quirky and cute. I didn't find it particularly bloody or perverse, but maybe that's because it's hard for me to get emotionally invested in 2D watercolor horror.
All in all, I didn't really find anything worth recommending other than a few good lines and the fragments of what might be an interesting plot. For those with higher reading comprehension, it might be great!
Don't give me a reading comprehension quiz on this one because I'm pretty sure I'd fail it! LOL. I read every word, and didn't exactly hate it, but have no idea what happened. I don't know the premise, couldn't tell you anything about the plot. I re-read the description here on Goodreads and nothing rings a bell.
What I can gather is that this appears to be some kind of remix of The Tempest. We have a clear Caliban-esque character (the monster) and a clear Prospero-type sorcerer (Florian). There's inexplicable sexual tension between the two, but nothing seems to come of it other than a few weird descriptions of them touching. They are mad about the economy I think? But why or what they do about it either never gets resolved or I was just too dense to pick up on it.
I couldn't really picture anything, but what I could picture was animated. That was interesting. I've never read a book and specifically imagined it as a cartoon. Some of the dialogue was quirky and cute. I didn't find it particularly bloody or perverse, but maybe that's because it's hard for me to get emotionally invested in 2D watercolor horror.
All in all, I didn't really find anything worth recommending other than a few good lines and the fragments of what might be an interesting plot. For those with higher reading comprehension, it might be great!
January 24, 2023
ARC provided by the publisher—Tor.com—in exchange for an honest review.
1.5/5 stars
This starts out promising but overall it's really just not for me.
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht is a debut that I’ve heard great things about. It’s been advertised as a compelling dark fantasy about revenge, murder, and magician. For what its worth, it did started out that way; strongly atmospheric and dark. However, once the romance started, I found that the twisted relationship and unrealistic progression in their romance (though, maybe that's kinda the point of the relationship) that constantly hangs in a weird status throughout the book became more of the main focus than everything else.
Excluding the fact that romance in fantasy rarely works for me, this one in my opinion just didn’t make any sense. The character’s voices were difficult to differentiate and I also can’t bring myself to care about them at all. The writing felt jarring to read and I really feel like everything about this book just felt lacking in developments due to the low number of pages. Finishing the novella, I still have no clue why the two main characters were in love with each other, if you can call it that; they lacked clear and believable motivations—again, maybe the characters being insane and lacking in real motivation is the actual point of the novel.
Before this book, I’ve just read one of the greatest conclusions to a trilogy; a series that has LGBT romance and diverse relationship developments done spectacularly well. Because of that, there’s a chance that I subconsciously compared the greatness of what I previously finished to this one. Overall, The Monster of Elendhaven isn’t for me. Take this review with a grain of salt, there are still three months left until its release date and a lot of people have loved it so much. I think mine is, in fact, the third non-positive review that this book has received on Goodreads and if this book has your attention already, don't let my review steer you away from it because clearly, right now I'm definitely in the unpopular opinion side.
Official release date: September 24th, 2019
You can pre-order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
1.5/5 stars
This starts out promising but overall it's really just not for me.
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht is a debut that I’ve heard great things about. It’s been advertised as a compelling dark fantasy about revenge, murder, and magician. For what its worth, it did started out that way; strongly atmospheric and dark. However, once the romance started, I found that the twisted relationship and unrealistic progression in their romance (though, maybe that's kinda the point of the relationship) that constantly hangs in a weird status throughout the book became more of the main focus than everything else.
Excluding the fact that romance in fantasy rarely works for me, this one in my opinion just didn’t make any sense. The character’s voices were difficult to differentiate and I also can’t bring myself to care about them at all. The writing felt jarring to read and I really feel like everything about this book just felt lacking in developments due to the low number of pages. Finishing the novella, I still have no clue why the two main characters were in love with each other, if you can call it that; they lacked clear and believable motivations—again, maybe the characters being insane and lacking in real motivation is the actual point of the novel.
Before this book, I’ve just read one of the greatest conclusions to a trilogy; a series that has LGBT romance and diverse relationship developments done spectacularly well. Because of that, there’s a chance that I subconsciously compared the greatness of what I previously finished to this one. Overall, The Monster of Elendhaven isn’t for me. Take this review with a grain of salt, there are still three months left until its release date and a lot of people have loved it so much. I think mine is, in fact, the third non-positive review that this book has received on Goodreads and if this book has your attention already, don't let my review steer you away from it because clearly, right now I'm definitely in the unpopular opinion side.
Official release date: September 24th, 2019
You can pre-order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
December 13, 2019
This had such! great! bones! I loved the characters and the tone and the spooky setting but I feel like we didn't get enough time to really explore the relationship that was created and I am sad. I would loooooove it if this was adapted into a series or a longer book bc I truly loved the characters but I just needed MORE
August 4, 2019
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription
💉 Look how beautiful is the cover! I asked the publisher for a copy and being the awesome people they are, they immediately provided it!
💉 I have seen many positive reviews for this book and that makes me feel less guilty, I like to support new authors, I can’t sugarcoat this because I really did not understand it.
💉 The beginning was good and I thought I know why people liked it and then things started happening and I did not know why they were happening! Did I miss anything? Was there really no motivation for the characters actions? and where was the story going, I did not know? It was a short novella but I lost interest and even considered DNFing it but I finished it and felt absolutely nothing! I hope you’re in the people-who-loved-this-book if you ever try to read it and not end disappointed as I did!
💉 Look how beautiful is the cover! I asked the publisher for a copy and being the awesome people they are, they immediately provided it!
💉 I have seen many positive reviews for this book and that makes me feel less guilty, I like to support new authors, I can’t sugarcoat this because I really did not understand it.
💉 The beginning was good and I thought I know why people liked it and then things started happening and I did not know why they were happening! Did I miss anything? Was there really no motivation for the characters actions? and where was the story going, I did not know? It was a short novella but I lost interest and even considered DNFing it but I finished it and felt absolutely nothing! I hope you’re in the people-who-loved-this-book if you ever try to read it and not end disappointed as I did!
November 4, 2022
this is the gayest shit i've ever read
October 7, 2019
“Monster was the best, his favorite word. The first syllable formed a kiss, the second was a hiss.”
I picked this book up on a whim and started reading a few pages, figuring I would check it out to see if I needed to place it higher on my priority list. Instead of a few pages, I read 1/3 of the book.
I’ll be blunt here; this will not be a long review. It doesn’t need to be. This is a strong contender for my favorite book of the year. This is a grim, dark humored and evil little book… I loved every page of it. This is a book with a murderer as the main protagonist, aiding a sorcerer in bringing about a plague in hopes of ending the world. There is not a hero in sight, but there’s about as much humor about the entire thing as there are corpses. That is to say a lot of bodies, and a great deal of humor. Oh, oh my yes.
“Florian’s grocery list included: a fleam for bloodletting, a brass-screw tourniquet, a bottle of formaldehyde, forceps, an assortment of glass vials with their cork stoppers intact, one tenaculum - which Florian had to draw for Johann an instructive picture of - and a bag of candies dates from the general store.”
The writing here is beautiful, taking modern elements and infusing them with the poetic feel of a classic gothic. There were paragraphs I read and then reread aloud savoring the flow of them. The words flow together beautifully even when describing things that should never be described as beautiful.
It also manages to pull off something that few fantasy authors try to anymore. It gives you a world and doesn’t give you all the details. It shows you the world but it doesn’t fully tell you how it works. You are required to take in its rules and piece them all together from what we’re shown. A few myths may be presented to the reader, but it is up to them to connect the dots, and if you don’t bother, you will be left behind.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. For anyone who isn’t afraid of a truly grim horror/fantasy that isn’t afraid to give you wink and a nudge as it stabs you, as if to ask if you got the joke… please do yourself a favor and give it a shot. A rare full 5/5 stars.
"The train station was bustling with hundreds of people from all walks of life: cottons to silks, silver changing hands, middle-class women with smartly dressed children waddling after them like a line of ducklings. Oh yes, there was mischief to be done."
I picked this book up on a whim and started reading a few pages, figuring I would check it out to see if I needed to place it higher on my priority list. Instead of a few pages, I read 1/3 of the book.
I’ll be blunt here; this will not be a long review. It doesn’t need to be. This is a strong contender for my favorite book of the year. This is a grim, dark humored and evil little book… I loved every page of it. This is a book with a murderer as the main protagonist, aiding a sorcerer in bringing about a plague in hopes of ending the world. There is not a hero in sight, but there’s about as much humor about the entire thing as there are corpses. That is to say a lot of bodies, and a great deal of humor. Oh, oh my yes.
“Florian’s grocery list included: a fleam for bloodletting, a brass-screw tourniquet, a bottle of formaldehyde, forceps, an assortment of glass vials with their cork stoppers intact, one tenaculum - which Florian had to draw for Johann an instructive picture of - and a bag of candies dates from the general store.”
The writing here is beautiful, taking modern elements and infusing them with the poetic feel of a classic gothic. There were paragraphs I read and then reread aloud savoring the flow of them. The words flow together beautifully even when describing things that should never be described as beautiful.
It also manages to pull off something that few fantasy authors try to anymore. It gives you a world and doesn’t give you all the details. It shows you the world but it doesn’t fully tell you how it works. You are required to take in its rules and piece them all together from what we’re shown. A few myths may be presented to the reader, but it is up to them to connect the dots, and if you don’t bother, you will be left behind.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. For anyone who isn’t afraid of a truly grim horror/fantasy that isn’t afraid to give you wink and a nudge as it stabs you, as if to ask if you got the joke… please do yourself a favor and give it a shot. A rare full 5/5 stars.
"The train station was bustling with hundreds of people from all walks of life: cottons to silks, silver changing hands, middle-class women with smartly dressed children waddling after them like a line of ducklings. Oh yes, there was mischief to be done."
March 28, 2021
rep: mlm mcs, poc side character
tw: gore, blood, murder, violence, rape
think venom but if eddie wasn't a good person & instead a revenge-obsessed sorcerer, also it's gothic
i honestly didn't think i'm gonna enjoy this bc i'm a baby who can't handle anything grim and this is literally a horror story of revenge and blood and death but like, i'm absolutely in love with it.
tw: gore, blood, murder, violence, rape
think venom but if eddie wasn't a good person & instead a revenge-obsessed sorcerer, also it's gothic
i honestly didn't think i'm gonna enjoy this bc i'm a baby who can't handle anything grim and this is literally a horror story of revenge and blood and death but like, i'm absolutely in love with it.
December 29, 2021
Why the hell did it take me this long to pick this up?! I was in love within a page and inhaled this novella in one sitting, and now all I want is more. You need to know going into this story that these characters are broken, messy, fucked up, and mostly irredeemable... and I love them. 🙃
May 24, 2020
Many thanks to Tor.com for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
Dang, this was dark.
I'll be honest... I completely forgot about this ARC. It sat on my shelf for months.... but then I heard it was gay and my interest was peaked so I picked it up. After all, it was short so if I hated it... it's not like I would have wasted that much time.
Fortunately, I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it either. This book follows a man. A man without a name, a monster who cannot die. He, along with his frail master, go about taking their revenge on everyone in the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.
Again, neither hated nor loved this book. It was very dark and unsettling but it was still a bit of a letdown.
All in all, I would say that this is worth a try. It may not be mind-blowing and amazing but it's nice and short. Basically, this book is a lil bite sized snack for those looking for those looking for a quick horror story!
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December 9, 2019
'Monster was the best, his favourite word. The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss.'
The Monster of Elendhaven is one hell of an unconventional story that's part-revenger horror, part-Gothic in nature and part-love story, probably the most unconventional part of the novella. I really am not gonna say more than that because this novella is a trip and it's best that everyone discovers that for themselves. I'm just gonna be here wishing for a sequel so that I can get more of this just-want-to-watch-the-world-burn fucked up OTP, hee
Also, I may have gotten sliiiight Crowley/Aziraphale vibes from Johann/Florian except Johann is way more monstrous than Crowley meanwhile, Florian is probably just as prim as Aziraphale LOL. But OMG, the violence in this especially with their experiments, kinda too much to read about. Any more than that, it really would have turned gratuitous
------------------------------
'a dark fantasy about murder, a monster, and the magician who loves both'
JUST FUCK ME UP, TOR.COM
The Monster of Elendhaven is one hell of an unconventional story that's part-revenger horror, part-Gothic in nature and part-love story, probably the most unconventional part of the novella. I really am not gonna say more than that because this novella is a trip and it's best that everyone discovers that for themselves. I'm just gonna be here wishing for a sequel so that I can get more of this just-want-to-watch-the-world-burn fucked up OTP, hee
Also, I may have gotten sliiiight Crowley/Aziraphale vibes from Johann/Florian except Johann is way more monstrous than Crowley meanwhile, Florian is probably just as prim as Aziraphale LOL. But OMG, the violence in this especially with their experiments, kinda too much to read about. Any more than that, it really would have turned gratuitous
------------------------------
'a dark fantasy about murder, a monster, and the magician who loves both'
JUST FUCK ME UP, TOR.COM
Read
August 27, 2019I DNFd this at around 40 pages. It started off SO GOOD, like deliciously dark and twisted and some of the most juicy writing ever and then came a plot development that made all the darkness slide off onto the back burner and instead, this turned into something dry and boring. I was bored. I might pick this up again at some point, maybe it’s me?
October 14, 2019
This was so gory, disgusting and atmospheric you could almost feel the smell of decay wafting from the pages.
3.5 stars
The Monster of Elendhaven is a dark fantasy novella following an immortal, magical man as he meets another man who might be even more dangerous than him, and who might have some nefarious plans; deliciously evil relationship ensues.
What I loved the most about this novella was the writing. It is vivid, even though most of the time you kind of wish it hadn't been, because Elendhaven is a horrible place to be in, and every single character is on some level corrupt and/or unhinged. I loved it for that; it truly makes you experience just how ugly this world is. It also doesn't take itself too seriously, and the narrator's humor made this city bearable to read about and also made it feel more real.
This book had the best descriptions, yes.
I also really liked the way the relationship was being set up: as usual, I'm always there for the trainwrecks, especially if they involve gay characters being evil the way a straight one would be allowed to be. (I don't feel like the novella explored the full potential of it, but that's not too unusual for short books.)
Those two things were a significant part of why I loved the first half, which introduces the reader to the world, the characters and what they're up to; I thought this was going to be amazing because of what it seemed to lead up to.
And then... it just fizzled out. It starts talking about an and then just ends with that? It's not even that , no. Maybe there'll be a sequel, I don't know. What I know is that when I got to the end, my main feeling was "that's it?"
I hesitate to say that this isn't good, because it is well-written, but I didn't really get what it was going for, and in the end, I kept thinking about so many other directions it could have taken that I would have liked more - but then that's kind of wanting to read a different book.
3.5 stars
The Monster of Elendhaven is a dark fantasy novella following an immortal, magical man as he meets another man who might be even more dangerous than him, and who might have some nefarious plans; deliciously evil relationship ensues.
What I loved the most about this novella was the writing. It is vivid, even though most of the time you kind of wish it hadn't been, because Elendhaven is a horrible place to be in, and every single character is on some level corrupt and/or unhinged. I loved it for that; it truly makes you experience just how ugly this world is. It also doesn't take itself too seriously, and the narrator's humor made this city bearable to read about and also made it feel more real.
“Leickenbloom Manor was the oldest mansion in the city: four floors, twenty-six rooms, and a wrought-iron trim that made it look like an ancient prison that had been garnished by an extremely fussy knitting circle.”
This book had the best descriptions, yes.
I also really liked the way the relationship was being set up: as usual, I'm always there for the trainwrecks, especially if they involve gay characters being evil the way a straight one would be allowed to be. (I don't feel like the novella explored the full potential of it, but that's not too unusual for short books.)
Those two things were a significant part of why I loved the first half, which introduces the reader to the world, the characters and what they're up to; I thought this was going to be amazing because of what it seemed to lead up to.
And then... it just fizzled out. It starts talking about an and then just ends with that? It's not even that , no. Maybe there'll be a sequel, I don't know. What I know is that when I got to the end, my main feeling was "that's it?"
I hesitate to say that this isn't good, because it is well-written, but I didn't really get what it was going for, and in the end, I kept thinking about so many other directions it could have taken that I would have liked more - but then that's kind of wanting to read a different book.
January 14, 2022
I don’t think any book deserves to be called “a waste of time” yet that was exactly how I felt about this one. The start was okay albeit a bit clunky, but once the romance came in, this went off the rails to where there was no saving...
April 1, 2024
Chilling, captivating and eloquent.
September 1, 2022
You know what? I'm dnfing, I don't care.
This book was recommended to me by a twitter friend through that "12 months, 12 books recommended by 12 friends" thing and I'm sorry, but I gotta dnf.
It's not just because of the rape scene OF A CHILD at the start, but mainly because of that. It happens literally as soon as you open the book, and it doesn't give you any time to recover from it.
Aside from that, I kept trying to like it or to care about what's happening with the characters, but I just couldn't. So I'm saving my sanity.
This book was recommended to me by a twitter friend through that "12 months, 12 books recommended by 12 friends" thing and I'm sorry, but I gotta dnf.
It's not just because of the rape scene OF A CHILD at the start, but mainly because of that. It happens literally as soon as you open the book, and it doesn't give you any time to recover from it.
Aside from that, I kept trying to like it or to care about what's happening with the characters, but I just couldn't. So I'm saving my sanity.
September 22, 2019
You know when you order something online, like a bouquet of flowers for instance? Let's say you order them for your partner on their birthday or some romantical shit like that. The picture is all vibrant and full of life, gloriously tantalizing. Beautiful vase, lush wild flowers. PICK ME! PICK ME!
So you order them.
Then you wait.
They arrive.
You take them out of the box.
Except instead of the stunning order that you were shown on the website, you receive a sloppy, lackluster vase of a partial arrangement.
Oh, and the flowers are half-dead.
-----
HOO BOY.
This is a DNF @ 70 pages in. A hard no from me.
So you order them.
Then you wait.
They arrive.
You take them out of the box.
Except instead of the stunning order that you were shown on the website, you receive a sloppy, lackluster vase of a partial arrangement.
Oh, and the flowers are half-dead.
-----
HOO BOY.
This is a DNF @ 70 pages in. A hard no from me.
August 24, 2019
Hundreds of years ago, the North Pole was cut open with searing magic, a horrific event that left the land with craters like the city of Elendhaven was in. For centuries, the black waters were poisoned with an arcane toxin that causes the skin to bubble and the mind go soggy.
Meet Johann, the Monster of Elendhaven.
This book might as well be dripping with oil and slime. Glued together with brick and mortar and smell like factory smoke and grime because this setting is VIVID AS FORK.
We mostly have two prominent characters here. Johann, an unfortunate man who resembles slenderman in the worst way possible and slinks through the city committing murder and who also cannot die no matter how many times he throws himself off buildings. Then we have Florian, an accountant who is part of the Leickenblooms family, the family who built the city. Johann becomes fascinated with Florian when he notices some sorcery about him and begins to stalk him.
I found the overall plot to be just okay. It does have solidity that brings our characters together and gives valid and easy to recognize reasons for them to do what they do. The author does a great job at the start of the novel building up a sense of fear but once our main characters meet and a romance begins *sighs*, I wanted to jump ship. It is a twisted romance and I think it should have went either all the way to the erotic route or not have been there at all because it hovered at this awkward stage and I personally lost that gritty murderous vibe I was loving in the beginning. I was really enjoying the selfish independent monster story but then love blossomed and hands were touching and suddenly being pulled away and wasn't scary anymore.
Overall, I think I'll be in the minority for this for sure. I see most people enjoying it. I do have a particular taste and though I loved the setting, the story and characters themselves fell flat for me. I think I expected more horror than what I got.
Meet Johann, the Monster of Elendhaven.
This book might as well be dripping with oil and slime. Glued together with brick and mortar and smell like factory smoke and grime because this setting is VIVID AS FORK.
We mostly have two prominent characters here. Johann, an unfortunate man who resembles slenderman in the worst way possible and slinks through the city committing murder and who also cannot die no matter how many times he throws himself off buildings. Then we have Florian, an accountant who is part of the Leickenblooms family, the family who built the city. Johann becomes fascinated with Florian when he notices some sorcery about him and begins to stalk him.
I found the overall plot to be just okay. It does have solidity that brings our characters together and gives valid and easy to recognize reasons for them to do what they do. The author does a great job at the start of the novel building up a sense of fear but once our main characters meet and a romance begins *sighs*, I wanted to jump ship. It is a twisted romance and I think it should have went either all the way to the erotic route or not have been there at all because it hovered at this awkward stage and I personally lost that gritty murderous vibe I was loving in the beginning. I was really enjoying the selfish independent monster story but then love blossomed and hands were touching and suddenly being pulled away and wasn't scary anymore.
Overall, I think I'll be in the minority for this for sure. I see most people enjoying it. I do have a particular taste and though I loved the setting, the story and characters themselves fell flat for me. I think I expected more horror than what I got.
November 15, 2020
Well, that was fucked up. I loved it.
Just wish it would have been a little longer. Because honestly, monster boys are my one true weakness and when I stumble upon a book that serves me two, sprinkles a healthy dose of gay on top and just in general dances to its own tune like that (perfection!) it's almost a crime that it's not at least 500 glorious, gory pages long.
Fuck me, man.
Just wish it would have been a little longer. Because honestly, monster boys are my one true weakness and when I stumble upon a book that serves me two, sprinkles a healthy dose of gay on top and just in general dances to its own tune like that (perfection!) it's almost a crime that it's not at least 500 glorious, gory pages long.
Fuck me, man.
August 12, 2024
me: I won’t let myself get sidetracked by shiny ARCs from publishers anymore, I’m going to stick to my TBR.
also me: Let me just sneak a little peek …
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December 16, 2021
idk why this novella is rated so low. it manages to tell a complete story with a cool world in under 200 pages. also murder boyfriends and monsterfucking.
Read
May 5, 2020Monster, monster, monster, the first half a kiss, the second a hiss."
Things go from bad to worse when a man without a name and a wielder of magic on the sly traverse Elendhaven, a city left to die. Their revenge bent minds craft a plan of great cunning, carrying out cruelties that change minds and curdle hearts with barely a trace left behind. These monsters souls must be cut down. But what if they have the means to bring the world as we know it crashing down around us?
High class or "gutter trash", evil, evil, everywhere. True monsters are both visible and not.
Trigger warnings for illness, plague, violence, assault, death, gore, stalking, self harm, suicide attempts, derogatory language, animal abuse, talk of child abuse, rape of a child, death of a child, strangulation, loss of a loved one, attempted maiming, and theft.
Opportunistic, and effortlessly classy, the Monster of Elendhaven was cloaked in the most human of disguises. To many passerby the killer was non-existent, until it was much too late. A self-proclaimed graduate of the school violence, he was a predator to be feared. I'd spoil his name, but I'd like to my keep organs on the inside, so...
Steadily melodramatic, confidence was not the only thing that burned within Florian. Dastardly debonaire the fragile looking man was anything but. He and the Monster may both have been bent on revenge, but this elegantly peculiar man was somehow scarier.
Boss, worker, "Sweetheart", "Don't call me that". To call the Monster and Florian's relationship anything short of twisted would be just wrong. One subtle, one sneaking, the awful souls parleyed a flirty banter that cut like a rubber knife. I was fascinated watching the two dazzlingly jagged personalities cut each other and themselves into things even more terrifying. However, the relationship on the whole seemed stunted.
I like to think of myself as a good, honest, and rational person. (Well that last one's a bit of a stretch). So why did I have so much fun hiding with and in the shadows of a dying city?!? My churning stomach begged me to look away from this beautifully gorey novella but I got lost in its forbidding atmosphere. Horrifyingly intriguing magic bleeds out of the heart of story a of revenge, anger, suffering and the comfort found between two vile individuals. While the plot clotted and thinned in the most confusing of ways, Jennifer Giesbreicht's prose was spellbinding. I only wish we could have seen the bamboozlingly bloody story play out in a full length novel. The Monster of Elendhaven begs the question: How many monsters are hiding in plain sight?
Beware, beware, monsters lurk everywhere.
Things go from bad to worse when a man without a name and a wielder of magic on the sly traverse Elendhaven, a city left to die. Their revenge bent minds craft a plan of great cunning, carrying out cruelties that change minds and curdle hearts with barely a trace left behind. These monsters souls must be cut down. But what if they have the means to bring the world as we know it crashing down around us?
High class or "gutter trash", evil, evil, everywhere. True monsters are both visible and not.
Trigger warnings for illness, plague, violence, assault, death, gore, stalking, self harm, suicide attempts, derogatory language, animal abuse, talk of child abuse, rape of a child, death of a child, strangulation, loss of a loved one, attempted maiming, and theft.
Opportunistic, and effortlessly classy, the Monster of Elendhaven was cloaked in the most human of disguises. To many passerby the killer was non-existent, until it was much too late. A self-proclaimed graduate of the school violence, he was a predator to be feared. I'd spoil his name, but I'd like to my keep organs on the inside, so...
Steadily melodramatic, confidence was not the only thing that burned within Florian. Dastardly debonaire the fragile looking man was anything but. He and the Monster may both have been bent on revenge, but this elegantly peculiar man was somehow scarier.
Boss, worker, "Sweetheart", "Don't call me that". To call the Monster and Florian's relationship anything short of twisted would be just wrong. One subtle, one sneaking, the awful souls parleyed a flirty banter that cut like a rubber knife. I was fascinated watching the two dazzlingly jagged personalities cut each other and themselves into things even more terrifying. However, the relationship on the whole seemed stunted.
I like to think of myself as a good, honest, and rational person. (Well that last one's a bit of a stretch). So why did I have so much fun hiding with and in the shadows of a dying city?!? My churning stomach begged me to look away from this beautifully gorey novella but I got lost in its forbidding atmosphere. Horrifyingly intriguing magic bleeds out of the heart of story a of revenge, anger, suffering and the comfort found between two vile individuals. While the plot clotted and thinned in the most confusing of ways, Jennifer Giesbreicht's prose was spellbinding. I only wish we could have seen the bamboozlingly bloody story play out in a full length novel. The Monster of Elendhaven begs the question: How many monsters are hiding in plain sight?
Beware, beware, monsters lurk everywhere.
January 8, 2020
Dnf at 15%
I thought it would be awesome and spooky but it was an edgelord's wet dream and I hated it.
I thought it would be awesome and spooky but it was an edgelord's wet dream and I hated it.
May 3, 2024
I am feeling strangely conflicted over this one.
I feel like the writing, vibes and atmosphere of this story were fantastic and unfortunately, a lot stronger than much of the story itself. This is a whirlwind novella that is a brutal read of magic, violence, horror and gore and is somehow also a whimsical romance that shows that even the darkest monsters have their soulmates.
Honestly, in keeping with my conflicted feelings. In another world, this story would have been 5 stars for me, but unfortunately there feels like a lot of missed potential and I hated the ended. Tentatively rounding up 3.5 stars…..
I feel like the writing, vibes and atmosphere of this story were fantastic and unfortunately, a lot stronger than much of the story itself. This is a whirlwind novella that is a brutal read of magic, violence, horror and gore and is somehow also a whimsical romance that shows that even the darkest monsters have their soulmates.
Honestly, in keeping with my conflicted feelings. In another world, this story would have been 5 stars for me, but unfortunately there feels like a lot of missed potential and I hated the ended. Tentatively rounding up 3.5 stars…..
March 17, 2020
OH ! MY ! GODDDD !!!!!
I was already excited for this book just based on the gorgeous cover and awesome title alone, and once I started it I was hooked basically from the first page. This seriously might be my favorite thing I've read all year [discounting rereads] and I'm already at the point where I want to go back and reread it [although I'm planning on waiting until I can get my hands on the audio]. The last book I wanted to read again immediately after finishing was Vicious by V.E. Schwab and this book definitely reminds me of that one in a weird way. Basically if you took Vicious and crossed it with the Hannibal TV show and the Johannes Cabal series. Literally my only complaint is that it is SO SHORT, but it is a complete and satisfying story and it's not the author's fault that I would literally read a thousand pages of this. This looks like her first 'full length' work so I'm definitely excited to see more from her in the future!
[edit: About 6 months later and I finally got my hands on the audio! The narrator took awhile to grow on me but I really enjoyed his voices and cadence by the end. I can definitely see this book becoming one that I reread every year or so. Queer murder monsters is entirely my aesthetic so I'm all over this!]
I was already excited for this book just based on the gorgeous cover and awesome title alone, and once I started it I was hooked basically from the first page. This seriously might be my favorite thing I've read all year [discounting rereads] and I'm already at the point where I want to go back and reread it [although I'm planning on waiting until I can get my hands on the audio]. The last book I wanted to read again immediately after finishing was Vicious by V.E. Schwab and this book definitely reminds me of that one in a weird way. Basically if you took Vicious and crossed it with the Hannibal TV show and the Johannes Cabal series. Literally my only complaint is that it is SO SHORT, but it is a complete and satisfying story and it's not the author's fault that I would literally read a thousand pages of this. This looks like her first 'full length' work so I'm definitely excited to see more from her in the future!
[edit: About 6 months later and I finally got my hands on the audio! The narrator took awhile to grow on me but I really enjoyed his voices and cadence by the end. I can definitely see this book becoming one that I reread every year or so. Queer murder monsters is entirely my aesthetic so I'm all over this!]
October 25, 2019
Okay, so I absolutely loved the vivid, visceral writing. So much of this was gross and gory and deliciously written. I also really loved the aesthetic, which is a kind of Victorian-era industrialized Germany/London. It's fab. The worldbuilding is also fascinating, with Elendhaven being a rather eerie city with an unsettling origin story. I also very much enjoyed the toxic relationship between the two main characters.
But??? The ending?? I'm so confused? I don't even know if I was supposed to understand what happened at the end or if it's meant to be left ambiguous. I feel like I'm not sure what the point of the story was or where it intended to go, and I have no idea what the ending means, so I'm mostly kind of frustrated.
But??? The ending?? I'm so confused? I don't even know if I was supposed to understand what happened at the end or if it's meant to be left ambiguous. I feel like I'm not sure what the point of the story was or where it intended to go, and I have no idea what the ending means, so I'm mostly kind of frustrated.
July 22, 2020
An astounding read. The prose is baroque and lush, practically festooned with velvet and dripping with magic. It is poetry that isn't afraid of going somewhere abyssal. It is a bathyal joy. My only real gripe with the book is that the ending came too quickly. It feels like it could have been a novel two times over, and I hope Giesbrecht returns to this world soon.
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