Monster

A Novel

By: A. Lee Martinez

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don't like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady - for the future of the universe.

Monster runs a pest-control agency. He's overworked and has domestic troubles - like having the girlfriend from hell.

Judy works the night shift at the local Food Plus Mart. Not the most glamorous life, but Judy is happy. No one bothers her, and if she has to spell things out for the night-manager every now and again, so be it.

But when Judy finds a Yeti in the freezer aisle eating all the Rocky Road, her life collides with Monster's in a rather alarming fashion. Because Monster doesn't catch raccoons; he catches the things that go bump in the night. Things like ogres, trolls, and dragons. Oh, and his girlfriend from Hell? She actually is from Hell.

©2009 A. Lee Martinez (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Martinez pokes at big-picture questions, like the nature of the universe and the meaning of life, with abundant, zany humor in this charming tale." (Publishers Weekly)

Just what I needed

Fun and incredibly interesting till the end. 10/10 would read again. This book has made me a complete fan and I can't wait to read the next A. Lee Martinez book.

Very 'meh'. At least it wasn't bad. Kinda boring.

When I think of my experience, mostly had a ok to averagely good time with this.

The characters were the biggest miss for me though. You could feel the attempts at character building but it really just doesn't feel well written enough to get me to care about anyone. You're more introduced to characters for their role to play in a plot instead of actually getting to know much about them. I still found the characters very creative though in a fantastical way but their backgrounds are more told at you matter of factly and never really expanded upon. Not caring about the characters somewhat made the attempts at tension feel fairly tension-free. So the many action scenes you witness are just not all that entertaining.

The attempts at humor were a miss for me too. I think the humor was basically 'look how weird this situation is that doesn't usually happen, that's funny right?' when no, no its not very funny when it's presented as generic plot devices for urban fantasy elements.

The urban fantasy plot though felt interesting enough, it takes a while to get to the point. 75% of the book ends up feeling like action scene next to action scene when the books end sorta just relates it all together kinda too easily. The ending was sorta more cohesive for a plot, but again, sorta hard to care about anyone or even the situation. It's a high stakes situation but the writing just never quite makes it feel like it.

I think i just needed more emotions overall from the characters in general to breath some energy into the plot. There's this issue in the book where the main human characters persistently lose their memory if they are away from magical situations long enough. This kinda resets the main character constantly and her eagerness in the situation. I was getting kinda annoyed with the attempts the book tried to derail the plot and made it feel like it lacked focus.

Overall it's not a bad book, it's a casually and consistently averagely good time. I enjoyed myself mildly throughout the whole thing as it was just good enough to get through. I'd never recommend it to anyone though, it's just not well written enough.

Hope he makes a sequel!

What made the experience of listening to Monster the most enjoyable?

The story line had a lot of great little surprise twists and references. It was fun to never quite now what would pop up next. (Lotus, Ed, and the cats was a hoot!)

What other book might you compare Monster to and why?

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi. They're both in an almost-real setting, with just some minor sci-fi twists. They both have wonderfully engaging characters and fast moving action with a lot of laughs.

Which character – as performed by Eric Michael Summerer – was your favorite?

Ed!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I enjoyed taking it on long walks and jogging. Though it was often hard to turn it off, I enjoyed being able to pick it back up the next day.

this author was a first for me

It was a pretty good story, made me laugh, trouble seems to find the heroine, the hero is of a differant breed (literally) with an animated oragami sidekick...

Okay but forgettable

This story was okay but nothing that you're really remember week or two from now. There were some funny parts but I never really got interested in the characters, they were just a bit to underdeveloped.

Okay but not great

Book was okay but ending was quite a disappointment. Narration was good. Overall a fair read.

Solid quick listen

This is an entertaining solid quick listen no long series. I enjoyed it. Don’t look for a long drawn out story but be prepared to laugh.

Fun Listen

“Monster” is a fun story with ridiculous characters put in ridiculous positions brought on by mythical (says you) creatures. The characters are likable and the story is well written and fun if not a little ridiculous. High literature it’s not, but if you’re looking for a fun read to make you laugh, smile and generally have a good time I would recommend this book.

The narration was very good.

Something fresh and fun

This is a must read for people who love fantasy but want something fresh and modern for a difference. Not the best ending in the world but the adventure towards it makes up for it

Cute little Monster

The story falls into the just-how-strange-a world-can-I-conjure category of five minutes ago fiction. It contains nothing timeless or particularly memorable, but it is amusing to follow the flights of authorial fancy. I'll call it metaphysical chick-lit light, and it's got lots of company these days with all the other magic, vampire, witches, werewolves and just plain weirdness books that have popped up like toadstools in the market.

The narration is competent, workmanlike and listenable. It does not offend or get in the way of the text. At the same time, it is not a five star standout--though that has as much to do with the text in this case as it does the narrator.

So overall I give it four out of five. It was fun, and filled the time walking my hound and driving to the beach. Yet I will fail to recall either its plot or its name a week from now. Which will be ok, because at its base this book really isn't much more than comics without the pictures.