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)

Soooo good Soooo funny

What did you love best about Monster?

Monster the book or Monster the character. The character is a reluctant dysfuntional hero who finds that he has to deal a w woman who does not believe in magic, which means him.

The world according to Martinez pokes fun at the basic issues of life and he put it in Monster the book.

What did you like best about this story?

The inability or ability of how one's belief can effect their perception of the world.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene opens in a supermarket. The store clerks are rather surprised to find a yeti devouring all the ice cream and generally making a mess. But (to the rescue!) a team composed of a young man (Monster) and his assistant paper cutout man come to the rescue.
That is the start and the of a never ending slap stick ride.

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

Yes. What I actually did was to buy all the other books by Martinez

Any additional comments?

Read it Love it and then read all of Martinez's books!

3 Stars

Grabbed this book after listening to Divine Misfortune (which I really enjoyed) and found the story lacking. The writing was strong, but the story never really went anywhere interesting despite the intriguing plot.

A. Lee Martinez continues to amaze

What did you love best about Monster?

The worlds that Martinez creates in each of his books are amazing and Monster is no exception. Everything feels so established and perfectly strikes that balance of fantastical and believable.

What about Eric Michael Summerer’s performance did you like?

I love that Eric Michael Summerer's performance manages to make each character feel unique and keeps the listener engaged.

Humorous and weird

It is a fantasy / humor genre, worth you time. The narrator was perfect for the title character.

Funny Monsters!

I've been a big fan of A Lee Martinez when I discovered Gil's All Fright Diner back in 2007. It was funny and it appealed in the same way that I love Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Robert Asprin. Comic science fiction-fantasy is just awesome, and I'm glad to add A Lee Martinez to my list of favorites.

Monster is a funny human, that changes color every day, and runs a pest control agency. He captures cryptobiologicals, ie. trolls, ogres, yetis, monsters, and has his fair share of domestic troubles with his girlfriend, who is literally from hell. However when Monster answers a call to capture a yeti, he doesn't realise that his life is going to get a lot more complicated when he meets Judy, who seems to have the knack for attracking cryptos.

I liked Monster. The action hits early on, and the laughs are plentiful. The combination of Monster, and his paper gnome sidekick, Chester, are hilarious. Add in Judy, who can't stand the sight of Monster, and it was definitely a amusing adventure. My only disappointment was that I thought Monster might have had a different ending with regard to Monster's love life. Romantic optimism on my part? Yes, most definitely. I doubt there is a sequel in the works, and since I enjoyed every other part of this book it didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of the story.

I started the paperback of Monster, and then 3/4 of the way through switched to the audio. I'm finding that I just don't enjoy paperbacks anymore, and this will likely be the last time I attempt a paperback. It's audio all the way for me from now on. The narration is done by Eric Michael Summerer and for the little that I listened I really enjoyed it. I plan to listen to more books narrated by Eric Michael Summerer to see if I will enjoy his style more.

All good things come to an end, however lousy...

I loved Martinez's Too Many Curses. He is a great storyteller and he has a wonderful ability to create lovable and unlikeable characters. He has the ability to catch the reader and hold you all the way through the story.
*Spoiler Alert*:
With Monster, instead of monsters and cursed humans, you have disgruntled humans Judy and Monster dealing with magic and an evil, universe wielding parasite who seeks to control all aspects of the universe, culminating in a all fiery power struggle to put the world into 'its natural order'. It was interesting, original, and I was on the edge of my sea with anticipation and worry for the two protagonists. And good overpowered evil and sent the evil one on her not so merry way. The only thing I did not like was the ending, or- to be more accurate with my phrasing - how the main characters got on with their lives. Judy learns how to wield magic and begins to build a new life for herself, and Monster does the same - just not together. Instead he ended up with someone else, he and Judy parting ways, possibly for good.
This was enjoyable, and the narrator did a fantastic job when switching between characters, but the ending left me feeling a bit disappointed. However, I highly recommend A. Lee Martinez's work. If you are a sci-fi buff, you should enjoy this.

Good enough

While it seemed at first to be fairly formulaic yet fun, it took some good turns and slammed home in a way that left me wanting more.

Sadly, the reader was mostly just that. He read the story with little of the intonation that one might hope for. made it kind of dry over all. Left some of the better jokes things I had to skip back to to catch again as my mind decided there was a joke despite the fairly deadpan delivery. His voice was good but his delivery does leave a bit to be desired. I will catch more of this series just to see if there are improvements.

Great

Still waiting for "In the company of ogres audiobook". Loving everything else by A Lee Martinez, but I can't wait for that one.. :(

:O)

The guy is funny! I'm a big fan of A. Lee Martinez and he didn't disappoint with monster. Original story and characters. Worth your time.

enjoyable

My only complaint with this book are 2 things:

1. they could have chosen a better selection for the sample.

2. for so many catastrophic things to be happening nothing really happened with the characters at the end. No one changed, no one learned anything. They just went on like nothing happened and when they run into each other its odd. I was all in to this book until the ending was so mundane and every day that I was left disappointed

But there were so many cool things going on and cool ideas. And many characters I very much loved and I was hoping that there would be more dialog just to hear them talk.