Lives of the Monster Dogs

A Novel

By: Kirsten Bakis

Narrated by: George DelHoyo, Mary Jo Smith

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In the year 2008, a Malamute arrives in New York City, followed by a pack of German Shepherds, Dobermans, and Great Danes, all dressed in grand old Prussian style. They become the toast of Manhattan - Monster Dogs. But who, or what, are they really? Outfitted with voice boxes and prosthetic arms, the dogs are the result of an experiment begun years ago in a tiny Canadian village. But their creators did not anticipate that these decadent dogs would be threatened by a strange, incurable illness. In Lives of the Monster Dogs, Kirsten Bakis has created a haunting parable for our times.

©1997 by Kristen Bakis (P)1997 by Audio Literature

short but good

I like dogs, and this book plays them out in a complex way. The story moves along at a good pace, and the readers' voices (1 male, 1 female) are very good to the parts. Although the mechanics of a humanoid canine are quite awkward, it's past to look past that into the story. If you like German history and large breed dogs, you'll like this story. I was bummed in the missing Rottweiler, a must-have German breed, and my favorite... and that the story was too short. At least, I don't recall hearing anything about rotties.

William Wegman Nightmare

Not a fantastic story. It would make a great movie with a little more action. Imagine a story where Artist William Wegman (the photographer who dresses Weimeraners) meets Dr. Frankenstein. It's a great idea, great narration, but I think there could have been more done with the story. Sound quality was also poor.

Fabuloso

really well written, worth a listen.

Fascinating Story, Dark, and poignant

I went into this book with no expectations because I bought it on someone's recommendation but had somehow never heard of it. The story of the crazed man creating a dog army, capable of fighting for a country that gave up on him. The notion of talking, upright dogs arriving in New York... all of this is a grand parade, and the back story is both touching and fascinating.

But the strength of this short book is in the last chapters. The relationship the protagonist, who is not, in fact, a dog, with these creatures is poignant. There is a letter from one character to another near the end that is one of the finest bits of writing I've encountered in a very long time. I cannot recommend this too highly, though I will say in the form of a slight trigger warning, there are some very dark parts in early life of Rank, the creator of the dogs.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this, performed by George DelHoyo and Mary Jo Smith, who turned in stellar performances across many characters, some with odd accents.

Highly recommended.

Surprise oops

What did you love best about Lives of the Monster Dogs?

The story is great. The narrators really allows the listener to really imagine what is going on. Having two different narrators really worked out well with this story. I do not remember how this book became part of my library, since it was purchased in 01. After re-listening to it, I would like to see more stories from Kirsten Bakis.

Any additional comments?

The story is like a dog version of The Secret of NIMH.

Fun book

I loved the fantasy of the story. Very good sci fi! The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that one of people doing the voice of one of the characters was not very good. It brought what otherwise would have been a fantastic story down a little I hate to say. I think I would have been better off reading the actual paperback myself on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. I could have imagined the voices in my head a little better than the poor reading ... it was a distraction to the story. Still, I did enjoy it.

This is not the full book. A lot of paragraphs are completely skipped

This audio is an abbreviated version of the book. Entire paragraphs are missing. Don’t waste your credits/money unless you don’t care about having the complete story.

Poor recording

It’s always disappointing when you pay for a book like this that was highly reviewed and the audio quality is so bad can’t even make it through it. You should try a sample before you download it and pay for it.