Monster

A Gone Novel

By: Michael Grant

Narrated by: Amanda Dolan

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Acclaimed author Michael Grant delivers a stunning follow-up to the globally best-selling Gone series - perfect for fans of Stephen King's suspenseful writing.

It's been four years since a meteor hit Perdido Beach and everyone disappeared. Everyone except the kids trapped in the FAYZ - an invisible dome that was created by an alien virus. Inside the FAYZ, animals began to mutate, and teens developed dangerous powers. The terrifying new world was plagued with hunger, lies, and fear of the unknown.

Now the dome is gone, and meteors are hitting earth with an even deadlier virus. Humans will mutate into monsters, and the whole world will be exposed. As some teens begin to morph into heroes, they will find that others have become dangerously out of control...and that the world is on the brink of a monstrous battle between good and evil.

©2017 Michael Grant (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Not as Good as Original buuuttt...

If you're upset that an author whose previous series featured as its main characters a young autistic boy being the most powerful character, a young unassuming black boy from a large family becoming a financial superpower, a black lesbian as a super important/powerful character, an undocumented Honduran gay boy as the most loved, trusted, and efficient leader of the group, a misogynistic pig as it's most hated villain, as well as themes of racism, sexism, and mental illness in 2008 is "too pc", you obviously didn't read the original series. Or you didnt pay attention because you only care about action, and action packed the first series was. I have my issues with Cruz as a character, but her being a transgender woman questioning and trying to figure out who she is, is certainly not one of them.

Now, for actual fans of the original series, here's my review. I've only read (listened to) the first one so far. On narration, the original narrator was way better, this one was too intense/awkward in dialogue sometimes and the breadth of voices she could do was limited compared to Kyle (?). She wasn't bad though and I gotta say it's nice to hear the females in the series have actual feminine voice rather than the weird deep voices he did for mary, dekka, and diana.

In terms of story, by the end it had me engaged but it was a slog to get there. Grant has never been great at casual dialogue, he's much better at the intense, crazy moments and their fallout then the casual, characters just talking about whatever and getting to know each other light moments. This is where the book struggled. The original series started the drama and craziness right away and it never lets up. This one tries to do that with it's first character introduction at the fayz wall, but quickly became slow. There's a lot of set up and it isn't very compelling, or at least it doesn't get us immediately invested in these new characters. A good portion of the first half is the two new "main" characters getting to know eachother and its, sorry to say, kind of boring. Grant shines with his ability to create suspense, crazy situations and character design, and tragic circumstances and the fallout effect of those circumstances on characters. Not so much two characters in a room talking about superheroes or otherwise getting to know each other. This can be seen in the original series as well but because everything gets crazy fast and the mysteries and problem solving are so engaging you forgive it. Not so much here...

The best parts are with Dekka because you're already connected to her through the previous story or with small new characters that only show up to show how crazy things are getting outside of the main character's journeys. I also wasn't too excited about the wannabe copies of some characters like Caine. Mostly the wannabe Caine copy or how you can tell another character is mimicking Drake.

All that being said, the grander story (like the mystery of the FAYZ itself) gets pretty exciting and engaging as you go on. The parts with Dekka and the last third of the book were fun and I'm excited to see how it goes. Also that last line though!

Womensrights book hidden as fiction.

Ehh, loved the Gone series. This seems like a disingenuous attempt from the author to prove he's progressive.

Switch of narrator

I really didn't like the switch of narrator, the first 6 books were great. Could have been better imo

Good

I enjoyed this book very much but I definitely preferred the previous narrator over the new narrator

Saddened

I got a lot of enjoyment from this series until this book. The book was killed by the woke gender affirming nonsense that distracted from the plot for no apparent reason. The first three chapters could have been condensed to one and lost nothing if the editor had removed that misguided text.

Love the series!

I really like this series. I found it because I love the first narrator, so I was relieved when I found I liked this one a lot as well. Five stars, all around!

Great Continuation

Michael Grant does a wonderful job transitioning the world of the FAYZ from young adult to a more mature audience in this continuing story.

“You are multiple choice in a true false world”

Monster was not as good as any of the Gone series in my opinion however I did not expect it to be. And it blew away my expectations. I was still engaged and wanted to keep listening! Also a non-binary character who also gets to be more than just their gender ! And just the fact of a non-binary character is so exciting. My two passions gender and YA sci fi. Thank you Michael Grant I will be awaiting the next book!

Continueing stroy

The Gone Series is an exciting story from the first book all the way through the series. I could not stop listening to this book. Kyle McCarley narration is how I found this series and I am glad to say I did. Michael Grant wrote a very interesting story. While the premise is copy from other ideas I have read, heard, and seen. They way the story unfolds is very enjoyable. World building for the story is very well written.

While this is all still true the spin off series is very well story but set in the future.

Reviews remind me of the first book in the Gone series…

The story is a welcome addition to the previous series. I love the tie ins with Dekka, and hearing old characters names brought up. The new characters are pretty well written, and the way the story bounces around the world is pretty good for building a mental picture.

I remember looking at the reviews on the first book “Gone” on here, and everyone was disliking the narrator Kyle. By the end we all loved him, and it shows in the reviews. I am holding out for the next couple books before I count Amanda out for the same reasoning.

That being said…. The way she says “Gaiaphage” really strikes me weird. After being conditioned to the way I thought it sounded, and being reinforced by Kyle while physically reading the original 6 books, it just feels off. I got used to it after she said it 10 times in one chapter.

Overall it is a great story, I look forward to the next books.