Reviews tagging 'Death'

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

13 reviews

puttingwingsonwords's review

dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is an absolutely incredible book! Man Made Monsters is a collection of short horror stories following various branches of the same Cherokee family through the past, present and future.

Storytelling and the passing on of history is one of the book’s central themes. Cherokee language is key in this. It is incorporated not only in the stories, but also in Jeff Edward’s amazing illustrations preceding each story. You can see an example of this on the cover.

Throughout the generations, through genocide and oppression and apocalyptic threats, the book’s central family struggles to hold on to their language and their stories—but hold on they do.

I was impressed with the wide variety of characters, styles, tropes and themes presented in these stories. Each one of them stands well on its own, while also adding to the whole of this family’s long history.

Taking on all kinds of classic monsters and horror staples, the love for the genre can be felt on every page. But while the inspiration from horror classics is clear, each story brings something interesting and new to whichever monster it features.

By the end of the book, there’s the feeling that these stories have always been around, and will continue to be created far into the future, even if the book is over.

Whether you’re an experienced horror lover, someone new to the genre, or you’re just interested in reading more Indigenous fiction, you should read this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Mass/school shootings, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

corsetedfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a wonderful book, and I’m not sure why I haven’t heard more about it. 
It’s a collection of stories based around a specific Cherokee family throughout history, beginning with the trail of tears and ending in the future during a zombie apocalypse. 
There are two horrors in this book that are interwoven together- the realistic horror of colonialism, racism, and violence, and the symbolic, artistic horrors of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and ghosts, among many others. It is atmospheric and creepy, but beneath the surface is an in-depth discussion of colonialism, identity, and feminine rage. 
I loved this book. There was only one of two stories in the whole book that I didn’t enjoy, and most of them were perfect- well written, historically accurate for the period, and most importantly, saturated with Cherokee culture and dripping in the righteous rage of a people wronged. Special mention here to a story that I am nearly certain is supposed to be a dig at Twilight and the way those books treated Indigenous people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

kimberlynpeterson50's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Horror is not my scene, so take the 3 stars with a grain of salt. The stories swung from gory to creepy, though a couple were more like sci fi and just interesting rather than scary. I really enjoyed the throughline of family and found myself consulting the family tree frequently. I appreciated the Cherokee culture and language more than anything else and would read another book by this author for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

katrinky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

3.5

too gruesome for me, and I didn't think the extensive family tree added much. there were several really beautiful (sakonige) and poignant (deer woman, Ama's appearance in the zombie story, the dad of the girl with the abusive ex, the cousin in the carbon monoxide story) moments, and the artwork is gorgeous. the vocabulary on the back was wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abandonment, and Colonisation

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide and Colonisation

laryssa's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I like a lot of the early stories and American Predators the most. Ama is the coolest and I could totally read a whole book about her. I really like the illustrations and think it adds a lot to the spookiness of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Colonisation

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers is a collection of horror short stories that incorporate classic horror creatures with the lived experiences of Indigenous teens. I really appreciated that the collection has a variety of stories of different lengths, both those that are short and horrifically to the point along with those that are longer and tell a more developed story. 
Rogers does a great job of creating subtly creeping horror elements that pair with more overt horror creatures . My favorite stories include the titular Man Made Monsters, which delves into ideas of literary monsters and bringing people and animals back from the dead. Maria Most likely, which delves into horrific memories and what would happen if they could be removed. Me and My Monsters, which is a monster love story that looks at how humanity can often be more monstrous than monstrous creatures. Ama's Boys which tackles how a seemingly young girl who is actually a vampire preys on teen boys. American Predators, which follows one boy's experience with shooting a movie and the racism that Indigenous people have to deal with on a daily basis. And Zombies Attack the Drive-In, which deals with domestic abuse, familial trauma, and of course zombies. 
I am fascinated to see what Rogers writes next as she has a great feel for atmosphere and creating creeping horror. I would love to read more of her work, particularly in a longer format as I really appreciate what she did in her longer stories with character development and painting a full picture of the characters' lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Colonisation

jaaay_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I picked this book up on a  whim and I'm glad I picked it up! The illustrations are gorgeous in this. I also think it is cool how we follow a family from the 1830s to the future in 2039. I'm not Cherokee, and I really enjoyed learning some Cherokee words and seeing the syllabary used in the art in particular. There are some classic monsters in here like

vampires and werewolves

but also ones that I think are from Cherokee folklore. Some of the monsters featured here are everyday horrors we face and some characteristics of humans as well. I'm not that big into horror, and I didn't find this book to be that bad. Definitely look at content warnings though. 

My biggest critiques or personal preferences are that while separating it into chapters and jumping around the family tree was cool, I didn't get to really connect with the characters. I'm a big character reader so that's a personal preference thing. I think the jumping around does work for this book though and I get why it was done. Also, one big thing from the family tree that I don't understand:

How is Will Wilson's branch of the tree there? I thought he was the baby that died from the vampire in the first chapter. So, that really confused me.

If you are looking for a unique horror book that showcases many types of things that go bump in the night, I would highly recommend this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Mass/school shootings, and Cultural appropriation

devynvictoria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was so good! This is the first short story collection I’ve read and I will definitely be picking up more. I loved the illustrations before every story and the incorporation of the Cherokee language. I like the premise of following the same family through almost 200 years. My favorites were Man Made Monsters, Snow Day, and Lens. And I love the relationship between the father and his children in Happily Ever After. I definitely recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Lesbophobia

kayladaila's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Mass/school shootings, and Medical trauma