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A review by eesh25
Lesser Known Monsters by Rory Michaelson
2.0
1.5 Stars
This was mostly terrible, and the only reason I got through it is because I didn't want to have two DNF's this month. And because it didn't get unbearably bad till like 70%. Until that point, I still had hope.
For a book called Lesser Known Monsters, there’s surprisingly little focus on the monsters. Sure, monsters exist, but we don’t get much lore about them. The focus is on the protagonist and his two friends. And all three of them are the worst. Let’s start with our MC Oscar (a great name he does not deserve).
The synopsis says that Oscar is “not a hero.” He’s essentially not special or brave or any of that. But he’s put in extraordinary circumstances and I thought that meant he would step up at some point. Turns out, nope, he pretty much stays “not a hero.” He doesn’t do a single fucking thing in the entire book. Except have sex with a guy he shouldn’t trust and insult creatures by calling them monsters. Anything plot-related just happens to him and he freaks out and watches other people deal with it. I can understand him not being able to fight but he doesn’t even both to think. He’s like a male Bella Swan, boring, and a passive participant in his own life.
I also didn’t like Oscar’s two friends, though at least they were helpful. Zara is just annoying, which puts a damper on her being the only person showing a healthy level of mistrust. Marcus is one of the most inconsistent characters I’ve seen. He switches between paranoia, eager excitement and making jokes about a guy hurting children in his spare time. It’s later revealed that he has ADHD, and if that’s supposed to be representation, it sucks.
Then there’s Dmitri, the love interest. The guy barely has a personality beyond simping for Oscar for unexplained reasons. The entire romance is based on how attracted they are to each other and how intense their connection is. You see how this is just Twilight with better writing and world building, right? But at least Bella figured out that Edward was a vampire. If we waited for Oscar to figure anything out, this series would be longer than the Wheel of Time.
The plot isn’t very interesting, partially because I didn’t care enough about Oscar to give a shit why someone was after him. But also because we don’t get any answers until a huge villain monologue near the end that I hated. In fact, I hated every fucking thing about the climax and wish it to die a fiery death.
Now let’s get to the few positive. I know I should’ve mentioned positives first but I had I needed stuff to get off my chest.
There are these little excerpts before some chapters that tell us about different kind of monsters. I liked them. And there’s a short story interlude or sorts that was great. Several of the details we get about the world and its monsters are interesting. Basically, anything that didn’t have to do with the main story or characters was actually good to some degree.
Overall, the few positives were not able to redeem the book. I don’t recommend it, and I have no plans to continue the series.
This was mostly terrible, and the only reason I got through it is because I didn't want to have two DNF's this month. And because it didn't get unbearably bad till like 70%. Until that point, I still had hope.
For a book called Lesser Known Monsters, there’s surprisingly little focus on the monsters. Sure, monsters exist, but we don’t get much lore about them. The focus is on the protagonist and his two friends. And all three of them are the worst. Let’s start with our MC Oscar (a great name he does not deserve).
The synopsis says that Oscar is “not a hero.” He’s essentially not special or brave or any of that. But he’s put in extraordinary circumstances and I thought that meant he would step up at some point. Turns out, nope, he pretty much stays “not a hero.” He doesn’t do a single fucking thing in the entire book. Except have sex with a guy he shouldn’t trust and insult creatures by calling them monsters. Anything plot-related just happens to him and he freaks out and watches other people deal with it. I can understand him not being able to fight but he doesn’t even both to think. He’s like a male Bella Swan, boring, and a passive participant in his own life.
I also didn’t like Oscar’s two friends, though at least they were helpful. Zara is just annoying, which puts a damper on her being the only person showing a healthy level of mistrust. Marcus is one of the most inconsistent characters I’ve seen. He switches between paranoia, eager excitement and making jokes about a guy hurting children in his spare time. It’s later revealed that he has ADHD, and if that’s supposed to be representation, it sucks.
Then there’s Dmitri, the love interest. The guy barely has a personality beyond simping for Oscar for unexplained reasons. The entire romance is based on how attracted they are to each other and how intense their connection is. You see how this is just Twilight with better writing and world building, right? But at least Bella figured out that Edward was a vampire. If we waited for Oscar to figure anything out, this series would be longer than the Wheel of Time.
The plot isn’t very interesting, partially because I didn’t care enough about Oscar to give a shit why someone was after him. But also because we don’t get any answers until a huge villain monologue near the end that I hated. In fact, I hated every fucking thing about the climax and wish it to die a fiery death.
Now let’s get to the few positive. I know I should’ve mentioned positives first but I had I needed stuff to get off my chest.
There are these little excerpts before some chapters that tell us about different kind of monsters. I liked them. And there’s a short story interlude or sorts that was great. Several of the details we get about the world and its monsters are interesting. Basically, anything that didn’t have to do with the main story or characters was actually good to some degree.
Overall, the few positives were not able to redeem the book. I don’t recommend it, and I have no plans to continue the series.