Review by DoodleCat -- The Different Kinds Of Monsters

[DoodleCat]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Different Kinds Of Monsters" by Seth Chambers.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Seth Chambers makes it clear from the beginning that his novel, The Different Kinds of Monsters, will be an unpleasant look into the darker side of humanity. Warning: there's a realistic depiction of sexual abuse near the middle of the book instigated by an authority figure. It made my blood boil, so you might want to give the book a pass if you suffer from past trauma.

The story jumps from three different settings throughout the adventure. One follows an allosaurus in the late Jurassic period, the Armitage family in the seventies; and a more central focus on the main character, Dylan Armitage, in the early twenty-first century.

The hook that will keep you from putting the book down is the relationship between the Armitage family and the allosaurus skeleton named Emily. The same skeleton that Dylan claims to have sung to him when he was a little boy. By and large, there's a healthy amount of cliffhangers at the end of chapters that pull the story along. In my opinion, the small reveals that tie into the larger picture are well done, but that might not be everyone's cup of tea.

What I didn't care for was the clunky early chapters. There's a good chunk of early backstory wrapped up in heavy exposition from Dylan's dad. It started to come across as tiring. But if you can get past the early chapters, the story really opens up.

The typos, on the other hand, don't help. I counted no less than thirteen scattered throughout the book, and I probably missed some along the way. The nature of the typos and the story's format leads me to believe that numerous edits took place, which is understandable considering the different perspectives, but still no less distracting. Furthermore, there's a few chapters that I believe could have simply been cut—the car ride near the beginning drags on for more than I'd like, along with some other small bits here and there.

The story's saving grace is the flawed but realistic characters. Early on, Dylan's dad is depicted to be quick to anger, while the his mother provides a gentle voice of reason. As I read, the characters' personalities opened up, and my hate and sympathy shifted from one character to the next. I see where the characters are coming from—some have believable reasons to act they way they do, others are over-the-top despicable. Needless to say, I developed a real sense of sympathy for Dylan throughout his life.

A distinct shift takes place in the second half of the book. Dylan's sexual desires become obvious, and a character gets introduced that is equally parts funny as they are disturbing if you think about it for more than a few seconds. Another problem is the contrived circumstances in the second half. If you're just casually reading, then it's not terrible or even very noticeable. It will depend on your suspension of disbelief.

After I finished the book, I felt a mixture of emotions, including some mild depression. A part of me liked and hated it. And I debated on giving the book either a three or two stars.

All things considered, I rate The Different Kinds of Monsters 2 out of 4 stars.

The book suffers from numerous typos, and sometimes contrived moments in the second half. But if you can overlook some flaws, I would recommend the book to people who are fans of exploring the grittier side of life, and the imperfections that makes us all human.

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The Different Kinds Of Monsters
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