Top 5 Wednesday #28: Monster Madness!!

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by GingerReadsLainey and now managed by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. For more information on this meme, visit the Goodreads group.

This week’s topic:

Favorite Monsters

Yea, so this one was difficult because I haven’t encountered any monsters in books or movies that I’d consider a favorite, so instead I’ll show a couple books I love that focus on monsters.

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu, illus. by Sana Takeda

An epic fantasy comic book series about a girl who has a monster inside her. It’s been a while since I’ve read this first volume so details are a bit foggy, but I loved it. I plan to reread and catch up on the series. The story is intriguing and the art is fantastic. I’m curious to see how Maika Halfwolf, the protagonist, will handle the monster inside her and she learns more about herself and family history, and, because of the political intrigue, I wonder if she will be manipulated into using the monster’s powers to achieve certain ends and how the monster will react to that.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist is the first novel in a historical fiction, horror series about a boy who is an apprentice to a scientist who studies monsters. I love this book; it’s a favorite. In it, we follow along with Will Henry, the protagonist, and Dr. Pellinore, the scientist, as they study anthropophagi, headless monsters that have their mouth in their chest. I love how the story is written and narrated. It’s very atmospheric and easily draws the reader into the setting. But what I love the most about it is that Yancey shows a variety of ways in which beings, including humans, can be monstrous and how sometimes the monsters we should fear are the ones we often overlook.

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The picture above is the poster for the TV show adaptation of the book. The Strain is the first novel in a horror trilogy about a vampire-zombie epidemic that begins in New York City. Basically, a plane lands in JFK but sends no signals after doing so. Everyone believes the passengers are dead. Later, the passengers “awaken” and because they feel normal, everyone thinks they are fine, except for one old dude who tries to warn the head of the CDC of the nightmare that will come.

Oh man! I read the first book and enjoyed it, and I liked the TV series too (except the last season). I just love how technical and scientific the descriptions are when focused on the process of turning from human to a vampire-zombie. (It’s a vampire story but I think of the beings as vampire-zombies.) It’s really good and I think the TV show was a pretty good adaptation of the first book (at least, haven’t yet read the others.)

Umm… so that’s all I could think of.

If there’s a book/TV show/movie you love that focuses on monsters, share with me what it is.

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