This book is not for the faint of heart. It is dark, gruesome, and at times terrifying. I loved it. Intertwined with all this blood and gore are moments of smart humor, and genuine tenderness, all wrapped up in a poetic and intellectual writing style which compliments the late 19th century setting perfectly.

I voted for this book in the Abraham Lincoln Book Award contest 2013. Rick Yancy was able to imitate a Victorian style without it seeming pretentious or snooty. It was well-researched and full of rich, intricate sentences. For people who are tired of the vampire/werewolf/zombie/fallen angel trends, the creatures in this story are the Anthropophogi, which are incredibly different and unique and terrifying. One character, the dapper English monster-hunter Jack Kearns, stood out as one of the most fascinatingly twisted heros (?) I've ever read about. The ending is amazing, there are lots of twists. There are insane amounts of gore and cringe-inducing descriptions, including an encounter in a Victorian insane asylum. The only con was that the book could get lost in its philosophical musings for a while, which I guess sets it apart from most slasher-violence horror books, but still slows down the story sometimes.

i didn't finish it. page 16. that should say something. snowball40 is correct.

fantastic book and very descriptive.

I personally liked this YA novel more than the ones I had read so far. The whole dating monsters theme is not my thing so it's a relief that there are still good horror books that talks about killing them. The writing is good. While there are dramatic moments, Yancey doesn't go overboard with it. I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic book. Yancy's style is beautiful, if a bit mature for a younger reader at times. The gore was pretty intense but not very scary. I really suggest teens read this book, but only if you can stomach people being ripped apart in the most gruesome ways. Someone also left little sticky notes in this book, talking to the readers. I found it a pretty funny addition.

I love the monstrumologist so much I wanted to cry when I heard the fourth book isn't out! The book is so goooood. Sure it's gory, maybe a bit slow and thick... but it's so deep, intricate and amazing! The characters are so real!!!!!!! I would read every book over and over!

I honestly can say I couldn't even get a quarter of a way through this book. Everyday I told myself I was going to read at least a page and I just couldn't do it. I waited eagerly to get this book because hey, cool monsters but no. Yancey describes in TREMENDOUS detail about dissection and gore and even THAT couldn't hold me too it(I ADORE blood and guts). It was far too slow for my taste, but if you like to sit around for 2 hours reading a book where nothing goes on, be my guest.

Starting reading this book for an English project and ended up falling in love with the series! If you don't like any type of gore I would STRONGLY recommend that you DON'T read this book! I am an avid fan of gore and horror but some of the details are written very graphically and made me flinch and get sick. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the series, but the way that Rick Yancey describes events is in excruciatingly gory detail. His writing style is very different than what I am used to, but he is a great writer. Looking forward to reading the second book!

It starts out a bit slow, but it builds up to an awesome climax. The descriptions are very vivid and very gory. I love the fact that it's very well-researched. For maximum effect, read it at night. This is not for people with weak stomachs.