I talk about this book in my May reading wrap-up.

I really did like the story of the Monstrumologist, but more, the story of Will Henry, the orphaned boy, apprentice-assistant, brave wonder of a child.

I loved that we got this story in Will Henry's voice, looking back on it as history that has passed but clearly left a mark. Sure, our main character is 12 and this categorized as YA, but the narrative really offered lots to sink your teeth into, especially with themes of loneliness and inheriting sins from your parents and responsibility to community and to science, the nature of monsters and even how much we can blame them for hunting when people hunt too. It turned just a regular monster story into a rich monster story, with enough complexity that it didn't feel dumbed-down by blood and guts.

Oh, but there was blood and guts. There were times that I had to put this down before bed and read something else because it was a bit too disturbing for me and not the last mental image I wanted to fall asleep to. I'm not usually a fan of gory stuff, but this story really called for it and Yancey excels at it.

The one downside for me is that the pacing was a bit off. The last half of the story really flew by but from about 20-50% it dragged on some, for me personally. It made the story feel dense, like I wasn't making any progress. As I said, though, the story went over a cliff at the halfway point and that momentum carried it through the end.

I think I want to continue in the series. The only hesitation is because this story was resolved so well that there isn't any real pressing sense to move forward. I really do like Will Henry, though, and when I come back to this world, it'll be to catch up with him.