A review by tersirat
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

There is a craving when I flicked the last page of “The Monster of Elendhaven”. A desire to know more about the place that lies at the end of the world; to witness more of Johann’s murderous spree; to watch as Florian ensured his life’s work would meet its end. I was satiated, sure. But I wanted so much more from this book. This place is pulsing with death, corruption, rot—all possible wretchedness you could possibly think of. These characters are undeniably cunning, biting, and with monstrous desires of their own longing to be sated. 

Giesbrecht’s writing has such a grotesque yet somewhat elegant flair that elevated my senses. You can feel the density of Elendhaven’s air. You can almost taste the lingering scent of iron from the bloodiness of this book. You can feel yourself tingling from disgust. It is grimy. It is full of rot. It is corrupt. It is dense with death. 

That growing desire to know more ceases to end. Despite the book’s fascinating and dense with delicious horror, I believe there’s more to be said about the story and the characters. Although it isn’t necessarily fast-paced, I thought everything felt abrupt. And by the time we reached the end, it had simply… ended. I wanted more of them. I wanted to know more about the monsters that have their grip on Elendhaven. I wanted more of the convoluted dynamic between Johann and Florian and just as I was witnessing it grow, that was it.

I wanted to see more development with them as individuals. The book is primarily spent its time through Johann’s perspective, but even so, I felt very little development from him. It’d only been sprinkles of it here and there. From his lack of understanding about humanity, about himself, and how he grows some form of fondness towards Florian. But that was that: only sprinkles of them.
 

However, that’s just about the only issue I had with the book. Its only lack is its length. That it ended so quickly before I was even ready to bid my goodbyes to these characters. Before I could understand them on a deeper level. It feels like a story that could’ve gone a little longer than it did. Just stretching a little longer to allow the characters, the world, and its story to flourish. 
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