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Five Star Science Fiction/Fantasy - Rough Beasts and Other Mutations
Bram Stoker Award-winning author Thomas F. Monteleone has brought 20 of his most powerful and dark fantasy and horror stories into one spellbinding collection. Enter strange worlds that are at the same time not too far off from our own, where religion, mythology, emotion, and terror combine for a mix that will keep readers up until all hours of the night. Includes an introduction by John DeChancie, and the stories Mister Magister, The Dancer in the Darkness, The Prisoner's Tale and many more! Thomas F. Monteleone lives in Grantham, New Hampshire with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Olivia.
Hardcover
First published April 14, 2003
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 30, 2020
Amended April 30, 2020
Before reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel, I had never heard of Thomas F. Monteleone. He is a prolific writer of 27 novels and over 100 short stories.
His bestselling Idiot’s Guide made a great study help for my high school and college English courses. Searching for Monteleone’s fiction was an adventure! Most bookstores only carried his Idiot's Guide.Eventually, I ran across “Yesterday’s Child,” inside October Dreams, a Halloween-themed anthogy. Intrigued again, the library put me on hold for this anthology.
RBAOM draws together 19 of the author’s best “weird tales.” They’re the kind of stories told at sleepovers, and around the summer campfires. Explorations of the darker side of the human mind, and the science of metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of reality.
Monteleone utilizes familiar tropes (time travel, aliens, monsters, and prehistoric beasts), setting them in exotic locations (France, New York City, the American Midwest, Brazil, Spain, far future high-rises, country estates). Doctors, artists, teenagers, convicts, spacemen, and soldiers must muster thier courage and deadly foes from outside themselves and within thier own minds.
You’ll recognize the shared world's concept, Frank L. Baum’s Oz universe in “Off to see the Wizard” where two travelers set foot across a desolate America “Taking the Night Train” treads similar ground when a street bum enters another dimension via the NY subway. “Changing of the Guard” marries Freudian psychology with Greek and Christian mythos in astonishing ways. A normal college student shares his bizarre, recurring nighttime dreams where Jesus battles Thor. Monteleone's afterword/essay in memory of his life-long friend mentor, the late, great Roger Zelazny is heartfelt kind.
My favorite entry in RBAOM is “Mister Magister,” presented in two forms, one prose and the other, screenplay. Autumn/Halloween, traveling carnivals, and the quaint, American everytown, Monteleone’s “humility lesson” serves as a wistful nod to Bradbury, who still inspires.
Short italicized introductions explain where Monteleone's ideas came from. “It’s in the Bag” came from an encounter inside a Pittsburgh airport. “Please Stand By" recalls Monteleone's memory of his television installation. And “Present Perfect” is a response to mediocre manuscript submissions.
To recap, Rough Beasts and Other Mutations gathers the best of Tom Monteleone’s work all in one volume. Spanning 30 years, complete with O. Henry twist endings, and universal relatable themes, plus the author’s signature astounding vocabulary, and showcasing his formal, ornate style. Sentimental and introspective. tingled. Your imagination will be enriched upon exiting Mr. Monteloene’s magnificent gallery.
I also recommend "Dream Songs" Volumes I and II by George R.R. Martin
Before reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel, I had never heard of Thomas F. Monteleone. He is a prolific writer of 27 novels and over 100 short stories.
His bestselling Idiot’s Guide made a great study help for my high school and college English courses. Searching for Monteleone’s fiction was an adventure! Most bookstores only carried his Idiot's Guide.Eventually, I ran across “Yesterday’s Child,” inside October Dreams, a Halloween-themed anthogy. Intrigued again, the library put me on hold for this anthology.
RBAOM draws together 19 of the author’s best “weird tales.” They’re the kind of stories told at sleepovers, and around the summer campfires. Explorations of the darker side of the human mind, and the science of metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of reality.
Monteleone utilizes familiar tropes (time travel, aliens, monsters, and prehistoric beasts), setting them in exotic locations (France, New York City, the American Midwest, Brazil, Spain, far future high-rises, country estates). Doctors, artists, teenagers, convicts, spacemen, and soldiers must muster thier courage and deadly foes from outside themselves and within thier own minds.
You’ll recognize the shared world's concept, Frank L. Baum’s Oz universe in “Off to see the Wizard” where two travelers set foot across a desolate America “Taking the Night Train” treads similar ground when a street bum enters another dimension via the NY subway. “Changing of the Guard” marries Freudian psychology with Greek and Christian mythos in astonishing ways. A normal college student shares his bizarre, recurring nighttime dreams where Jesus battles Thor. Monteleone's afterword/essay in memory of his life-long friend mentor, the late, great Roger Zelazny is heartfelt kind.
My favorite entry in RBAOM is “Mister Magister,” presented in two forms, one prose and the other, screenplay. Autumn/Halloween, traveling carnivals, and the quaint, American everytown, Monteleone’s “humility lesson” serves as a wistful nod to Bradbury, who still inspires.
Short italicized introductions explain where Monteleone's ideas came from. “It’s in the Bag” came from an encounter inside a Pittsburgh airport. “Please Stand By" recalls Monteleone's memory of his television installation. And “Present Perfect” is a response to mediocre manuscript submissions.
To recap, Rough Beasts and Other Mutations gathers the best of Tom Monteleone’s work all in one volume. Spanning 30 years, complete with O. Henry twist endings, and universal relatable themes, plus the author’s signature astounding vocabulary, and showcasing his formal, ornate style. Sentimental and introspective. tingled. Your imagination will be enriched upon exiting Mr. Monteloene’s magnificent gallery.
I also recommend "Dream Songs" Volumes I and II by George R.R. Martin
Displaying 1 of 1 review