Novus Monstrum

by Multiple, Douglas Gwilym (Editor), Ken MacGregor (Editor)

This may look like just a book, but NOVUS MONSTRUM could infect your brain, shake your sense of what’s real, change you forever. This is twenty-two all-original new monster tales from the Jonathan Maberry, Joe R. Lansdale, Gabino Iglesias, Gemma Files, Gaby Triana, Ramsey Campbell, Jeffrey Thomas, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Lucy A. Snyder, plus thirteen stories from new names (see below) destined to become some of your favorite authors.
These monsters are never-before-seen. These monsters bite, and don’t let go. These monsters aren’t your grandparents’ boogeymen, but they are not tame, and they want to climb right down into your nightmares and make you their own.
Welcome to the new anthology series The Midnight Zone.
Ken MacGregor, editor of the Shirley-Jackson-Award-nominated anthology Stitched Lips and the uproarious Burnt Fur , teamed up with Bram-Stoker-Award-nominated short story author Douglas Gwilym, editor of Appetites and Harmony & Dissonance , to take you to strange and dark new places. They’ll ask you to go deeper and weirder than The Twilight Zone, to a place (like the real-world midnight zone, a mile beneath the ocean’s surface) where no sunlight penetrates. Join us as we explore the inhospitable, surprising, uncomfortable, bizarre, and otherworldly.
Go on. Dive in. Lose yourself to The Midnight Zone.
Also
Amanda M. Blake
Joshua Bartolome
Matt Brandenburg
R.A. Busby
Marco Cultrera
E.C. Dorgan
Douglas Ford
Sarah Hans
Jamie Lackey
Donna J.W. Munro
Frank Oreto
Tim Pieraccini
Pris Sears With an introduction by the amazing Jamie Flanagan, screenwriter for Haunting of Bly Manor , Midnight Mass , Creepshow , and Fall of the House of Usher , and original cover art by the astonishing Trevor Henderson, internet cult phenomenon, creator of Siren Head, and weaver of monsters!

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Monsters

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2023

Reviews

[JXR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done horror anthology and I found almost every tale in here impressive. Especially watch out for God Damn You John Glenn

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do have a story in this anthology, so my opinion might not be fully trustworthy, but I thourougly enjoyed this book. Like the title suggests, it's full of new, original monsters. The stories range from creepy to genuinely upsetting to charming, and there's absolutely something here for any reader.

Some favorites -
"God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn!" by Frank Oreto - Such an amazing, well-realized main character and an ending that will stick with you.
"The Sea-Witch of the World's Fair" by Gwendolyn Kiste - Loved the setting and pretty much everything else about this story.
"Sight Unseen" by Amanda M. Blake - Loved how weird this one was, and also how sweet.
"Catfish" by R. A. Busby - Possibly my favorite monster in this book of monsters.
"Bloomer" by E.C. Dorgan - Another excellent monster, both sad and terrifying.

[Steve Barrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of 22 short stories by different authors, with "monsters" as a shared theme. Some very imaginative concepts within, with the genres ranging from supernatural horror to science fiction to apocalyptic cautionary tales. Some of the stories are creepy, others funny, and there is a good deal of violence and gore. The authors were all new to me, and include one friend who is published for the first time! I was engrossed by every story and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Tim Pieraccini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a story in this book, so it seemed only fair to read the contributions of my fellows...
I was very impressed by the variety of tone and setting (everything from high fantasy-type village life to space opera mines and crashed spaceships), and the imagination on display. So many different styles of monster. The Campbell story was a masterpiece of rising tension, and I was impressed by Cultrera's semi-benign answer to the environmental crisis. Frank Oreto's story has the best title (God Damn You To Hell, John Glenn!), and will spark memories for anyone who used to look at the small ads in comics.
So, a lovely balance of story types and genres, story-*telling* types (including one old-style epistolary) and points of view (at least one from the monster herself). Impossble to sum up; it can only be experienced.
And it taught me the word 'tchotchkes'!

[Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had enough stories from writers I already know and enjoy and sprinkled in a few from people I had never heard of that I now need to keep an eye out for. Very good collection with a fun theme to tie everything together.

[N.J. Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsters take many shapes. Some have sharp teeth, some have tentacles. Some look human but are anything but. The stories run the gamut and I have several favorites. "The Sea Witch of the World's Fair" by Gwendolyn Kiste, "God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn" by Frank J. Otero (mutated sea monkeys, hell yeah), "I Clean the Monster that Killed My Husband Every Day" by Marco Cultera, but there truly was not a bad one in the bunch.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty solid collection of short stories revolving around monsters. I picked it up mostly because I saw that stories by Gabino Iglasias and Gwendolyn Kiste were in this anthology. I absolutely love both authors.

I will say that the biggest issue that I had with the cover and description of the book is that there was no mention of sci-fi stories. It did not explicitly say that it was a collection of horror stories, and I understand that monsters can be in space related tales, but I'm honestly not the biggest fan of sci-fi. I would say that maybe a third to a half of the stories were sci-fi. Even Gabino Iglasias' story, "Are Monsters Real?" was in the sci-fi genre, but I felt that that one was well done. My partner loves sci-fi and I showed him the title and description and asked him to guess what percentage of the stories were sci-fi and he guessed 0%. So, I think that maybe the description should mention that there is a lot of this genre in this book. That being said, some of the stories were excellent, most were just okay, and some were just terrible. For that reason, I give it 3 stars because the ones that were excellent made it all worth it.

The stories that really stood out to me were:

"Wonce I Was a Woman" by Douglas Ford - this was kind of a strange Margaret Atwood-esque story about women in the workplace

"God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn" by Frank J.Oreto - what a fun monster shrimp tale!

"The Sea Witch of the World's Fair" by Gwendolyn Kiste - this one was my favorite of the collection; a story about a real mermaid type creature posing as a fake mermaid at the world's fair; it's a story about friendship and acceptance and also Salvador Dali is a character

"Are Monsters Real?" by Gabino Iglasias - even though this is a sci-fi story I just love Iglasias' writing

"The Pike" by Pris Sears - a surreal trucking story set in the part of North Carolina that I live in

"Catfish" - by R.A. Busby - an interesting take on sirens with a good "catfishing" pun

I do feel that these stories were worth the read, but most were forgettable. I hated a couple of them, but I won't call those out; they just weren't for me.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, scary grouping of monster stories

I enjoyed this collection of 22 monster short stories, some by horror authors I know well and some by new authors just getting a start.

I had favorites, of course, like The Sea Witch of the World's Fair and Are Monsters Real? But actually most of the stories in this horror anthology were well worth reading. And that's the thing about short stories, those stories I didn't especially care for will be someone else's favorite.

I received this Digital Review Copy from Dragon's Roost Press through Net Galley. I appreciate the chance I had to read and leave a review for this book.

[Jennifer T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is a mix of well known horror authors and new horror authors. As with most short story collections some were better than others.

My top 3 favorites were “God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn!” by Frank J Oreto, “Critical Mass” by Jonathan Maberry, and “Catfish” by RA Busby. The John Glenn one was seriously the best!

Honorable mentions to “Are Monsters Real” by Gabino Iglesias and “Song of the Devil Trumpet” by Gaby Triana.

All in all this was a great collection of monster stories, only a couple I didn’t care for, of which I won’t name.

**Thanks to the authors/editors and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

[Jacquelyn Dohoney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked this one up for the stories by Jonathon Mayberry and Gabino Iglesias, but they were lol good. A really entertaining way to put all the monsters in your nightmares on paper. I can almost imagine some of them came from actual nightmares. I hope they come out with another anthology, I would definitely read it!

Huge thanks to Dragon’s Roost Press and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

[Trisha Tropiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of monster stories! Im generally disappointed by at least one story in a collection, but it wasn’t the case in Novus Monstrum. I’d have a hard time choosing which one I liked the most - I think my favourites were Lizard War, God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn!, The Sea Witch of the World’s Fair, and I Clean the Monster That Killed My Husband Every Morning. If you like monsters then I’d definitely recommend checking out this collection!

[Angela Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag of short horror stories but I am glad I picked this book up at a local Halloween market! As the name suggests, every story depicts a new monster created by a different author. My favorites were Lizard War, God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn!, Critical Mass, Catfish, The Sea Witch of the World Fair, Are Monsters Real?, and Song of the Devil Trumpet. This is a fun romp of interesting ideas and weird creations that slither into your imagination. Enjoy!

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love horror and I really love monsters. An entire book with original stories about monsters by some of my favorite authors? Sign me up please! The quality was consistent, I would be surprised if anyone who enjoys horror will have trouble finding a story they really enjoy here.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

[J.M. Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't go wrong with Monsters.

Was onboard with the anthology from the start.

Solid collection of monster stories put together by
Gwilym and MacGregor.

A few of my favs were A Grace of Finer Form by Hans, The Sea Witch at the World's Fair by Kiste, and Are Monsters Real? by Iglesias.

The cover is the cherry on top.

Definitely worth picking up.

[Michael]

DRP publication. No Review.