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Monster Academy: I Will Not Eat People
Good triumphs over evil, scouring darkness from the land, but while the Great Evil has been banished, little ones still lurk in the corners. The new king orders all monsters put to death, but when a vampire lord turns his granddaughter — Princess Adamant — into a young bloodsucker, the king repents and founds the Royal Academy for Creature Habilitation, a boarding school for monsters who have yet to harm anyone.
The Monster Academy trilogy follows the adventures of Ruddy, an orphaned young dragon who often takes the form of a skinny teen with blazing red hair. Rescued from the keep of adventurers illegally raising him as their flying mount, Ruddy winds up remanded to the Monster Academy, where he is told that he has one last chance to become a valuable citizen of the kingdom — or face death.
Under the watchful eye of Mr. Mortis, the undead wizard who serves as the academy's reluctant headmaster, Ruddy must deal with a demonic girl (Lucy), goblin quadruplets (Ay, Bee, Cee, and Dee), and an ogre bully (Krusha), as well as teachers who threaten him with punishments ranging from writing lines on a tablet all the way up to summary execution. Along the way, he makes friends with the rebellious Princess Adamant and becomes best pals with a werewolf boy (Growf), who only gets into trouble during full moons.
During his time at Monster Academy, Ruddy learns the secret of what really happened to his parents and how the Great Evil was defeated. Armed with that knowledge, he and his friends must choose sides and grow up fast, knowing that if they fail these final exams, the entire kingdom falls with them.
The Monster Academy trilogy follows the adventures of Ruddy, an orphaned young dragon who often takes the form of a skinny teen with blazing red hair. Rescued from the keep of adventurers illegally raising him as their flying mount, Ruddy winds up remanded to the Monster Academy, where he is told that he has one last chance to become a valuable citizen of the kingdom — or face death.
Under the watchful eye of Mr. Mortis, the undead wizard who serves as the academy's reluctant headmaster, Ruddy must deal with a demonic girl (Lucy), goblin quadruplets (Ay, Bee, Cee, and Dee), and an ogre bully (Krusha), as well as teachers who threaten him with punishments ranging from writing lines on a tablet all the way up to summary execution. Along the way, he makes friends with the rebellious Princess Adamant and becomes best pals with a werewolf boy (Growf), who only gets into trouble during full moons.
During his time at Monster Academy, Ruddy learns the secret of what really happened to his parents and how the Great Evil was defeated. Armed with that knowledge, he and his friends must choose sides and grow up fast, knowing that if they fail these final exams, the entire kingdom falls with them.
- GenresFantasy
198 pages, ebook
First published February 3, 2014
About the author
Matt Forbeck
221 books318 followersI'm an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and game designer and happily married father of five, including a set of quadruplets. For more on my work, see Forbeck.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 13, 2014
You can read the full review over at my blog:
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
Matt Forbeck, one of my favourite SFF authors, has a new book releasing today. I Will Not Eat People is the first book in his Monster Academy trilogy of young adult novels which he has written as part of his 12-for-12 writing program. It was his writing challenge for 2012, where he did four kickstarters, one for each trilogy, and was to write a book for each month of the year. Due to delays, some outside his control, he wasn’t able to complete the challenge in the same year, but now the overall project is finally seeing its completion. Monster Academy is the fourth trilogy, and it is off to a great start.
I’ve enjoyed all of Matt’s work that I’ve read to date, some thirteen or so novels at the least, and with each book he has impressed me even more. I find the idea of Monster Academy really fun and seeing the execution of it last month was really fun. The humour is always front and center with this book, but that’s not all of course, and just as with the previous trilogies Dangerous Games and Shotguns & Sorcery there is a strong sense of a murder investigation here, which is thrilling.
I Will Not Eat People is a novel that focuses on a young orphan boy named Ruddy who is apprehended by the King’s men and brought to the Royal Academy of Creature Habilitation. In the world that Matt has created, several years ago the King led a war on all the monsters, great and small, and wiped out the majority of them. Of the few that are left, unless they are killed, they are brought to the Royal Academy and are enrolled there as students. There is a very interesting reason for why the king gave up on killing monsters on sight, and that in turn informs a lot of the drama in the novel.
Ruddy, who is a dragon in his monster form, has a really rough time in his first few days at the Academy since he is the new boy. He is bullied by some of the older students and eventually he gets caught in a murder investigation, involving no less a personage than the brother of the kingdom’s high priest, a monster-hunter of great renown. I Will Not Eat People explores that murder investigation angle, and it also explores the concept of prejudice and bias, and how these can be taken to unwholesome extremes by fanatics who refuse to listen to any sort of reason.
Ruddy, and the supporting cast of characters are really fun all the way through. The master of the Royal Academy is one of the coolest of Matt’s characters that I’ve read to date, and someone I was really interested in seeing more of. Which, we will hopefully see in the next two novels. It would be a nice subplot to have I think.
One of the great things about Matt’s novels is the dialogue. His characters are often sharp, witty individuals, and that holds true here as well. Ruddy, the master of the Academy Mr. Mortis and a certain female character are all great characters that have the hallmarks of characters I really enjoy reading about, and that Matt is really good at writing.
This is a novel that works on almost every level for me.
If there is any criticism that I have for this novel, it is that the opening is a bit clunky. The writing grabbed me immediately but the first few pages are a bit of a chore to read. Nothing major, but does leave an impression. And the climax is quite fast-paced. I would have liked to spend some more time with teasing out the reveal of who the murderer is, and focus more on the investigation is. Being such a short novel, roughly 50,000 words, there isn’t a whole lot of room to go in depth here, and the way that the story is told, things flash by a little too fast.
That’s really it though. I think that with this novel Matt Forbeck has another win on his hand. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it, exactly, but I can say that it was a hell of a lot of fun. This is a great young adult book, of the sort that I’d have loved to read as a kid. So that’s that.
I hope you get a chance to read this book and enjoy it as much as I have.
Rating: 9/10
http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/2014...
Matt Forbeck, one of my favourite SFF authors, has a new book releasing today. I Will Not Eat People is the first book in his Monster Academy trilogy of young adult novels which he has written as part of his 12-for-12 writing program. It was his writing challenge for 2012, where he did four kickstarters, one for each trilogy, and was to write a book for each month of the year. Due to delays, some outside his control, he wasn’t able to complete the challenge in the same year, but now the overall project is finally seeing its completion. Monster Academy is the fourth trilogy, and it is off to a great start.
I’ve enjoyed all of Matt’s work that I’ve read to date, some thirteen or so novels at the least, and with each book he has impressed me even more. I find the idea of Monster Academy really fun and seeing the execution of it last month was really fun. The humour is always front and center with this book, but that’s not all of course, and just as with the previous trilogies Dangerous Games and Shotguns & Sorcery there is a strong sense of a murder investigation here, which is thrilling.
I Will Not Eat People is a novel that focuses on a young orphan boy named Ruddy who is apprehended by the King’s men and brought to the Royal Academy of Creature Habilitation. In the world that Matt has created, several years ago the King led a war on all the monsters, great and small, and wiped out the majority of them. Of the few that are left, unless they are killed, they are brought to the Royal Academy and are enrolled there as students. There is a very interesting reason for why the king gave up on killing monsters on sight, and that in turn informs a lot of the drama in the novel.
Ruddy, who is a dragon in his monster form, has a really rough time in his first few days at the Academy since he is the new boy. He is bullied by some of the older students and eventually he gets caught in a murder investigation, involving no less a personage than the brother of the kingdom’s high priest, a monster-hunter of great renown. I Will Not Eat People explores that murder investigation angle, and it also explores the concept of prejudice and bias, and how these can be taken to unwholesome extremes by fanatics who refuse to listen to any sort of reason.
Ruddy, and the supporting cast of characters are really fun all the way through. The master of the Royal Academy is one of the coolest of Matt’s characters that I’ve read to date, and someone I was really interested in seeing more of. Which, we will hopefully see in the next two novels. It would be a nice subplot to have I think.
One of the great things about Matt’s novels is the dialogue. His characters are often sharp, witty individuals, and that holds true here as well. Ruddy, the master of the Academy Mr. Mortis and a certain female character are all great characters that have the hallmarks of characters I really enjoy reading about, and that Matt is really good at writing.
This is a novel that works on almost every level for me.
If there is any criticism that I have for this novel, it is that the opening is a bit clunky. The writing grabbed me immediately but the first few pages are a bit of a chore to read. Nothing major, but does leave an impression. And the climax is quite fast-paced. I would have liked to spend some more time with teasing out the reveal of who the murderer is, and focus more on the investigation is. Being such a short novel, roughly 50,000 words, there isn’t a whole lot of room to go in depth here, and the way that the story is told, things flash by a little too fast.
That’s really it though. I think that with this novel Matt Forbeck has another win on his hand. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it, exactly, but I can say that it was a hell of a lot of fun. This is a great young adult book, of the sort that I’d have loved to read as a kid. So that’s that.
I hope you get a chance to read this book and enjoy it as much as I have.
Rating: 9/10
February 2, 2014
I have read many of Matt Forbeck's books - indeed was one of the 12 for 12 backers for the entire endeavour. This book is a shift in gear from the first three trilogies in the kickstarter run. The language and manner of the book is toned down to a younger adult level of reading and this brings a simplistic view of what is happening - more so as this is set at a school. It also brings about the wonders of how youngsters (in this case monsters) would view new experiences and here we see just how one of the most dangerous creatures there could be struggles and shows "human" traits and mannerisms.... not what you'd expect... then again this a young "monster" (I won't spoilt the fun saying what sort!). Great read, and as I have come to discover with Matt's great style.... I am eager to see what happens next...
February 2, 2014
Monster Academy is a novel which follows the life a Ruddy, a special boy who is not who he appears to be. From the beginning, it quickly picks up with no boring setup, grabbing the reader immediately in the first chapter and not letting go until the very end. Matt Forbeck does an amazing job of integrating character qualities while keeping the story flowing with quick-witted dialogue, interesting plot points, and even some darker, mysterious tones. If you enjoy fast-paced books interwoven with fantasy and strange creatures, you’ll simply love Monster Academy!
January 18, 2014
This was a wonderful, enjoyable read. It is an entertaining way of explorung ideas celebrating diversity. I look forward to reading the next in this trilogy as Matt Forbeck has created some wonderful characters, and I want to see what they do next.
February 16, 2014
Disclosure: I bought the e-book version of this book the week it came out and then won a free copy of it the same week.
Sometime when you read a book, you need to address the big issue first then you can move on with the story. In this the first thing that could come to mind is it is Harry Potter mixed with Monsters University. Yes the setting does seem familiar, and the plot does as well. Once you accept that then then question is how well does it work?
The plot follows Ruddy who appears to be a boy, but is in reality a dragon. He is captured and placed into the Royal Academy for Creature Habilitation, also known as the Monster Academy, where is he is to be rehabilitated. There is also a crime involved that cause problems as well.
The characters do have familiar feel to them, you have probably seen similar types in other stories. In addition with this being the first book in the series you are given some introductory information about the characters and the school, enough to get to know them. The bad guys are obvious and you can predict when the kids are going to get into trouble.
This does not take away from the book. I still enjoyed the situations and the crime, to try and avoid spoilers, was different from what you might expect. Granted I was not on the edge of my seat on what would happen next, because it was fun to read.
That is what is important here. It is a fun book to read. It does not break any new ground. There are spins on common plots, but it is a book that could be picked up by anyone in the family and be enjoyed.
For the level of reading, almost anyone can read it. I have read one other book by Matt Forbeck (Dangerous Games: How to Play) and enjoyed his writing style. Easy to read and crisp. This style continues in this book. Though there were a couple of times I had to re-read a section, but not enough to throw me off from reading.
In the end I would recommend this book. It is an enjoyable read for all ages. It does receive 3 1/2 stars, though with the GoodReads rating scale it is a 4 star book.
Sometime when you read a book, you need to address the big issue first then you can move on with the story. In this the first thing that could come to mind is it is Harry Potter mixed with Monsters University. Yes the setting does seem familiar, and the plot does as well. Once you accept that then then question is how well does it work?
The plot follows Ruddy who appears to be a boy, but is in reality a dragon. He is captured and placed into the Royal Academy for Creature Habilitation, also known as the Monster Academy, where is he is to be rehabilitated. There is also a crime involved that cause problems as well.
The characters do have familiar feel to them, you have probably seen similar types in other stories. In addition with this being the first book in the series you are given some introductory information about the characters and the school, enough to get to know them. The bad guys are obvious and you can predict when the kids are going to get into trouble.
This does not take away from the book. I still enjoyed the situations and the crime, to try and avoid spoilers, was different from what you might expect. Granted I was not on the edge of my seat on what would happen next, because it was fun to read.
That is what is important here. It is a fun book to read. It does not break any new ground. There are spins on common plots, but it is a book that could be picked up by anyone in the family and be enjoyed.
For the level of reading, almost anyone can read it. I have read one other book by Matt Forbeck (Dangerous Games: How to Play) and enjoyed his writing style. Easy to read and crisp. This style continues in this book. Though there were a couple of times I had to re-read a section, but not enough to throw me off from reading.
In the end I would recommend this book. It is an enjoyable read for all ages. It does receive 3 1/2 stars, though with the GoodReads rating scale it is a 4 star book.
January 12, 2014
What happens to the young creature's parents are killed? Are they killed themselves? No, they are schooled.
A good quick read. Looking forward to the 2nd book to continue the story.
A good quick read. Looking forward to the 2nd book to continue the story.
March 21, 2019
If I were 8 or 9 I'd rate this 5 stars and look for the next one right away. Since that's apparently the intended audience, well done. Adults might be a little bored with the fairytale ending, but of course, that's what this is. And like most fairytales, this one has a lesson, though not the one given on the cover: it's about respecting authority while still knowing you can and should stand up to injustice and bigotry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2020
I enjoyed this lighthearted yet serious view of a Campbellian young monster learning that he's on the wrong side of an (overly?) moralistic world.
February 6, 2014
So basically, we have a boy who turns into a dragon, a boarding school for monsters, and a murder to solve. I couldn't put the book down. Forbeck is awesome at writing murder mysteries, and I enjoy it that he took the time to develop the characters and world before starting the 'whodunit' plot.
My kids are a bit too young for it (eldest is 6), but this is meant for an elementary or middle grade audience. The action is never gory, the tension is never scary, and the pacing is perfect for keeping anyone's attention. This is a fun read-aloud book, and develops some themes that adults will appreciate.
You see, while most of the monsters in the world are bad, the Kingdom needs to know what to do with the few that are good. I love that Forbeck doesn't just make it black and white, aka, IT'S EVIL TO LOCK UP MONSTERS, he develops why it happened in the first place. The same is true with his characters, they aren't black and white, good and bad, they all have a bit of both in them, so that was interesting.
I highly recommend this book. If the fact that Ruddy CAN TURN INTO A DRAGON isn't enough for you, then get it for the witty dialogue, quick pace, engaging characters, and exciting mystery.
My kids are a bit too young for it (eldest is 6), but this is meant for an elementary or middle grade audience. The action is never gory, the tension is never scary, and the pacing is perfect for keeping anyone's attention. This is a fun read-aloud book, and develops some themes that adults will appreciate.
You see, while most of the monsters in the world are bad, the Kingdom needs to know what to do with the few that are good. I love that Forbeck doesn't just make it black and white, aka, IT'S EVIL TO LOCK UP MONSTERS, he develops why it happened in the first place. The same is true with his characters, they aren't black and white, good and bad, they all have a bit of both in them, so that was interesting.
I highly recommend this book. If the fact that Ruddy CAN TURN INTO A DRAGON isn't enough for you, then get it for the witty dialogue, quick pace, engaging characters, and exciting mystery.
April 13, 2016
What a super fun little book. Ruddy, who I will continue to call Rudy because his real name just makes me think he's a sailboat, is captured... Recaptured? And brought back to the main city where ha introduced to the habitation Center for monsters.
The story mixes elements of fantasy, and suspense as it quickly turns into a mystery that need to be solved to save the school from destruction.
The story mixes elements of fantasy, and suspense as it quickly turns into a mystery that need to be solved to save the school from destruction.
February 4, 2014
Great and fun read from ever-productive & imaginative pal Matt Forbeck! Great characters and rollicking fun from start to finish.
One-sentence review: if "What if Harry Potter were a dragon?" intrigues you, this is absolutely the book for you.
One-sentence review: if "What if Harry Potter were a dragon?" intrigues you, this is absolutely the book for you.
February 24, 2014
Probably a little young for me.
March 20, 2014
A quick read which I devoured within a day. Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews