OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile
Daniel Henning gives a compelling narration of this dark fantasy novella. The story follows Johann, a supernatural human-like monster who kills people for his own pleasure and education. Johann plans to murder Herr Leikenbloom, but they wind up unlikely cohorts in a revenge scheme against those who wronged them. Henning fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters. Squeamish listeners should look elsewhere, though. This audiobook verges on the grotesque and is a difficult listen, despite its relatively short length. Those willing to stick around will find that the story is well served by Henning’s theatrical performance. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/03/2019
Full of foul, intoxicating odors and fouler characters, this disquieting short novel employs serial suicide and multiple homicides to offer criticism of its decadent setting. In vaguely Victorian, coal-grimed Elendhaven, Johann, a supernatural companion mistakenly summoned by sorcerer Florian Leickenbloom, becomes Florian’s assistant in crafting a plan to reintroduce a deadly plague. Florian, last heir of the fallen Leickenbloom fortune, schemes to collapse Elendhaven’s nouveau riche elites and take vengeance on the neighboring countries who profited on the devastation wrought by the previous plague outbreak. Opposing him and Johann is a Mage Hunter who’s charged with removing either Florian’s magic or his life. Giesbrecht tries for a sardonic tone in showing how societies deserve the monsters that they produce, but the imagery of pestilence and splattered bodily fluids tips the balance from picaresque to grotesque. Her work goes beyond grimdark to something more like grimglum, and few readers will be able to stick it out even for the brief length of this misery-marinated story. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is a black tide of perversity, violence, and lush writing. I loved it.” —Joe Hill, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Fireman, N0S4A2, and Horns
“A tight, perfectly crafted story about retribution and what monsters deserve; stylish, quirky, and weirdly sexy? I’m into it.” —R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel
“Pitch dark, whimsical, topical, wild, and lushly written, Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is the most reading fun you'll have this year.” —Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts
“Delicate, jagged, and unrepentant, The Monster of Elendhaven has the linguistic febrility of Peake and the brutal sentiment of a gothic, perfectly framed in a secondary-world Hanseatic League setting that is as unusual as it is compelling.” —Arkady Martine
“I read The Monster of Elendhaven in a single vicious, delightful bite. What a dark gem of a book.” —Kiersten White, New York Times Bestselling Author
“Elendhaven is as fully formed as Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" series with truly repellent characters who don't possess a shred of moral fiber. Yet the right readers will still love them, as newcomer Giesbrecht is a fantasy writer to watch with a sure command of her world.” —Library Journal Starred Review
“Gorily gothic, darkly baroque, rotten with magic and shot with shafts of wicked humor, The Monster of Elendhaven is a perfect nightmare.” —Margo Lanagan, author of The Bridges of Rollrock Island
“Giesbrecht's words don't ask, they don't wonder, they don't hope or plead or bargain. They command you to have the experience that she knows you will have, to see what she knows you will see.” —Andrew Hussie, creator of Homestuck
“Jennifer Giesbrecht's The Monster of Elendhaven is a gothic delight, dark as an oil-slick and iridescent with feral humour, bruise-violet prose, and a fascinatingly depraved tragic romance.” —Indra Das, author of The Devourers
“Horror fans will want to grab this one — Giesbrecht has an extremely compelling voice.” —Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians
“The Monster of Elendhaven is so much more than it seems. In Giesbrecht's deft hands, it's a compelling, psychologically gripping tale of lust and revenge, told in parallel, twisting narratives that ingeniously leave the reader sympathizing with the most horrible people imaginable.” —Grimdark Magazine
OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile
Daniel Henning gives a compelling narration of this dark fantasy novella. The story follows Johann, a supernatural human-like monster who kills people for his own pleasure and education. Johann plans to murder Herr Leikenbloom, but they wind up unlikely cohorts in a revenge scheme against those who wronged them. Henning fully commits to this tale, providing a nearly breathless and deliciously evil-sounding narration while also developing unique voices and presenting surprisingly layered characters. Squeamish listeners should look elsewhere, though. This audiobook verges on the grotesque and is a difficult listen, despite its relatively short length. Those willing to stick around will find that the story is well served by Henning’s theatrical performance. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
