Book Review: Lesser Known Monsters, by Rory Michaelson

“It is the eleventh of October, at four twenty-three in the morning. The weather in London is overcast with a temperature of 9 degrees Celsius (48.2 degrees Fahrenheit if you’re into that sort of thing). There has been mild precipitation; this is England, after all.

Oh, and the world is ending.

The world is ending, and it is due to the choices of a young man named Oscar Tundale. He is entirely average in many ways and less than average in more. This is the story of why the world is ending.

And how Oscar let it happen.”
“Lesser Known Monsters”, by Rory Michaelson

I’m delighted to have been a panelist for the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2022, and to be taking part in this blog tour celebrating one of the 15 finalists.

My review today is on “Lesser Known Monsters”, by Rory Michaelson, the fantastic 10th place finalist!

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website or Twitter. BBNYA is brought to you in association with The Folio Society (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

The story:

Being the chosen one isn’t always a good thing…

Oscar Tundale is not a hero. Anxious, indecisive, and awkward, he can barely get through a normal day. Now he’s about to find out monsters are real. Oscar’s friends: brave, stubborn Zara, and hyperactive, paranoid Marcus, might help discover what hunts him, and unravel the truth about the handsome doctor he pines for. But only heroes can save the world, so maybe the best Oscar can hope for is to not end it by accident.

The LESSER KNOWN MONSTERS series is a dark queer fantasy featuring diverse characters on a found family adventure. Perfect for fans of horror and paranormal romance who seek LGBTQ+ heroes.

My thoughts:

“Lesser Known Monsters” is the first in a trilogy by Rory Michaelson (followed by “The Bone Gate” and “The Torn Earth”, as well as short story collection, “The Little Book of Lesser Known Monsters”). The series follows the adventures of Oscar, a health care assistant working in the paediatric ward of a hospital as he discovers that not only are monsters real, they are hunting him for unknown reasons. Oscar is something of a hopeless case (although perhaps not quite as hopeless as he thinks he is!) – clumsy, unlucky in love and, from what we gather from the opening paragraph of the book, possibly about to end the world…!

The plot gets going quickly and keeps moving at a fast pace. While grounded in the real world, the author introduces horror and humour, which is a tricky balance. Although I read a reasonable number of fantasy books, I read fewer set in the real world, and even fewer that are funny!

The author’s writing style is quite casual and chatty, which makes it an easy read. There is a lot of internal monologue with Oscar, and dialogue between the other characters, so this moves the story along quickly. I would have loved if we had seen things from the perspectives of some of the other main characters, but perhaps this is something that happens in later books. The narrative is interspersed with short sections throughout (“The Taxonomy of Monsters”), which describe various monsters, and was a fun addition. I enjoyed the lightness of the writing (although the story definitely has its dark moments!).

Another thing I appreciated in this book was the diversity of the main characters Oscar and his two best friends Marcus and Zara. They are a great balance to Oscar, as neither lack confidence in themselves! Zara is strong and capable, and Marcus moves at a hundred miles an hour (mainly without stopping to think first!); the three of them make a great team. As mentioned, the plot is fast-paced but I still felt we had a chance to get to know them, and their friendship and support for each other was great.

Overall, I found this an easy read, with a fast-moving plot, diverse and likable main characters, and a fun mixture of horror and humour. Definitely one to check out if you are looking for a more humorous addition to your fantasy reads!

Pages: 290
Published: 31st October 2020
Rating: 🐈🐈🐈.5/5

About the author

Rory Michaelson is always doing too many things, and rarely the ones that they ought to be. The Lesser Known Monsters series includes Rory’s debut novel and short story collection. They were born and raised in the UK, love stories in all forms, and are easily bribed with cookies.

You can follow Rory on Twitter (and other social media platforms) for shenanigans, or subscribe to their newsletter at RoryMichaelson.com.