Bestiary

The Bestiary is the sequel to "The Vigil" I actually read this book first and realized there was a prequel with the references to another story. The Bestiary is a thrilling read!! Something you would see on a movie screen by Speilberg! The Bestiary is a story that takes a Paleontologist working at the Labria Tar Pits in Los Angeles.... through his wifes affiliation with a museum.... to the discovery of private dangerous collection of mythical animals that are actually alive in the Los Angeles hills today!! Their family includes a their young infant son, an adopted mutt and is filled with vibrant descriptions of their surroundings in Los Angeles. The story is filled with humor, terror, and carries alot of actual information about these animals who through ancient texts are said to actually have lived on earth!! Its been a long time since a book actually drew my interest to research the facts in the book! If you liked "ET", "Stargate", you will love both "The Vigil" and "Bestiary". I am patiently waiting for the sequel and the movie!!

The intriguing characters and unusual twists in this sequel novel to Vigil kept me reading well into the night. Masello is such a colorful, strong novelist that every scene jumps off the page. He packs in great and unexpected stories and great and unexpected characters, and then wraps it all up with gusto. Here's hoping he's at work on book three.

When I learned that Robert Masello had a new book, I pre-ordered it, and it arrived just in time to be the highlight of an otherwise dull birthday. I sometimes wonder why Masello is so appealing, especially as he writes in a genre that normally doesn't interest me. The quick response would be to say that his books are a guilty pleasure, but every paragraph seems to contain a surprisingly erudite throw-away fact or observation, or an unexpectedly lucid point of comparison that has no other reason to be in the story, but makes it a richer experience. All that aside, he gives us a fast-paced plot involving widely diverse, well-rounded characters in a variety of painstakingly researched environments, and takes us for a wild ride all over the west side of Los Angeles. The real stars of this book are the monsters. And they are the coolest monsters. I have never lost my childhood fascination with prehistoric creatures, but with the exception of a rare documentary on the Learning Channel, my knowledge of paleontology hovers at the 5th grade level. Thank you for not doing dinosaurs, by the way - even the kid in me is getting tired of dinosaurs. So I was delighted to be introduced to, and provided with paleontological explanations of fantastic creatures I had always considered to be relegated to mythology - not to mention creatures I had only vaguely heard of. I adored Robertson Davies' novel "The Manticore," but I can assure you that paleontology was the last subject on his mind. I thought we were in for a sequel to "Vigil" when I saw that Carter and Beth are back, a mysterious baby now making 3, but "Bestiary" stands on its own. A few appearances by Arius, from the previous novel are unexplained here, but hint at pleasures to come. Mr. Masello appears to have moved to Los Angeles since we last heard from him. His descriptions of living on the west side feel remarkably real, both factually and atmospherically. This is a man who has clearly paid his dues sitting in traffic at Wilshire and the 405.

Put simply, if you liked Vigil, you will LOVE Bestiary! Without giving too much away, Masello continues to write yet another book that was hard to put down! As usual the characters are all well developed and the story is full of intrigue and suspense! This is a must read for all Masello fans and fans of truly great books! With all the junk and remakes that Hollywood has been pumping out, it would be a refreshing change to take a great story like this and make it into a great movie!

After thoroughly enjoying (in one delicious sitting) Mr. Masello's previous novel VIGIL, I have been looking forward to its sequel. BESTIARY exceeded my expectations. More than just another "horror" paperback this continuation of the saga of the star-crossed Cox family is a finely wrought work of fiction featuring an Iraqi villian whose collection of truly bestial beasts will send chills down the firmest spines. Masello manages to take the reader on a literary trek filled with unexpected twists and curves as we discover that the ancient secrets of the Al-Kalli family are allive, and menacing, in present day Los Angeles. Thankfully my plane spent some time circling the San Francisco airport so I could finish BESTIARY. Otherwise the ground crew would have had to pry me out of my seat. I look forward to the next adventure of the Cox family. Judging by the hints of the nature of their baby, I am already ashiver.