Monstrocity

This book is a fascinating novel set in Punktown (what did you expect? Detroit?). Our hero gets himself a girlfriend, and dares her to perform one of the silly occult rituals she's so fond of. Probably a bad idea, in retrospect. This leads to a bad break-up, and a fascinating take on the Cthulhu mythos, as our hero struggles against an enemy he can't prove exists, even to himself. Thomas's books are like potato chips- you can't eat just one (with apologies to Conan O'Brien). Stephen King only wishes he could be this original. If you've gone to the trouble of reading the reviews, go ahead and finish. Then go and read the thing.

Just about the best Cthulhu inspired book that I have read in many years. His "Punktown" based stories are real page turners and fit together very well. They range from over the top great to excellent . Not your traditional Lovecraft, Lumley,Campbell stories. but a new and interesting direction for the Mythos. Don't miss this book.

Whether surrealist headtrip, Cyberpunk fiction, or Lovecraft tribute, I loved it. It was like the best alternative comic book, come to life as a substantial novel. Everything about this book was just frikkin' cool. The story moved really fast, without a lot of the standard plot devices to help drag along the skeptic, but I liked that - it enhanced the comic-book feel, and kept the writing down to a bare minimum. Even then, the descriptions were as graphic, the characters as fascinating, the setting as unique as anyone could hope for.

When I first went to read this book for a report in school. I thought it was just going to be another boring book, but when I opened the cover I could not close it. The book will sink you into its depths and have you wondering what will happen next. Jeffrey Thomas is an amazing author that uses great details. His style is like no other and doesn't go near the usual horror stories it is border line insanity in a way. If you love science fiction or occult you will enjoy this, it takes you to a place that can't be described or at least when it is you are just drawn in to another world. I would advise all to read it and continue to read the rest of his books.

Thomas's Punktown really comes alive in Monstrocity. Literally. On the fantastic world of Oasis is a city called Paxton, locally known as Punktown. An eclectic mix of races live in this squalid city; the native Choom, the Tikkihotto, the Kalian, and a heavy populace of humans who settled in the original Paxton and expanded it into the sprawling metropolis of Punktown. The first-person protagonist, Christopher Ruby, starts his story by telling us of his new girlfriend Gabrielle, a fun goth-type girl with an open window in her chest to show off the tattoo on her living heart. Gaby has somehow gotten a hold of a copy of a recording from the ancient book The Necronomicon. Gabrielle and Christopher play with the recording, but Gaby's heartlight-tatoo goes out and she estranges herself from Christopher. Christopher soon finds out how much Gaby has changed, and in tracking down the reasons for Gaby's behavior becomes acquainted with a bookseller named Mr. Dove, who puts him on the path of a horrifying discovery. In his research, Chris meets a beautiful and non-traditional Kalian girl named Saleet, who also happens to be a "Forcer", a type of police inspector. The more Chris uncovers about Gaby's deadly and fatal obsession, the more he realizes that Punktown holds secrets deeper than time itself, secrets of downfallen Gods and the occult. Jeffrey Thomas's 'Punktown' is one of my all-time favorite fantasy worlds. This world plays a huge part in Thomas's works including 'Punktown' (get the newer, extended version!) and 'Everybody Scream'. I simply cannot get enough of it. Punktown breathes with its own life, steams with its own scent, and pulses with a thousand heartbeats. Thomas's prose is precise and naturally flowing, managing to hook you from the first page and pull you into Punktown without the slightest whimper of regret. Even his non-Punktown works like 'Boneland' are rich with natural dialogue, fully-fleshed and interesting characters, and worlds built so visually accurate from a written page that you believe in them as much as you believe in the moon over your head at night. I cannot seem to get enough of this talented author, and I hope that you enjoy his tales as much as I do. Definitely worth a purchase, and worth looking up his other works. Enjoy!