Review also posted on my blog. :)

Ahhh this series is very quickly becoming one of my favourites of all time. I don't have a review for the first volume, The Monstrumologist, so I may touch on parts of that in this review. There also may be minor spoilers from The Monstrumologist, because when talking about a sequel it's somewhat inevitable. I'll try to avoid anything major, though.

For those not familiar with the series, it centers around Will Henry, an orphan boy being raised by one Pellinore Warthrop. Warthrop is a monstrumologist – a scientist specializing in the study of "aberrant biology", (a.k.a. monsters). Will's father worked under Warthrop, but because he died more or less by working for him, Warthrop feels responsible and takes Will under his wing. Acting as Warthrop's assistant, Will aids him in all monstrous endeavors. One unique aspect to the book is that it's a story within a story. Yancey introduces the series as if they are journals, given to him by an associate who works in a nursing home. So the story is presented as if someone claiming to be the real Will Henry has written them and left them behind after his death. In the prologues and epilogues, Yancey reports on his progress in trying verify the "accuracy" of the stories, which I find to be really fascinating!

The Curse of the Wendigo picks up about a year, (if I remember correctly), after the events of the first book, when Will Henry and Warthrop hunted down the terrifying anthropophagi. This second book takes a more northerly turn, focusing on the myth of the wendigo. For those who don't know, the wendigo is an Native American legend. It's basically a monster that human beings turn into after resorting to cannibalism. In The Curse of the Wendigo, Yancey takes it a step further, with a wendigo having the ability to turn other humans into wendigos (even if they haven't cannibalized another human being).

The story begins with Warthrop responding against a paper written by his former teacher – Abram von Helrung – that proposes the existence of mythical beings such as wendigos, vampires, and more. Warthrop refuses to believe in creatures that no one has found any biological evidence of. But everything changes when his ex-fiancée begs for his help in finding her husband, John. John went searching months before for hard evidence of the existence of wendigos in the Canadian wilderness, on von Helrung's behalf. Despite Warthrop's vehement wish to believe in the wendigo's nonexistence, what he and Will Henry witness out in the wild may just convince him otherwise.

This second book plays out much differently from the first. The setting is the most notable difference, because the hunt spans over a much wider territory. The first half of the book takes us into Canada, and the latter half into New York City. The first half was probably the most frightening part for me, because Yancey is really playing off our primordial fears of what could be hiding out in the darkness of the woods. (It probably didn't help that I was set to go camping a couple days later, haha). But the latter half, in New York, is also really interesting and scary. Not only do we get more of an insight into the Monstrumological Society, but we also experience the stress of hunting a bloodthirsty monster in the crowded, dingy streets of New York. While there are two drastically different settings, it still really meshes together quite well. Another difference from the first book, is the amount of blood and guts. I didn't find The Curse of the Wendigo to be quite as nauseating or gory as the first book – it did have its share of those scenes, of course, but in it we definitely see some more character development and world-building, which I think was really necessary.

As with the last book, The Curse of the Wendigo is very readable. Yancey is an excellent writer – he has weaved an intricate, fascinating story that is nearly impossible to put down. His characters are wonderful – they really have grown on me, and I'm so glad we got to know more of their backstories, particularly in Warthrop's case. The relationship between Warthrop and Will also develops quite a lot in this volume. In The Monstrumologist, they are rather pitted against each other, and neither one really seems to understand the other. But in The Curse of the Wendigo, they realize how much they actually need each other. Will for obvious reasons, Warthrop for more complex ones. Warthrop has a past full of loss, and has chosen a dark path to follow in life – he more or less needs Will as a light that keeps him human. It's a very touching relationship between the two, and adds complexity to the story.

Overall, this was a great read! It was easy to read, yet the plot was very engaging. The story is just as unique as the first volume, which leads me to conclude that this is a series worth sticking with. If you're someone who enjoys either Sherlock Holmes or Supernatural, you would probably love this series. Warthrop's sardonic attitude often reminds me of Holmes, and the terrifying monsters they hunt makes it definitely a complementary story for fans of Supernatural. Either way, I'd definitely recommend this to almost anyone who loves a good, scary story with compelling characters.

Final Rating: ★★★★★ ( )

Got it from ala, which is why I was able to read so early.
Really enjoyed it, although I felt the sequence in the woods at the beginning was a little longer than it needed to be. ( )

We were indeed a pitiful pair, the monstrumologist and I, bound to each other in ways inexplicable to both of us.

This was both an improvement and a disappointment after book 1.
On one hand, both the doctor and Will Henry are more fleshed out. The two of them have a strange relationship where they cannot be without the other, but love is too big of a word. Will Henry is an adopted son and a bullied assistant, the only person who unconditionally believes in the doctor and the one person who knows his flaws better than anyone. In turn, the doctor feels responsible for the boy but can’t see him as a full person either.
This twisted affection was far better written than in book 1

The plot never truly got my attention. The first book felt like gripping horror and this one like a supernatural detective novel.
“I have devoted myself to the study of them. Capturing or killing them is something I try to avoid.”
“Doesn’t sound as fun.”
“I suppose that depends upon your definition of ‘fun.’”
This pretty much sums up my feelings.
The macabre science made the monsters interesting to me, and the horror was learning what they were and what creepy biological murder weapons they had.
The hunting and mystery were just meh by comparison. ( )

SWEDISH REVIEW

Med står förtjusning gav jag mig i kast att läsa Wendigons förbannelse, uppföljaren till Monstrumologen som jag läste några månader sedan. Jag älskar att läsa gotisk skräck och denna serie har blivit en favorit för min del och jag var nyfiken på vad Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry skulle utsättas för denna gång?

I första boken fick vi lärt känna Doktor Warthrop och Will Henry, deras bakgrundshistoria, varför Will bor och arbetar för Doktor Warthrop. I Wendigons förbannels får vi reda mer om Doktor Warthrop förflutna och jag måste erkänna att jag var förbluffad hur tragiskt hans förflutna är. Just att man fick lära känna honom mer gjorde också at jag kände mer för honom och hans kamp i denna bok at rädda en gammal vän mer akut. Som vanligt lyckas Rick Yancey blanda in skräckelement på ett bra sätt i boken. Jag kände dock inte samma obehag som när jag läste första boken, dock så fanns det en och annan obehaglig scen.

Jag tycker att Wendigons förbannels är en fantastisk bok, så otroligt bra och vackert skriven. Yancey har en förmågan att skriva så att jag kan stanna upp mitt i berättelsen bara för att läsa om en vackert skriven mening. Yancey förmågan att skriva tillsammans med fantasin att komma på en sådan fantastisk historia gör boken så otroligt bra.

Nu vill jag bara säga en sak: Läs denna och den föregående boken. Du kommer inte ångra dig!

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

It was with great delight that I started to read The Curse of the Wendigo, the sequel to Monstrumologist that I read a few months ago. I love to read Gothic horror and this series has become a favorite for me and I was curious to find out what Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry would face this time?

The first book introduced to Dr. Warthrop and Will Henry and we got to learn the basic fact about them, their background history, why Will live and work for Doctor Warthrop. In The Curse of the Wendigo, we learn more about Dr. Warthrop's past and I have to admit I was taken aback by how tragic his past is. I found that getting to know him more also made at I felt more for him and his struggle in this book to save an old friend acuter. As usual, Rick Yancey's manage to add in horror elements in a good way in the book. However, I didn't feel the same discomfort as when I read the first book, but there was the occasional unpleasant scene.

I think The Curse of the Wendigo is an amazing book, so incredibly good and beautifully written. Yancey has an ability to write so that I suddenly have to take a pause up in the middle of the story just to re-read a beautifully written sentence. Yancey ability to write, together with imagination to come up with such a great story makes the book so incredibly good.

Now I just want to say one thing: Read this and the previous book. You will not regret it!

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy!

Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede ( )

Read The Monstrumologist...then read this. I am blown away by Yancey's talent and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for not assuming teens are stupid. ( )