Monsters vs Human Monsters

As I was making the list it struck me that I found VERY few monster books where the monster is particularly evil (mostly darker horror/slasher films or books).  In most "monster stories" it's almost always the humans doing the bad things and the monsters reacting.  We know this.  It's been a part of SF and Horror stories dating back since at least Mary Shelley's Frankenstein which many count as the beginnings of horror writing.  (And if you haven't read Frankenstein, you should as it is nothing like the movies).  So here is my look at the SF/Horror/Dark Fantasy list of monsters and monstrous humans....see who you think is truly the monster of the story.

**to clarify the categories, I organized them by who the main character is (or at least one of them)

"MONSTERS"--aka Non-Humans

The Soul Eater, Wyn, is exactly that, he finds humans and sucks their soul out, leaving only a husk behind.  Why he does this, no one knows for sure but OBVIOUSLY, it's because he is evil and a monster.  He is the scariest monster in this post-apocalyptic tale and the human main character meets him during a fight to capture him...the fight which results in everyone BUT Danny, a new army recruit.  Danny has no idea why he didn't die or why the Soul Eater is fascinated with him. He is terrified that the army higher-ups seems to be fascinated with his "power" over the Soul Eater and worries what this means for his future.  The Soul Eater is imprisoned in an army facility where they have held and tortured monsters for decades in an effort to build better monsters (okay, technically it's "to discover the source of monster powers so the army can defeat them" but we all know what that means).  When the Soul Eater escapes, he takes Danny with him and Danny begins to see the reality behind the myth.  He finds out what actually happens when Wyn "eats the souls" from people as well as why he does it.  He sees all of the cruelty in the Wastes (what used to be the center of the USA and is now an irradiated devastated wasteland.)  He grows angry at all of the prisons and facilities that torture and kill based purely on how "human" someone looks as well as the squalor most people live in due to the fear of living outside of government control.

Mayne explores the nature of humans in this dark fantasy apocalypse where a human can fall in love with a monster and where humans can be crueler than any monster....as well as where some monsters can be kind.  This series explores different monsters and them each finding a human to love them for various reasons...but the main arc of the story is exploring why the world is as it is as well as everyone trying to make a better way for the future.

Merry Gentry is quite literally a Fairy Princess.  She is the niece of the Queen of Darkness, the leader of the Unseelie Fae and also the niece of the Lord of Light, the leader of the Seelie Fae.  She begins the story in hiding from her family as she is a mixed blood and so always lives in fear of being killed in a duel or an assassination.  When she is found, new information is given that changes her status; but sadly not the attempts on her life.  

In this book Hamilton explores not only what is a monster (as there are many monstrous looking fae in the Unseelie Court), as well as what makes a person worthy of love and kindness.  There is a lot of sex and violence in the series but also a lot of magic and a quest to find a way to make magic strong again as well as to allow Merry to find happiness.  The fact that so many humans judge "goodness" by beauty is also explored and I found it adeptly accomplished as Merry shares with humans that Fae are not human but also that pretty doesn't always equal nice or kind whether human or not.  

Declan is a monster hunter who quit because he was tired of living simply for pain and death.  Unfortunately, Lake, a monster in human guise, finds him and works to get his help infiltrating the agency of monster hunters....because all is definitely not as cut and dried as it was made to seem.

Winters is always going to bring elements of humor to her stories (she is known for it) but she is also unafraid to expose the nastiness that can creep into agencies and people who believe they are above the law or "better" because they are human.  Yes, there is romance and silliness but there is also a stark reminder that sometimes war doesn't end because there is profit in it.....and the guilt of unnecessary deaths can be washed in the knowledge that they were "others" as well as counting their sums of money.

When a main character identifies as "Murderbot" the reader is inclined to assume that that character would be the villain....and they would be wrong.  Murderbot calls themselves that because that is literally their job; to guard and to kill upon command without thought or compunction though the official title is SecUnit (aka Security Unit).  When someone, whether a grown/created entity or a born human, decides that killing is murder, while others, born human, decide that death is the most cost efficient way to achieve their goals; you have a conflict that will be bloody.  Wells fully explores corporate greed, capitalism at its worst and a "non-human unit" who turns out to care about who lives and dies.  This story has been lauded by many and was nominated as best book of 2017, so you should read it and decide who the real monsters are (and if you think it's the SecUnit, perhaps you should explore therapy).

MONSTROUS HUMANS

This book is nothing like the movie, let's start with that.  Basically you follow Robert around as he shares with readers how vampires have taken over the world.  You watch him as he expertly hunts them, disposing of them all while exclaiming how they are monsters and he is the only human left in the world.....but who decides what makes a monster?  

Matheson's novel is a classic for a reason.  His exploration of humanity, monsters and the delusions we build for ourselves is timeless.

Vic has always seen dead people, which got him marked as crazy until the government discovered that psychics were real.  This got him out of the psychiatric hospital but instead a one way ticket to a "training institute".  Due to the nature of government and doctors, and the lack of knowledge about psychic gifts, the first training institutes were more like human testing and torture facilities. Vic eventually escaped but the trauma has followed him, like the ghosts he can't get rid of.  He is a cop but he is also an addict and a mess until he meets Jacob, a non-psychic but an out gay man on the force who isn't afraid of what Vic sees and who just may be someone worth living for instead of dreaming of an end to it all.

The PTSD and trauma of Vic play a huge role in this series, as does the secret keeping and the power of the government.  Castillo Price isn't sugar coating anything in this exploration of just how monstrous government oversight can be.  She also shows the building of a healthy relationship and how support and love can help heal trauma ( while maybe also fighting corporate baddies and evil ghosts).

Here we have a "two-fer" as Gail and Larry Martin (here writing as Gail Z Martin) have many interconnected series' with nefarious unseen baddies in all of them.  In Sons of Darkness we have Travis, a former priest with the Sinistram; a church based organization dedicated to fighting evil and monsters....but who have their own definitions on what constitutes evil.  We also have Brent, who formerly fought with a secret government strike force (C.H.A.R.O.N) dedicated to irradicating all non-humans, regardless if they are dangerous or not.  In this first novel, they team up to save the town and the homeless shelter Travis runs from monsters but also from both of the sinister organizations who want them back.  Watching the struggle as the two very different men become friends and their dual stories of finding evil in their organizations as well as the guilt for the deeds they did while under the command of them is truly remarkably done.  Travis and Brett just want to do good and somehow make up for any evil they perpetrated but they also need to keep normal people safe and clueless about the monsters who live among us (shifters, vampires, demons and more).  Martin really shows the character growth of both men as they grow as friends and as better humans.  She also shows how easily a person who wants to be a hero can be subverted by powerful institutions who discourage questions or individuality.  

Here is the second half of the "two-fer".  Cauldron features the story of Joe Mack. He "died" in a conflict between workers fighting for rights and the steel mill owners in Pittsburgh in the 30s.  What actually happened is that when the company killed his family and his community, Joe called upon the Slavic Old Gods, who transform him into an immortal who must seek justice and give punishment to those who deserve it.  All of the stories in the Joe Mack series take place during Prohibition era when corporate profits and evil was prolific but Martin also adds in magic and non-humans into the mix just to keep it from being too historically accurate.

So, who is the bad guy?  The man who lost everything trying to get better wages for him and his family?  The no-longer quite human who roots out those who hurt others?  Or the corrupt and evil corporations looking to profit from the misery of others?  Hmm....tough call......

Turner takes on superheroes and corrupt governments in the Metahuman Files series.  Metahumans are what happens when a specific kind of genetic bomb is used.....the 1-3% of the population who survive the bomb become "other" and must either join a government run institution, promising to fight for their government or simply live with being monitored for the rest of their lives as they are now dangerous, regardless of what powers they got.  For some, the death toll is worth all costs in order to build a network of super-powered humans. Jamie, the leader of the Alpha Unit of the Metahuman Defense Force; belonging to the organization and trying to stop terrorists is a way to fight the survivor's guilt and try to do good in the world.  When he meets Kyle, neither of them know the other or that they are more than human until after their one night stand when they discover they must work together.  Kyle is hiding his "more than human" abilities, and Jamie is trying to hide his growing relationship with Kyle but when they are caught up in a terrorist chain of events all secrets may be exposed in order to survive and keep the public safe.  

Turner sets this story in a post-Global Warming meltdown time period of the far future, so she can explore new and old global allies and enemies as well as the politics of life for a metahuman.  While there is definitely romance in here, there is also terror and tension and adrenaline.  I love how she exposes the fine line between "them" and "us" as well as exploring the definitions of evil done for the sake of power.

Notaro builds a world in an undefined future where the world is a mess, and the United States no longer exists but is instead divided East vs West.  On the West, shifter, mages and humans live equally.  On the East, they built a literal giant wall to keep people in; and then decided that only humans were worth anything and so shifters are sub-human and mages are the scum of the earth and have zero rights whatsoever.  The problem is, that someone opened a rift and now they keep opening in random places; allowing monsters from other dimensions to come and destroy and murder everyone.  The only ones who can stop them are the mages and the shifters; but that doesn't mean they get rights...only that they are treated as weapons and even more strictly controlled.  

Notaro's first book in the series is a bit heavy on the world building but nonetheless creates a world that seems believable.....after all, we humans have always loved "othering" people to deny them rights and it is so much easier to do that when they are scary and "obviously" not like us.

This is not an easy, fluffy, romance but there is a romantic element built between Madeo, a mage and Cosmo, a shifter;  in spite of trauma and hate and evil.  The main actions center around the rifts, but as the series continues more corruption and trouble are exposed and Madeo and his team must fight to survive as well as to save the world (and possibly build a life for themselves that allows them some happiness).   Trigger warning for those who need it as Madeo and the mages have been abused and traumatized by institutional abuse as well as governmental blindness for hundreds of years and some scenes may be difficult for some readers.

Last but not least, is Feed.  Grant gives us a zombie story where the zombies are the LEAST monstrous thing because zombies don't plan or strategize or hate; they simply kill.  Grant's world building is amazing and the story is enthralling as she has the main characters, Georgia and Shaun Mason sharing the story of their existence in this world where virtual is safer, in-person is dangerous and yet politics continues to be a cesspool of corruption.  Grant's intriguing mix of politics, disease protocols and zombies makes for a story with twists you won't see coming and with 3 VERY strong stories in the original trilogy along with multiple novellas set in the same universe so there is lots to explore.  

At the end of the day; I have no trouble believing that governments and institutions or even just super-wealthy humans with no oversight and unlimited power are definitely monsters we should all be afraid of.   Even if there aren't shifters or zombies or other-worldly creatures added to the mix , absolute power still corrupts absolutely....and given how many horror/dark fantasy and SF tales show the horrific things humans are capable of; I am pretty sure authors won't run out of subjects anytime soon.  What do you think?  What do your monsters look like?

Thank you for reading!

Please feel free to comment or suggest a subject for a future list

Saleena Longmuir