Skip to Main Content

About The Book

A monster-hunting doctor and his apprentice face off against a plague of monsters in the first book of a terrifying series. Publishers Weekly says “horror lovers will be rapt.”

These are the secrets I have kept. So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor in nineteenth-century New England, Will has grown accustomed to his late-night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was eating her, Will’s world changes forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagus—a headless monster that feeds through a mouth in its chest—and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume the world…before it is too late.

The Monstrumologist is the first stunning gothic adventure in a series that combines the terror of HP Lovecraft with the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle.

About The Author

Photograph courtesy of the author

Rick Yancey is the author of The Monstrumologist, The Curse of the Wendigo, The Isle of Blood, and The Final Descent. He is also the author of The Fifth Wave series. Rick lives with his wife Sandy and two sons in Gainesville, Florida. Visit him at RickYancey.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 22, 2009)
  • Length: 448 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781439152614
  • Grades: 9 and up
  • Ages: 14 - 99
  • Lexile ® 990 The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

"Yancey takes...gore and violence...to thrilling new levels in this sophisticated tale."

– SLJ

"This story is gothic horror at its finest and most disturbing. A cross between Mary Shelley and Stephen King, the tale will force readers to stay up late to finish and then remain awake, afraid to shut off the lights...The richness of the language, the strain of wry humor, and the perfectly drawn characters make it a marvelous read...This book is perfect for readers who want their nightmares in a literary package."

– VOYA

"This has all the elements of the best Victorian mystery and horror...Readers who like their horror truly horrible and yet archly distant and peppered with ecstatic Victorian-scented comments on the woes of the human condition will jump right in and not emerge until the last relieved gasp."

– BCCB

* “With a roaring sense of adventure and enough viscera to gag the hardiest of gore hounds, Yancey’s series starter might just be the best horror novel of the year.”--Booklist, starred review “Horror lovers will be rapt.”

– Publishers Weekly, starred review

Awards and Honors

  • ALA Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book
  • Booklist Editors' Choice
  • ALA Best Books For Young Adults
  • Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee (NJ)
  • Texas Lone Star Reading List
  • Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award Master List
  • Volunteer State Book Award Nominee (TN)
  • Green Mountain Book Award Master List (VT)
  • TAYSHAS Reading List (TX)
  • Amelia Elizabeth Walden Finalist (NCTE/ALAN)
  • Michigan Library Assoc. Thumbs Up! Honor Book
  • ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults - Top Ten
  • Florida Book Award Silver Medal, Children's

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Rick Yancey

More books in this series: The Monstrumologist