If you were a fan of This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel, then today’s post is just for you: our reading recommendations for what to pick up next!
Here’s a look at our top picks:
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
This smartly conceived novel (the first in a series) harkens back to the writing style of classic horror novels like Frankenstein, and will no doubt appeal to fans of This Dark Endeavor, especially those looking for a fresh take on the gothic horror genre:
These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.
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, 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 feeding on her, Will’s world is about to change forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagi–a headless monster that feeds through the mouthfuls of teeth in its chest–and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatenning to overtake and consume our world before it is too late.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Easily one of the most breath-taking books I’ve read in ages, A Monster Calls is a story with a universal message told in a manner that will appeal to readers young and old alike. The monster element will certainly appeal to fans of This Dark Endeavor, though the book as a whole quite clearly offers something for ALL readers.
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting— he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
All the horror elements at work in both Frankenstein and This Dark Endeavor get a YA modern twist in this novel from Lish McBride:
Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.
Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.
With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
YA readers looking for more horror, need look no further than Rot & Ruin and its sequel, Dust & Decay
In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.
Novel Novice 