March 20, 2021

The Type of Monster Matters?

Some of my favorite books have featured monsters. By that, I don't mean serial killers (which some of my favorite books also have) but rather non-human monsters like zombies, aliens, and mythological creatures. The monsters can be the primary antagonists, such as the zombies in World War Z or the Rot & Ruin series, or they may be creatures that populate the book's fictional world, like the ones in the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books.

All along, I thought that I would like reading books with any kind of monster in them, but I read two books this year that made me reconsider. One of the books was about Bigfoot and the other was about mermaids. They were books by authors who have written other books (books involving monsters, no less) that I really enjoyed, so my hypothesis is that it's Bigfoot and killer mermaids I don't like. I couldn't think of any other books I've read that featured Bigfoot or killer mermaids to refute my theory, which is evidence in itself that the type of monster contributed to my not liking the two books.

 


When it comes to monsters that I enjoy reading about, based on my reading history, zombies are at the top of the list. In addition to the aforementioned World War Z and Rot & Ruin series, some of my favorite zombie books include the Newsflesh series and Warm Bodies.

Is it any wonder that the book I'm currently working on is about zombies?