European Monsters (Fox Spirit Books of Monsters, #1) by Margrét Helgadóttir

European Monsters (Fox Spirit Books of Monsters, #1) Reviews

• 
  Charles

  Stuff I Read - European Monsters Review
  
  I quite like the premise of the project, of which this book is the first book. The idea is to collect books about monsters, from writers from where the monsters are native to. The series starts in Europe, and the stories all feature (as should be obvious from the title) European monsters. The collection is organized vaguely by location, moving from Scandinavia to England to France to Greece to all parts between. It's a fascinating look at monsters, and at the monstrous, and it definitely follows through on the concept, providing mostly dark stories that examine what monsters are and what monsters mean to those living in their midst.
  
  I do like how varied the stories get, and how stories aren't the only thing included. There are illustrations for the stories, as well as two graphic stories that flesh out the collection, give everything a nice balance and weight to it. Some stories are obviously better than others, in my opinion, but overall it's a solid collection, one that provides a lot of fun and a lot to think about. The monsters are mostly classic, the ones that people will recognize. Werewolves, giant squids, creatures out of Greek myth, a basilisk, a troll…the list goes on. Some are fairly similar but there are also ones that are wildly different, that are more obscure and tied to places that don't often get featured in stories or movies.
  
  My favorite stories in the collection seem to feature monsters that play with the idea of monsters and what is monstrous. "Broken Bridges" by James Bennett is a story about a troll living in a human world and finding himself out of place, drawn and repulsed by people, wanting to overcome the loneliness but knowing that his nature keeps him alone, keeps him a monster. "Mélanie" by Aliette de Bodard is a story again about a monster living in the world of men, but is about not overcoming what makes her seem monstrous but accepting it, seeing the beauty in it. It's quite different from the troll story because the "monster" in this story isn't trying to hurt anyone, is trapped in her own sort of curse that turns out to be no curse at all. I also loved the graphic story "Serpent Dawn" by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Eugene Smith, which deals with two women fighting a basilisk. Fun and with a great visual flow, it did a great job drawing me in and holding me captive all the way to the end.
  
  Of course, there are some stories that didn't work as well for me. In some, the mosnters seem a little confusing, or vague, and in a few others I just didn't a great sense of what was going on, but overall the stories are high quality, the flow effective. In the end, I think it succeeds fairly well at capturing the feeling of monsters in Europe, though it stays away from much of the non-coastal countries, the Eastern European locations. Still and all, it's a fun collection and one I would recommend. A 7.25/10.
  
• 
  Runalong

  Really solid set of stories exploring European myths my full review is here
  
  
  https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
• 
  Tracy Fahey

  From the very first impressions of this book, from the beautiful Daniele Serra artwork on the cover, it was evident that European Monsters would be a treat of wondrous proportions! As the Introduction discusses, the editors shared a kindred vision of a ‘monster renaissance’, which activated this thoughtful and far-ranging collection. It might be argued that contemporary cultural malaise has given rise to this renaissance, these multiple reimaginings of monsters in film, TV and fiction. They are incredibly various in terms of form, intent and genesis, as this collection explores, with its monsters from the past, present and future. Monsters, of course, are defined by their otherness; they are abhuman, freakish, grotesque, and in some of their most frightening manifestations, they look like us but are not like us. In fact the book is divided into monsters that resemble men, monsters in the form of animals and monsters of the sea. These European Monsters are so various, and exist in so many manifestations, that the only things uniting them are their broad geographic locales, and, of course, their inherent, callous monstrosity, - as the editors say in the Introduction - ‘The only thing they have in common is that in the best case scenario, they don’t care about you at all.’
  
  There is much to read, relish, and re-read in this edited collection. There’s no weak contribution here, this is a gathering of strong and confident voices in dark fiction. Particularly strong, however, are offerings by James Bennett, Joan de la Haye and Hannah Kate. Bennett’s ‘Broken Bridges’ is a haunting reflection on the cultural loss and cognitive dissonance triggered by emigration. Joan de la Haye’s ‘Black Shuck’ belongs to a peculiarly English tradition of folk horror, that cosmic strangeness that lurks at the heart of pastoral Britain, while Hannah Kate’s ‘NIMBY’ offers a mischievous, agile narrative of werewolves couched in the prim language of a residents’ association meeting. Apart from these, there’s also the ballsy, gutsy, gay noir of ‘Serpent Dawn’, the sensuous evocation of the serpent Melusine in ‘Melanie’, and a bloody take on the mermaid myth in ‘Old Bones.’ And if that’s not enough there are vicious beasts a-plenty within these pages, basilisks, valravns, black dogs and seawolves. Finally, the book is also a strikingly beautiful object with illustrations by five different artists.
  
  European Monsters is thoughtfully assembled, book-ended by two striking pieces that hint at the future role of the monster in society. It opens with ‘Herne’ by J.C. Grimwood, with shades of Machen and Saki, a beautiful, evocative yet disturbing description of London as future-ruin. It ends with Jasper Bark’s ‘Mother Knows Best’, and ends with Echidana, the mother of all monsters, an uneasy ending as she feeds her children on a human monster, herself a monstrous mother, the maternal theme perhaps a warning of other possible monstrous manifestations in utero in the febrile imaginations of the editors.
  
  I await further monstrous collections with interest…
  
• 
  Emily

  Just not in the mood for short story collections......which is super sad, but this one looks great!