3 out of 4 stars
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Different Kinds Of Monsters by Seth Chambers is quite a story. It follows the life of Dylan Armitage as he struggles to deal with the Allosaurus named Emily, which had been after his family for years. He had put down Emily's presence, wherever they moved to, as mere coincidence, until he realized that he needed to face the truth. The book covers the adventures and tragedies in Dylan's life.
The book concurrently follows the life of First, an Allosaurus born in the Jurassic era. It starts from First's hatching and follows all the lessons in her life as she grows. The reader is kept wondering how the Armitage family is connected to a prehistoric creature and why we need to know First's story at all.
This book is very interesting. The reader is taken through many different stories at the same time. We are given a glimpse into Dylan's present, his past and the Jurassic era. The author switched from one timeframe to another in different chapters, thereby keeping the reader hooked. Although the dinosaur story is not as interesting as Dylan's, there's a subtle similarity, almost as if the writer wanted this monstrous creature's life to be somehow mirrored by Dylan's life.
The reader may want to think that the monsters in this story are dinosaurs only, but it's far from the case. The author dives into the deep dark corners of humanity, the sickness that lies within. As much as Dylan struggles with Emily, he struggles with his own demons, monsters within himself, symbolised well by his favourite superhero, the hulk. Emily is indeed a monster, but I also felt that she was being unfairly blamed for Dylan's own bad choices because of the human tendency to project one's guilt towards someone or something. The other members of the Armitage family also have their own personal monsters to fight. There are many monsters in the form of other human beings as well in this story, monsters which make Emily look like a saint in comparison.
I would rate this book, Different Kinds Of Monsters by Seth Chambers, 3 out of 4 stars. There were a few typing errors, otherwise it's an excellent piece of work. The dinosaur story can be boring, but it had a story behind the story. I didn't like the bad language, but telling a story as dark as this one, it was probably unavoidable. The title is perfect for the story because we meet all kinds of monsters in this story, a child molester, violence and the list goes on.
Children should not be given this book to read because of bad language, child molestation, rape and other dark things that take place in this story. I would also recommend that anyone who suffers from depression or who gets easily disturbed should stay away from this book. If you're looking for a thriller or adventure I would recommend this book. It would also appeal to those who love historical fiction and dinosaur stories.
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The Different Kinds Of Monsters
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