My favorite kind of horror always involves monsters. From the Chupacabra to the Mothman, Nessie to Big Foot- I want to watch it, I want to read it.
Unfortunately, I don’t do as much of the latter as I’d like. So instead, in honor of my favorite month for all things scary, here are some of the monster books on my TBR!
Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child – The first of the Pendergast novels. I have seen the movie and love it. If for no other reason than nostalgia. The monster in this book is described as a chimeric fish, reptile, primate, insect… thing.
Meg by Steve Alten – If I’m being honest, I thought the movie was kind of lame. Sure there was plenty of carnage in that one beach scene- but if you’re going to call it horror, you gotta kill off more of the main cast. I’m hoping the book does it better. (In case you can’t tell, the monster in this book is a Megalodon shark.)
The Terror by Dan Simmons – I know a show exists based on this book, but I actually haven’t seen it yet! Anyway, I’m dying to read it, but at the same time, Simmons and his 700+ page books also terrify me.
Communion by Whitley Strieber – I’m told this is one of the more horrifying books out there. I believe the monster in this book is aliens, but I can’t confirm how much page time they get. Either way- I’m excited to read it!
Congo by Michael Crichton – Much like Relic, I’m dying to read this for the nostalgia factor alone. The monster in this book is a highly intelligent, very aggressive, species of gorilla.
The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone – The blurb describes an odd montage of events for a monster book, but I’m really not that picky. No idea what the monster is, just trusting there is one.
Below by Ryan Lockwood – I’m guessing it’s a Kraken? I see tentacles. Doesn’t matter really. I’ll read it.
Admiral by Sean Danker – Yes to all the things lurking in the creepy alien mist on a seemingly dead planet.
Nemo Rising by C. Courtney Joyner – This is really more fantasy/sci-fi than horror, but with a cover like that I couldn’t leave it out. Intended to act as a sequel to 20,000 Leauges Under the Sea.
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger – The sequel to this recently released with mostly positive reviews, but the original has actually been on my TBR since it released. Being that I haven’t read it yet, I can’t confirm any actual monsters, but I’ll be very disappointed if there aren’t.
Do you like monster books? Which ones are on your TBR?
Hamlets & Hyperspace 
I have read in a few places that the book of The Meg is awful.😂
The Hatching is brilliant. It’s about spiders and it is B-movie fun. I mean, it has very little characterisation, characters die after a few pages and I hate one dimensional characters in fantasy but in The Hatching it all works really well for a fun and dumb popcorn read.😀
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I’m okay with both B-Movie and dumb popcorn reads!! And that sucks about The Meg. Giant sharks is one of my favorite kind of monsters.
Got any other recs for me?
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Well…if you are feeling daring then Creamed by Cave Creatures by Chelsea Chaynes is a monster book.😂😂😂
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Gah!! I need eyeball bleach. 🙄
It didn’t occur to me until I typed it in that this recommendation was not legit.
In retribution, I demand 3 good recs. 😈
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I have read the book, it was a legit recommendation, honest.😂😜📚
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I was thinking to myself: what an odd title for a monster book.
Went right over my head.
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It was my one and only dabble into that genre, there’s a review of it on my blog. 🙂 You did mention, creatures/monsters, you know what bloggers are like! 😉
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In that case, I have another recommendation for you: Taken by the T Rex by Christie Simms.
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Aaron from Swords & Spectres has read that, no need to tread on the ground of a fellow blogger so I shall pass. 😉
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The Terror was amazing, although I read it before I started blogging, when I actually didn’t care how long books were! And I feel like I read Communion a long time ago, but I’m actually not sure. I do know Strieber claims he was abducted by aliens and I think this is non fiction? Now I want to revisit it😁
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Ohh— I didn’t realize that! I was thinking it was a “found footage” sort of thing. Like that whole ordeal with The Blair Witch Project where people were thinking it was real.
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Absolutely frickin’ love this list! Me thoughts:
relic – on me ports for plunder list.
the meg – sucked really bad but also made me laugh. Link below but there be spoilers.
the terror – has been on the list for forever. I need to read it!
communion – i don’t have interest in reading this one though the controversy around it be fun
congo – loved the book but the movie not so much
hatching – agree with Drew that it be an excellent fun popcorn book. Book two was good too.
below – sounds awesome! on the list
admiral – this be on the list too
nemo rising – silly! don’t know if I would read it. Maybe I will wait for yer review 😉
the anomoly – I have no idea what this is. Will check it out.
Also have ye read sphere? Or phantoms? Arrrr!
x The Captain
https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/walk-the-plank-a-muster-of-mini-reviews-of-4-novels/
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I haven’t heard of phantoms! Sphere is on my list because all Crichton is. And I know Nemo Rising doesn’t fit the tone of the other books, but I’m in love with that cover!
And thanks for the links to the reviews! Definitely going to check them out.
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I don’t normally read monster books, but I just recently read the novella Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant and now I want to read the sequel (and full-length novel), Into the Drowning Deep. It’s about killer mermaids, so that probably counts as a monster book.
I also want to re-read Jurassic Park. Not sure if dinosaurs count as monsters, though.
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i second the full-length killer mermaid book if ye haven’t read it. Good stuff.
x The Captain
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I have! It’s totally perfect for me and exactly what I want in monster books.
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They absolutely count! I’ve read both so that’s why they weren’t on here. I enjoyed the Into the Drowning Deep. Would loved to have had a movie about it!
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Okay, that makes sense! I enjoyed Rolling in the Deep more than I had expected to, so I’m hopeful that I’ll also enjoy more of Mira Grant’s work. (It helps that she’s Seanan McGuire.)
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I need to read Rolling in the Deep. It’s a novella right? Should be easy enough!
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It’s a short story or novella, and was just the perfect touch of creepy. (I’m not entirely sure where the line between the two is. Maybe it’s a novelette?)
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I looked it up once- I guess novelette is a dated term no one in publishing is really using anymore. I always thought of it as short story < novelette < novella < novel. But either way- should be quick. I felt the same way about Into the Drownig Deep. Not too scary but good creep factor.
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Oh good! I was hoping Into the Drowning Deep would still be something I could handle, and it sounds like it!
I know novelette is still used in the Hugo and Nebula Awards, but I don’t usually care enough to look up their definitions to see if a work fits that category or another one. 😀 Unless an author specifically states what it’s classified as, I usually guess. At this point, I’m having a hard time remembering how long Rolling in the Deep actually is, because it started out feeling a little slow as everything got set up, and then it felt like it was over in no time. So I am an unreliable judge of its length, though I did feel the pacing was perfect for this particular story.
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On that note, I’m probably an unreliable judge of creep factor. I read lots of King and this felt tame in comparison, but please don’t take my word for it. There are still some gory scenes! They just aren’t that graphic I don’t think. If that makes any sense. I’d just hate to give you the green light and then have it be too scary!
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No worries! I’ve gotten decent practice at looking at other readers’ horror tolerance and using that as a gauge for if I’ll be okay with it. I’m also basing a lot of it off of how I felt about the first book, so combining the two I think I’ll be fine. Though I might need to read it during the day… 😉
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On that note my friend, I wish you luck!
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I don’t really read that many monster books, to be honest but your list has got me intrigued and now all I wanna do is gobble these novels up! 🤣🤣😍😍😍 AMAZING LIST, Sarah! I will surely be checking some of these out! ALL THANKS TO YOUUU!! ❤️❤️
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Well the one that seems to be getting the most recommendations is The Hatching. But you can’t go wrong with Crichton either!
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I’ll start with these two then! 😍😍❤️❤️❤️
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Fantastic list! I may add a few to the TBR.
I seen Communion on either Ancient Aliens or The Unxplained on the History channel and forgot to add it to my TBR! Spooky stuff!
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I saw it recommended in one of my virtual book clubs as the scariest book two different people ever read, so it was an automatic add for me. But I think you’re right- I feel like I also saw something about it once I just didn’t know it was also a book!
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I reviewed the audiobook version of ‘The Terror’ around December time last year. I remember it being winter and sympathizing with the character! I really enjoyed it, but I feel it was a bit slow-going. Very much a slow burn novel.
Congo and Hatching are also on my list.
If you want a terrible book to read … Taken By The T-Rex. Everyone loves Dinosaur erotica, right?
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Lol – When I wrote this post I really wasn’t expecting those sorts of recommendations, and now I’ve gotten two. I guess I should have specified- I want scary monster books! 😝
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Love this list. I love creature features, but haven’t really dove into it much in terms of books. I actually liked the movie The Meg – it was good silly fun but I didn’t really go into looking for much of a horror. I’m hoping The Crawl is better in terms of horror, but we shall see….
I’m adding some of these to my TBR because I’ve been wanting to try some stuff like this in books for awhile now. I think I’d love it.
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Glad you found a couple you might like! I actually haven’t read any of these- so I can’t comment whether they are actually good reads or not.
Monster books I enjoyed: Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, and The Ruins by Scott Smith.
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Definitely want to try Relic and The Terror someday! Great post! 😀
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Thank you!
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I’m not huge on monsters except in Urban Fantasy, but I want to read Jaws some day!
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Jaws is totally a monster book!
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