31 Days of Horror: Some Kind of Monster by Tim Waggoner

Be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it.

At a young age, Angie was introduced to death, and loss has been a constant in her life ever since. As a result, she seeks out the paranormal in unusual and dangerous ways. Will she be happy with what she finds?

There is no doubt that Waggoner is a skilled writer. He draws you in immediately, depicting a fantastic world of the possible at the same time as showing a heart breaking picture of the all too realistic.

Angie is a recognizable and relatable character. It’s impossible not to empathize with her. For the majority of the novella, her character arc is organic and subtle, drawing you in and pulling you along with ease.

Unfortunately, the ending didn’t live up to the heights of the rest of the novella. It’s hard to adequately wrap up a story about the nature of death. That’s the thing about death – it’s not, until it is. There is no gradual diminishing. The knife blade swings down, and what was alive one moment is not the next.

I understand what Waggoner was aiming for, but the execution came across as trite and cliche.

However, this is one of the things I love about literature more than any other form of creative expression. The creative process doesn’t end when the author finishes a book, instead it begins again every time someone reads it, as the reader becomes co creator of the world and characters, bringing their own personality, experiences and imagination to bear in fleshing out the story world.

For me, this novella was about a troubled child desperate to assign some great meaning to death, who doesn’t see the wonder when it literally hits her in the face, and wraps up her character arc with a whimper rather than a bang, which is perhaps appropriate.

Judging by reviews, other readers found this story unexpected and were delighted by the ending.

I wonder what story you would come up with if you read Some Kind of Monster?

I award Some Kind of Monster…

Some Kind of Monster is available for $2.89 ebook and $10 print book on Amazon.