Customer Reviews

Bestiary (Carter Cox)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Usually, I read the reviews on Amazon before buying a book. Unfortunately, this time I didn't and I regret it. The prehistoric zoo idea was great, but the author didn't develop it to its potential. Many sub-plots were introduced, but then abandoned without explanation. The author also inserted a supernatural element (possible ghosts), which added nothing to the main plot. And I have one question: what happened to the dog? He appeared, saved one of the main characters from a pack of coyotes, moved in with the family and then disappeared without a word, just like the rest of the subplots.

Ah another great idea wasted. He has a mythological menagerie of monsters and the best he can come up with is a boring story about a cliched militia group mixed with a cliched arab millionaire and some cliched Indians.

Oh and add all the characters so predicatable its not worth mentioning, I cant even remember there names "Dashing Scientist wot I stole from Da Vinci Code who stole it from a ton of other novels" (is there a computer program that writes stock characters for these guys out there? I think there must be).

Another major problem is the lack of a point to many setups, I hear all about a tar pit that goes nowhere, a baby that goes nowhere, a book that goes nowhere, a spooky ghost man that goes nowhere, caged monsters that go nowhere!!!! For the love of God man, thats the whole point of the book, and you do nothing with them!

I kept reading and reading waiting for the payoff, forcing myself through all the annoying characters and dialogue, waiting for something to happen, and the more I read the less and less likely that became until the final crappy action scene where I realised I had just been burnt and burnt bad, like 1st degree, put me out of my misery cos I'm going to die anyway, burnt.

Finally, though I suppose its not the authors fault, it was in the horror section, had a horror back cover description of what happens, and has a quote about the author being the best horror writer ever. So . . .

I expected a horror novel!

It sounded like jurasic park but with a cheap (but fun) horror take. Needless to say it wasnt. To be fair though I dont really know how to lable it myself I'd say thriller, but theres no thrills, mystery? Again no mystery. Action? Well you get my drift.

I've often thought there should be a two literary markets, one for writers and one for ideas. Bestiary has a nice idea, now we just need a good writer to come along and do something with it.

When I learned that Robert Masello had a new book, I pre-ordered it, and it arrived just in time to be the highlight of an otherwise dull birthday.

I sometimes wonder why Masello is so appealing, especially as he writes in a genre that normally doesn't interest me. The quick response would be to say that his books are a guilty pleasure, but every paragraph seems to contain a surprisingly erudite throw-away fact or observation, or an unexpectedly lucid point of comparison that has no other reason to be in the story, but makes it a richer experience. All that aside, he gives us a fast-paced plot involving widely diverse, well-rounded characters in a variety of painstakingly researched environments, and takes us for a wild ride all over the west side of Los Angeles.

The real stars of this book are the monsters. And they are the coolest monsters. I have never lost my childhood fascination with prehistoric creatures, but with the exception of a rare documentary on the Learning Channel, my knowledge of paleontology hovers at the 5th grade level. Thank you for not doing dinosaurs, by the way - even the kid in me is getting tired of dinosaurs. So I was delighted to be introduced to, and provided with paleontological explanations of fantastic creatures I had always considered to be relegated to mythology - not to mention creatures I had only vaguely heard of. I adored Robertson Davies' novel "The Manticore," but I can assure you that paleontology was the last subject on his mind.

I thought we were in for a sequel to "Vigil" when I saw that Carter and Beth are back, a mysterious baby now making 3, but "Bestiary" stands on its own. A few appearances by Arius, from the previous novel are unexplained here, but hint at pleasures to come.

Mr. Masello appears to have moved to Los Angeles since we last heard from him. His descriptions of living on the west side feel remarkably real, both factually and atmospherically. This is a man who has clearly paid his dues sitting in traffic at Wilshire and the 405.

one of the slowest books I have ever read....I tend to enjoy books with creature elments and by reading the discription this fit the bill......WRONG....book is more about everyday life and a "ghost", still do not understand that part. The ending is not worth giving away...so no spolier warning here. If looking for great action and some type of animal element check out Matthew Reilly, great author.

The premise is wonderful. There are so many delightful details regarding the bestiary, the tar pits where Carter works, the museum Beth inhabits, and so on. Even Greer, who in many ways is fairly repulsive, manages to elicit empathy as a character. However, several side characters don't fare nearly so well.

It seems as though many of the problems in this book stem from some sort of confusion as to what the main plotline is and even what kind of book it is. I'll try to explain.

The book seems to have some trouble deciding what world it's set in: i.e., how paranormal the world is vs. how normal, and so on. In a world where the paranormal is possible you'd also expect the vast majority of it not to seem so bloody normal as it does in this book. The whole thing just felt... confused. By the time the paranormal did show up, it really threw me off my stride.

The plotline of Carter's discovery in the tar pits ends up feeling tacked-on. It never gets integrated into the rest of the plot in any way and ends up being almost window-dressing. Several characters that seem like they're meant to be important to the story in some way--even as side characters--vanish partway through the book and don't return.

There's no mention anywhere toward the beginning of the book or on the cover that this book is a sequel to anything. However, partway through a supernatural entity conveniently shows up to impact the plot. This is done with so little explanation that if you haven't read the prior book you'll feel lost. Only at the end of the book does the author leave a note saying that if you're "curious" about that character, you should read his other book, Vigil.

And finally, what started out as a very intricate and fascinating plot was turned, for the last third of the book, into a very standard thriller-monster-movie climax. Ultimately, Bestiary is loaded up with a bunch of fascinating plots, people, and things. However, it feels like the author lost track of them, got overwhelmed with the task he'd set himself, and wasn't able to bring things together.

The Bestiary is the sequel to "The Vigil" I actually read this book first and realized there was a prequel with the references to another story. The Bestiary is a thrilling read!!



Something you would see on a movie screen by Speilberg!


The Bestiary is a story that takes a Paleontologist working at the Labria Tar Pits in Los Angeles....


through his wifes affiliation with a museum....


to the discovery of private dangerous collection of mythical animals that are actually alive in the Los Angeles hills today!!


Their family includes a their young infant son, an adopted mutt and is filled with vibrant descriptions of their surroundings in Los Angeles.


The story is filled with humor, terror, and carries alot of actual information about these animals who through ancient texts are said to actually have lived on earth!!



Its been a long time since a book actually drew my interest to research the facts in the book!


If you liked "ET", "Stargate", you will love both "The Vigil" and "Bestiary".
I am patiently waiting for the sequel and the movie!!

The intriguing characters and unusual twists in this sequel novel to Vigil kept me reading well into the night. Masello is such a colorful, strong novelist that every scene jumps off the page. He packs in great and unexpected stories and great and unexpected characters, and then wraps it all up with gusto. Here's hoping he's at work on book three.

After thoroughly enjoying (in one delicious sitting) Mr. Masello's previous novel VIGIL, I have been looking forward to its sequel. BESTIARY exceeded my expectations. More than just another "horror" paperback this continuation of the saga of the star-crossed Cox family is a finely wrought work of fiction featuring an Iraqi villian whose collection of truly bestial beasts will send chills down the firmest spines. Masello manages to take the reader on a literary trek filled with unexpected twists and curves as we discover that the ancient secrets of the Al-Kalli family are allive, and menacing, in present day Los Angeles. Thankfully my plane spent some time circling the San Francisco airport so I could finish BESTIARY. Otherwise the ground crew would have had to pry me out of my seat. I look forward to the next adventure of the Cox family. Judging by the hints of the nature of their baby, I am already ashiver.

Put simply, if you liked Vigil, you will LOVE Bestiary! Without giving too much away, Masello continues to write yet another book that was hard to put down! As usual the characters are all well developed and the story is full of intrigue and suspense! This is a must read for all Masello fans and fans of truly great books! With all the junk and remakes that Hollywood has been pumping out, it would be a refreshing change to take a great story like this and make it into a great movie!

I'm a Masello fan and after reading his bestselling Vigil, I was eager to get my hands on Bestiary. It's wonderful--the author's imagination and erudition are astounding. My only complaint is that I got so caught up reading that I missed my stop on the train--and that hasn't happened in years! Breakneck pace, rich characters, and spooky set-up make this book a winner--and I learned a little medieval history too! Highly recommended.