Customer Reviews

LIVES OF THE MONSTER DOGS.

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

The thing I love about Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is that he convinces me that he is not being whimsical, and that he is not making it up as he goes along. For me, "Lives of the Monster Dogs" has the same quality.

I found it convincing. The city of Rankstadt, the dogs' opera, the genuinely horrifying depiction of the young Augustus Rank--I think these will stick in my mind forever.

It does not surprise me at all that the book does not work for everybody. And, yes, I thought the ending was weak.

Still, I wish Cleo and Lydia the best. I hope that Ludwig will meet "I, Claudius" in some literary Valhalla; I believe they would like each other. And I will certainly look for the ruins of Neuhundstein the next time I find myself in New York City after 2011.

Is it just my imagination, or does something about the expression and bearing of the author, as shown on the back flap of the cover, resemble that of the monster dog on the front cover?

This book is the intriguing story of an artificially created race of super-intelligent, slow-maturing dogs with prosthetic hands and voice boxes who descend upon a bemused New York City in the early 21st century. Created by the disciples and descendents of a disturbed and driven 19th century Prussian scientist, the dogs revolt against their human masters in 1999, leave their Canadian wilderness encampment and eventually arrive in the Big Apple. As a group, the dogs are both recluses and publicity hounds (pun intended), lovers of life yet driven by a sense of impending doom. They befriend and are befriended by a young female writer, and they change each others' lives. The work is filled with dazzling juxtapositions: the diary of a 19th century Prussian madman and of a 21st century journalist; the notes of a "monster dog" and the libretto of an opera about their history written by another dog. There are occasional lapses in style and pace, but they can scarcely mar this driven and impressive work. I must admit that my personal interest both in dogs and in the New York neighborhood described so perfectly by Bakis - where my daughter lives - enhanced but did not determine the book's impact on me. Taking a dog to the dog run in Washington Square Park will never seem the same again! The sense of impending tragedy that pervades the book should not dissuade anyone from reading it. It left me shaken but inspired. -Richard H. Rosichan

I won't agree with it being in the "horror" genre, considering there's nothing scary about the book. I would consider it more a "sci-fi" then anything. Only thing I suggest is read it because you're interested, regardless on what genre it is.

I'm not going to say what the book's about, considering you can read that with other reviews, but mention what I feel about the book. I thought the book was interesting. The only thing I wished Kirsten Bakis would've done was make it a little longer and got deeper into some of the characters' lives; IE, maybe get deeper in the relationship between Cleo and Ludwig.

I wouldn't mind reading a sequel to this book.

I'm not a sci-fi/fantasy reaser, normally. I went into this book with an open mind, and enjoyed the idea quite a bit. All along, even after the first chatper or two, I thought that having the idea is nice, but what will she do to gel the idea into a full story? A complete idea? To fully marry the plot, characters, and action into something coherent and real, insomuch as this type of book can be? Well, she fell a little short, but did had some success.

The shortfall was the point of the story. Oh, I could see the overall point by reading the book jacket, but that isn't enough. Where is the meat to the book? The depth? There are simply too many holes in the story, which I won't delve into since others already have, for the story to be fully realized. Despite the years that she spent writing this, it needs more work, and is typical of the great-idea, average-execution that one often sees in writing, film, and the other arts. But, Bakis' creativity is a huge strength. I came close to giving up until I got to the opera. How beautiful! I know it was funny -- the mere idea of the Monster Dog Opera is. But, the opera also did more to advance the story of the dog's background, the point of their suffering, the acuteness of their moral dilemnas, the contradictions of their history, and in highlighting the difficulties that the dogs would ever have in fully becoming a part of human society, than did any of the fairly dull conversations, and attempted conversations, between Cleo and Ludwig. That section alone made the book worthwhile for me. As to whether or not the reader of this review will like it -- who knows? But, I will at least read the jacket of her next book, and come back to this forum for recommendations. Not great, but promising.

An alternate reality as vibrant as our own. The dogs are as real as you or I. They walk among us or cruise in limosines, they politic and backstab and they decend into insanity.

More than anything I am reminded of Frankenstien - true, the Island of Dr. Moreau might be more pertinent, but the very earliest thoughts of the modern era about what it might mean to make artificial life are echoed here in bold. Will these creations of ours be better than us? More brutal? Kinder? Or will they be just like us; unwilling to let go of the chains of power, unwilling to ask for help and keeping secrets to the bitter end? Do we as humans even have the right to create new beings, or does it require the mind of an insane person to execute on this dream?

The book is ultimately very sad and sweet at the same time. It is very apparent that it is a first work - the author has a few problems expressing herself, but this is overtaken by her driven prose and obvious zeal for the story.

Wonderful, unforgetable characters. I'll never forget the historian.

I really wanted to like this book. A wonderfully creative concept serves as the story's skeleton, but the author's writing and plotting failed to bring the creation to life for me. Her prose style is occasionally luminous, but not often enough so to make up for gaping plot holes, a lackluster pace, and a weak-willed protagonist. Ultimately an unsatisfying read made all the more disappointing by the squandered potential of its high concept and an obviously talented writer unable to quite fit all the pieces together in this debut novel.

Original and powerfully presented, Kirsten Bakis' "Lives of the Monster Dogs" is a compelling tale about 150 anthropomorphic canines -- aristocratic, charming, wealthy and plagued by their own madness and self-perceived hideousness -- descending upon the City of New York in the year 2008.

Written with agonizing attention to detail, the story transports you to the lavish flats of the Upper West Side and down to the stinking slums of Alphabet City. The exquisite 19th Century Prussian dress of the monster dogs can almost be seen on the Bull Terriers, Alaskan Malamutes, German Shepherds and other canines of Bakis' tale. The characters themselves are well rounded, with complex personalities which, though only outlined to the reader in some places, are given enough idiosyncrasies as are necessary to be understood and captured.

The format of the story takes the reader through several centuries, giving them a feel for times past and present, laying the foundation for not only the character's lives, but their backgrounds as well. All of these elements lead to exotic, otherwise unbelievable, "monsters" whose lives, spirits, minds and emotions thrive in a reader's imagination, keeping them turning the pages.

Those, such as myself, whose emotions are moved by the lives, and deaths, of the heroes and heroines of this book will find a wide range of hopes, and sadness, from chapter to chapter. Though not uplifting, "Lives of the Monster Dogs" is still intriguing and gives one food for thought as the dogs explore their reason for being and their conditional acceptance based on wealth.

Driven forward by a doomsday plot, the quirky, mad conclusion made this story a 9 instead of a 10. Crippled by the burgeoning weight of an inevitable, forseeable ending, this roller coaster novel comes to an abrupt hault. Though some questions can excuseably go unanswered, one gets the feeling that remaining loose ends were tied up rather rapidly in the final chapters. Still majorily excellent throughout, "Lives of the Monster Dogs" is wonderfully moving, touching and vivid. You'll miss Ludwig too.

On November 8, 2008, Cleo Pira, the principal narrator of Lives of the Monster Dogs, aimlessly wanders the streets of New York City. Depressed due to a breakup with her boyfriend, she barely notices the hubbub surrounding the arrival of a helicopter bearing Klaue Lutz, an ambassador for what amounts to a new species--150 genetically and surgically altered English-speaking canines who walk upright, a group subsequently labeled "the Monster Dogs" by the press.

The Monster Dogs are the brainchild of Augustus Rank, a Prussian scientist born in 1864. From an early age, Rank was fascinated by anatomy, performing surgery on a succession of increasingly larger animals. After a particularly heinous experiment on a cow at age 13, Rank, rather than being thrown in jail or an insane asylum, instead becomes the protégé of Dr. Buxtorf, a professor of surgery at the University of Basel. Rank flourishes in this academic atmosphere, eventually drawing the attention of the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, who enlists him in an effort to create an army of fierce, aggressive and loyal super soldiers.

Rank hits on the idea of creating canine commandos, and toils for the next fifteen years on the project without success. After a disagreement with Wilhelm, Rank flees to Canada. There, he founds Rankstadt, where, over the next seventy years, his followers strive to achieve his dream, finally succeeding in 1969. The villagers are proud of their achievement, little realizing they have created the means of their own destruction. Sick of their life of servitude, the Dogs rebel, slaying their human masters.

The Dogs travel to New York City, which in their minds has come to have an almost mystical significance. Due to their novelty, old world dress and manners, and Cleo's flattering newspaper articles, they become celebrities. Their future looks bright, but only for a short time, as several of their number are stricken with a disease that causes them to revert to their more primitive states. They work feverishly to solve this dilemma, but it appears it is only a matter of time until the entire group succumbs to this malady.

The novel includes three distinct narratives. First is a biography of Augustus Rank, written by Ludwig Van Sacher, chief historian of the Dogs, in an attempt to understand his creator. Second is a history of the Dogs in New York, written by an anguished Cleo, trying to cope with the tragedy that befell her friends. Finally, there is an oddly entertaining libretto (penned by a bull terrier) describing the bloodbath at Rankstadt. Bakis weaves these stories together with considerable skill, involving the reader on a very personal level. Cleo's growing attachment to these strange beings is well rendered, as is her despair as she watches her good friend Ludwig deteriorate from the canine equivalent of Alzheimer's disease.

Lives of the Monster Dogs is consistently engaging and entertaining, a thoughtful reflection on love, celebrity and humanity. Fans of genre fiction may find it interesting that this novel was marketed as mainstream fiction, rather than as fantasy, science fiction or horror; those influences are obvious, and make the book the delight it is. This means the book is sure to be missed by many who would appreciate it, but this is typical, as publishers still seem uncomfortable using genre labels (for instance, what is Cormac McCarthy's The Road, if not science fiction?). Hopefully this book will continue to find its true audience, and be acknowledged for what it is--a first rate piece of dark fantasy.

Talking, and talking articulately, dogs take New York and the reader by storm -- for the first 100 pages or so. The best sections of the novel are the moments of the dogs' arrival, when the narrator hears their helicopter passing overhead and writes of that moment just before the moment when all that is known before changes irrevocably, and of her first meeting with Ludwig, the dog historian. But the deeper I at least got into the novel, the less sustainable the conceit became. Time and again as she was having a conversation with Ludwig, or Lydia or the Klaue, the dog spinmeister and Svengali, I found myself thinking more and more, "she's talking with and to a dog" and unfortunately, the dog sounded more and more like just another human character who in the novel's context had been indentified as a dog. And the love angle just doesn't work at all for me. Still, this is a fairly enjoyable read. Just be prepared to suspend your disbelief far more than usual when entering a novel.

I really got into this book. It is a strongly conceived story and rolls along like the odd concoction of "writings" that it is. Unfortunately, the sections from Cleo Pira's p.o.v. are weakest and as she has the last fourth of the book all to herself, it really falls apart. I almost got the feeling that Bakis' ran out of ideas, or that she just polished off the end because she'd already sold the book on its first part. Very disappointing. The ending is so stupidly hallucinatory and lacking in finality that I had to come back to it later and reread the ending just to make sure I didn't dream it. However, I was right. It was awful. And yet... I ripped through the beginning. Interesting example of first time novel writing.