Blue skies, palm trees, and flawless white sand beaches. Clare Prentiss thinks her new home is paradise, and her brand-new job as security chief at the clinic almost seems too good to be true.
It is.
Lurid dreams, erotic obsessions, and twisted sexual fantasies aren’t the only things that abruptly invade Clare’s life. Is someone really peeping into her windows at night?
Weird science intersects with apparent supernatural phenomena in the latest horror extravaganza from Lee (City Infernal). In the first story thread, an archeology dig in central Florida in 1995 uncovers possible proof of a demonic incarnation 10,000 years in the past. The second-and knottier-thread involves Clare Prentiss, an Air Force lieutenant dishonorably discharged when she makes the mistake of accusing a colonel's son of rape. Reduced to living on the street, Clare suddenly lucks into a cushy job managing security at Fort Alachua Park, a Florida wildlands preserve where the military sponsors a top-secret cancer research clinic. No sooner is she established than mysteries start piling up: Clare can't get a clear story on the disappearance of the previous security team; equipment the facility shouldn't need is delivered; and she and her co-workers begin experiencing inexplicably intense sexual cravings. Meanwhile, local yokels looking to steal narcotics from the clinic are getting picked off by a monster that stalks the grounds at night. Of course, all these plot blips share a common cause, and the novel's pleasures come in seeing how long Lee can keep them seeming just random and unconnected. Sure, it dwells at voyeuristic length on the characters' sexual acrobatics and, sure, it features a stereotypical evil mastermind undone by his own gloating. But Lee's twisted tale also has an outrageously paranoid surprise that will keep fans of cover-ups and conspiracy theories reading to the final sentence. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
Sexual obsessions running amok, a stagnant lake full of abominable horrors, and a secluded clinic with a secret wing that no one’s ever entered. These are just a few of the goings-on in this macabre tech-horror story in which veteran novelist Edward Lee takes the mad-scientist theme into shocking new territory. Security manager Clare Prentiss swears she’s being watched during her nightly rounds on a remote federal nature preserve. Meanwhile, local hoodlums disappear without a trace, and women are dragged into woods to be raped and discarded by some unspeakable thing. Indeed, something is stalking Clare. A man? A monster? Or something significantly worse? Creepy, erotic, and gory, MONSTROSITY delivers up the horrors at a break-neck pace and doesn’t stop until the final page.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.
Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence. He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.
Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.
Bibliography
Nightbait (1982) written under the pseudonym Philip Straker Nightlust (1982) written under the pseudonym Philip Straker Ghouls (1988) Coven (1991) Incubi (1991) Succubi (1992) The Chosen (1993) Creekers (1994) Sacrifice (1995) written under the pseudonym Richard Kinion Header (1995) Goon (1996) with John Pelan The Bighead (1997) Shifters (1998) with John Pelan Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman (1998) with Elizabeth Steffen Splatterspunk: The Micah Hays Stories (1998) with John Pelan "Masks" (1999) "Operator B" (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 450-copy limited hardcover. "Dahmer's Not Dead" with Elizabeth Steffen (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover. "The Stickmen" (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover. "The Deaths of the Cold War Kings: The Assassinations of Diem & JFK" with Bradley O'Leary (2000): Cemetery Dance Publications. "City Infernal" (2001): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover. (April 2002): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. "Mr. Torso" (2002): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover. "Sex, Drugs and Power Tools" (2002) "Family Tradition" (2002) with John Pelan "Monstrosity" (2002): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover. Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. "Ever Nat" (2003): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover. "The Baby" (2003): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover. "Teratologist" (2003) with Wrath James White "Incubi" (2003): Necro Publications. "Infernal Angel" (2003): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 750-copy limited hardcover. (January 2004): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. "Messenger" (August 2004): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. "The Backwoods" (October 2005): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. (December 2005): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 750-copy limited hardcover. "Monster Lake" (2005). Necro Publications. First book for young readers. "Flesh Gothic" (February 2005): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. "Slither" (2006: Necro Publications.) "Gast" (2007) (October 2009): Leisure Books. Revised, retitled "Black Train", and published as a Mass Market Paperback. "House Infernal" (October 2007): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. (February 2008): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover. "Minotauress" (December 2008): Necro Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover. "Brides of the Impaler" (September 2008): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback. (May 2011): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as Hardcover Limited Edition of 1000 signed copies bound in full cloth and Smyth sewn and Traycased Hardcover Lettered Edition of 52 signed and lettered copies bound in leather with a satin ribbon page marker. "Golemesque" (March 2009): Necro Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover. (April 2009): Leisure Books. Published as "Golem" as a Mass Market Paperback. "Trolley No. 1852" (May 2009): Bloodletting Press. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover.(October 2010) Deadite Press, Trade Paperback. "Haunter of the Threshold" (Summer 2009) Bloodletting Press. Exclusive limited-edition. (December 2010) Deadite Press, Trade Paperback. "City of Sixes" (2009) Necro Publications. Exclusive limited-edition chapbook included with copies of "Infernally Yours". "You are My Everything" (January 2010) Necro Publications. "Going Monstering" (January 2010) Bloodletting Press. Exclusive limited-edition. "Header 2" (June 2010) Camelot Books. Exclusive limited-edition. "The Innswich Horror" (Summer 2010) Cemetery Dance. Exclusive limited-edition (Club Members Only), (July 2010), Deadite Press Trade paperback. "Lucifers Lottery" (October 2010) Leisure Books. Currently eBook only, possible release date of July 2011 for physical book. "Pages Torn From a Travel Journal" (January 31, 2011) Bloodletting Press. "Vampire Lodge" (January, 2011) Necro Publications. E-Book only (second book for young readers) "Witch Water" (Spring 2011) Bloodletting Press. Limited edition hardcover "The Dunwich Romance" (tbd) "Header 3" (Heads) (tbd) Bloodletting Press. Limited edition
Collections The Ushers (1999) Of Pigs and Spiders (1999) with John Pelan, Brett Alexander Savory and David Niall Wilson Partners in Chyme (2001) with Ryan Harding Sleep Disorder (2003) with Jack Ketchum Haunted House (2007) Brain Cheese Buffet (2010) Deadite Press Bullet Through Your Face (2010) Deadite Press Carnal Surgery (April 2011) Deadite Press
Anthologies Infernally Yours (2009) 'The Senery' by Edward Lee Necro Publications, a limited-edition hardcover. Dark Seductions: Tales of Erotic Horror (1993) 'Private Pleasures' by Edward Lee Bizarre Sex and Other Crimes of Passion (1994) 'I'd Give Anything for You' by Edward Lee & Jack Ketchum Deadly After Dark: The Hot Blood Series (1994) 'Mr. Torso' by Edward Lee Seeds of Fear: The Hot Blood Series (1995) 'Grub Girl' by Edward Lee Stranger By Night: The Hot Blood Series (1995) 'Dead Girls in Love' by Edward Lee & Gary Bowen Darkside: Horror for the Next Millennium (1996) 'The Stick Woman' by Edward Lee Fear the Fever: The Hot Blood Series (1996) 'Love Letters from the Rain Forest' by Jack Ketchum & Edward Lee White House Horrors (1996) 'Night of the Vegetables' by Edward Lee The UFO Files (1997) 'Secret Service' by Edward Lee Inside The Works (1997) 'The Pig' by Edward Lee Whitley Strieber's Aliens (1998) 'Scripture Girl' by Edward Lee 999 (1999) 'ICU' by Edward Lee Graven Images (2000) 'Masks' by Jack Ketchum & Edward Lee Triage (2001) 'In the Year of Our Lord 2202' by Edward Lee Excitable Boys (2002) 'The McCrath Model SS40-C, Series S' by Edward Lee Damned: An Anthology of the Lost (2004) 'Angel' by Edward Lee Small Bites (2004) 'The Room' by Edward Lee
Movies Edward Lee's story "Header" has been made into the film Header. Edward Lee and Jack Ketchum are featured in cameo roles in the movie.
The premise for Edward Lees book Monstrosity is filled with promise. Lee begins his book with an archeological dig of a Ponoye Indian site. What is found within the dig is gruesome and bids the reader wonder what happened all those years ago. Also, could such a thing happen again?
Lee then switches to the storys main character, and the reader is introduced to Clare Prentiss, a homeless woman totally down on her luck. Clare used to have a promising military career, but she was setup within the machinations of a sex scandal. Enter a man who simply introduces himself as Dellin with a lucrative job offera totally too-good-to-be-true job offer.
Meanwhile, people are mysteriously dying in macabre fashion. For example, Caleb stared right back at herCalebs severed head, that is. The head had been dropped in the area of leafy space between Kari Anns spread legs.
Lee weaves a tapestry between the mystery of the archeological dig and the present day murders. Clare Prentiss finds herself mired in a gruesome mystery heavy with sexual overtones.
Unfortunately, the conclusion of Monstrosity seems quite contrived and fails to meet its original premise of greatness. Instead, the book seems to run out of steam and takes on an assembly line approach to literary creation. The books outcome is predictable and disappointing. Monstrosity is an okay read, but there are far better horror and suspense books available for a discerning reader.
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2)The archeological story thread has little to do with the rest of the story.
3) The chronology of the story threads is awkward, at best.
4) A clunky lead weight of a sentence like this: "She preferred to think of herself, instead, as a passionate woman who pursued her physical desires in a feminine natural way, not a societal urchin hopelessly addicted to variant amphetamines and subsequently given to rampant sexual excess due to a subjugating environment and a connected dependency to the unnatural stimulation of certain chemical receptors in her soon-to-be-if-not-already damaged brain."
5) Potentially interesting characters soon devolve into juvenile stereotypes.
6) The heroine stumbles onto clues too conveniently and predictably.
7) Minor characters routinely and predictably become monster food.
8) The novel is populated only by relevant characters (Where is the rest of the staff of the facility? Or other people from outside the community?)
9) The ending is predictable (the mastermind who feels he has to explain everything at the climax), farfetched (a minor character brought in from left field at the end), and dull (evil govt research, genetic mutations, yadayadayada) in about equal parts.
10) Everything is wrapped up too conveniently, except for the archeological part, which is
11) one of the many things left unexplained.
12) There are logical implausibilities (Why leave Clare on the streets for so long?)
13) Why go through the ruse of hiring for a job? Why not just arrange a disappearance and hold the individuals prisoner at the facility, where they can be better controlled and analyzed?
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As a fan of extreme horror, I was looking forward to this book after I picked it up and read the jacket blurbs. I was disappointed, alas. There were some genuinely creepy moments, but it didn't hang together, either plotwise or logically. There were so many unbelievable coincidences and inexplicable motivations and cliched characters and situations, I just couldn't suspend my disbelief. The ending was so rushed and predictable, it was hard to care who was killing who. This was the first Edward Lee novel I'd read; he has a good reputation, so I plan to give him a chance and try one more of his works before writing him off as a semi-hack. But based on this one book, I'll take Bentley Little, Graham Masterton, or Stephen King any day of the week.
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