Monster audiobook

The world was changing. The old order was dead or dying. The center, to quote the poem, was not holding, it was coming apart. Woah. This is like the Gone series on steroids. I was hesitant about picking up Monster, thinking that it would be an unnecessary attempt to extend a series that had already been wrapped up well-- but it isn't at all. This is the seventh book I never knew I needed. I can't wait to see what happens next!I think fans of the Gone series will eat this up and be longing for more. I know I did. Grant pulls out many of his trademark dramatic (and kinda gory) action scenes - perhaps even more tense and well-written at this point in the series - and I love how the overall sci-fi mystery just got so much bigger and deeper. After reading this book, I cannot see how the world isn't totally screwed, but I look forward to finding out.If you don't know, Gone and its sequels introduced us to a world where a huge dome suddenly appears over the town of Perdido Beach and everyone over the age of fifteen disappears. What's more, some of the kids left behind develop strange supernatural powers. And, of course, not everyone uses them for good. It's a modern-day Lord of the Flies and still one of my favourite YA series.Things got bigger and bigger until Light, where Grant sort of wrapped everything up. Turns out we were all wrong to think it was over. The cause of the Perdido Beach dome and the superpowers is back in Monster. Space rocks carrying a genetically-engineered virus come crashing down around the globe and it's a mad dash for governments to be the first to seize these rocks and prevent them getting into the wrong hands. Spoiler: they get into the wrong hands.Those looking to get reacquainted with old characters will see Dekka taking the wheel now. Grant's books have always been fairly diverse, but it was especially great to see the group of five protagonists include the black and gay Dekka, Malik who is also black, trans latinx Cruz, and Armo who has ODD. I have always really liked how Grant captures the complex humanity of each of his characters, and that is no less true here with the new additions.I was hooked from the prologue through to the end. Grant, for me, is just an excellent storyteller; expertly combining characterization, action and intrigue to create a story that keeps me invested. It would be possible to start Monster without reading the other books, as most major things are explained, but I don't recommend it. I think the story that develops over the course of the first six books helps us understand just how HUGE the events of this book are, and also the delight in seeing Dekka again would be lost on new readers.It's not often these days that I find a YA series that is just plain, action-packed, end-of-the-world fun AND still well-written, but it seems I can always rely on Michael Grant.Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

I was so sad when I read book 6 of the Gone Series. It was the last one. That was it. Gone made it to my short list of favorite series. It was just so damn fun to read and so well written. I can't say enough great things about it. But then it was over. I never, or at least very rarely, re-read books but I have been thinking about doing just that with this series because I missed it. But then.....OMG, look. A new Gone book *squeals like a schoolgirl but promptly gets ahold of herself*. This isn't just a re-hash of the old story. It's the same world but the Gaiaphage is gone, the dome is gone, the remaining children are safe...or are they??If you are familiar with the series, then you probably love it as much as I do. If you aren't familiar, here's the super-quick version:A dome appears surrounding Perdido Beach and all the adults disappear. The kids can't get in or out. All hell breaks loose over the following year. As it turns out, an alien creature who was in a meteorite crashed into the nuclear reactor. Over time, a lot of the kids developed super powers and eventually it ended up being like Lord of the Flies meets Heroes. SO. MUCH. FUN!!Grant pick up where he left off. As it turns out, that was only meteorite #1 that hit the power station. A few more are touching down and things are getting bad very fast. Of the characters that were still alive at the end of the last book, the only ones we've gotten to see again is Dekka and Drake. A few new characters have been introduced but we will be hearing from Sam and Astrid again fairly soon.Maybe this isn't quite a five-star but I'm a Gone addict who's been dry for quite a while and finally had a hit. I'm still basking in the glow of story awesomeness. Try it...you'll like it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review, This doesn't in away influence my opinion on it. I am a really huge fan of the Gone series, I devoured all the book in 4 days with almost non stop reading. I was really excited to hear about Monster because I really missed the series. It was really great coming back into this disturbingly wonderful world. The writing is top notch as usual and easy to get absorbed with. This is what drew me to the series in the first place, the easy flow the book has that just keeps you coming back for more and more. Monster is a continuation of the series and it tells the story of Shade, Cruz, Dekka, Armo, Malik, Justin and Vincent, teenagers mutated by the meteorites (ASO's). This time, it's unlike what happened in the FAYZ because it's not just special powers they gain. They also gain the ability to morph into terrifyingly powerful monsters, kinda like shapeshifters but more dangerous. Shade is a brilliant girl whose mother died the day the FAYZ dome came down. With her father headlining the research of the ASO landsites, it was easy for her to know all the details surrounding it. When she realises the world as we know it is about to came to an end with a new age heralding the coming of super powered people who could either be good or evil, she vowed not to be helpless again. With the help of her new friend Cruz (a gender fluid fascinating character), they are able to acquire a piece of the rock. Subsequently leading to them ingesting it and mutating into super powered teens. The government when they learn of their existence unleash their wrath on them making them fugitives, they go on the run with the sexy Malik who is Shade's ex boyfriend and quite a resourceful guy. Dekka, who is also from the previous series Gone is also a main character here. It's been 4 years since the dome came down and things have changed for all of them and mostly not for the better. Things change for Dekka when she is recruited by the government and tested on thus emerging with new powers quite different from her previous one. She begins to realise things aren't exactly as they seem. All this different characters with their various backgrounds come together to form a very engrossing story with a nice pace and flow that just keeps you going. The powers are expertly portrayed as usual, the writing is as good as ever. The fans of the Gone series are absolutely going to love Monster. There is still a lot of gory, disgusting parts (not in a bad way but a nightmare inducing terrifying one). My imagination got filled with so many scenarios that had me gulping in terror. The villain of the story is also a complicated part I wouldn't like to spoil so all I'll say about that is that it is handled very well and no one will be disappointed. One strength of this series (plus the previous one) is the many characters, and Monster capitalises on that aspect to make a compelling story. Another thing I always love about Michael Grant's books is the diversity and he does not disappoint at all. The ending didn't resolve too much but this only leaves me even more excited for the next book in the series. I can't wait to see what's next for our heroes and villains. Monster is a masterpiece of brilliantly crafted storytelling, compelling characters, adventure, SciFi goodness, danger, a little bit of romance, cool powers, awesome camaraderie, really terrifying monsters, diversity and a beautiful cover. It will be a shame for anyone to miss it, I recommend this book to anyone looking for their next great read. P.S: I purposely left this part for last, YES some characters from Gone make an appearance in Monster. Both good and bad (I'm being vague on purpose), it was really great seeing them again. But I love the fact that the best was kept for last (You'll figure this out when you've read it).

Michael Grant's 'Gone' series is one of my all-time favourite series so when I found out that 'Monster' was a follow on I knew I HAD to get my hands on a copy. I had extremely high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed. IT WAS AMAZING! I loved how some of the main characters from the FAYZ were present and I found it really interesting to see how they were living their lives after their nightmare. The interweaving of the new characters with the older ones was very well done, and their voice was portrayed beautifully causing you to feel all their emotions and form your own judgements about the villains/heros. I hope this is the start of a new series?! Because I literally cannot wait to find out how the story continues. In summary, 'Monster' is a must read for anyone that has read the 'Gone' series....and if you haven't read the 'Gone' series then seriously WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO!

it's been four years since a meteorite hit perdido beach and everyone disappeared. gone. It's been two years since i finished this series and i'm so glad that i get to step back into this series again with a new book and i absolutely loved every moment of this book. The gone series will forever be one of my favourite series that i have ever read i just love it so much. Plot: This book picks up about 4 years after the events of the sixth book and we pick up following a new range of characters but also we follow Dekka who was a main character from the other books returns to be a main character in the continuation of this story. It felt like i was returning to old friends and a whole world that i left behind 2 years ago and i fell right back into this story with ease. I loved the setting of this story it felt darker and every single plot point was written so well that the story flowed with no hiccups. Michael is a great story teller i had little fault in this book and i honestly loved it and i cannot wait to see where he takes this series in book eight. One thing that i thought Michael did really well was give some of the old main characters some closure and we got an insight into what they were up to. Characters: Dekka Talent: One of the original characters from the first six books makes her return and is very different to the 15 year old girl we left at the end of the sixth book. Dekka now 20 living alone and working a part-time job trying to lead a very normal life but the events of her past are still troubling her every single day. Dekka was one of my favourite characters in the other books and i was so happy to see her return in this one, She has grown so much from what she went through has to me has managed not to go so deep into depression like most of the survivors of the FAYZ. I cannot wait to see Dekka kick more ass in the second book of this new trilogy! Shade Darby: One of the new main characters and who is the Main protagonist of this new trilogy. Shade is the daughter of Heather Darby the scientist who was sent to Perdido and who unfortunately dies. Shade is soon put into the whole FAYZ situation when she develops powers from a piece of Meteorite she finds and she soon finds herself in a situation that she cannot get out of. I hope Shade gets some more answers on her mothers death or she goes looking for some answers because i honestly want to know what happened because i've forgotten. Malik Tenerife: I enjoyed this character and i became very sad to see what happened to him during the final moments of the book and i honestly hope he doesn't die because i want to see more of this character. Malik could be such an important character and i see so much potential i don't want to see a good character so early on. Hugo Cruz Martinez Rojas I found this character very interesting to read from because of how Michael describes this character. Hugo is a straight girl in a guys body and i love how diverse Michael's characters are because i don't think Michael has forgotten about anyone and if you want a series with a huge range of diverse characters then you'll love a lot of his characters. Hugo has only one friend who is Shade but is very trusting and i really like the power Hugo has. there are so many other new characters that i have got to know while reading this book which i all loved and cannot wait to see in the second book. Gaia, Brianna, Heather, Caine, Orc, Pete and Alex all appear in flashbacks during the book. Mary, Hunter, Astrid, Lana and Duck are all mentioned in this book but are not seen.Sam Temple, Diana Ladris, Drake Merwin, Taylor. all from the original series make appearances in this book and i hope to see more of the original characters make a return in the second book of this trilogy. This story was action packed and a real big roller coaster and i can't wait to see were the story goes in book two. I'm glad that i'm back in this world and this storyline has gone deeper and deeper and things are starting to come back to the surface and explode before they calm down again. Props to Michael for continuing this series and coming back on such a high note that i was invested in this story once again!

I was so pleased when Michael Grant wrote more of the wonderful series Gone as it is one of my favourites to read and go to now and again. This follow on from book six is just as good. Some of the same characters as well as some new ones and the story continues. Brillant!!!!!

Well, this is a truly outstanding book. It's exciting, pacey and mixes the real world with the absolutely incredible and fantastical. It would be perfect for fans of DC/Marvel, or Brandon Sanderson and Stephen King. Although it's set after the events of the Gone series, it can be read as a newcomer to MG as the story largely focuses on the current events, however it does explain the goings on of the last chapters of Light. In my opinion, so much happens in the whole of the Gone series, that even if I'd read Monster first and then backtracked, I don't think those few revelations would have ruined everything as I'd have had no idea *how* it all came to pass and that's the most exciting thing about reading the whole series. There was one sentence towards the very end of Light that made me hopefully that this wasn't really the end, (I will have to find the exact line... will come back to this!)I started reading this on the train back from London, and my first note says "Holy fuck, what an opening chapter!"As soon as I started reading this I was once again drawn straight back in to a reality where the impossible had happened, and we were introduced to Shade Darby... she was at the scene of the Dome coming down, and would become an instrumental part in the upcoming events. Shade is a fascinating character; she is incredibly intelligent and is single minded in her need to make amends for certain events that have happened in her life. Her intellect, although massive, causes huge repercussions that she did not envisage, and her friends get caught up too.It was exciting, visceral, and fast pace and described in such detail it made me glad I was not a meat eater. The very last sentence made me gasp out loud! The descriptions of the newcomers, their characteristics and personalities, helped shape my mental image of them so I could clearly see the action in my head. Shades book collection sounds like mine and I was so excited with the sneaky reference to unstoppable corn later on... At this point I got so distracted by the plot to write any more notes, I literally could not stop reading.It is a full on, no holds barred action-packed book that will seriously get your pulse racing as you try and establish who is a Monster, who is Villain, and who will ultimately become the Hero...The re-introduction of past characters blends the past and present stories together in a way that all fans will be cheering for. I loved how the book was split up into parts - it was full of MG's trademark cliff-hangers, each of which spurred me on to read the next chapter, then the next and the next! I don't want to spoil the storyline for anyone so the only other thing I am going to say is HOLY HELL, WHAT A BOOK!!!!!!!! This would make an incredible graphic novel, and I'd love to see the characters drawn or on screen!My favourite quotes:"You're e) all of the above. You're multiple choice, but on a True/False test.""Hope is the best form of torture""But normal has left the building, and crazy was in charge now."

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint! GONE is one of my favourite series ever and I've been desperate for a follow up for so long! It follows the stories of several new characters as well as a couple of characters from the original series, the main one being Dekka, who is still just as badass as she always was. Shade Darby is a new character who has a burning desire to erase what happened when the Perdido Beach dome came down, and she brings along her trans friend (Cruz) to help her. The plot line neatly ties up some loose ends from GONE but at the same time kind of blows the story wide open to such an extent that the Perdido Beach anomaly is now a worldwide threat. And then there's monsters. And then there's bigger monsters .... and then even bigger ones. I don't want to give too much away but I reeeeeally loved it and I cannot wait to read the next one.

I devoured all the books in the "Gone" series and one of my favorite characters was Dekka. So it was amazing to find her as one of the main characters in this book. I loved the world building and the characters. The story isn't for the faint hearted, there's a lot of graphic description and a lot of wounded and/or dead. And it's a long story. But with everything happening it didn't feel like 500+ pages. I highly recommend this book and all the other books in this series. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Egmont UK!

Michael Grant, you once again stole copious hours of my day I will never get back. What an excellent, brilliantly gripping story! I’ll always love Rio and the girls a little bit more, because Front Lines was unbeatable in my eyes, but superheroes (and SuperMONSTERS!) came pretty close.This story is very obviously a new spin on the World Grant created with the Gone series. Whilst it definitely helps, and probably adds to the reading experience, to have some memory of the Gone characters, as some characters feature fairly prominently, it really wouldn’t matter if this was the first book you’d read in the series – you get a run-down of what’s been going off in the Gone World very early on in the book to give you enough perspective and background. Monster is very different to Gone; it introduces new characters who have been mutated by meteorites hitting Earth whilst still keeping some old favourites around for more developments. But don’t be fooled into thinking “this sounds a bit like what happened in the FAYZ”. Oh no. These characters don’t just have an extra ability to show off with. These mutations are allowing kids to morph into some pretty horrific monsters – because why should superpowers always be for superheroes? Why should superpowers be a single unchangeable power? Why not have a book about the monsters for once? You very quickly become acquainted with the various characters and their monster potential which is probably the most fun to read about; there’s endless potential for the monsters to be a creative explosion of just about anything you can imagine which makes for a really exciting read. For some people this happened by accident, but for Shade and her friend Cruz they have a little more inside knowledge about what’s going on in the World right now because of Shade’s family history and so they of course decide to steal some meteorite, as you do, and ingest it. Because who wouldn’t want to develop superpowers if it was that easy?This book has so much action packed into it and remains true to the standard brilliant writing style I’ve come to expect from Grant’s books. It is utterly addictive and complex - Shade and Cruz are on the run, Dekka (who you might remember from the Gone series) is having some nasty experiments done to her to see if her powers will morph into something else, and a bunch of diverse characters are morphing into monsters - and all of these storylines come crashing together to make one bad ass, super addictive, plot. How could you possibly resist?I wasn’t sure at first if jumping back into a story which came to a good conclusion was really going to be as enjoyable. Would it be history repeating itself? Would it be similar ideas just with a fresh coat of paint and a new face to the characters? But it was absolutely worth revisiting; I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.ARC provided free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got this book early because my friend lent me her ARC and I will forever be grateful.I'm gonna be as spoiler-free as I can because I know this book isn't technically out yet, but I'm gonna mention some spoilers towards the end, so just a heads up.A lot of spin-offs usually feel unnecessary. Most of the time, you can tell that a spin-off is something the creator just half-assedly threw together so they could make more money, and was totally irrelevant to the original story. But I didn't feel that way about Monster at all. Monster takes place about four years after the dome surrounding Perdido Beach has fallen down. The main protagonist, Shade Darby, lost her mother in the aftermath of the dome falling down. Her father is an important scientist who is investigating dangerous meteorites that are supposed to crash to Earth. These meteorites are connected to the radiation that originated the FAYZ, and consuming part of these meteorites can physically alter one's body and turn them into a dangerous weapon. Shade knows that dangerous people will try to get a hold of these meteorites and turn themselves into monsters. Feeling responsible for her mother's death four years prior, and wanting to seek revenge, Shade gets a hold of part of the meteorite, which turns her into a creature with the ability to run faster than light speed. With the help of her friend Cruz and her ex-boyfriend Malik, Shade begins to travel across the country in an attempt to stop the other monsters that have been unleashed on the world, and tries to become a hero. The book also features Dekka, one of the characters from the original Gone series, who has been recruited by the government to help stop the monsters that these meteorites have created.Michael Grant did a great job of writing a brand new story focused on new characters, whilst still intertwining elements from the original series. This story clearly had a new plot and new characters, yet there were still references to other characters fro the original series throughout the book. The plot was also very interesting and clever. Basically, the entire book was about discovering that the crazy things that happened in the FAYZ didn't just happen because of the dome; crazy things were now happening all throughout the world. The government also played a significant role in this book, too, which was interesting because it wasn't something we saw in the original series.The Gone series had a lot of great characters, and so did Monster. Obviously, it was great to see Dekka again, this time serving a lead role in the book. Dekka was the only character that would have fit in a main role in this spin-off, anyway -- everyone else's stories have already been told completely, but I felt like there was more potential for Dekka in the original series, and she definitely fulfilled that in Monster.I also liked a lot of the other characters, too. My favorite was probably Malik; I really enjoyed his relationship with both Shade and Cruz. I also really loved, Armo, too...I thought he was kind of funny, and I really loved his dynamic with Dekka. Cruz was also a favorite of mine, and she was probably one of the more interesting characters of the book. The only character that I wasn't totally sold on was Shade. I want to like her, but I'm not sure if I do, yet. She was kind of cool, but she also got her friends into trouble a lot, and never really thought much about the consequences of her actions.The amount of diversity we had in this book was awesome, also. Obviously, we already had Dekka, who's a black lesbian (and who I really hope finds a nice girl by the end of the series because I want her to be happy.) Malik, another main character in the book, was black. And Cruz was Latino, and was also trans/non-binary, which was really cool, because I've never read a book that featured a non-binary person, or even a trans person, come to think of it. Also, most, if not all, of the villains in this story were entitled white men, which is how it works in real life, anyway.Honestly, though, the most exciting parts of this book were the references to the original Gone series. Any time they mentioned a plot point I got really excited and any time a character was even mentioned, I screamed out loud. There are a few characters (other than Dekka) who even make appearances in the story. There was one scene in particular that I really, really, REALLY loved, but I don't want to reveal anything about it. Just know it was good. Another great scene was the very last scene in the book, which I saw coming, but STILL had me screaming and has me INFINITELY excited for the next book.[SPOILERS]However, there were a few things about this book that disappointed me, and all of those things are pretty spoiler-y, so maybe avoid this section of the review.Something that personally disappointed me is that my favorite character from the original series, Quinn, wasn't mentioned at all throughout the book, even though almost every other character was mentioned at least in passing. There were also a couple of unanswered questions I had at the end of Light (what happened to Toto the Truth Teller, did Lana and Sanjit stay together) that I was hoping would be answered in this book, but no such luck. There were also a few characters that were mentioned in passing, but it wasn't revealed what they were up to four years after the FAYZ, which I kind of wanted a few hints about. But I know there will be more books (I think two more?) so hopefully the characters that were left unmentioned will appear later, and we'll get answers to some of the questions left unanswered.Probably the thing I liked the least about this book, though, and this is a BIG SPOILER, is that Drake makes a return. He doesn't have a huge role or anything, but come on. I spent SIX WHOLE BOOKS hating Drake Merwin with every fiber of my being, and the countdown in Light was even counting down to his death, yet it turns out he's not even actually dead? Honestly, it felt like a huge cop out and I was kind of pissed. I would've preferred that Grant use new villains, or if he was going to bring a villain back, maybe the Gaiaphage or something, but not DRAKE.[END SPOILERS]But honestly, that was the only major issue I had with the book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved the Gone series, and to those who have never read the Gone series, what the hell are you doing with your life. This book was great, and I'm so excited for more books. When I first read the Gone series, I was reading it when all of the books were already out, which meant I never had to wait between one book and the next. So waiting for the next book after Monster feels kind of weird, but I really feel like it'll be worth the wait.

The Gone series has always been one of my favorites, so when I saw there was another one coming out, I was excited, yet a little leery. I was worried it would mess up where the story had left off. Fortunately, I was wrong. I loved how at the beginning the author gave a shout out to some other awesome YA authors. The book was very action packed and while mostly we had all new characters, there were a few from before, and that made the story even better. I look forward to where this story will go in the next book, and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Now, that was a pretty good follow up to an intense series. I'm a huge fan of the Gone books and I was worried about this one, however, it did not disappoint! I don't want to give anything anyway so I'll just say it's definitely worth the read and you should check it out if you're a fan of the series. Highly looking forward to the next installment (fingers crossed)!