Ordinary Monsters

Ordinary Monsters is a 2022 historical fantasy novel by J. M. Miro. It was published in the United States by Flatiron Books and in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury on June 7, 2022. It became an international bestseller, and follows gifted children during the Victorian era called Talents.
The audiobook is narrated by Ben Onwukwe.
== Dedication ==
For Dave Balchin
== Epigraph ==
And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.—The Book of Enoch
== Synopses ==
Amazon, Bloomsbury
The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, ORDINARY MONSTERS introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.
There in the shadows was a figure in a cloak, at the bottom of the cobblestone stair, and it turned and stared up at them as still and unmoving as a pillar of darkness, but it had no face, only smoke...
1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness – a man made of smoke.
Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.
What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children – the Talents – have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
Goodreads
England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness —a man made of smoke.
Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a lifetime of brutality, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are forced to confront the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.
What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh, where other children with gifts—the Talents—have been gathered. Here, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
With lush prose, mesmerizing world-building, and a gripping plot, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.
Barnes & Nobles, Macmillan, Google Books
In this stunning historical fantasy, journey to the Victorian era, as children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness in a battle of good vs. evil...
Charlie Ovid, despite surviving a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.
What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theaters of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts—like Komako, a witch-child and twister of dust, and Ribs, a girl who cloaks herself in invisibility—are forced to combat the forces that threaten their safety. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. With this new found family, Komako, Marlowe, Charlie, Ribs, and the rest of the Talents discover the truth about their abilities. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, a new question arises: What truly defines a monster?
Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.
== Plot ==
The plot is set in the Victorian era and is about children with special abilities. The employees of a special academy called the Cairndale Institute are determined to find them, and a monster is hunting the children as well. In this alternate timeline, some people are known as Talents, those who have specific abilities that enable them to do seemingly supernatural feats like control dust, become invisible, heal themselves, or be able to harden their skin, among others.
== Chapter List ==
The Thing on the Cobblestone Stair • 1874	
A Map Made of Dust • 1882 	
The Vanishing of Jacob Marber • 1873 	
The Institute • 1882 	
The Crimes of Jacob Marber • 1874 	
Into Smoke • 1882 	
Epilogue 	Epilogue
== Characters ==
=== Main characters ===
* Marlowe, an 8-year-old Talent who can glow with a supernatural blue light. This light can burn others or heal their injuries.
* Charlie Ovid, a 16-year-old Talent from rural Mississippi who can heal himself of any injury, even death. 
* Alice Quicke, a private detective working for the Cairndale Institute to find Talents. 
* Margaret Harrowgate, a widow and employee of Cairndale Institute who evaluates new Talents. 
* Frank Coulton, an employee of the Cairndale Institute who searches for Talents, and Alice's partner. 
* Eleanor "Ribs" Ribbon, a young Talent with the power of invisibility.
* Jacob Marber, a Talent who has the power of dustworking, or manipulating dust to his will. He has been seduced and corrupted by a mysterious darkness. 
* Walter Laster, a strange creature in service of Jacob Marber. 
* Dr. Henry Berghast, the head of the Cairndale Institute and the man responsible for finding the Talents. Cold, intelligent, and secretive, he works to find both Marlowe and the drughr. 
* Komako Onoe, a young Talent from Tokyo with the power of dustworking, like Jacob Marber.
* Oskar Czekowisz, a young Talent from Poland who creates and is accompanied by his flesh-giant companion, Lymenion. 
* Abigail Davenshaw, the Talents' tutor at Cairndale Institute. While congenitally blind, she sees more of what happens at Cairndale than most.
=== Other characters ===
* Mr. Bailey, Dr. Berghast's manservant. 
* Brynt, a sideshow performer in the circus, and Marlowe's guardian
* Ratcliffe Fang, the dangerous kingpin of London's criminal underworld, and sometime ally to Mrs. Harrogate. 
* Susan Crowley, a former employee of Cairndale. 
* Eliza Grey, a girl fleeing a troubled past who becomes Marlowe's adoptive mother. 
* Adra Norn, the leader of a Chicago commune who sheltered a young Alice Quicke.
* Mr. Thorpe, Cairndale's ancient glyphic, called "the Spider" by the young Talents. 
* Mrs. Ficke, a chandler in Edinburgh with connections to Cairndale.
=== Creatures ===
* Talents, humans who have the ability to manipulate dead cells in strange and fantastic ways. 
* Litches, corpses reanimated and controlled by dustworkers. They have supernatural strength and speed, and retain little of who they were in life. 
* The Drughr, an otherworldly monster bent on finding and consuming Talents. 
* Glyphics, onetime Talents who become tied to an orsine. They hold closed the gates to the world of the dead, and can find new Talents in their dreams. 
* The Spirit Dead, ribbons of memory drifting through the world behind the orsine. 
* The Keywrasse, a mysterious, cat-like creature bound to serve the holder of its weir-bents.
* Bonebirds, undead, skeletal messenger birds used for communication by those at Cairndale.
== Reception ==
The book was nominated at the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy. It was added to year-end lists by SheReads, Book Riot, Goodreads, Gizmodo, Daily Beast, and Paste Magazine. Editorial reviews included The Guardian, who called it "An enthralling read," while SFX praised, "A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed." An editor from The Washington Post wrote, "Charles Dickens meets Joss Whedon in Miro's otherworldly Netflix-binge-like novel."
On the book review aggregator Book Marks, it received positive reception based on six reviews."Ordinary Monsters | Book Marks" Kirkus Reviews assessed, "A fast-paced novel whose action and intrigue make short work of its daunting page count, this tome is clearly set up to be Book 1 of a larger series. However, while the world is intricate and the characters finely drawn, there is such a sheer volume of people, plotlines, backstories, and lore being introduced that the autonomy of the novel itself suffers.""Ordinary Monsters". Kirkus Reviews. April 11, 2022. Chris Rutledge from Washington Independent Review of Books opined, "Entrancing backstories and sufferings drive Ordinary Monsters." He added, "strongest when the author focuses on the adventurous aspects of the plot. The battles he depicts, the conflicts he conjures, and the quests he unspools all make the novel propulsive despite its considerable length. To that end, if there’s a weakness, it’s the book’s page count and overly large cast. Often, there are simply too many threads, challenges, and locations to keep track of, and the nonlinear timeline doesn’t help. A kid on summer break might be better able than a distracted adult to give the story the hours and attention it requires, but anyone who makes the effort will be rewarded. The world created by J.M. Miro is sure to enrapture and engage." Library Journals Kristi Chadwick remarked, "The plot tangles are confusing, but Miro’s skillful prose will lead readers through the maze."Chadwick, Kristi (May 1, 2022). "Ordinary Monsters". Library Journal.
== Editions ==
Languages
File:Ordinary Monsters (Dutch).jpg|Dutch Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (French).jpg|French Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (German).jpg|German Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (Hungarian).jpg|Hungarian Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (Italian).jpg|Italian Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (Polish).jpg|Polish Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (Spanish).jpg|Spanish Edition
Other Versions
File:Ordinary Monsters (Audiobook).jpg|Audiobook
File:Ordinary Monsters (Kindle).jpg|Kindle Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (Bloomsbury).jpg|Bloomsbury Edition
File:Ordinary Monsters (UK).jpg|UK Edition
== References ==
Category:Books (real-world)