The Monster Who Wasn’t
Reviewed By Ian Banks August 19, 2019
Author T.C. Shelley
Distributor: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
ISBN: 9781526600820
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Release Date: August 2019
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk
Have you ever wondered where all the creatures that inhabit the very real fantasy world of monsters, fairies, gargoyles and witches and all the other creatures come from? Well, T.C. Shelley has written a completely wonderful story around all the strange and unique creatures, or should one say characters, because they are, who live their very intriguing lives in the ‘vast underground’, a place that everyone thinks they know about, but really do not.
Just in case you did not know, fairies are born from a baby’s first breath and monsters also come into being when a person breathes their last breath. As to gargoyles and the like they also come from a creator’s handiwork but more on that as you read through the book.
Imp is born from the breath of Kavanaugh, a man who is missing his wife terribly and is very old. He has a new granddaughter, who is definitely a newborn fairy. Kavanaugh feels that he is ready to leave this world and enter into the next life.
From the beginning ‘Imp’, who is different as he looks like a human baby, is adopted by the gargoyles that live on the rooftops, who while grumpy, try to do their best. They love chocolate and of course as he is a human ‘gargoyle’, they teach him how to get them endless supplies of chocolate; something they simply adore.
But while ‘Imp’, who does not get his real name until later, is growing up, the King of the Ogres, Thunderguts, the terrible and feared ruler of the underground, has other plans for this most unusual child monster. You guessed it, it is certainly nothing good, nothing good at all!
The Monster Who Wasn’t is a fresh, different and unusual take on fantasy fiction aimed at 10 – 12-year-old readers who love a story that is fanciful, funny, contains enough horror to offer some seriously scary moments and so many wonderous characters threaded throughout the story line, to keep them on their mettle.
If you ever truly wondered what does go on in that nebulous place known as the ‘vast underground’ after reading The Monster Who Wasn’t you will have pretty good idea!