The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

558 pages
Published September 2011 by Simon & Schuster

Description:

When Dr. Warthrop goes hunting for the “Holy Grail of Monstrumology” with his eager new assistant, Arkwright, he leaves Will Henry in Victorian New York. Finally, Will can enjoy something that always seemed out of reach: a normal life with a real family. But part of Will can’t let go of Dr. Warthrop, and when Arkwright returns, claiming that the doctor is dead, Will is devastated—and not convinced.

     Determined to discover the truth, Will travels to London, knowing that if he succeeds, he will be plunging into depths of horror worse than anything he has experienced so far. His journey takes him to Socotra, the Isle of Blood, where human beings are used to make nests and blood rains from the sky—and puts Will Henry’s loyalty to the ultimate test. - Amazon.ca

My Review:

Rating: 4/5


Each of these books has taken a different approach to telling a story, and surprisingly I have enjoyed them all. The first book was a classic monster hunter story, the second book was mainly about character development of Dr. Warthrop, and this book was about Will Henry's character development and the darkness within all men.

I was expecting a ton of gore, so I was a bit thrown off that there didn't seem to be too many scenes that fit that agenda. Near the beginning and near the end there are a couple of scenes, but I was hoping for more sprinkled throughout the middle. That's just a minor point, though.

The prologues to the story seem to have their own thing going on, and I especially liked how I was able to really connect the prologue in this book to elements in the story. It made it feel more realistic and interesting.

I love Dr. Warthrop, but I feel some people may have been less than enthused with him in the Curse of the Wendigo. In this book, I feel he becomes more likable and vulnerable. Will Henry's limits are tested, and he grows quite a bit as a character too. Will Henry is also tempted by the Bates family in regards to where he belongs.

The plot has a bit of a thriller aspect to it, in that the characters are on the hunt and are being hunted themselves. But instead of being hunted by a monster, they are hunted by some bad guys. This was a change to the previous books, but it did work out quite well, especially given that there were some celebrity guest appearances!

These celebrity guest appearances also really added to the world building. Rick Yancey has done a phenomenal job in creating this world where men and monsters exist together, but by keeping it realistic and historical. The writing was just as amazing as the first two books, although some bits felt a bit slow.

If you liked the first two books, I highly recommend this one. Just be aware that it is more philosophical and contains less gore. :)