Review | A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

Noah Turner grew up haunted by secrets and monsters. His father, Harry, died when Noah was a baby, but not before constructing a haunted house attraction that becomes the family’s legacy. Ignored by his sullen mother, Margaret, and his sisters – the vibrant, popular Sydney and brilliant, awkward Eunice – Noah is alone and neglected. He turns to his only friend – a monster with glowing orange eyes. But the truth behind the monster is far-reaching and horrifying. It’s up to Noah to dig into his family’s history and bring the secrets out into the light.

My family is spectacularly bad at endings. We never handle them with grace. But we’re not great with beginnings, either. […] It’s exactly the sort of heartache I want to prevent for you, whoever you are.

A Cosmology of Monsters is a complicated read for me. It has everything I love – a haunted house attraction, intricate family saga, fully dimensional characters, realistic siblings’ relationship, and a secret monster. I loved the way the book traced the beginning of the Turner family in the courtship of Harry and Margaret, Harry’s fascination for H.P. Lovecraft’s horror stories, and Margaret’s yearning to break free of the pressure from her family. I also liked the section years later where Harry comes up with The Tomb, a haunted house attraction that evolves into The Wandering Dark and becomes a family business. The darkness that descends upon the family is reflected in how the house is built, plank by plank. And I liked the story as it moves ahead to when Noah is six years old and struggling to fit into his family. His loneliness and desperation led him to befriend the monster who stops by his window every night and opens up an impossible world for him.

Then the second half of the book arrives, where Noah is now a teenager and suffice to say I was not a fan. The story takes a turn that feels unnecessary, even gratuitous. It felt strongly like a male fantasy comes to life. In essence, the book portrays the grooming of two children, a boy and a girl. But it only condemns the grooming of the girl. The perpetrator is portrayed as terrible and ultimately punished. In contrast, the grooming of the boy is treated like a love story. The perpetrator is portrayed lovingly and never taken to task. The same blind spot applies to the portrayal of a queer character. I think the trope of LGBTQ characters suffering for plot purposes is tired and overused, and unfortunately, the book employs it to the fullest extent.

In terms of the plot itself, I wish the haunted house aspect actually connects to the main story. There is so much potential in that storyline thread that is not picked up. I found the monster mythology simultaneously vague yet overbearing. I really did not care for the monster at all. The characters’ love of Lovecraft is accepted as face value and there is no criticism over his hateful legacy.

However, I truly enjoyed the writing and I thought the book handled the themes of family, grief, poverty, and memories really well. Sections that are written as scripts in the book are dreamy and haunting. The relationship between Noah and Eunice is a particular highlight. The ending is perfect, with a bleak, aching note to the resolution. The scariest monster in the book is the threat of loss and a life unlived, and in that sense, the book successfully leaves a mark.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise behind A Cosmology of Monsters, but I couldn’t fully fall in love with it due to certain plot choices.

CW: grooming, child death, suicide attempt, statutory rape

I received a digital copy from the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes. A Cosmology of Monsters is out in the UK on 30 June.

About the author: Shaun Hamill

Photo by Bee Felten-Leidel