The Curse of the Wendigo

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey is a sequel to The Monstrumologist a 2010 Printz Honor book.  The Curse of the Wendigo like its prequel is a very descriptive horror book.  There are parts in the storyline that are described so well it is absolutely gruesome.  You want to not read the gruesome parts, but at the same time you have to know what is going to happen.  Yancey did a wonderful job describing the story in all of it's gory glory.  I really did enjoy this book, and I actually think I enjoyed it even more than The Monstrumologist. 


There were times at the beginning of the story that I was having to push myself through.  However, the story sped up and became the anxious page turner I love.  I found myself not wanting my plane ride to end b/c I wanted to keep reading.  There is also a bit of a mystery in this thrilling story, and I found myself trying to decipher the truth as I read.  Overall, it was a great read.  

One thing I really loved about this sequel is how much the reader was able to learn about Dr. Pellinore Warthrop.  There was a lot of unknown about this character in the first book; however, the sequel gave the reader the background knowledge that truly developed the story and the characters in a wonderful way.  You learn how Pellinore truly feels for Will Henry his apprentice.  You also learn about a past love of Pellinore's.  I personally enjoyed this statement about love that Pellinore Warthrop made, "Love has a way of making us stupid, Will Henry.  It blinds us to certain blatant realities, in this case the spectacularly high mortality rate among monstrumologists."  How true this statement is to a point, obviously not including the monstrumologist part. :)  As the story progresses you begin to see a softer side of Pellinore; you see Pellinore for more than just a monstrumologist (monster scientist) but a person with feelings and emotions.  Will made a revelation, "As he (Pellinore) endured it for someone other than himself, a stunning revelation for me, who up to that point had thought him the most self-absorbed man on the continent."  In the first book you, as a reader, also feel this way about Pellinore; however, the second book is a welcome revelation to Pellinore's character.

Now, if you haven't read The Monstrumologist you could actually probably get away with just reading The Curse of the Wendigo.  You will be confused on a few details at first, but the Wendigo story is very much different and with different monsters of course.  You will most definitely be able to appreciate this story for what it is; its a great story.  Actually, if I am being honest, I think if you haven't read the first book you should just jump straight to this second one.  I truly enjoyed The Curse of the Wendigo much more than The Monstrumologist.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed The Monstrumologist, but this one was better.  At least that is my point of view; feel free to share your thoughts here as well.